How much topsoil do I need, and what will it cost delivered?
The math is one line: length times width in feet, times depth in inches, divided by 324 equals cubic yards. The cost is nearly as simple: bulk topsoil runs $10 to $55 per cubic yard in 2026, and a full dump truck load of 10 to 15 yards typically lands between $150 and $750 delivered. This guide runs the numbers for the common projects and flags the mistakes that waste dirt money.
If you are anywhere on our 20-mile map around Franklin, our topsoil and mulch delivery runs on our own trucks, and we will size the order honestly before anything rolls.
The formula, worked out
Cubic yards = (length ft × width ft × depth in) ÷ 324. That 324 is just the square feet one cubic yard covers at one inch deep.
| Project | Area | Depth | Yards needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patch a rough spot | 200 sq ft | 2 in | ~1.2 yd |
| Topdress a small lawn | 1,000 sq ft | 1 in | ~3 yd |
| Rebuild a builder-grade yard | 2,500 sq ft | 3 in | ~23 yd |
| New lawn from bare dirt | 5,000 sq ft | 4 in | ~62 yd |
Two practical notes on that table. Soil settles and compacts, so ordering about 10 percent over the math protects the finish. And once a project crosses roughly 15 yards, it stops being one truckload, which is where load count and scheduling start to matter more than the per-yard price.
What topsoil actually costs in 2026
Consumer pricing guides (Angi, HomeGuide) put bulk topsoil at $10 to $55 per cubic yard. The spread is quality: unscreened material sits at the bottom of the range, screened topsoil for lawns and beds runs roughly $20 to $55, and enriched garden blends price above that. Delivery fees of $50 to $150 per trip are common on smaller orders, and many suppliers carry a minimum charge, so tiny orders cost more per yard than they look on paper.
A dump truck load, 10 to 15 yards, typically totals $150 to $750 delivered. If a quote is far outside that band in either direction, ask what is on the truck.
Topsoil, fill dirt, or both
The most expensive mistake in dirt orders is buying the wrong material. Fill dirt, at $5 to $30 per yard, is structural: it raises grade, packs holes and builds up low spots. It grows nothing. Topsoil is the living layer that goes over it. A sunken side yard usually wants both: fill to bring the grade up, then a few inches of screened topsoil to carry the new grass.
Order it as one delivery plan and the trucks stage it right: fill first, spread and compacted, topsoil on top. Order it as two guesses and the pile sits on the driveway while the project figures itself out. If the project involves real grade correction, start with our grading walk-through instead of the load, because the dirt plan falls out of the grade plan, never the other way around.
Dumped or spread?
Dump-and-go is the budget option and completely fine for a weekend-sized pile. For anything bigger, machine spreading earns its cost fast: guides put it around $40 to $100 per yard, or $100 to $200 per hour for skid steer work, and the machine leaves the surface at grade and seed-ready instead of wheelbarrow-lumpy. Twenty yards of topsoil is roughly thirty wheelbarrow hours. The machine does it before lunch.
Because our delivery trucks and our machines are the same company, the spread option is one line on the same quote. Plenty of customers take the pile; the regrades and new lawns almost always take the spread.
Where the truck can and cannot go
A loaded dump truck is heavy. Keep it off septic fields, irrigation lines and soft ground, and think about gates and overhead branches before delivery day. A good driver will walk the drop with you before backing in, and a good supplier asks about access when you order, not when the truck is stuck. Tell us what the site looks like when you call and the load lands where the project needs it, the first time.
For loads, spreading, or the grade work underneath it all, our topsoil and delivery quotes are free and the trucks are already working this corner of Middle Tennessee every week.