Cubic Meter Calculator
Find cubic meters from length, width and depth, in meters or feet.
Measure the space
Your answer
1,200 liters · 42.4 cubic feet · 1.57 cubic yards
What it weighs
- Gravel2.20 tons
- Pea gravel2.12 tons
- Crusher run2.20 tons
- River rock1.96 tons
- Sand (dry)1.88 tons
- Fill dirt1.57 tons
- Topsoil1.26 tons
- Wood mulch0.47 tons
US tons (2,000 lb), loose, before packing down. Wet material weighs more.
Quick answers
- 1 cubic meter
- 35.3 cubic feet, or 1.31 cubic yards.
- 1 cubic yard
- 0.765 cubic meters.
- Liters and gallons
- 1 cubic meter is 1,000 liters, or about 264 US gallons.
- From feet
- Multiply each size by 0.3048 to get meters. NIST sets a foot at 0.3048 m.
- 1 cubic meter of gravel
- About 1.83 US tons, loose.
How to work it out
- Measure how long, how wide and how deep the space is.
- Change each one to meters. Feet × 0.3048. Inches × 0.0254. Centimeters ÷ 100.
- Multiply length × width. That gives square meters (m²).
- Multiply by the depth. That gives cubic meters (m³).
10 ft × 0.3048 = 3.048 m
12 ft × 0.3048 = 3.6576 m
4 in × 0.0254 = 0.1016 m
3.048 × 3.6576 = 11.15 m² (rounded)
11.15 × 0.1016 = 1.13 m³
Working from feet and inches
Working in cubic yards instead? Use our cubic yard calculator.
In the US, you may measure in feet but need an answer in cubic meters. There are two ways to get there.
- Change each size to meters, then multiply. This is what the calculator does.
- Find cubic feet first: length × width × depth, all in feet. Then divide by 35.3.
Both ways give the same answer. Take the 10 × 12 ft example at 4 in deep. That is 40 cubic feet, and 40 ÷ 35.3 = 1.13 m³.
| Unit | To m³, multiply by | From m³, multiply by |
|---|---|---|
| Cubic feet | 0.0283 | 35.3 |
| Cubic yards | 0.765 | 1.31 |
| US gallons | 0.003785 | 264 |
| Liters | 0.001 | 1,000 |
From NIST's unit tables. A foot is 0.3048 m by definition.
What a cubic meter weighs
In the US, stone and soil are sold by the ton or the cubic yard. So a cubic meter answer often needs one more step.
We start from US weights for one cubic yard. Then we divide by 0.765, the cubic meters in a cubic yard.
| Material | Per cubic yard | Per cubic meter | In pounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gravel | 1.4 tons | 1.83 tons | 3,662 lb |
| Crusher run | 1.4 tons | 1.83 tons | 3,662 lb |
| Pea gravel | 1.35 tons | 1.77 tons | 3,531 lb |
| River rock | 1.25 tons | 1.63 tons | 3,270 lb |
| Sand (dry) | 1.2 tons | 1.57 tons | 3,139 lb |
| Fill dirt | 1 ton | 1.31 tons | 2,616 lb |
| Topsoil | 0.8 tons | 1.05 tons | 2,093 lb |
| Wood mulch | 0.3 tons | 0.39 tons | 785 lb |
US tons of 2,000 lb. Loose, before packing down. Pea gravel is from a bag label. Wet sand can weigh up to 2.03 tons per cubic meter.
To get tons, multiply cubic meters by the weight of one. So 2 cubic meters of crusher run is 2 × 1.83 = 3.66 US tons.
Square meters or cubic meters?
A square meter (m²) is flat, like a patch of floor. A cubic meter (m³) has depth as well, like a box.
To go from m² to m³, multiply by the depth in meters. With no depth, there is no volume.
US jobs often give the depth in inches. This table changes inches to meters for you. 10 m² is about 107.6 sq ft.
| Depth | In meters | m³ for 10 m² | m³ for 100 sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 in | 0.0254 | 0.25 | 0.24 |
| 2 in | 0.0508 | 0.51 | 0.47 |
| 3 in | 0.0762 | 0.76 | 0.71 |
| 4 in | 0.1016 | 1.02 | 0.94 |
| 6 in | 0.1524 | 1.52 | 1.42 |
| 12 in | 0.3048 | 3.05 | 2.83 |
Sizes in centimeters or millimeters
Some plans and product labels give sizes in centimeters (cm) or millimeters (mm). Change them to meters before you multiply.
- Centimeters to meters: divide by 100.
- Millimeters to meters: divide by 1,000.
The calculator starts at 4 m × 3 m, 100 mm deep. 100 mm is 0.1 m, so the space is 1.2 cubic meters. That is about 42.4 cubic feet.
Pick the right unit button for each size. A depth of 100 read as meters, not mm, makes the answer 1,000 times too big.
Questions people ask
How do you calculate cubic meters?
Measure length, width and depth in meters. Multiply the three together. For 4 × 3 m at 0.1 m deep: 4 × 3 × 0.1 = 1.2 m³.
What does it mean to calculate in m³?
It means finding the space in cubic meters. One cubic meter is a box 1 m long, 1 m wide and 1 m deep.
How do I change cubic feet to cubic meters?
Multiply by 0.0283, or divide by 35.3. So 100 cubic feet is about 2.83 cubic meters.
How many cubic yards are in a cubic meter?
About 1.31. One cubic yard is 0.765 cubic meters, so a cubic meter is a bit bigger.
How do I get m³ from m²?
You need the depth in meters too. Area × depth gives cubic meters. A 20 × 12 ft patio is 22.30 m². At 4 in deep, that is 2.27 cubic meters.
How many liters is 1 m³?
1,000 liters. That is about 264 US gallons.
How do I find cubic meters from inches?
Multiply each size in inches by 0.0254 to get meters. Then multiply the three sizes together.
How much does a cubic meter of gravel weigh?
About 1.83 US tons, loose. That uses our gravel figure of 1.4 tons a cubic yard. Ohio DOT, Caterpillar and a US Army manual give 1.25–1.5 for loose gravel.
Where our numbers come from
- Unit sizes: NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C (1 ft = 0.3048 m; 1 US gallon = 231 cubic inches)
- Material weights: Caterpillar earthwork tables
- Gravel and millings weight: Ohio DOT specifications (2023)
- Packing down: US Army earthmoving manual (FM 5-434)
- Crusher run weight: the middle of 9 suppliers and road agencies
- Weights of sand, gravel, soil and stone: Tapco weight chart for bulk materials
- Mulch weight: US EPA and University of Washington conversion tables
- Pea gravel bag: KolorScape 0.5 cubic foot, about 50 lb
- Rock weight: Southwest Boulder & Stone rule of thumb (1.25 tons a cubic yard, not lava rock)
Made by BuildersCount. Last checked 3 Oct 2026.
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