How many bags of mulch are in a yard?
One cubic yard of mulch fills 18 bags of 1.5 cubic feet, 13.5 bags of 2 cubic feet (14 whole bags) or 9 bags of 3 cubic feet. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so the count is 27 divided by the bag size printed on the label.
Bags of mulch in a cubic yard by bag size
| Bag size, cu ft | Bags per cubic yard | Bags for 100 sq ft at 2 in | Bags for 100 sq ft at 3 in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 | 18 | 12 | 17 |
| 2 | 13.5 | 9 | 13 |
| 3 | 9 | 6 | 9 |
Published mulch depths and the area a cubic yard covers
| Use | Depth, in | One cubic yard covers, sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| Pine or hardwood bark | 2–3 | 108–162 |
| Wood chips or shredded wood | 2–4 | 81–162 |
| Coarse mulch, larger particles | 2–4 | 81–162 |
| Fine or double-shredded mulch | 1–2 | 162–324 |
| Trees and shrubs | 2–3 | 108–162 |
| Playground loose-fill (wood mulch or wood chips), minimum compressed depth | 9 | 36 |
| Playground, initial fill to keep 9 inches of wood chips after compression | 12 | 27 |
| Heavy use area, bark mulch or tanbark, minimum layer | 6 | 54 |
How bags of mulch per cubic yard are calculated
Bags per cubic yard = 27 cu ft ÷ bag size: 27 ÷ 1.5 = 18. For an area, cubic feet = sq ft × depth in inches ÷ 12: 100 sq ft × 2 in ÷ 12 = 16.67 cu ft, and 16.67 ÷ 1.5 = 11.11, rounded up to 12 bags.
Bagged or bulk mulch
Bagged mulch is sold by volume, and the size in cubic feet is printed on the bag. Bulk mulch from a landscape supplier is sold by the cubic yard. To compare the two, multiply the price of one bag by the number of bags in a cubic yard for that bag size.
The bag counts for an area are whole bags, rounded up, for an even layer over flat ground. Beds with uneven ground or curved edges take a little more.