This sand calculator helps you figure out exactly how much sand to order for any project — whether you're filling a backyard sandbox, laying a paver base, or topping up a landscaping bed. Enter your area's width, length, and desired depth, and the calculator instantly tells you the total volume in cubic yards, the weight in tons, and your estimated cost if you know the price per ton.
Getting the quantity right before you call the supplier saves you from two frustrating situations: running short halfway through a Saturday afternoon project, or watching a $200 pile of extra sand slowly compact into your driveway. This tool takes the guesswork out of both.
What Is a Sand Calculator?
A sand calculator is a simple volume tool that converts the three dimensions of your project area — width, length, and depth — into the weight and cost of sand you'll need to fill it. It's the bridge between your tape measure and your supplier's order form.
The reason you need a calculator (rather than just eyeballing it) is that sand is sold by weight (tons) or bulk volume (cubic yards), but you naturally think in terms of area and depth. A 12×15-foot patio with a 1-inch sand base and a 10×10-foot sandbox filled to 8 inches require completely different amounts of material, even though the surface areas aren't far apart. The depth makes an enormous difference, and so does whether you're thinking in feet, inches, or centimeters.
This calculator handles all of that automatically, and supports six unit options — feet, inches, yards, meters, centimeters, and millimeters — so you can enter your measurements exactly as you took them.
How to Use This Calculator
1. Enter your width Measure the width of the area you're filling and type it in. Use the unit dropdown to select feet, inches, meters, centimeters, millimeters, or yards — whichever matches how you measured.
2. Enter your length Same process for length. Each dimension has its own unit selector, so if you measured width in feet and depth in inches, that's no problem.
3. Enter your depth or height This is how deep the sand layer will be. This single value has the biggest impact on your total, so measure carefully. For a paver base you might enter 1 inch; for a sandbox, 8–12 inches is typical.
4. Add a price per ton (optional) If you know what your local supplier charges per ton, enter it here. The calculator will display your estimated total cost. Bulk sand typically runs $25–$55 per ton depending on region and sand type, but call your supplier for an accurate quote.
5. Read your results You'll instantly see your sand volume (in cubic yards, cubic feet, and cubic meters), total weight (in tons and pounds), and estimated cost if you entered a price.
Understanding Your Results
Sand Volume The calculator displays volume in cubic yards, cubic feet, and cubic meters simultaneously. Bulk suppliers in the US typically quote prices by the ton or by the cubic yard — check with yours before ordering. Most standard pickup trucks can carry roughly 1 cubic yard (about 1.35 tons) of dry sand without exceeding their payload limit.
Sand Weight The calculator uses a standard dry sand density of 100 lb per cubic foot (approximately 1,600 kg/m³ or 2,700 lbs per cubic yard). This is the industry-standard figure for general-purpose dry sand. Wet or compacted sand weighs 10–20% more, so if you're working with damp material or filling a water feature, consider adding that buffer.
Sand Cost Cost is calculated as: weight in tons × your price per ton. If you get a quote in cubic yards instead of tons, divide the cubic yard price by 1.35 to get the equivalent per-ton figure.
The Sand Volume & Weight Formula
The math behind the calculator is straightforward once you see it:
Volume (cubic feet) = Width (ft) × Length (ft) × Depth (ft)
Volume (cubic yards) = Volume (cubic feet) ÷ 27
Weight (lbs) = Volume (cubic feet) × 100
Weight (tons) = Weight (lbs) ÷ 2,000
Cost = Weight (tons) × Price per ton
For example, a rectangular area 10 feet wide, 10 feet long, and 1 foot deep:
- Volume = 10 × 10 × 1 = 100 cubic feet = 3.70 cubic yards
- Weight = 100 × 100 = 10,000 lbs = 5 tons
- At $20/ton: Cost = 5 × $20 = $100
If you're working in other units, the calculator converts everything first before applying the formula — so entering 120 cm wide, 3 m long, and 25 mm deep works just as well.
How Much Sand Do Common Projects Need?
Here's a quick reference for standard sand depths used in typical projects. These are general guidelines — your specific situation may call for more or less.
Project | Recommended Depth | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Paver base (patio, walkway) | 1 inch | Laid over a compacted gravel sub-base |
Sandbox (toddlers) | 6 inches | Minimum safe depth for play |
Sandbox (school-age kids) | 8–12 inches | Deeper for active play |
Pool base (above-ground) | 2–3 inches | Smooth, compacted layer under liner |
Volleyball court | 12–18 inches | Competitive courts typically 12 in |
Landscaping bed leveling | 1–2 inches | To correct grade before laying sod or pavers |
The depth column is where most people go wrong. A 20×20 patio with a 1-inch sand layer and a 20×20 sandbox with a 10-inch fill look the same on a diagram but require vastly different material orders — 2.5 cubic yards vs. 25 cubic yards.
Practical Examples
Example 1: Paver Patio You're installing a 12×16-foot patio with a 1-inch sand base.
- Width: 12 ft | Length: 16 ft | Depth: 1 in
- Result: ~0.59 cubic yards / 1,600 lbs / 0.80 tons
- At $40/ton: ~$32 in sand
- One bulk bag (~0.5 cu yd) from a home improvement store would cover this project.
Example 2: Backyard Sandbox Building an 8×8-foot sandbox filled to 10 inches deep.
- Width: 8 ft | Length: 8 ft | Depth: 10 in
- Result: ~1.97 cubic yards / 5,333 lbs / 2.67 tons
- At $45/ton: ~$120 in bulk sand, or about 107 bags of 50 lb play sand (~$535 at retail)
- Bulk delivery is the clear winner for a project this size.
Example 3: Above-Ground Pool Base Installing an 18×18-foot pool footprint with a 3-inch sand base.
- Width: 18 ft | Length: 18 ft | Depth: 3 in
- Result: ~3.00 cubic yards / 8,100 lbs / 4.05 tons
- At $35/ton: ~$142 in sand
Example 4: Metric Project — Garden Path A garden path 0.9 m wide, 8 m long, filled to 5 cm deep.
- Width: 0.9 m | Length: 8 m | Depth: 5 cm
- Result: ~0.047 cubic meters / 72 kg
- A single 25 kg bag of sand would cover this twice over.
Tips for Ordering Sand
Add 5–10% for waste and compaction Sand compacts slightly when loaded, unloaded, and tamped. It also has a habit of spilling. If your calculation shows you need 3.0 cubic yards, order 3.3 to be safe. Running out mid-project on a weekend is its own kind of misery.
Bulk vs. bags — know the crossover point For most people, anything over about 0.5 cubic yards (roughly 700 lbs) is more cost-effective as a bulk delivery than retail bags. At 0.5 cu yd, bulk sand runs $20–$30 while bags of the equivalent amount cost $60–$100 or more.
Check your vehicle's payload before self-hauling One cubic yard of dry sand weighs about 2,700 lbs. Most half-ton pickup trucks have a payload capacity of 1,500–2,000 lbs. Overloading your truck is a real concern — check the sticker inside your driver's door before loading up.
Confirm density with your supplier The calculator uses standard dry sand density (100 lb/ft³). Play sand, masonry sand, and construction sand have slightly different densities. Your supplier can tell you the actual weight per yard of what they're selling.
Technical Notes
The calculator uses a sand density of 100 lb/ft³ (1,600 kg/m³), representing standard dry sand. Actual density varies by sand type, grain size, and moisture content. Wet or compacted sand can weigh 10–20% more than these estimates.
Supported input units: Feet (ft), Inches (in), Yards (yd), Meters (m), Centimeters (cm), Millimeters (mm). Each dimension can use a different unit.
This calculator is intended for estimation purposes. For large construction or commercial projects, confirm quantities with a licensed contractor or your materials supplier.