Pea Gravel Calculator
Find how many cubic yards, tons or bags of pea gravel you need.
Measure your project
Your answer
That weighs about 0.73 tons. We added 10% extra.
If you buy bags
Which costs less?
This price is for picking it up yourself. Add a delivery fee in "Change prices" if they bring it.
Bulk: the middle of 12 US sellers. Bags: only 2 stores, so treat it as rough. Oct 2026, before delivery.
Quick answers
- Weight of a yard
- About 1.35 tons, or 2,700 lb. That is the top of the pea gravel figures we found.
- Bags in a yard
- 54 bags of 0.5 cubic feet. Each bag weighs 45–50 lb.
- Depth for a path
- 4–6 in, says one supplier. Some guides say 2–3 in. No code or agency gives a figure.
- Depth under a play set
- Fill 12 in. It settles to about 9 in, enough for play sets up to 5 ft high.
- Price
- About $82 a cubic yard, from 12 sellers. Bags ran $4.59–$7.79 at the only 2 stores we found.
How to work it out
- Measure the path, bed or play area in feet. Its square feet = length × width.
- Times the depth in inches, divided by 324, gives cubic yards.
- For bags, find cubic feet: square feet × depth in inches ÷ 12. Divide by 0.5 and round up.
- Tons are cubic yards × 1.35.
10 × 4 × 4 ÷ 324 = 0.49 cubic yards
10 × 4 × 4 ÷ 12 = 13.3 cubic feet
13.3 ÷ 0.5 = 26.7, so 27 bags
0.49 × 1.35 = 0.67 tons, before extra
The calculator adds 10% to start, so it shows a little more.
Pea gravel for 100 sq ft
Pick the row for your depth. For 200 sq ft, double the yards and tons.
| Depth | Cubic yards | Tons | Bags |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 in · display area | 0.62 | 0.83 | 34 |
| 3 in · display area | 0.93 | 1.25 | 50 |
| 4 in · path | 1.23 | 1.67 | 67 |
| 6 in · path | 1.85 | 2.50 | 100 |
| 12 in · play area | 3.70 | 5.00 | 200 |
No extra added. Bags hold 0.5 cubic feet, rounded up.
Davis Concrete, a Florida supplier, gives the path and display depths. The play area depth is from CPSC.
What a yard of pea gravel weighs
US sellers name pea gravel by size, such as ¼ or ⅜ in. The national size table has no pea gravel size. Its #8 comes close: ⅜ in down to about 3/32 in.
Figures made for pea gravel come out lighter than gravel in general. Bag labels help too, since they give pounds for a set size.
| Source | Tons |
|---|---|
| Gravelshop (a supplier) | 1.21 |
| Pavestone bag, 45 lb | 1.22 |
| KolorScape bag, 50 lb | 1.35 |
| Gravel in general (our default) | 1.4 |
| Our number | 1.35 |
Bag figures: pounds in a 0.5 cubic foot bag, worked out for a full yard.
We use 1.35 tons, the top of the pea gravel figures. That keeps your tons on the safe side.
Pea gravel under a play set
CPSC, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, puts out a handbook for home playgrounds. It says to keep 9 in of pea gravel under play sets up to 5 ft high.
Loose gravel packs down with use. So CPSC says to fill 12 in, which settles to about 9 in. That is a 25% loss.
Cover the ground at least 6 ft past the play set on every side. For swings, cover 2 times the height of the swing bar, in front and behind.
Example
Say your play set is 8 × 6 ft. Add 6 ft on each side, and the area is 20 × 18 ft.
At 12 in deep, that takes 13.3 cubic yards, or about 18 tons. In bags, it would be 720 bags.
Buying pea gravel: bags or a truckload
A cubic yard takes 54 bags. At 45–50 lb each, that is 2,430–2,700 lb to lift.
We found bag prices at only 2 stores. Bzak, in Ohio, had two kinds, at $4.59 and $7.79. A Connecticut hardware store sold Pavestone's for $4.99.
At those prices, a yard of bags would cost about $248–$421.
The middle bulk price was $82 a cubic yard, across 12 sellers. The low was $58 and the high $155. Plain and fancy pea gravel are both in that mix.
Delivery is on top of that: $50–$100 for a nearby drop at the yards we checked. Expect a minimum order too, often 2–3 cubic yards.
Questions people ask
How much pea gravel do I need?
Pick a depth, then measure the area. For 100 sq ft at 4 in, plan on about 1.23 cubic yards. That is 67 bags or 1.67 tons.
How much does a yard of pea gravel weigh?
About 1.35 tons, which is 2,700 lb. Pea gravel figures we found run 1.21–1.35 tons, and we use the top one.
How much does a bag of pea gravel weigh?
The 0.5 cubic foot bags we found weigh 45–50 lb. Pavestone's weighs 45 lb, and KolorScape's about 50 lb.
How many bags of pea gravel do I need?
Work out the cubic feet, then divide by 0.5 and round up. One cubic yard fills 54 bags.
How much does a ton of pea gravel cover?
One ton spreads over about 60 sq ft at 4 in deep. Thinner, at 2 in, you get about 120 sq ft per ton.
How many yards of pea gravel are in a ton?
A ton fills about 0.74 cubic yards, or 20 cubic feet.
How thick should pea gravel be?
We found no official depth for paths. Davis Concrete, a Florida supplier, says 4–6 in, and some guides say 2–3 in. Under a home play set, CPSC says to fill 12 in.
How much is 5 tons of pea gravel?
At $65.95 a ton, 5 tons comes to about $330. That price is the middle of 5 sellers who mix plain and fancy pea gravel, so treat it as rough.
Where our numbers come from
- Pea gravel bag: KolorScape 0.5 cubic foot, about 50 lb
- Pea gravel weight: Gravelshop (1.21 tons per cubic yard)
- Pea gravel bag: Pavestone 0.5 cubic foot, 45 lb ($4.99)
- Material weights: Caterpillar earthwork tables
- Pea gravel path depth: Davis Concrete (a supplier; 4–6 in)
- Home playground depths: CPSC Outdoor Home Playground Safety Handbook
- Pea gravel price: the middle of 12 US sellers (Oct 2026)
- Pea gravel per ton: 5 US sellers (Oct 2026; plain and decorative mixed)
- Delivery fees: price lists from 7 US landscape yards (Oct 2026)
- #57 stone extra: Palmetto Sand & Gravel (add 10%)
- Thinner pea gravel paths (2–3 in): online guides, seen in search results only
- Stone sizes: AASHTO M 43 table in Ohio DOT specs (2013)
Made by BuildersCount. Last checked 3 Oct 2026.
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