Cubic Feet ↔ Cubic Yards Converter
Convert between cubic feet (ft³) and cubic yards (yd³) instantly — both ways. Type in either box and the other updates live, with bonus conversions to cubic meters, liters and gallons.
Type a value in either box — the other converts automatically.
Controls how the converted values are rounded.
| Unit | Value |
|---|---|
| Convert to see all units | |
How to use the cubic feet to cubic yards converter
Type a figure into either box and the other updates as you go — cubic feet to cubic yards, or cubic yards back to cubic feet, plus cubic meters, liters, gallons, and a report you can download.
Type into either box
Enter cubic feet or cubic yards — whichever you already have. The other box converts live.
Set the rounding
Auto handles most figures. Switch to fixed decimals when you need to match a spec sheet or quote.
Check the equivalents
See the volume in refrigerators, bathtubs, and wheelbarrow loads — a fast sanity check on the number.
Read all units & save a PDF
Eight conversions, the 27-cube diagram, and a full report you can download or send on.
How the conversion is calculated
The whole thing rests on one number: 27. A yard is three feet, and volume works in three dimensions at once, so a cubic yard is 3 × 3 × 3 = 27 cubic feet. Everything else — meters, liters, gallons, coverage area — follows from there.
Worked example — a 12 × 16 ft patio, 4 in thick
Depth in feet: 4 ÷ 12 = 0.333 ft
Volume: 12 × 16 × 0.333 = 64 ft³
Cubic yards: 64 ÷ 27 = 2.37 yd³
With 10% waste: 2.37 × 1.10 = 2.61 yd³
≈ 2.37 cubic yards of concrete — order 2.75 yd³ to cover spillage and uneven subgrade.
Cubic feet and cubic yards conversion charts
The lookups that come up most on a job — the conversion both ways, what one cubic yard equals in every unit, how far a yard spreads at each depth, and the slab volumes people ask for by name.
| Cubic feet | Cubic yards | Cubic meters | US gallons |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 ft³ | 0.037 yd³ | 0.028 m³ | 7.48 gal |
| 5 ft³ | 0.185 yd³ | 0.142 m³ | 37.4 gal |
| 10 ft³ | 0.370 yd³ | 0.283 m³ | 74.8 gal |
| 27 ft³ | 1.000 yd³ | 0.765 m³ | 201.97 gal |
| 50 ft³ | 1.852 yd³ | 1.416 m³ | 374.0 gal |
| 100 ft³ | 3.704 yd³ | 2.832 m³ | 748.1 gal |
| 135 ft³ | 5.000 yd³ | 3.823 m³ | 1,009.9 gal |
| 270 ft³ | 10.000 yd³ | 7.646 m³ | 2,019.7 gal |
Divide cubic feet by 27 for cubic yards. The awkward-looking figures — 135 and 270 — are simply 5 and 10 yards, which is why they turn up so often on delivery tickets.
| Cubic yards | Cubic feet | Liters | Wheelbarrows* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.25 yd³ | 6.75 ft³ | 191 L | ≈ 2 |
| 0.5 yd³ | 13.5 ft³ | 382 L | ≈ 5 |
| 1 yd³ | 27 ft³ | 765 L | ≈ 9 |
| 2 yd³ | 54 ft³ | 1,529 L | ≈ 18 |
| 3 yd³ | 81 ft³ | 2,294 L | ≈ 27 |
| 5 yd³ | 135 ft³ | 3,823 L | ≈ 45 |
| 10 yd³ | 270 ft³ | 7,646 L | ≈ 90 |
*Based on a 3 cubic foot wheelbarrow, the size the calculator uses. A 6 cubic foot contractor barrow halves these counts; a small 2 cubic foot barrow raises them by about half.
| Unit | 1 cubic yard equals | Where you’ll see it |
|---|---|---|
| Cubic feet | 27 ft³ | Dumpsters, appliances, storage |
| Cubic inches | 46,656 in³ | Engine and small-part specs |
| Cubic meters | 0.764555 m³ | Metric plans and imported specs |
| Cubic centimeters | 764,555 cm³ | Lab and small-volume work |
| Liters | 764.555 L | Tank and container capacity |
| US gallons | 201.974 gal | Water features and fill volumes |
| Imperial gallons | 168.179 gal | UK and Commonwealth quotes |
The calculator lists all of these at once in the all-units table, so you can copy whichever basis a quote or spec is written in.
| Depth | Area covered | Roughly | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 inch | 324 sq ft | 18 × 18 ft | Topdressing a lawn |
| 2 inches | 162 sq ft | 12 × 13.5 ft | Mulch refresh |
| 3 inches | 108 sq ft | 9 × 12 ft | New mulch bed |
| 4 inches | 81 sq ft | 9 × 9 ft | Standard slab or path |
| 6 inches | 54 sq ft | 6 × 9 ft | Driveway slab, base course |
| 12 inches | 27 sq ft | 5.2 × 5.2 ft | Raised bed, deep fill |
Coverage is 27 divided by the depth in feet. Halve the depth and you double the area — which is why a one-inch difference in a slab spec changes the order more than most people expect.
| Project | Area | Depth | Cubic feet | Cubic yards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shed pad | 10 × 10 ft | 4 in | 33.3 ft³ | 1.24 yd³ |
| Small patio | 12 × 12 ft | 4 in | 48.0 ft³ | 1.78 yd³ |
| Patio | 12 × 16 ft | 4 in | 64.0 ft³ | 2.37 yd³ |
| Shed pad, heavy | 10 × 10 ft | 6 in | 50.0 ft³ | 1.85 yd³ |
| Two-car garage | 24 × 24 ft | 4 in | 192.0 ft³ | 7.11 yd³ |
| Driveway | 20 × 30 ft | 6 in | 300.0 ft³ | 11.11 yd³ |
| Mulch bed | 500 sq ft | 3 in | 125.0 ft³ | 4.63 yd³ |
| Topsoil fill | 1,000 sq ft | 2 in | 166.7 ft³ | 6.17 yd³ |
Figures are net volume with no waste allowance. Most estimators add 5 to 10 percent for concrete and closer to 10 percent for loose material that settles after delivery.
All four hold exactly 27 cubic feet. The volume never changes — only the depth you spread it at, and that decides how much ground one delivery actually covers.
- Depth drives the order, not area — the same 81 square foot patio takes 1 yard at 4 inches and 1.5 yards at 6 inches.
- Cubic yards are not square yards — a square yard is 9 square feet of surface, a cubic yard is 27 cubic feet of material. Suppliers sell the second one.
- Odd shapes split into boxes — this converter takes a single volume, so measure L-shaped or stepped areas in rectangular pieces and add the cubic feet before dividing.
Everything the converter works out
One figure in either box gives you the full picture — the conversion both ways, the same volume in every unit, a size you can actually picture, and a report you can keep.
The figures behind every cubic yard
Built for anyone ordering by the yard
Materials are sold by the cubic yard but measured in feet — which is why almost every project needs this conversion at least once.
Measured a patio, bed, or driveway in feet and inches, and now needs the figure in cubic yards because that’s the only unit the supplier quotes.
- Convert depth from inches first
- Add 5–10% for waste and settling
- Check the supplier’s minimum load
Turning slab dimensions into a ready-mix order fast, and checking a subcontractor’s quantity before signing off on the ticket.
- Break odd footprints into rectangles
- Lock decimals to match the spec
- Save the PDF to the job file
Sizing a storage unit, truck, or dumpster where capacity is quoted in cubic feet but the load is described in yards — or the other way round.
- Compare quotes on one unit
- Use the fridge and bathtub scale
- Convert to m³ for overseas freight
7 tips for getting the volume right
Small habits that keep a materials order honest — and stop you paying for a second delivery.
Cubic feet to cubic yards FAQ
The conversion, coverage, and ordering questions people ask most when they’re sizing up a load of material.
One cubic yard is exactly 27 cubic feet. A yard is 3 feet, so a cubic yard is 3 × 3 × 3 — a cube measuring three feet on every side.
To convert any volume to cubic yards, work out the cubic feet and divide by 27. To go the other way, multiply cubic yards by 27.
Divide the cubic feet by 27. A 64 cubic foot pour comes to 64 ÷ 27 = 2.37 cubic yards.
If you’re starting from a length, width, and depth, multiply those three together first — with every measurement in feet. Depths quoted in inches need dividing by 12, so 4 inches becomes 0.333 ft.
A 10 by 10 foot slab poured 4 inches deep is 33.3 cubic feet, or about 1.24 cubic yards. At 6 inches deep the same slab takes 50 cubic feet, roughly 1.85 yd³.
Most suppliers sell in quarter-yard increments and most estimators add 5 to 10 percent for spillage and uneven subgrade, so a 1.24 yard slab is usually ordered as 1.5 yards.
It depends entirely on depth. One cubic yard spread 1 inch deep covers 324 square feet, at 3 inches it covers 108 square feet, and at 4 inches it covers 81 square feet.
The formula is 27 ÷ depth in feet. Mulch is usually laid 2 to 3 inches deep, topsoil 2 to 4 inches, and a standard residential slab is poured at 4 inches.
About 9 loads for a 3 cubic foot wheelbarrow, or roughly 14 loads for a smaller 2 cubic foot barrow. Contractor barrows rated at 6 cubic feet take about 5 heaped loads.
In bagged material, a cubic yard is 13.5 of the common 2 cubic foot mulch bags, or about 40 bags of 0.67 cubic foot soil.
Because volume scales in three dimensions at once. A yard is 3 feet long, but a cubic yard is 3 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 3 feet tall — so the factor is 3 × 3 × 3, not 3.
The same trap catches square units: a square yard is 9 square feet, not 3. Doubling a linear measurement multiplies area by four and volume by eight.
One cubic meter is about 35.315 cubic feet, or 1.308 cubic yards. Going the other way, one cubic yard is roughly 0.7646 m³ and one cubic foot is 0.0283 m³.
Metric markets quote concrete and aggregate per cubic meter, which is about 31 percent larger than a cubic yard — worth checking before you compare two delivered prices side by side.
Use it to size the order, then confirm with your supplier. This converter changes the units on the volume you enter — it assumes clean dimensions and adds no waste allowance.
Real pours lose material to spillage, uneven subgrade, and over-excavation, and loose materials settle after delivery. Suppliers also have minimum loads and short-load fees. Add 5 to 10 percent, then place the order against the supplier’s own figure.
Planning Estimate Only — Not a Materials Quote: This converter changes the volume you enter between cubic feet, cubic yards, and other units using exact conversion factors. It does not add a waste allowance, account for compaction or settling, or adjust for over-excavation, uneven subgrade, spillage, or the shrink and swell of loose materials such as soil, mulch, and aggregate. Coverage figures assume a uniform depth across a clean rectangular area. Supplier minimum loads, quarter-yard increments, short-load fees, and delivery limits are set by your supplier, and material weights vary by moisture content and mix design — confirm both before scheduling a delivery. Illustrative prices are for comparison only and are not quotes. For planning purposes only.