Gravel Calculator
Find the amount of gravel for your job, in cubic yards and tonnes. Measure in feet or metres, then pick Granular A, clear stone or another gravel.
Measure your project
Your answer
That is 0.93 m³ and weighs about 1.66 tonnes. We added 10% extra.
If you buy bags
This is a guide. For a driveway or a base that carries weight, check your local building rules or ask a builder or engineer.
What it costs
Granular A or road base: $49 a cubic yard, the middle of 18 Canadian yards (Oct 2026). Pickup price, before delivery and tax.
Quick answers
- Tonnes in a yard of gravel
- About 1.35, says Natural Resources Canada. Canadian yards print 1.3–1.5 for Granular A.
- Gravel coverage
- One cubic yard spreads over 81 sq ft at 4 in deep.
- Gravel price
- Clear stone is about $60 a cubic yard, and Granular A about $49. Pickup, before tax.
- 10 × 12 ft, 4 in deep
- About 1.48 cubic yards (1.13 m³). In Granular A that is 2.01 tonnes.
How to work it out
- Measure the area in feet: length × width = square feet.
- Multiply by the depth in inches, then divide by 324. That gives cubic yards.
- For the tonnage, multiply the cubic yards by the weight of your gravel. Granular A is about 1.36 tonnes a yard.
- Add some spare if you like. The calculator starts at 10%.
10 × 12 × 4 ÷ 324 = 1.48 cubic yards
1.48 × 1.36 = 2.01 tonnes of Granular A
2.01 + 10% = 2.22 tonnes to order
Granular A or clear stone?
Two of the gravels Canadian yards list most are Granular A and clear stone.
Granular A packs hard
Granular A is crushed stone up to 26.5 mm, with sand and a little dust. Ontario's road spec allows 2–8% fine dust.
The dust fills the gaps, so it packs into a firm base. Use it under driveways, patios and pads.
Clear stone drains
Clear stone is washed, with almost no dust. Water runs through it, but it does not lock together.
Ontario's 2024 building code asks for at least 100 mm of clean stone under a house floor slab. See our gravel under concrete calculator.
Same stone, other names
| Job | Ontario | Quebec | Alberta | Saskatchewan | Atlantic | BC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packs hard (driveway base, under pavers or slabs) | Granular A | MG-20 (0-¾) | Des 2 Class 20 or 20 mm road crush | Type 32 or 33 | Type 1, Class A or 0-¾ crushed | ¾ in minus road base |
| Coarse lower layer or backfill | Granular B | MG-56 or MG-112 | Des 6 pit run | – | pit run | – |
| Drains, does not pack | ¾ in clear stone | ¾ net (pierre nette) | 20 mm washed rock | ¾ in crushed rock (washed) | drain stone or clean ¾ | ¾ in clear crush |
| Top layer under pavers | screenings | poussière de pierre | crusher dust | crusher dust | crusher dust | – |
From Toronto's road spec, Regina's spec, and yard pages in Quebec, Alberta and the Atlantic provinces.
Tonnes in a yard of gravel
Pits sell by the tonne, and most landscape yards by the cubic yard. Natural Resources Canada uses 1.35 tonnes a yard for any sand, gravel or stone. Yards print their own figures.
| Gravel | Tonnes per yard | Tonnes per m³ | Yards per tonne | Range found |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granular A or road base | 1.36 | 1.78 | 0.74 | 1.3–1.5 |
| ¾ in clear stone | 1.3 | 1.70 | 0.77 | 1.2–1.36 |
| Pea gravel | 1.32 | 1.73 | 0.76 | 1.3–1.35 |
| River rock | 1.35 | 1.77 | 0.74 | 1.2–1.54 |
| Screenings | 1.22 | 1.60 | 0.82 | 0.91–1.5 |
Loose, as delivered. From Canadian yards and producers. Only 2 or 3 sources for most stones, so ask your yard.
We use a metric tonne of 1,000 kg, about 2,205 pounds. Some Quebec yards count a tonne as 2,000 or 2,200 lb.
If a yard quotes a "ton", ask which one it means. A short ton is 2,000 lb, or 0.91 tonnes, says Natural Resources Canada.
What gravel costs in Canada
The same stone costs more the closer it gets to your door.
| Where you buy | Granular A | ¾ in clear stone |
|---|---|---|
| At the pit, per tonne | $15.75 | $22.85 |
| At the pit, per cubic yard (worked out) | $21.42 | $29.71 |
| Yard pickup, per cubic yard | $49 | $60 |
| 1 cubic yard bag, delivered | – | $175 |
Before tax. Pit prices: 5 pits each. Yard prices: 18 and 14 yards. Big bags: 5 prices from 4 sellers.
Prices by region
| Gravel | Quebec | Prairies | Atlantic | Ontario, BC, Alberta |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ¾ in clear stone | $61 (2) | $70 (4) | $65 (3) | $53.50 (6) |
| Granular A or road base | $52.50 (2) | $44 (3) | $59.50 (4) | $45 (9) |
| Pea gravel | – | $67.50 (2) | $64 (2) | $86.50 (8) |
| River rock | $110 (1) | $67.50 (4) | $97 (2) | $84.50 (4) |
The number of yards is in brackets. A dash means we found no price.
Small loads have a delivery fee. The middle of 7 yards was $75 a trip, for up to 3–6 cubic yards.
A tandem dump truck carries about 16 tonnes, and a tri-axle about 22. That is one Ontario yard's 2022 list.
Gravel coverage: how far a yard or a tonne goes
Find your depth to see how much ground one yard or one tonne covers. Know your area? Divide it by the number for your depth. That gives the yards or tonnes to order.
For a round fire pit, tap "Round" on the area in the calculator.
| Depth | One cubic yard covers | One tonne covers |
|---|---|---|
| 2 in (51 mm) | 162 sq ft | 120 sq ft |
| 3 in (76 mm) | 108 sq ft | 80 sq ft |
| 4 in (102 mm) | 81 sq ft | 60 sq ft |
| 6 in (152 mm) | 54 sq ft | 40 sq ft |
| 8 in (203 mm) | 41 sq ft | 30 sq ft |
The tonne column uses 1.35 tonnes a yard.
Bagged gravel or bulk?
Quikrete in Western Canada says a 25 kg bag holds half a cubic foot.
So the 10 × 12 ft example takes 80 bags. That is 2,000 kg to lift, one bag at a time.
Wheeling loose gravel? Brim full, a 6 cubic foot contractor barrow (a US maker's size) holds about 300 kg of Granular A. So fill it part way. Even full loads would take 27 ÷ 6 = 4.5 trips per cubic yard.
Packing it down
Granular A and screenings pack down. Two Quebec yards order 35% more for that. Turn on the switch, and we add it.
Questions people ask
How many yards of gravel are in a tonne?
About 0.74 cubic yards of Granular A, at 1.36 tonnes a yard. Clear stone is lighter, so a tonne is about 0.77 yards.
How many tonnes are in a yard of gravel?
Natural Resources Canada uses 1.35 tonnes for any sand, gravel or stone. Canadian yards print 1.2 to 1.5, so ask yours.
How do I calculate gravel yardage?
Use one sum: square feet × depth in inches ÷ 324. A 10 × 12 ft area, 4 in deep, is 1.48 cubic yards.
How much does a yard of gravel cover?
A cubic yard covers about 81 sq ft at 4 in deep. At 8 in deep, it covers only 41 sq ft.
How much is a yard of gravel in Canada?
About $60 for clear stone and $49 for Granular A, at the yard. Those are middle prices from 14 and 18 yards, before tax.
What is the difference between Granular A and clear stone?
Granular A has fine dust mixed in, so it packs hard. Clear stone has almost no dust. It drains water but does not pack.
How many 25 kg bags of gravel make a yard?
About 54 bags. A yard is 27 cubic feet, and each bag holds half a cubic foot.
Where our numbers come from
- Gravel weight: Natural Resources Canada (1 cubic yard = 1.35 tonnes)
- Gravel weight: Government of Manitoba quarry calculation tool
- Weights per cubic yard: Canadian yards and producers (few sources each)
- Weights and prices: Peterborough Landscape Supply (Ontario)
- Weight: Dufferin Aggregates homeowners FAQ (1 yard = 1.5 tonnes)
- Loose prices: the middle of up to 23 Canadian yards (Oct 2026)
- Pit prices per tonne: 3–5 Canadian pits (Oct 2026)
- Loose prices by region: Quebec, Prairies, Atlantic, Ontario/BC/Alberta
- 1 cubic yard bulk bags, delivered: 4 Canadian sellers per product (Garden Bag, Walmart.ca, RONA, Mygardenbag)
- Delivery fees (7 Canadian yards); loads up to 22.9 tonnes (LBL, Almonte ON)
- Truck sizes and stone weights: A. Miron Topsoil price list (2022)
- Quebec yards: bulk calculators (tonne, packing)
- Granular A and B: City of Toronto TS 1010 (OPSS 1010 definitions)
- Quebec names: Transport Bond, MG-20 (0-¾) stone
- Alberta names: FT Aggregates (Designation and Class)
- Type 32 base: City of Regina spec 2230
- Bag size: Quikrete Canada (Target Products), 25 kg = ½ cubic foot
- Wheelbarrow size: Jackson M6T22 contractor wheelbarrow holds 6 cubic feet (maker's page)
- Wheelbarrow sizes: AMES range (Jackson, True Temper, UnionTools), mostly 6 cu ft
- Under-slab stone: Ontario Building Code 9.16.2.1 (2012 text, third-party copy)
- Ontario Building Code 2024, Part 9 (ministry compendium)
- Under-slab stone: BC Building Code 2012, 9.16.2.1–9.16.2.2
- Driveway layers: Niagara Region specifications
- Driveway layers: City of Sarnia driveway standard (2019)
- Driveway layers: Township of Oro-Medonte entrance standard
- #57 stone extra: Palmetto Sand & Gravel (add 10%)
Made by BuildersCount. Last checked 4 Oct 2026.
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