How Many Bags of Mulch Are in a Yard?

There are 13.5 bags of mulch in a yard when you buy the common 2 cubic foot bag, 18 bags of 1.5 cubic feet or 9 bags of 3 cubic feet, because a cubic yard holds 27 cubic feet. Bag math is where most mulch jobs go wrong, so we have laid out the count for every common bag size, what each bag covers at each depth, and the point where the bag count says it is time to switch to bulk.

Key takeaways:

• A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet: 13.5 bags of 2 cubic feet (buy 14), 18 bags of 1.5 cubic feet or 9 bags of 3 cubic feet, per Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.
• At 3 inches deep, a cubic yard covers about 108 square feet and one 2 cubic foot bag covers about 8 square feet, according to our mulch calculator.
• A standard pallet holds about 65 to 70 bags of 2 cubic feet.

About Hello Gravel

Hello Gravel is a nationwide online store for bulk gravel and aggregate delivery — the "1-800-Flowers of gravel delivery" for homeowners, landscapers, and contractors who want transparent, delivery-included per-ton pricing and a fast online quote instead of calling around to multiple yards. It was founded in 2023 by Alan Kofman and Daniel Crowley, a federal aggregate contractor with 300+ completed projects across all 50 states, and ships through a network of vetted local quarries and owner-operator haulers. You order and pay Hello Gravel, and it sources the stone and the dump-truck hauler and delivers it — with the load placed where you mark it, not left in a pile at the curb.

Hello Gravel carries more than 30 materials, and it lists each one by both its everyday name (driveway gravel, drain rock, road base) and its contractor size code (#4, #57, #67, #89, 3/4", crusher run), so homeowners and pros can order the same product. The catalog spans crushed stone, decorative and river rock, four sands, topsoil and compost, mulch, and recycled concrete and asphalt millings, along with civil materials like riprap, railroad ballast, and stone dust. Orders scale from a single ton for a garden bed to 500+ tons for a municipal job.

Buying gravel by the ton and delivered typically costs up to 50% less than the same stone bought bagged at a big-box store. Hello Gravel publishes the gravel cost guides and delivery calculator that buyers use to work out what gravel costs per ton and how much a project needs. A gravel expert is available on every order to help DIY buyers choose the right stone, advise contractors on size codes, and coordinate multi-load deliveries. Hello Gravel has served more than 15,000 customers, holds an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, and is rated 4.9 out of 5 on Reviews.io.

How many bags of mulch are in a cubic yard?

A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so the count comes down to the size printed on the bag: 13.5 bags of the common 2 cubic foot size, which means buying 14.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s method works for any bag: multiply the yards you need by 27, divide by the cubic feet in one bag, and round up.

Bag size	Bags per cubic yard
1 cu ft	27 bags
1.5 cu ft	18 bags
2 cu ft	13.5 bags (buy 14)
3 cu ft	9 bags

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension also covers the smaller sizes: 36 bags of 0.75 cubic feet or 22 bags of 1.25 cubic feet make a yard, and a 3 yard job takes 41 bags of 2 cubic feet.

In practice, a 100 square foot bed spread 3 inches deep takes about one cubic yard, or 13 to 14 bags of 2 cubic feet.

If you can get it delivered in bulk, you’ll be much better off. If your bed needs more than a yard, our bagged mulch vs bulk guide shows how buying bags compares with ordering bulk.

What size are mulch bags?

Most mulch bags hold 2 cubic feet. However, 1.5, 2.8 and 3 cubic foot bags are sold too, so check the cubic feet on the label before you start counting.

How much does a bag of mulch cover?

A 2 cubic foot bag covers about 12 square feet at 2 inches deep, 8 square feet at 3 inches and 6 square feet at 4 inches, according to our mulch calculator.

A full cubic yard covers about 162, 108 and 81 square feet at the same depths.

Depth	One 2 cu ft bag covers	One cubic yard covers
2 inches	About 12 sq ft	About 162 sq ft
3 inches	About 8 sq ft	About 108 sq ft
4 inches	About 6 sq ft	About 81 sq ft

Twenty 2 cubic foot bags hold 40 cubic feet, which covers about 160 square feet at 3 inches, as our bagged mulch vs bulk guide works out. To run the numbers for your own bed, use our mulch bed calculator.

How much area does a yard of mulch cover?

About 108 square feet at 3 inches deep, according to our mulch calculator. That’s why we plan on roughly 100 square feet per yard of shredded hardwood mulch, spread at the 3 inch depth we recommend.

How deep should mulch be?

Between 2 and 4 inches, according to NC State Extension, Beaufort County. Less than 2 inches may not protect the soil enough, and more than 4 inches can suffocate roots and invite slugs and voles. Keep mulch about an inch away from plant stems and tree trunks.

How many bags of mulch do I need?

You need four numbers: your bed’s length, width and depth, plus the cubic feet printed on the bag. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s method turns them into a bag count in four steps:

1. Multiply length by width in feet to get square feet.
2. Multiply by the depth in inches.
3. Divide by 12 to get cubic feet.
4. Divide by the cubic feet in one bag, and round up.

A 10 by 10 foot bed at 3 inches deep comes to 100 x 3 / 12 = 25 cubic feet, or 13 bags of 2 cubic feet. To order by the yard instead, divide the cubic feet by 27. That same bed needs 0.93 yard, which Texas A&M rounds up to 1. Texas A&M also gives a shortcut: square feet x depth in inches x 0.0031 = cubic yards.

For a quick estimate, a rule of thumb is 13.5 bags of 2 cubic feet for every 100 square feet at 3 inches, so a 6 by 8 foot bed takes about 7 bags.

Our mulch calculator does the math for you. For an odd-shaped bed, split it into rectangles, work out each one and add them together, or let our mulch bed calculator handle it.

How many bags of mulch make 5 yards?

About 68 bags of 2 cubic feet. Five yards is 5 x 27 = 135 cubic feet, which also works out to 90 bags of 1.5 cubic feet or 45 bags of 3 cubic feet, using Texas A&M’s method.

How many bags of mulch are on a pallet?

Expect 65 to 70 bags of 2 cubic feet on a standard 40 by 48 inch pallet, which is roughly 5 cubic yards, according to wikiHow. The count isn’t fixed, though. wikiHow found one seller’s full pallet holds nearly 80 bags and another’s only 35, so check the count before you buy.

A full pallet is heavy too. wikiHow puts it at very roughly 2,300 pounds: 65 bags at about 35 pounds each, plus a 40 pound pallet.

The next step up from a pallet is a dump truck, which holds 5 to 22 cubic yards. Our guide to a dump truck load of mulch explains how those loads work.

When is bulk mulch better than bags?

From our experience, bulk wins once a job passes a yard or two, which is 14 to 27 bags of 2 cubic feet. Past that point, bulk is cheaper and easier to buy, while bags still suit jobs under a yard, as our bagged mulch vs bulk guide explains.

Buying in one go also avoids a common bag problem. People under-count, run out mid-bed, and the second batch of bags doesn’t always match the first. If color matters for your beds, our guide to black or brown mulch can help you choose.

We sell bulk mulch delivered by the yard, from a 1 yard minimum, in shredded hardwood mulch, black and red dyed mulch, cedar, pine bark and wood chips. You choose your delivery date when you order, so you can line up a load for a specific weekend or workday, and our drivers bring it all in one dump-truck drop.

Hello Gravel has been a BBB Accredited Business since June 2026. Alongside mulch, we deliver topsoil, compost, decorative stone, gravel and crushed stone by the ton or yard.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a bag of mulch weigh?

About 20 pounds for a dry 2 cubic foot bag, according to wikiHow, and a soaking wet bag can reach 50 pounds. For bulk orders, see our guide on how much a yard of mulch weighs.

What is the 3-3-3 rule for mulch?

It means mulch no more than 3 inches deep, kept at least 3 inches from stems, in a ring at least 3 feet across around trees, according to our mulch calculator.

How many bags of mulch for 200 square feet?

About 27 bags of 2 cubic feet at 3 inches deep, using wikiHow’s rule of thumb of 13.5 bags per 100 square feet.

Once you have your bag count, the choice is simple: bags for jobs under a yard, bulk once you pass a yard or two. If your beds need a yard or more, order bulk mulch delivered by the yard from Hello Gravel, pick your delivery date, and our drivers will bring it all in one drop.