Gravel Calculator — Cubic Yards & Tons

Landscape suppliers quote gravel by the cubic yard; quarries and trucking companies quote it by the ton. Converting between them requires a density figure, and density changes with the stone type and its moisture content. Crushed limestone and granite run about 1.35 to 1.45 tons per cubic yard, river rock is closer to 1.25, and dense graded aggregate base such as crusher run comes in around 1.5 tons per yard because the fines pack into the voids.

Order by the unit your supplier actually sells in and confirm which density they use, because the difference between 1.25 and 1.5 tons per yard is a 20% swing in your bill. If a supplier quotes a delivered price per ton and your calculation is in yards, ask them to convert it — they do it dozens of times a day and their number reflects the specific material in their yard that week.

Depth is the input that most affects your order. A garden path or a decorative bed needs 2 inches of stone. A walkway or patio base needs 4 inches of compacted aggregate. A residential driveway carrying passenger vehicles needs 4 to 6 inches of base, and 8 to 12 inches on soft, poorly drained or clay-heavy subgrade. A driveway supporting delivery trucks or an RV should be built as two lifts, each compacted separately.

Well-built gravel drives use layers rather than a single dump of one product. A base course of 2 to 3 inch clean stone provides drainage and load spread, a middle course of crusher run locks together under compaction, and a top course of 3/8 inch chip or #8 stone gives a comfortable driving and walking surface. Compaction reduces loose volume by roughly 15 to 20%, which is why ordering exactly the calculated loose volume usually leaves you slightly short.

Crushed stone averages $35 to $65 per ton at the quarry in 2026, with crusher run at the lower end and washed decorative stone at the higher end. Delivery is the swing factor: expect $80 to $150 per truckload trip within about 15 miles, with per-mile charges beyond that. A standard tandem dump truck carries 10 to 14 tons, and a tri-axle carries around 20 tons, so consolidating into fewer, fuller loads is the cheapest way to buy.

Bagged gravel from a home center costs several times more per ton than bulk, but it makes sense for jobs under about a cubic yard where a delivery fee would dominate. Also budget for geotextile fabric under any driveway base — at roughly $0.35 per square foot it prevents the stone from migrating into the subgrade and typically pays for itself within a few years of reduced regrading.