Work out how many tons of gravel, crushed stone, road base or sand a driveway or path needs — with a compaction allowance built in.
Gravel Calculator
Inputs
Depth is in inches. Entering feet here is the most common ordering mistake.
Material arrives loose and compacts once rolled or driven on.
Results
Delivered weight
4.15 tons
V = L × W × (depth ÷ 12) ÷ 27, then × 1.4 tons/yd³
Calculated with BuildCalculators.com
Gravel is measured as an area at a depth, quoted by the cubic yard, and delivered by the ton. Three units for one order, with a material density sitting between the last two — and a compaction allowance that most calculators leave out entirely.
That omission is why people finish short. Aggregate arrives loose and ends up compacted, and the difference is 15–25% depending on the material and how hard it is rolled.
V = length(ft) × width(ft) × (depth(in) ÷ 12)yd³ = ft³ ÷ 27order = yd³ × (1 + compaction ÷ 100)tons = order yd³ × densityOn a concrete slab, waste covers spillage — a few percent. With aggregate the gap between loose delivered volume and compacted in-place volume is structural, not incidental. Order 10 yards of loose gravel for a driveway and you will finish with roughly 8 yards in place. If your depth figure is the finished compacted depth, that allowance is not optional.
Loose gravel runs about 1.4 tons per cubic yard, or 2,800 lb. Crushed stone is slightly lighter at around 1.35 because the angular pieces do not pack as tightly loose; road base is heavier at about 1.5 because it contains fines that fill the voids. Wet material can add 5–10% on top of any of these.
Some quarries sell by the ton, some by the cubic yard, some by the truckload. Those are not interchangeable without knowing the density, which is why two quotes for the same driveway can look wildly different until you convert them. This calculator gives you all three so the comparison is direct.
Every specification for a gravel layer is written in inches — a 4 inch base, a 2 inch topping. Entering 4 in a field labelled inches is correct. Converting to 0.333 first and entering that gives you a twelfth of what you need.
A small gravel pad beside a driveway, 4 inches of stone.
Order about 4.2 tons
Without the compaction allowance you would order 3.46 tons and finish roughly three quarters of an inch shallow across the whole pad.
A full residential driveway base, 6 inches in two lifts.
22.4 tons — more than one truckload
A standard tri-axle carries around 15–20 tons. This is two deliveries, which is worth knowing before you book, because a second trip usually carries its own haul charge.
Decorative stone over landscape fabric, 2 inches deep.
About 1 ton
Set compaction to zero for decorative stone that will not be driven on. Right at a supplier minimum, so compare bulk against bagged here.
Loose, dry. Wet material can add 5–10%.
| Material | Tons per yd³ | Pounds per yd³ |
|---|---|---|
| Gravel, pea or river | 1.4 | 2,800 |
| Crushed stone | 1.35 | 2,700 |
| Road base / crusher run | 1.5 | 3,000 |
| Sand | 1.35 | 2,700 |
| Topsoil | 1.1 | 2,200 |
| Mulch | 0.4 | 800 |
| Use | Depth | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Decorative bed, path | 2–3 in | Over landscape fabric |
| Foot path | 3–4 in | Single layer is fine |
| Car driveway | 4–6 in | Two lifts perform better than one |
| Heavy vehicle driveway | 8+ in | Over a prepared subgrade |
| Paver bedding sand | 1 in | Screeded, never compacted before laying |
| Under a concrete slab | 4 in | Compacted before pouring |
| Application | Allowance |
|---|---|
| Decorative, not compacted | 0% |
| Light foot traffic | 10–15% |
| Driveway base, rolled | 20% |
| Heavy traffic, machine compacted | 25% |
Aggregate has an unusual cost profile: the material is cheap and the delivery is not. Haul distance from the quarry often matters more than the stone itself, which is why the same driveway can cost very differently ten miles apart.
Figures below are US averages for 2026 and vary sharply by region and quarry proximity.
Typically $25–$65 per ton at the quarry depending on stone type and size. Crusher run and road base sit at the lower end; washed decorative stone and pea gravel at the higher end. Coloured or specialist stone can be several times that.
Commonly $75–$200 per load, and often charged per trip rather than per ton. This is what makes small orders expensive per unit — a one-ton order can cost more in delivery than material. It is also why ordering slightly more to fill a truck is frequently cheaper per ton than two small loads.
If you are not doing it yourself, expect $40–$80 per hour for a skid steer and operator, or roughly $1–$3 per square foot for a machine-spread and rolled driveway base. A plate compactor rents for around $60–$90 a day.
Bagged stone runs $4–$8 for a 0.5 ft³ bag, which works out to well over $200 per cubic yard — several times bulk pricing. Bags win only below roughly one cubic yard, where they avoid a delivery charge entirely and can be carried through a house or gate that a truck cannot reach.
The most common aggregate error. Ten yards of loose gravel becomes about eight once rolled. If you specified 4 inches compacted and ordered 4 inches loose, you will end up around 3.2 inches — enough to rut within a season on a driveway.
They are not interchangeable and the ratio depends on the material. A supplier quoting $40 per ton and one quoting $55 per yard are roughly equal for gravel at 1.4 tons per yard — but the comparison is meaningless until you convert.
A 2 inch driveway is not a cheaper 4 inch driveway; it is a driveway that fails. Aggregate depth is what spreads vehicle load into the subgrade, and the money saved on stone is spent again inside two years on ruts and regrading.
Gravel over soft ground sinks into it. On clay or anything that holds water you need geotextile fabric under the stone, otherwise the base slowly disappears into the soil and you are paying to re-gravel the same driveway repeatedly.
Many quarries will not deliver under a certain tonnage, or charge a full load regardless. Below about a ton it is worth pricing bags before booking a truck.
Work out cubic yards — length × width × (depth in inches ÷ 12), divided by 27 — then multiply by 1.4 tons per cubic yard for loose gravel. A 20 × 10 ft area at 4 inches is 2.47 cubic yards, or about 3.5 tons before compaction.
Around 2,800 lb, or 1.4 tons, loose and dry. Crushed stone is slightly lighter at about 2,700 lb and road base heavier at about 3,000 lb. Wet material can add 5–10%.
4–6 inches of compacted material for cars, ideally in two layers. Light foot paths manage on 2–3 inches. Anything carrying heavy vehicles needs 8 inches or more over a properly prepared subgrade.
Aggregate is delivered loose and installed compacted, and the difference is 15–25%. If your depth is the finished compacted depth, ordering the loose volume leaves you short — this is the most common way gravel orders go wrong.
About 100 square feet at 2 inches deep, or 50 square feet at 4 inches. That is for gravel at 1.4 tons per cubic yard.
Bulk, once you are past roughly a cubic yard. Bagged stone can cost several times as much per unit volume, but bulk carries a delivery charge and needs somewhere to be tipped.
A standard tri-axle carries 15–20 tons. Larger orders come as multiple loads, and each trip usually carries its own haul charge — worth knowing before you book.
On soft or clay ground, yes. Without geotextile fabric the stone works down into the soil and the soil works up into the stone, so the base thins every year without anything visible happening at the surface.
Gravel Driveway Cost — A gravel driveway installs at $1–$3 per square foot — a fifth the price of asphalt. Here is the cost itemised into stone, hauling and compaction, with the tonnage arithmetic shown.
Embed the Gravel Calculator anywhere — it is free, stays in sync with this page, and sizes itself to fit. The only condition is the credit line in the snippet, which links your readers to the full version with the formulas and worked examples.
This calculator uses published constants from named industry sources, each asserted in an automated test that runs on every build. The formula is printed with the result above, and any correction we make is logged on the changelog.
It is a planning estimate. It does not replace an engineer, a site visit or a written quote — confirm quantities with your supplier before ordering.