Gravel Calculator
Get cubic yards and tons for a driveway, pad, or path — with real densities for crushed stone, pea gravel, river rock, and sand — before the truck shows up.
A single-car driveway is typically 10–12 ft wide.
Split L-shaped areas into rectangles and add them up.
12″ is typical for a French drain; 6″ for a shallow channel.
The pipe displaces gravel — its volume is subtracted from the total.
Set the depth below to the gravel depth, not the dug depth.
New driveways are built in 2–3 layers — calculate each layer separately.
Dry weights — your supplier's conversion governs the final order.
You need
Enter dimensions
| Detail | Amount |
|---|---|
| Volume | — |
| Area covered | — |
| 0.5 cu ft bags | — |
Common crushed stone runs $25–$60 per ton at the yard; delivery extra.
What Will This Gravel Cost Delivered?
Tonnage is only half the answer — stone is priced by the ton, delivery is a flat charge per load, and spreading is billed separately if you're not doing it yourself. This prices the job from the tonnage calculated above.
Stone type comes from the material you picked in the calculator above. Change it there and this updates.
Estimated delivered cost
Enter dimensions above
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Stone | — |
| Delivery | — |
| Spreading & grading | — |
National ranges for planning. Quarry proximity moves stone prices more than anything else — rural pits are cheap, urban deliveries are not.
What gravel costs per ton in 2026
| Stone type | Delivered price | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Crusher run / road base | $22–40 per ton | Driveway base layer, compacts hard |
| Crushed stone & pea gravel | $30–55 per ton | Driveway top, paths, drainage |
| Sand | $25–45 per ton | Paver bedding, pipe backfill |
| River rock / decorative | $45–95 per ton | Landscape beds, dry creek beds |
Delivery adds $50–100 per load; most trucks carry 10–20 tons, so one fee usually covers a whole driveway.
What a gravel driveway costs, start to finish
A finished gravel driveway typically runs $1 to $5 per square foot when you buy the stone and spread it yourself, and $4 to $10 per square foot installed by a contractor who excavates, lays fabric, places the stone in lifts, and grades it. Most residential driveways land between $500 and $3,500 in total.
- The base layer is most of the tonnage. A proper driveway is 8–12″ of stone in two or three lifts, not a single 4″ scatter — so budget by total depth, not just the top layer.
- Decorative stone on a driveway gets expensive fast. River rock at $95 a ton across a driveway's tonnage is why most driveways are crusher run with a crushed-stone top.
- One big load beats three small ones. Delivery is charged per trip, so ordering the whole job at once usually costs less than topping up later.
- Excavation is separate. If sod or old material has to come out first, that's typically $1–3 per square foot on top, plus haul-away.
- Ask what "spread" includes. Dumping a pile and pushing it flat is not the same as grading a crown so water runs off — the crown is what keeps a driveway from potholing.
How to Calculate Gravel
Gravel is quoted two ways — by the cubic yard at the landscape yard, and by the ton at the quarry and for delivery. You need both numbers:
- Find the volume. Area in square feet × depth in feet, ÷ 27 = cubic yards.
- Convert to tons. Multiply yards by the material's density — about 1.4 tons per yard for typical crushed stone.
- Round up per layer. Driveways are built in layers of different stone sizes; run the calculation once per layer.
Gravel formulas
Volume (yd³) = length × width × depth (all in feet) ÷ 27
Weight (tons) = volume in yards × density (1.3–1.5 t/yd³)
Worked example — 40 × 10 ft driveway layer at 4″: 400 sq ft × 0.333 ft = 133 cu ft ÷ 27 = 4.9 cubic yards × 1.4 = 6.9 tons.
Gravel Coverage Per Ton
| Depth | 1 ton covers (approx.) | 1 cubic yard covers |
|---|---|---|
| 2″ | 100–110 sq ft | 162 sq ft |
| 3″ | 65–75 sq ft | 108 sq ft |
| 4″ | 50–55 sq ft | 81 sq ft |
| 6″ | 33–37 sq ft | 54 sq ft |
Building a Gravel Driveway in Layers
- Base layer: 3–4″ of large clean stone (#3, fist-sized) for drainage and load spread.
- Middle layer: 3–4″ of 2–3″ stone to lock the base.
- Surface layer: 3–4″ of ¾″ crushed stone with fines (#57 or crusher run) — the fines compact into a tight, drivable surface.
- Fabric first: woven geotextile under the base keeps stone from sinking into soil — cheap insurance over clay.
French Drains and Trenches
A drainage trench is measured like any other rectangle — length × width × depth — with one wrinkle worth getting right: the pipe displaces gravel. A 4″ perforated pipe running 50 ft removes about 4.4 cu ft of stone, and a 6″ pipe removes nearly 10. On a small job that is the difference between one delivery and two trips.
The calculator subtracts it automatically. Set the depth to the gravel depth, not how deep you dug — the fabric, pipe bedding and topsoil cap are not stone.
Use washed, angular stone — typically ¾″ clean with no fines. Rounded pea gravel packs tight and defeats the point; anything with fines silts up and the drain dies in a few seasons. Wrap the trench in filter fabric and lap it over the top before backfilling.
Tips Before You Order
- Order by the supplier's conversion. Densities vary by quarry and moisture — give them your yards and let them convert to tons.
- A full-size pickup handles about 1 ton (roughly ⅔ yard) of stone safely. More than 2–3 tons? Get it delivered.
- Crushed vs. round: angular crushed stone locks in place; round pea gravel and river rock stay loose — fine for paths and beds, poor for slopes and driveways.
- Compact in lifts. Anything deeper than 4″ should go down in layers, each compacted before the next.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many tons is a cubic yard of gravel?
About 1.4–1.5 tons for crushed stone, 1.3 for river rock, 1.35 for sand — dry. Your supplier's conversion governs.
How much gravel for a single-car driveway?
10 × 40 ft at 4″ is about 5 cubic yards (~7 tons) per layer. A full new build is 2–3 layers.
How deep should gravel be?
2–3″ decorative, 3–4″ per driveway layer, 4–6″ compacted base under sheds and pavers.
How much does a ton cover?
Roughly 100–110 sq ft at 2″ deep, half that at 4″.
Best gravel size for a driveway?
¾″ crushed stone with fines (#57/crusher run) on top; larger clean stone below. Round pea gravel rolls — use it for paths.
Do I need fabric under gravel?
Under driveways and anything on soft soil, yes — geotextile stops stone from disappearing into the ground.
How much gravel does a French drain trench need?
Trench length × width × depth ÷ 27 for cubic yards, same as any other volume — but if you're running perforated pipe through it, subtract the pipe's own volume first. A 4″ pipe displaces about 0.087 cu ft per linear foot, and skipping that subtraction means over-ordering on every trench job.
Do trenches need the same waste allowance as open areas?
Yes — 10–15% extra, same as a driveway or bed. Trenches still lose material to hand-shoveling into a narrow space and to settling around the pipe once it's backfilled.
How much does a gravel driveway cost?
$1–5 per sq ft doing it yourself, $4–10 per sq ft installed. Most residential driveways total $500–3,500.
How much does a ton of gravel cost?
Delivered: $22–40 crusher run, $30–55 crushed stone and pea gravel, $25–45 sand, $45–95 river rock. Add $50–100 per load for delivery.
Is it cheaper to spread gravel myself?
Yes — spreading and grading runs $1–2 per sq ft, so $400–800 on a 400 sq ft driveway. Worth paying for if you want a proper crown for drainage.
References
- National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association — aggregates basics: nssga.org
- US DOT Federal Highway Administration — gravel road construction & maintenance guide: fhwa.dot.gov
- Minnesota LTAP — gravel driveway and road surfacing guidance: mnltap.umn.edu
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