How much does mulch installation cost in Middle Tennessee?
HomeGuide’s 2026 guide puts mulch at $50 to $150 per cubic yard, delivered and installed. The mulch alone runs $25 to $100 per cubic yard in the same guide. LawnStarter lists $77 to $94 per cubic yard professionally installed. Angi’s 2026 guide says most homeowners spend $75 to $325 on delivery and installation for a standard home yard.
What does mulch cost per cubic yard in Middle Tennessee?
Bulk mulch runs $25 to $100 per cubic yard for the material alone in HomeGuide’s 2026 guide. LawnStarter puts bulk mulch at $30 to $135 per cubic yard. HomeGuide adds that suppliers sometimes give better rates on larger orders.
Close to home, one Franklin supply yard posts brown mulch at $24.99 per cubic yard. The same yard posts black mulch at $31.99, both for the material only.
Mid South Mulch sells mulch by the load from our yard on Lewisburg Pike in Franklin. We run mulch delivery and installation with our own dump trucks and our crew.
What do delivery and spreading add to the price?
Once delivery and spreading are in, HomeGuide’s 2026 guide puts mulch at $50 to $150 per cubic yard. When delivery is billed on its own, HomeGuide lists the fee at $50 to $150. LawnStarter’s delivery range is $70 to $140.
Angi’s 2026 guide says labor is billed by the cubic yard or by the hour. Some pros charge a flat fee instead. Angi lists $20 to $50 per cubic yard, or often $35 to $65 per hour. Its average for a delivery and installation job is $120.
| Publisher | What the price covers | Published range |
|---|---|---|
| HomeGuide 2026 | Mulch only, per cubic yard | $25 to $100 |
| LawnStarter | Bulk mulch, per cubic yard | $30 to $135 |
| HomeGuide 2026 | Delivered and installed, per cubic yard | $50 to $150 |
| LawnStarter | Professionally installed, per cubic yard | $77 to $94 |
| HomeGuide 2026 | Delivery fee | $50 to $150 |
| LawnStarter | Delivery fee | $70 to $140 |
| HomeGuide 2026 | Installation labor, per cubic yard | $25 to $50 |
| Angi 2026 | Labor, per cubic yard | $20 to $50 |
| Angi 2026 | Labor, per hour | $35 to $65 |
How many cubic yards of mulch does a bed need?
Multiply the bed’s square feet by the depth in inches, then divide by 324 to get cubic yards. The 324 is 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard, times 12 inches in a foot.
LawnStarter’s coverage table puts one cubic yard at 162 square feet, 2 inches deep. HomeGuide’s table puts one cubic yard at 108 square feet, 3 inches deep.
| Bed size | Cubic yards at 2 inches | Cubic yards at 3 inches | Angi 2026, delivered and installed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 square feet | 0.6 | 0.9 | $90 to $200 |
| 500 square feet | 3.1 | 4.6 | $350 to $700 |
| 1,000 square feet | 6.2 | 9.3 | $700 to $1,200 |
| 2,000 square feet | 12.3 | 18.5 | $1,200 to $2,200 |
Angi’s totals assume about 1 cubic yard per 100 square feet, a little over 3 inches deep. HomeGuide’s 2026 table prices 5 cubic yards, about 540 square feet at 3 inches, at $250 to $750 installed. The same math sizes a soil order, as our guide on how much topsoil you need shows.
Is bagged mulch cheaper than bulk mulch?
Bulk mulch is usually cheaper per cubic yard, and bags suit small jobs. Angi’s 2026 guide calls bags convenient but more expensive per yard. Bags can be picked up, which often saves on delivery, Angi adds.
LawnStarter prices a bag at $3.25 to $6.50 and says 13.5 bags make a cubic yard. That works out to about $44 to $88 per cubic yard in 2 cubic foot bags.
One Franklin supply yard posts pine bark mulch at $4.99 per 3 cubic foot bag. Nine of those bags fill a cubic yard, about $45 in all. The same yard posts bulk brown mulch at $24.99 per cubic yard. They are different mulches, so read the gap as a rough guide.
HomeGuide suggests bags when a job needs less than one cubic yard. It says each bag weighs 30 to 50 pounds, so a yard of bags is a lot of lifting.
What does a mulch refresh cost compared with a full replacement?
A refresh, or top-off, costs less per cubic yard and uses less mulch than a full replacement. Angi’s 2026 guide puts a top-off at $30 to $60 per cubic yard. Full replacement with old mulch removal runs $50 to $110 per cubic yard, due to the added labor.
Angi says a top-off is often one to two inches each season. On a 500 square foot bed, 1 inch takes about 1.5 cubic yards. A new 3 inch layer on the same bed takes about 4.6 cubic yards.
Angi says full replacement is best when mulch is heavily decomposed, moldy or full of pests. Its rule of thumb: if a top-off costs close to half the price of replacement, replace it.
Angi puts professional upkeep of mulch beds at $100 to $300 a year. Mid South Mulch also offers landscape maintenance around Franklin.
What pushes a mulch installation quote up?
Work beyond spreading raises the price. The guides price each piece as its own line item:
- Old mulch removal. Angi lists $20 to $50 per cubic yard.
- Edging. Angi lists $1 to $5 per linear foot.
- Weed barrier fabric. Angi lists $0.40 to $0.80 per square foot. HomeGuide lists $0.05 to $0.25 per square foot for the fabric alone, before labor.
- Leveling or regrading. HomeGuide lists $0.40 to $2.00 per square foot.
- Specialty mulch. Angi adds $10 to $30 per cubic yard for dyed, rubber or organic blends.
- Access and slope. HomeGuide says limited yard access or a sloped yard can raise labor costs. Angi adds that beds far from the street may need extra equipment or labor.
Angi says add-ons such as edging and old mulch removal can add $150 to $300 to a project total. Some beds need soil before any mulch goes down, and our trucks handle topsoil delivery too. A bed that does not exist yet is a landscaping project before it is a mulch job.
Why not order extra mulch and pile it deeper?
Mulch piled past 4 inches costs more and can harm the plants underneath. UT Extension says mulch should be no more than 2 to 4 inches deep. More than 4 inches restricts soil oxygen exchange with the roots.
Keep mulch off tree trunks. UT Extension says to pull it several inches away so the base of the trunk is exposed. It warns against volcano mulching, a cone of mulch 8 to 12 inches high around the trunk. UT says the moist cone promotes cracking of the bark, an entry point for insects and fungus.
Measure what is left in the bed before you order a top-off. Two inches of old mulch plus 3 new inches puts the total at 5, past UT’s limit.
Is it cheaper to spread mulch yourself?
Spreading it yourself saves the labor, which Angi’s 2026 guide puts at $20 to $50 per cubic yard. Angi says to plan about one hour per cubic yard for spreading and cleanup. At that pace, a 10 cubic yard job is about 10 hours with a wheelbarrow and rake.
Angi warns that a poor install can leave uneven coverage or mulch that washes away in rain. It points larger or more complex beds toward a pro.
Mid South Mulch has been in business since 1996, working from our yard at 430 Lewisburg Pike in Franklin. Our dump trucks deliver across Franklin and nearby towns in Williamson and Rutherford counties. Call (615) 599-7550 for a free on-site quote on mulch installation.