Tons, cubic yards and bags of pea gravel for patios, walkways, playgrounds and drainage.
Pea Gravel Calculator
Inputs
Depth is in inches. Entering feet here is the most common ordering mistake.
Results
Pea gravel needed
1.04 tons
V = L × W × (depth ÷ 12) ÷ 27, then × 1.4 tons/yd³
Calculated with BuildCalculators.com
Calculated with BuildCalculators.com · buildcalculators.com/pea-gravel-calculator
Estimates are for planning only — confirm quantities with your supplier or contractor before ordering.
Pea gravel is rounded stone about the size of a pea — ⅜ inch, river-smoothed, no fines — and the estimate is the simplest in the aggregate family: area × depth at 2,800 lb per cubic yard, no compaction allowance, because rounded stones do not compact. They roll. That one physical fact drives everything about using the material: it needs edging on every side, it wants a firm base underneath, and it stays put only where it is contained.
V = L × W × (depth ÷ 12) ÷ 27tons = yd³ × 1.4 tons/yd³bags = ft³ ÷ 0.5 ft³ per bag1 ton ≈ 116 ft² at 2 inAngular aggregates lock and settle 10–20%; rounded pea gravel just rearranges. What you pour is what you get, which makes the estimate exact but the surface mobile — chairs sink slightly, bikes carve ruts, and the stone migrates off any unedged boundary. The calculators for crusher run and DG carry compaction; this one honestly does not need it.
A 0.5 ft³ bag runs $4–$8; there are 54 to the cubic yard, so bagged pea gravel costs $215–$430 a yard against $45–$90 bulk. Bags win below about a yard — no delivery fee, carried through any gate — and lose hard above it. The bag line in the results makes the comparison direct.
On soil, pea gravel slowly buries itself — stones press in, mud presses up. Anything walked on wants 2–3 inches of compacted crusher run or stone dust underneath with landscape fabric between the layers. Decorative beds skip the base but keep the fabric, or the weeds arrive through the gaps.
As impact-absorbing fall surfacing, loose fill works by depth: the CPSC guideline is 9 inches of loose gravel for equipment up to certain fall heights. That is not a decorative 2 inch scatter — a 20 × 20 play area at 9 inches is over 15 tons. Under-filling a play surface defeats the entire purpose of the material.
A seating area over a compacted base.
About 1 ton — or 40 bags
Right on the bags-versus-bulk line. Forty bags is $160–$320 at retail; a ton delivered is $57 plus the delivery fee. If a truck can reach you, bulk wins even here.
A garden path, edged both sides.
About 1.2 tons
Paths get 3 inches rather than 2 because feet displace rounded stone — the extra inch is what keeps the fabric from showing through by midsummer.
Loose-fill fall surfacing to the CPSC depth guideline.
About 15.6 tons — a full truckload
Surfacing depth is a safety spec, not a preference. Contain it with 12 inch timbers, top up annually, and rake it level under swings where feet dig hollows.
At 2,800 lb per cubic yard, uncompacted.
| Depth | Coverage per ton |
|---|---|
| 2 in | ≈ 116 ft² |
| 3 in | ≈ 77 ft² |
| 4 in | ≈ 58 ft² |
| 9 in (play surfacing) | ≈ 26 ft² |
| Use | Depth | Base underneath |
|---|---|---|
| Decorative bed | 2–3 in | Fabric only |
| Patio, seating | 2 in | 2–3 in compacted base |
| Path | 3 in | 2–3 in compacted base |
| Ground cover on soil | 4 in | Fabric only |
| Playground fall surface | 9 in | Per CPSC loose-fill guidance |
Bulk pea gravel runs $45–$90 a ton delivered in 2026 — pricier than crusher run because it is washed, screened and often hauled from river deposits. Colour blends (buff, rainbow, black) push toward and past the top of the range.
Below about a cubic yard, or anywhere a delivery truck cannot reach — courtyard gardens, rooftop planters, a fire-pit ring through the house. At $4–$8 per 0.5 ft³ bag the per-yard cost is punishing, but zero delivery fee and carry-through-the-kitchen logistics beat a $100 haul charge on a half-yard order.
The crusher run or stone dust underneath costs less per ton than the pea gravel above it. Price both layers: a 12 × 10 patio is about a ton of pea gravel on top of roughly a ton of base — two lines, still under $150 in material in most markets.
Steel edging at $2–$5 a linear foot, or timber, brick or concrete kerb — something on every open side. Budget it with the stone, because pea gravel without containment is a recurring purchase, not a one-time one.
The signature pea gravel failure. The stones roll off every unconfined boundary into the lawn, where they meet the mower. Edge first, fill second.
Without a compacted base, stones press into the ground and mud works up through them — the path eats itself in a season or two. Fabric plus 2–3 inches of base under anything with foot traffic.
Habits from angular stone die hard. Pea gravel does not compact — order the calculated volume, not 15% more, or the extra ends up as a pile behind the shed.
Two decorative inches under a climbing frame is landscaping, not fall protection. The 9 inch loose-fill guideline exists because impact attenuation comes from depth. Measure it, and top it up when it thins.
About 2,800 lb — 1.4 US tons — the same as other clean gravel. A standard 0.5 ft³ bag weighs roughly 50 lb, and there are 54 bags to the cubic yard.
At 2 inches deep: 120 ft² × 0.167 = 20 ft³, which is 0.74 cubic yards, about 1 ton, or 40 bags. The calculator shows all three so you can price bulk against bagged directly.
2 inches over a compacted base for patios and seating areas, 3 inches for paths, 4 inches minimum for pure ground cover on soil. Playground fall surfacing is its own case: 9 inches of loose fill is the CPSC guideline.
For anything walked on, yes — 2–3 inches of compacted crusher run or stone dust under the pea gravel stops it burying itself in the soil. Landscape fabric between the layers keeps soil and stone separated. Straight onto dirt works only for decorative beds.
Tons and cubic yards for gravel, stone, base and sand
DG tonnage for paths, patios and xeriscape
Cubic yards and bag counts for any bed
Cubic yards, tons and bags for lawns and beds
Base course tons for driveways, patios and slabs
Tons for driveways, pads and base layers
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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.