Pea Gravel Calculator
Work out the amount of pea gravel you need for a path, a bed or a play area. See cubic yards, tonnes and bags.
Measure your project
Your answer
That is 1.04 m³ and weighs about 1.79 tonnes. We added 10% extra.
If you buy bags
This is a guide. For a play area, check the rules that apply where you live.
Which costs less?
This price is for picking it up yourself. Add a delivery fee in "Change prices" if they bring it.
Loose: $79.50 a cubic yard, the middle of 12 Canadian yards. Pickup, before delivery and tax. Bags: about $9.24 for 30 kg, from only 2 Ontario stores (Oct 2026).
Quick answers
- Weight of a yard
- About 1.32 tonnes. Two Ontario yards print 1.3 and 1.32.
- Yard price
- $79.50 a cubic yard, the middle of 12 Canadian yards. Pickup, before tax.
- Pea gravel bags in a yard
- 44 bags of 30 kg, or 74 bags of 18 kg, counted by weight.
- Depth under a play set
- 300 mm (12 in) in Canadian guides. BC's child-care rule asks for at least 150 mm under sets up to 1.5 m tall.
- 200 sq ft, 2 in deep
- About 1.23 cubic yards (0.94 m³). That is 1.63 tonnes.
How to work it out
- Find the area in square feet: length × width.
- Multiply square feet by the inches of depth. Then divide by 324 for cubic yards.
- For tonnes, multiply the cubic yards by 1.32.
- For bags, turn tonnes into kg, then divide by the bag size. Round up.
20 × 10 = 200 sq ft
200 × 2 ÷ 324 = 1.23 cubic yards
1.23 × 1.32 = 1.63 tonnes
1,630 kg ÷ 30 = 54.3, so 55 bags of 30 kg
Pea gravel, pea stone or pea rock
It is small, round stone. Ontario yards often call it pea stone. Some Saskatchewan yards say pea rock.
Sizes on Canadian price lists include ⅜ in, ½ in and ⅜–⅝ in. Some sell up to ¾ in or 1 in. Each yard stocks its own size, so ask before you order.
Two Ontario yards print 1.3 and 1.32 tonnes a cubic yard. A Quikrete gravel bag works out to 1.35. One yard's own prices suggest 1.43, so ask yours. We use 1.32.
Pea gravel coverage: how far it goes
| Depth | 1 cubic yard | 1 tonne | 1 bag of 30 kg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 in (51 mm) | 162 sq ft | 123 sq ft | 3.7 sq ft |
| 3 in (76 mm) | 108 sq ft | 82 sq ft | 2.5 sq ft |
| 4 in (102 mm) | 81 sq ft | 61 sq ft | 1.8 sq ft |
| 6 in (152 mm) | 54 sq ft | 41 sq ft | 1.2 sq ft |
| 12 in (305 mm) | 27 sq ft | 20 sq ft | 0.6 sq ft |
Uses 1.32 tonnes a cubic yard. Bags are counted by weight.
One store's 1 cubic yard bag says 160 sq ft in its name. That works out to about 2 in deep.
Pea gravel under play sets
BC's child-care rule (2007) lists pea gravel as a loose fill. It asks for 150 mm under sets up to 1.5 m tall. Sets up to 2.3 m need 300 mm.
Canadian play-surface firms use the same 300 mm for wood chips. The CSA play standard is not free to read, so we did not check it.
The same BC rule calls 1.8 m (6 ft) of clear space around the set safest. Take a set 10 × 6 ft. With 6 ft on every side, the area is 22 × 18 ft.
At 12 in deep, that takes about 14.7 cubic yards. It weighs about 19.4 tonnes.
For a school, park or child-care play area, check the rules that apply to you.
Bags, big bags or a truck load
| How you buy | Price | Per cubic yard |
|---|---|---|
| 30 kg store bags | $9.24 a bag | $407 |
| 1 cubic yard bag, delivered | $210.50 a bag | $210.50 |
| Loose, at a yard | $79.50 a yard | $79.50 |
| 15 tonne load, delivered | $410 | $36 |
Before tax, Oct 2026. Store bags: only 2 Ontario stores. Big bags: 6 prices from 4 sellers. Loose: 12 yards. Loads: one New Brunswick seller.
Bulk is far cheaper per yard, but you need a truck or a delivery. A full truck load is the cheapest way per yard.
Prices by region
The middle loose price was $86.50 in Ontario, BC and Alberta (8 yards). It was $67.50 on the Prairies (only 2 yards) and $64 in Atlantic Canada (only 2 yards). We found no Quebec price.
Questions people ask
How much pea gravel do I need for 200 sq ft?
At 2 in deep, about 1.23 cubic yards: square feet × depth in inches ÷ 324. Each square foot takes 0.17 cubic feet. Add 10% if you want spare.
How much does one cubic yard of pea gravel weigh?
About 1.32 tonnes, or 2,910 lb, the middle of 3 Canadian sources. Half a yard is about 0.66 tonnes.
How many yards of pea gravel are in a tonne, or a ton?
A tonne is about 0.76 cubic yards, or 0.58 m³. A short ton of 2,000 lb is a little less, about 0.69 cubic yards.
How many bags of pea gravel are in a yard?
About 44 bags of 30 kg. With Quikrete's 18 kg bags, it is about 74. We count bags by weight.
How thick should pea gravel be?
Under play sets, Canadian guides use 300 mm (12 in). We found no Canadian rule for paths. One store's 1 cubic yard bag says it covers 160 sq ft, which is about 2 in deep.
How much does a tonne of pea gravel cover?
About 123 sq ft at 2 in deep, or 82 sq ft at 3 in.
How much is a dump truck load of pea gravel?
One New Brunswick yard delivers 15 tonnes for $410, before HST. That is about 11.4 cubic yards. It is one seller, so get a local quote.
How much is 5 tonnes of pea gravel?
5 tonnes is about 3.79 cubic yards. At $79.50 a yard, that is about $301 before delivery and tax.
Where our numbers come from
- Weights per cubic yard: Canadian yards and producers (few sources each)
- Gravel weight: Natural Resources Canada (1 cubic yard = 1.35 tonnes)
- Loose prices: the middle of up to 23 Canadian yards (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)
- Store prices: Ontario Home Depot, RONA, Home Hardware and Chamberlain Timber Mart (Oct 2026)
- Bag size: Quikrete Canada (Target Products), 25 kg = ½ cubic foot
- Weights and prices: Peterborough Landscape Supply (Ontario)
- Delivered loads: M.W. Price & Sons (New Brunswick) price list
- Playground depth: BC Director of Licensing, Safe Play Space (2007)
- Playground depth: Playground PARCS (Ontario) wood fibre page
- Playground depth: Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds
- #57 stone extra: Palmetto Sand & Gravel (add 10%)
Made by BuildersCount. Last checked 4 Oct 2026.
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