Cubic Feet Calculator
Convert any length × width × height into cubic feet, cubic yards and cubic meters side by side — the volume units materials and freight are sold in.
Volume, in the three units it is sold in
Cubic feet are the native unit of North American small volume — bags of mix, mulch and soil are labeled in them — but bulk yards sell cubic yards, and metric suppliers sell cubic meters. This converter takes one set of dimensions and states the volume in all three at once, so the number you measured is the number you can order in.
Volume = length × width × height · 1 cu yd = 27 cu ft · 1 cu meter = 35.31 cu ft
Example: a 10 × 10 ft pad dug 1 ft deep is 100 cu ft — 3.7 cu yd to the gravel yard, 2.83 cu meters to a metric supplier. Same hole, three counters it can be bought across.
Why 27 matters
The single most common volume error in DIY is dividing cubic feet by 3 to get cubic yards — confusing the linear yard with the cubic one. A cubic yard is a yard in each of three dimensions: 3 × 3 × 3 = 27. An order placed on the divide-by-3 error is nine times too big, and gravel yards have heard it before. The companion cubic yard calculator approaches from the bulk-material side; this one exists for the boxes, tanks, footings and excavations that are naturally measured in feet first.
For irregular volumes — a tapered trench, a sloped excavation — split the shape into boxes, convert each, and add. Volume is additive in a way area estimates often are not, and three honest boxes beat one creative guess.
Frequently asked questions
Why is there no waste allowance on this converter?
Because a conversion should be exact. Waste belongs to the material calculators — concrete, gravel, mulch — where it is shown openly on the result. Converting 100 cu ft with 10% added here would corrupt every number downstream of it.
How do I measure a cylinder, like a post hole or a tank?
Volume = π × radius² × height. The post hole calculator does that shape for you, including taking the post's own volume out of the fill.
How many bags of concrete are in a cubic foot count?
Divide by the bag yield: an 80-lb bag of concrete mix makes 0.60 cu ft, a 60-lb bag 0.45. The material calculators on this site do that division for their own shapes — use them rather than converting by hand where one exists.
Is a cubic meter bigger than a cubic yard?
Yes, by about 31%: 1 cu meter = 1.31 cu yd. It is the quiet trap in metric bulk orders — a '3-meter' delivery is nearly 4 yards of material.
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