Key takeaways
- A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so it takes 13.5 bags of 2 cu ft mulch. Buy 14.
- In 1.5 cu ft bags it’s 18 to the yard. In 3 cu ft bags it’s 9.
- One 2 cu ft bag covers 12 sq ft at 2 inches deep, or 8 sq ft at 3 inches.
- To compare a bag price with a bulk price, multiply it by 13.5. A $3.33 bag works out to about $45 a yard; published bulk prices run $25–$100.
How many bags of mulch are in a yard?
There are 13.5 bags of 2 cu ft mulch in a cubic yard. Buy 14. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, and 27 ÷ 2 = 13.5. The other common sizes work the same way.
| Bag size | Bags per yard | Buy for one yard | One bag covers at 2 in | One bag covers at 3 in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 cu ft | 18 | 18 | 9 sq ft | 6 sq ft |
| 2 cu ft | 13.5 | 14 | 12 sq ft | 8 sq ft |
| 3 cu ft | 9 | 9 | 18 sq ft | 12 sq ft |
The 2 cu ft bag is the standard size at most garden centers. Watch for 1.5 cu ft bags on the same shelf: they look nearly identical, and you need 18 of them to make a yard instead of 14.
Bags to yards at a glance
Counting what’s in the cart, or what’s left on a pallet? Here’s what common counts of 2 cu ft bags add up to.
| 2 cu ft bags | Cubic yards | Covers at 3 in |
|---|---|---|
| 10 bags | 0.74 yd³ | 80 sq ft |
| 14 bags | 1.04 yd³ | 112 sq ft |
| 20 bags | 1.48 yd³ | 160 sq ft |
| 27 bags | 2.00 yd³ | 216 sq ft |
| 40 bags | 2.96 yd³ | 320 sq ft |
| 54 bags | 4.00 yd³ | 432 sq ft |
| 100 bags | 7.41 yd³ | 800 sq ft |
Is a bag cheaper than a bulk yard?
Multiply the bag price by 13.5 and you have the price per yard, ready to set next to a landscape yard’s quote. Here’s what the cost guides and one big-box store published this year.
| What you're buying | Published price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Shredded wood mulch, 2 cu ft bag at a big-box storeSingle retail price shown for Reston, VA store, Nov 2026 | $3.33per bag | [1] |
| Mulch, bag (1–3 cu ft)Source: "One bag usually contains 1 to 3 cubic feet" | $2–$8per bag | [2] |
| Mulch, bulk (materials only) | $25–$100per cubic yard | [2] |
| Mulch, bulk (materials only) | $30–$135per cubic yard | [3] |
| Mulch delivery feeDepends on distance and order size | $50–$150per delivery | [2] |
- [1] The Home Depot, Vigoro 2 cu. ft. Premium Brown Wood Shredded Bagged Mulch (52050196).
- [2] HomeGuide, How Much Does Mulch Cost? (2026), updated Apr 2025.
- [3] Lawn Love, How Much Does Mulch Cost in 2026?, updated Oct 2026.
Prices as published by each source, checked November 2026. They are national ranges, not quotes: your local yard can be well above or below them.
At $3.33 a bag, 13.5 bags is about $45 a yard, inside the $25–$100 range for bulk. So per yard, bags and bulk often cost about the same, and the delivery fee is what tips it. A 2-yard bed takes 27 bags, about $90. The same 2 yards in bulk is $50–$200 of mulch plus a $50–$150 delivery fee: $100–$350.
Bulk pulls ahead when you can pick it up yourself, when your local yard sits at the low end of that range, or when the job is big enough that carrying 14 bags per yard stops being fun. Four yards is 54 bags.
Buying bags at the store
Read the volume on the bag, not the weight. A wet bag weighs more but holds the same 2 cubic feet, and it’s the cubic feet that cover your bed.
Count 14 bags for every yard the mulch calculator gives you, and check each one for splits before it goes in the car. A torn bag leaks the whole way home.
The bags to yards formula
- Cubic feet = number of bags × bag size (cu ft)
- Cubic yards = cubic feet ÷ 27
- Bags from yards = yards × 27 ÷ bag size, rounded up
Coverage comes from the same numbers: one cubic foot spread an inch thick covers 12 square feet, so divide 12 by your depth in inches and multiply by the cubic feet. The methodology page explains the rest of the math. For soil the bags are smaller; the soil calculator handles 0.75, 1 and 1.5 cu ft bags, and the yards to tons converter shows what a yard of mulch weighs.