Rubber Mulch Calculator
Find how many bags or pallets of rubber mulch you need for a garden bed or a playground.
Measure your project
Your answer
That weighs about 0.65 tons.
If you buy bags
For a playground, cover at least 6 ft past the equipment on every side. Check the depth your equipment needs.
What it costs
Nuggets: $40 a 1.55 cubic foot bag ($35 plain black), from one seller (Oct 2026). Treat it as rough.
Quick answers
- Garden beds
- 1.5–2 in deep, says GroundSmart.
- Home playground
- 9 in for equipment up to 8 ft high, says CPSC. Cover 6 ft past it on every side.
- One 0.8 cubic foot bag
- Covers 4.8 sq ft at 2 in deep. It weighs 22.5 lb as nuggets.
- One pallet of nuggets
- 77 cubic feet and 2,000 lb. It covers 462 sq ft at 2 in deep.
- Weight of a cubic yard
- About 700 lb for nuggets and 480 lb for shredded.
How to work it out
- Measure the area in feet. For a playground, add 6 ft on every side of the equipment.
- Find the square feet: length × width.
- Multiply by the depth in inches, and divide the result by 12 for cubic feet.
- Cubic yards are the cubic feet ÷ 27. Or divide by the bag size for bags, and round up.
20 × 15 = 300 sq ft
300 × 9 ÷ 12 = 225 cubic feet
225 ÷ 27 = 8.33 cubic yards
225 ÷ 1.55 = 145.2, so 146 bags
How deep for beds and playgrounds
In garden beds, GroundSmart says to spread rubber mulch 1.5–2 in deep. The calculator starts at 2 in, the top of that range, so you don't run short.
Under play equipment
Playground surfacing is a safety item. It is there to soften falls.
CPSC, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, gives two depths for rubber mulch. They don't agree.
- The home playground handbook says 9 in for equipment up to 8 ft high.
- The public playground handbook says 6 in protects falls up to 10 ft.
The home handbook also has a general rule for any surfacing. Use at least 6 in under equipment less than 4 ft high.
For a backyard set, pick 9 in in step 1, the deeper of the two rubber depths. Ask your playset's maker for its fall height. Then read both CPSC handbooks before you buy.
It does not pack down like wood
Wood mulch packs down over time. CPSC's home handbook says to put down 12 in of it to keep about 9 in. CPSC says rubber mulch does not pack down the same way. So we add no extra for packing.
What CPSC does not cover
CPSC lists rubber mulch only for how well it softens a fall. Its listing does not look at chemicals in the rubber. It also does not look at children swallowing pieces.
How much ground to cover
Cover more than the ground under the playset. CPSC says to spread surfacing at least 6 ft past the equipment on every side.
Swings need more room. In front and behind, cover 2 times the height of the top bar.
| Playset | Area to cover | Cubic yards | 1.55 cu ft bags | 77 cu ft pallets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 × 6 ft | 18 × 18 ft | 9 | 157 | 4 |
| 8 × 8 ft | 20 × 20 ft | 11.1 | 194 | 4 |
| 10 × 8 ft | 22 × 20 ft | 12.2 | 213 | 5 |
| 12 × 10 ft | 24 × 22 ft | 14.7 | 256 | 6 |
We added 6 ft on every side and no extra. Swings need more room than this.
Bag sizes, weight and coverage
We found no official weight for rubber mulch. So we worked it out from bag labels. Nuggets come to about 0.35 tons (700 lb) a cubic yard. Shredded rubber is lighter, at about 0.24 tons (480 lb).
- 0.8 cubic foot bag: 22.5 lb of nuggets, or 15 lb shredded (Vigoro).
- 1.5 cubic foot bag of shredded: 27 lb.
- 1.55 cubic foot bag of nuggets: 40 lb.
- Pallet of nuggets: 77 cubic feet, 2,000 lb.
| Depth | 0.8 cu ft bag | 1.55 cu ft bag | 77 cu ft pallet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 in | 6.4 sq ft | 12.4 sq ft | 616 sq ft |
| 2 in | 4.8 sq ft | 9.3 sq ft | 462 sq ft |
| 6 in | 1.6 sq ft | 3.1 sq ft | 154 sq ft |
| 9 in | 1.1 sq ft | 2.1 sq ft | 103 sq ft |
Bag labels agree. Vigoro's 0.8 cu ft bag says 6.4 sq ft at 1.5 in. Rubberific's says 9.6 sq ft at 1 in.
Bags or pallets?
We found prices from only one seller family, so treat them as rough.
- Nuggets, 1.55 cubic foot bag: $40 painted, or $35 plain black.
- Nuggets, 77 cubic foot pallet: $779 painted, or $649 plain black.
- Shredded, 0.8 cubic foot bag: $30.
Per cubic foot, painted nuggets cost about $25.81 in bags and $10.12 by the pallet.
Take the 8 × 8 ft playset above. It needs 4 pallets, about $3,116. In 1.55 cubic foot bags, it needs 194 bags, about $7,760.
Questions people ask
How much rubber mulch do I need?
For beds, enough for 1.5–2 in deep. For a home playground, CPSC says 9 in for equipment up to 8 ft. Type your area above for bags and pallets.
How many bags of rubber mulch do I need?
For bags, see how many times the bag size fits into your cubic feet. Round up. At 2 in deep, a 0.8 cubic foot bag spreads over 4.8 sq ft.
How much does a bag of rubber mulch weigh?
A 0.8 cubic foot Vigoro bag weighs 22.5 lb as nuggets, or 15 lb shredded. A 1.55 cubic foot bag of nuggets weighs 40 lb.
How much rubber mulch do I need for a playground?
CPSC's home handbook says 9 in for equipment up to 8 ft. Its public handbook says 6 in protects falls up to 10 ft. Cover 6 ft past the equipment on every side.
How much does a yard of rubber mulch weigh?
About 700 lb for nuggets and 480 lb for shredded. We worked both out from bag labels, as no official table exists.
How much does 2,000 lb of rubber mulch cover?
A 2,000 lb pallet of nuggets holds 77 cubic feet. That is enough for 462 sq ft at 2 in deep, or 103 sq ft at 9 in.
How much rubber mulch per square foot?
Each sq ft needs 0.17 cubic feet at 2 in deep, and 0.75 cubic feet at 9 in.
Does rubber mulch pack down?
Not the way wood mulch does, says CPSC. So the calculator adds no extra for packing down.
Where our numbers come from
- Rubber mulch depth in beds: GroundSmart (1.5–2 in)
- Home playground depths: CPSC Outdoor Home Playground Safety Handbook
- Playground depths: CPSC Public Playground Safety Handbook
- Rubber mulch nugget bags: rubbermulch.com (40 lb per 1.55 cubic feet)
- Shredded rubber mulch bags: rubbermulch.com (27 lb per 1.5 cubic feet)
- Rubber nugget bag: Vigoro 0.8 cubic foot (22.5 lb; archived page)
- Shredded rubber bag: Vigoro 0.8 cubic foot (15 lb; archived page)
- Rubber mulch coverage: Rubberific 0.8 cubic foot bag (archived page)
- Rubber mulch prices: one US seller family (Oct 2026; few prices)
Made by BuildersCount. Last checked 3 Oct 2026.
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