Multiply cubic yards by 27 to get cubic feet. One cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so 3 cubic yards is 81 cubic feet.
Bulk suppliers sell by the cubic yard, but bags, truck beds, trailers and planters are usually measured in cubic feet. Converting puts both on the same scale so you can see how many trips or bags an order means.
Cubic feet = cubic yards × 27
Cubic inches = cubic feet × 1,728
The factor is 27 because a yard is 3 feet, and a cube 3 feet on each side holds 3 × 3 × 3 = 27 cubic feet. For example, 2.5 cubic yards is 2.5 × 27 = 67.5 cubic feet.
With the number of 2 and 3 cubic foot bags it takes to match each amount, rounded up to whole bags.
| Cubic yards | Cubic feet | 2 ft³ bags | 3 ft³ bags |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.25 | 6.75 ft³ | 4 | 3 |
| 0.5 | 13.5 ft³ | 7 | 5 |
| 0.75 | 20.25 ft³ | 11 | 7 |
| 1 | 27 ft³ | 14 | 9 |
| 1.5 | 40.5 ft³ | 21 | 14 |
| 2 | 54 ft³ | 27 | 18 |
| 2.5 | 67.5 ft³ | 34 | 23 |
| 3 | 81 ft³ | 41 | 27 |
| 4 | 108 ft³ | 54 | 36 |
| 5 | 135 ft³ | 68 | 45 |
| 6 | 162 ft³ | 81 | 54 |
| 8 | 216 ft³ | 108 | 72 |
| 10 | 270 ft³ | 135 | 90 |
| 12 | 324 ft³ | 162 | 108 |
| 15 | 405 ft³ | 203 | 135 |
| 20 | 540 ft³ | 270 | 180 |
Buying more than a couple of cubic yards in bags gets expensive and heavy to haul, so compare the bag count with a bulk delivery price. The bags per cubic yard guide covers other bag sizes.
Roll off dumpsters are sold by the cubic yard, the unit CY Calculator is named after. Here is what each common size holds in cubic feet, so you can compare it with the volume of what you are clearing out.
| Dumpster size | Cubic feet |
|---|---|
| 10 yard | 270 ft³ |
| 15 yard | 405 ft³ |
| 20 yard | 540 ft³ |
| 30 yard | 810 ft³ |
| 40 yard | 1,080 ft³ |
A trailer bed 6 ft long and 4 ft wide, loaded 1 ft deep, holds 24 cubic feet.
1 yd³ × 27 = 27 ft³, more than the 24 ft³ the trailer holds
Plan on two trips, or a deeper load if the trailer’s weight rating allows it.
Handy when a landscape yard sells soil by the yard but the planters are sized in cubic feet.
0.75 yd³ × 27 = 20.25 ft³
Multiply by 46,656. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet and each cubic foot holds 1,728 cubic inches, so one cubic yard is 27 × 1,728 = 46,656 cubic inches, the same as 36 × 36 × 36.
270 cubic feet. Dumpster sizes are given in cubic yards, so multiply the size by 27 to compare it with the cubic feet of a truck bed or trailer.
6.75 cubic feet, because 0.25 × 27 = 6.75. That is about four 2 cubic foot bags.
Filled 12 inches deep, a 4 × 8 foot bed holds 4 × 8 × 1 = 32 cubic feet, or 1.19 cubic yards. Filled 10 inches deep it holds 26.67 cubic feet, just under one cubic yard.
Need it the other way round? Use the cubic feet to cubic yards converter. To work out the volume of a whole bed, slab or trench first, the cubic yard calculator handles nine shapes and any mix of units.
