Figuring Gravel for Your Driveway: Tons, Yards, and Cost

Figuring Gravel for Your Driveway the Right Way

Most driveways, whether the final surface is asphalt, concrete, or gravel itself, start with a compacted gravel base underneath. Figuring gravel correctly before you order matters just as much as figuring asphalt does, since ordering too little means a soft, uneven base, and ordering too much means paying for material sitting unused in your yard.

The gravel calculator above uses the same core formula as our asphalt calculator, area multiplied by depth gives volume, volume multiplied by density gives weight, and weight divided by 2,000 gives tons, just with gravel specific density figures instead of asphalt ones.

Gravel Estimator Yards: How Much You Actually Need

A gravel estimator in yards is often more useful than tons when you are ordering from a landscaping supplier, since many sell gravel by the cubic yard rather than by weight. The calculator above gives you both figures at once, so you can order correctly regardless of how your supplier prices it.

As a rough guide, one cubic yard of crushed stone covers about 100 square feet at a 3 inch depth. A standard two car driveway base, roughly 800 square feet at 4 inches deep, typically needs somewhere between 13 and 16 tons depending on which gravel type you choose, lighter pea gravel toward the low end, denser crusher run toward the high end.

How to Calculate Gravel Yardage by Hand

If you want to calculate gravel yardage manually before trusting any calculator, the process comes down to the same three steps used for asphalt. First, measure your area in square feet by multiplying length by width. Second, decide your depth, most driveway bases use 4 to 6 inches of compacted gravel. Third, convert that volume to weight using a density of around 105 pounds per cubic foot for standard crushed stone, then divide by 2,000 to get tons.

Pea gravel runs lighter, around 96 pounds per cubic foot, while dense crusher run with fine particles mixed in runs heavier, closer to 121 pounds per cubic foot. That difference is exactly why the calculator above lets you pick your gravel type rather than assuming one density for everything.

Gravel Base Depth for Different Projects

• Walkways and light foot traffic: 2 to 3 inches
• Standard residential driveways: 4 to 6 inches
• Driveways with poor native soil or heavier vehicles: 6 to 8 inches
• Base layer under asphalt or concrete: 4 to 8 inches, depending on local frost depth and soil conditions

If you are planning to pave over this gravel base with asphalt, our asphalt tonnage calculator picks up exactly where this one leaves off, letting you figure the surface layer once your base is squared away.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much gravel do I need for a driveway?
Measure your driveway's length and width in feet, decide your depth, most driveways use 4 to 6 inches of gravel base, then run those numbers through the calculator above. Most residential driveways need between 5 and 15 tons depending on size.

How many tons of gravel are in a cubic yard?
One cubic yard of compacted crushed stone weighs approximately 1.4 tons, though this varies slightly by gravel type, with pea gravel running lighter and dense crusher run running heavier.

What depth of gravel should I use for a driveway base?
Most residential driveway bases use 4 to 6 inches of compacted gravel. Heavier vehicle traffic or poor native soil may call for a deeper base, sometimes 8 inches or more.