Cut and Fill Calculator
Enter your site’s length, width, and how many inches you’ll cut and fill to find out whether you’ll have surplus soil to haul away or need to import fill.
Swell = bulking when dug (bank → loose). Shrink = reduction once compacted (loose → compacted).
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Hauling notes
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Details
For the default 100 × 50 ft site with 6 in of cut and 6 in of fill, accounting for 25% swell and 15% shrinkage leaves a small surplus of 6.81 yd³ of loose material to haul off site — just 1 truck load at 12 yd³ capacity, for an estimated $18 in haul cost.
Cut-and-fill volumes for common excavation projects
Each row assumes 25% swell (soil expansion when dug) and 15% shrink (soil compression when placed and compacted), with 12 yd³ dump trucks.
| Project | Site area | Net material (loose) | Truck loads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small driveway pad, 40 × 30 ft — 3 in cut / 3 in fill | 1,200 ft² | 22.1 ft³ surplus (0.82 yd³) | 1 load |
| House pad excavation, 60 × 40 ft — 8 in cut / 4 in fill | 2,400 ft² | 1,058.8 ft³ surplus (39.22 yd³) | 4 loads |
| Large lot regrade, 120 × 80 ft — 4 in cut / 8 in fill | 9,600 ft² | 3,529.4 ft³ import needed (130.72 yd³) | 11 loads |
| Basement/pond excavation, 30 × 20 ft — 24 in cut / 0 in fill | 600 ft² | 1,500 ft³ surplus (55.56 yd³) | 5 loads |
| Small bed regrade, 25 × 15 ft — 2 in cut / 2 in fill | 375 ft² | 4.6 ft³ surplus (0.17 yd³) | 1 load |
How to calculate cut and fill volume
- Measure your site's area and depths. Multiply length by width for the plan area, then note how many inches you’ll cut (remove) and fill (add) across that footprint.
- Convert cut volume to loose measure. Multiply the bank volume (area × cut depth ÷ 12) by 1 plus your soil’s swell percentage — excavated soil takes up more room once it’s dug.
- Convert fill volume to loose-equivalent measure. Divide the compacted fill volume (area × fill depth ÷ 12) by 1 minus your soil’s shrink percentage — fill settles down once it’s placed and compacted.
- Subtract cut from fill to find the net. A positive result means you need to import extra fill; a negative result means you have surplus soil to haul off site.
- Convert the net volume to truck loads. Divide the net cubic yards by your dump truck’s capacity and round up to get the number of loads and an estimated haul cost.
Worked example
Using the calculator’s defaults: a 100 × 50 ft site, 6 in cut, 6 in fill, 25% swell, 15% shrink, 12 yd³ trucks at $18 per load.
- Site area (100 ft × 50 ft)5,000 ft²
- Cut volume, bank measure (5,000 × 6 in ÷ 12)2,500 ft³
- Cut volume, loose (2,500 × 1.25 swell)3,125 ft³
- Fill volume, compacted (5,000 × 6 in ÷ 12)2,500 ft³
- Fill volume, loose-equivalent (2,500 ÷ 0.85 shrink)2,941.2 ft³
- Net (fill loose − cut loose: 2,941.2 − 3,125)−183.8 ft³ (surplus)
- Net in cubic yards (183.8 ÷ 27)6.81 yd³ surplus
- Truck loads & haul cost (1 load × $18/load)1 load — $18.00
Planning your cut-and-fill earthwork
Getting the numbers right on paper saves real money and delays once equipment is on site.
- Test your soil before you dig.Swell and shrink percentages vary by soil type — sandy soil swells and shrinks far less than clay, so a quick soil assessment tightens your estimate.
- Try to balance cut and fill on site.Adjusting your cut and fill depths so the volumes roughly match avoids paying to both haul soil away and import more later.
- Plan where surplus soil will go.Stockpiling on site saves haul-off cost but needs space and erosion control — confirm you’re allowed to store it before excavation starts.
- Strip and stockpile topsoil separately.Topsoil is valuable for finish grading and landscaping — don’t mix it into bulk cut material that’s headed for disposal or deep fill.
- Check permit and erosion-control requirements.Many jurisdictions require a grading or land-disturbance permit above a certain cut/fill volume, plus silt fencing or other erosion controls.
- Confirm truck access and dump fees.Haul cost depends as much on truck access and landfill/dump tipping fees as on distance — verify both before budgeting per-load pricing.
Common mistakes
- Ignoring swell when estimating haul-off.A cubic yard of undisturbed soil doesn’t shrink to fit a cubic yard once it’s dug — it expands, so trucking estimates based on bank volume alone come up short.
- Ignoring shrink when estimating fill needed.Compacted fill takes more loose material than its finished volume — order fill based on the loose-equivalent number, not the finished compacted depth.
- Using one swell/shrink factor for every soil type.Clay swells and shrinks far more than sand or gravel — use factors that match your actual soil, not a generic default.
- Forgetting truck loads round up, not down.A calculated 4.2 loads still means 5 trucks show up — partial loads still cost a full trip.
- Not separating cut and fill depths by zone.Real sites rarely cut and fill the same depth everywhere — break an irregular site into a few zones and total the volumes for a more accurate result.
- Skipping topsoil stripping in the depth figures.If several inches of topsoil get set aside before bulk cut/fill, that stripped depth needs its own separate volume calculation.
What this calculator assumes
Adjust your result if your project differs from these.
- Cut and fill areas are treated as equal to the total site area unless you calculate zones separately.
- Swell and shrink percentages are applied uniformly across the whole cut or fill volume.
- Cut volume is measured in bank (in-situ) terms before being converted to loose volume for hauling.
- Fill volume is entered as the finished, compacted depth and converted back to loose-equivalent material for ordering.
- Truck capacity is a usable cubic-yard figure — confirm your hauler’s actual legal payload before ordering loads.
- Haul cost is estimated as loads × price per load and doesn’t include dump/tipping fees, which vary by site.
Common questions
What's the difference between cut and fill?
Cut is soil removed from high areas of a site; fill is soil added to low areas. Balancing the two minimizes how much material you haul in or out.
Why does cut volume need a swell factor?
Undisturbed (bank) soil is denser than excavated soil — once dug, it loosens and expands, typically by 15-30% depending on soil type.
Why does fill volume need a shrink factor?
Loose fill compacts down once it’s placed and compacted, so you need more loose material than the finished compacted volume.
What does a negative net volume mean?
A negative result means your cut produces more loose material than your fill needs — you have surplus soil to haul off site.
What does a positive net volume mean?
A positive result means your fill needs more material than your cut produces — you’ll need to import additional fill soil.
How many yards does a dump truck hold?
Most single-axle dump trucks haul 10-14 yd³; tri-axles and larger trucks can haul more. Confirm your hauler’s actual capacity.
Do I need a permit for cut-and-fill work?
Many local jurisdictions require a grading permit above a certain volume threshold — check with your building department before starting.
Should I round cut and fill depths to whole inches?
It’s fine to estimate in whole or half inches for planning, but survey-grade grading plans should use more precise depth measurements.
How accurate is a simple length × width cut-and-fill estimate?
It’s a solid planning estimate for roughly flat or gently sloped sites; irregular terrain benefits from breaking the site into smaller zones.
What soil types swell and shrink the most?
Clay swells and shrinks the most of common soils; sand and gravel are the most stable and predictable to estimate.
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Cut and Fill Calculator Result
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Result
| Area | — |
| Cut volume | — |
| Fill volume | — |
| Net | — |
| Truck loads | — |
| Estimated haul cost | — |
Notes
Estimate generated by materialcalculate.com.