Play Sand Calculator: Bags or 1 Tonne
Find how much play sand you need to fill a sandpit or sandbox, in kg, small bags and bulk bags.
Measure your project
Your answer
That is 0.34 m³.
If you buy bags
If you buy bulk bags
Under swings or a slide, a play-area firm gives 300 mm of sand for falls of up to 3 m.
Which costs less?
This price includes delivery.
A 15 kg bag is £8.39 with VAT, from only one seller. One other seller prices bulk bags with VAT and delivery: £89 (500 kg), £109 (850 kg), £113 (1,000 kg). We use £113 for 1,000 kg. The 850 kg bag, at £109, may do for a small pit. Treat both as rough guides (Oct 2026).
Quick answers
- A 1.5 × 1.5 m sandpit, 150 mm deep
- About 523 kg of play sand. That is 35 bags of 15 kg, or 1 bulk bag of 850 kg.
- Weight of 1 m³
- About 1.55 tonnes. Two UK suppliers give 1.53 and 1.6 tonnes, so we use a figure between the two.
- 1 tonne of play sand
- About 0.65 m³, or 645 litres. It takes 67 bags of 15 kg to make a tonne.
- How deep
- 100–150 mm in a sandpit, says one supplier. Under swings or a slide, use 300 mm.
- Turtle sandbox
- It holds over 45 kg of play sand, says its maker. That is just over 3 bags of 15 kg, so buy 4.
How to work it out
- Measure the inside of the sandpit: length and width, in metres. For a round pit, measure across the middle.
- Choose the depth of sand in mm, then divide by 1,000 to get metres.
- Length × width × depth = cubic metres (m³) of sand. For a round pit, use half the width × half the width × 3.14 × depth.
- Play sand weighs about 1.55 tonnes per m³. So m³ × 1.55 = tonnes, and tonnes × 1,000 = kg.
- Divide the kg by 15 to get bags of 15 kg. Round up to a whole bag.
1.5 × 1.5 × 0.15 = 0.337 m³
0.337 × 1.55 = 0.52 tonnes (523 kg)
523 ÷ 15 = 34.9 → 35 bags
Play sand for common sandpit sizes
Find the row nearest your sandpit (or sand pit). Each cell shows the kg of sand and the number of 15 kg bags.
| Sandpit | 100 mm deep | 150 mm deep |
|---|---|---|
| 1 × 1 m | 155 kg · 11 bags | 232 kg · 16 bags |
| 1.2 × 1.2 m | 223 kg · 15 bags | 335 kg · 23 bags |
| 1.5 × 1.5 m | 349 kg · 24 bags | 523 kg · 35 bags |
| 2 × 1.5 m | 465 kg · 31 bags | 697 kg · 47 bags |
| 2 × 2 m | 620 kg · 42 bags | 930 kg · 62 bags |
| Round, 1.5 m across | 274 kg · 19 bags | 411 kg · 28 bags |
Flat base, nothing extra. Bags are rounded up.
A shell sandpit or a round pit works the same way. In the calculator, tap "Round" and type the width across the middle.
1 tonne of play sand: how far it goes
One tonne is 1,000 kg. Play sand that heavy fills about 0.65 m³. That is about 645 litres.
| Depth | 1 tonne fills | 850 kg bag fills | 15 kg bags per m² |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 mm | 6.5 m² | 5.5 m² | 11 |
| 150 mm | 4.3 m² | 3.7 m² | 16 |
| 300 mm | 2.2 m² | 1.8 m² | 31 |
Mainland Aggregates says its 850 kg bag covers about 5 m² at 100 mm and 4 m² at 150 mm. Our sums give 5.5 and 3.7 m². Treat both as rough.
Bags or a bulk bag?
Bag sizes
KCS, a schools supplier, sells play sand in 15 kg bags. Gravelmaster sells packs of 49 bags of 20 kg.
Gravelmaster's bulk bags hold 500 kg, 850 kg or 1,000 kg. So the biggest one is a full tonne.
What it costs
Our 15 kg bag price is £8.39 with VAT, from one schools supplier. Gravelmaster's bulk bags cost £89 (500 kg), £109 (850 kg), £113 (1,000 kg), with VAT and delivery. With one seller each, treat these as rough guides.
| Sandpit | 15 kg bags | Cost | Bulk bags | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2 × 1.2 m | 23 bags | £193 | 1 × 1,000 kg | £113 |
| 1.5 × 1.5 m | 35 bags | £294 | 1 × 1,000 kg | £113 |
| 2 × 2 m | 62 bags | £520 | 1 × 1,000 kg | £113 |
| 3 × 2 m | 93 bags | £780 | 2 × 1,000 kg | £226 |
Prices with VAT. Bulk bags at £113 each, delivery included. Delivery for small bags not added.
For a small pit, bags are easy to carry. For a big pit, one bulk bag costs much less than a pile of small bags. Ask the seller about delivery.
What makes it play sand?
- Washed and dried: KCS says its play sand is washed, treated and kiln-dried.
- Won't stain: Day Aggregates calls its play sand non-staining.
- Toy safety tests: sellers say their sand meets BS EN 71, the toy safety standard. KCS also tests for asbestos.
- Soft landing: sellers also test to BS EN 1177, the standard for surfaces under play equipment.
Check the bag or the seller's page for these tests. For mortar, concrete or paving jobs, use our sand calculator.
How deep should a sandpit be?
- Garden sandpit: 100–150 mm of sand, says Mainland Aggregates. The calculator starts at 150 mm.
- Under swings or a slide: 300 mm, says Playsafe Playgrounds, a UK play-area firm. That depth is for falls of up to 3 m.
We found these from one supplier and one play-area firm. We found no UK sandpit maker's own figure.
The same firm gives 300 mm of bark under play equipment too. Our play bark calculator works that out.
Questions people ask
How much play sand do I need to fill a sandpit or sandbox?
Multiply the length, width and depth in metres, then multiply by 1.55 for tonnes. A 1.5 × 1.5 m sandpit, 150 mm deep, needs about 523 kg of play sand.
How much sand does a Little Tikes turtle sandbox hold?
Its manual says it holds over 100 lb (45 kg) of play sand. 3 bags of 15 kg come just short, so buy 4.
How many bags of play sand do I need for a sandpit or sandbox?
Work out the kg, then divide by the bag size. At 150 mm deep, each m² takes 16 bags of 15 kg. A 1.5 × 1.5 m pit takes 35.
How much does play sand weigh?
About 1.53–1.6 tonnes per m³, say two UK suppliers. So a 15 kg bag holds about 10 litres of sand.
How much play sand is 1 tonne?
About 0.65 m³. Spread 150 mm deep, it fills a sandpit of about 4.3 m². In 15 kg bags, a tonne is 67 bags.
How much does 1 tonne of play sand cost?
In 15 kg bags, about £562 with VAT. One supplier sells a 1,000 kg bulk bag for £113, with VAT and delivery. Both prices come from just one seller each.
How deep should play sand be?
Mainland Aggregates says to lay it 100–150 mm deep. Under play equipment, Playsafe Playgrounds uses 300 mm for falls of up to 3 m.
What is the difference between play sand and building sand?
Play sand is washed and dried for children to play in. UK sellers say theirs is tested to the toy safety standard BS EN 71. Building sand is for mortar: Heidelberg says a bulk bag lays about 900 bricks.
Where our numbers come from
- Day Aggregates play sand: 1.53 t per m³
- Mainland Aggregates play sand: weight and coverage
- KCS Playpit Sand 15 kg bag
- Gravelmaster play sand: bulk bags and 20 kg bags
- Playsafe Playgrounds: loose-fill play surfacing depths
- Little Tikes Turtle Sandbox manual: holds over 100 lb (45 kg) of play sand
- Bricks per bulk bag: Heidelberg building sand data sheet (about 900)
Made by BuildersCount. Last checked 4 Oct 2026.
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