Free · Bulk and bagged
Pea Gravel Cost Calculator
Enter your area, depth and local prices to see the delivered bulk total, the same job in bags, and the cost per square foot. Preset to a 12 by 12 foot patio at $50 per ton with a $75 delivery.
The short answer
How much does pea gravel cost?
How much does a ton of pea gravel cost?
Bulk pea gravel costs about $30 to $55 per US ton at a landscape yard, which is roughly $40 to $75 per cubic yard, because a cubic yard weighs 1.35 tons. Bagged, the same stone costs $4 to $8 for a half cubic foot bag, or $216 to $432 per cubic yard once you count the 54 bags it takes.
How much is a yard of pea gravel?
About $40 to $75 delivered in bulk, since a cubic yard weighs 1.35 tons. At $50 per ton that is $67.50 a yard before delivery, against $216 to $432 for the same yard bought as 54 bags.
At typical prices that makes bagged gravel about five times the cost of bulk per yard. Bulk has a delivery fee to pay off, which is why small jobs can still go the other way. The calculator above runs that comparison with your own numbers.
| Unit | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Per US ton, bulk | $30 to $55 |
| Per cubic yard, bulk | $40 to $75 |
| Per half cubic foot bag | $4 to $8 |
| Per cubic yard, bagged | $216 to $432 |
| Delivery | $10 to $25 per ton, or $5 to $10 per mile |
| Installed, per square foot | $0.86 to $3.78 |
These are national ranges. A short call to two nearby yards gives you the only price that matters, and the calculator accepts whatever figures they quote.
Reading a quote
Is pea gravel priced per ton or per cubic yard?
Quarries and most bulk yards sell by weight, because the loader bucket goes over a scale. Garden centres and some landscape suppliers price by the cubic yard instead, because that is how customers measure. Put a per ton quote next to a per yard quote and the per ton figure looks about a quarter cheaper than it really is.
To compare them, multiply a price per ton by 1.35 to get the price per cubic yard, or divide a yard price by 1.35 to get back to tons.
| Price per ton | Price per cubic yard |
|---|---|
| $30 | $40.50 |
| $40 | $54.00 |
| $50 | $67.50 |
| $60 | $81.00 |
| $65 | $87.75 |
Gravel stored uncovered holds water, and a ticket priced by the ton charges for it. Wet pea gravel runs about 8 percent heavier, so after heavy rain roughly one ton in every thirteen is water. Ask whether the pile is dry, or read how moisture changes the weight.
By area
What pea gravel costs per square foot
Cost per square foot depends almost entirely on depth, because depth decides how much stone sits under each square foot. These figures are material only, at $50 per ton in bulk and $6 per bag, before delivery and waste.
| Depth | Typical use | Bulk at $50 a ton | Bagged at $6 a bag |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 in | Ground cover | $0.42 | $2.00 |
| 3 in | Paths and patios | $0.63 | $3.00 |
| 4 in | Driveway surface | $0.83 | $4.00 |
| 6 in | Driveway, heavier use | $1.25 | $6.00 |
Installed prices run higher because labor is the larger share. Lawn Love puts pea gravel at $0.86 to $3.78 per square foot installed, and the Homewyse national average for May 2026 is $1.85 to $3.39 per square foot for a 2 inch layer, including site preparation, landscape fabric and spreading. The depth guide covers which depth each project needs.
Buying
Is bulk or bagged pea gravel cheaper?
Per yard, bulk wins by a wide margin. The delivery fee is what keeps bags competitive on small jobs. With a $75 fee, bags come out cheaper below about 0.2 to 0.4 cubic yards, depending on whether a bag costs $8 or $5. That is roughly 30 to 60 square feet at 2 inches deep.
Past that, bulk is cheaper, and past about a yard it is the only practical option as well. 54 bags per cubic yard at 50 lb each is 2,700 lb lifted twice, once into the car and once out.
The bulk versus bagged comparison on the main page works through the crossover.
Worked examples
What a pea gravel project costs
Six common jobs, priced the way the calculator above prices them. Gravel only, at $50 per ton with one $75 delivery and bags at $4 to $8.
| Project | Size and depth | Pea gravel | Bulk delivered | In bags |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garden path | 30 × 3 ft at 2 in | 0.61 yd³ · 0.83 tons | $116 | $132 to $264 |
| Patio | 12 × 12 ft at 3 in | 1.47 yd³ · 1.98 tons | $174 | $320 to $640 |
| Dog run | 20 × 10 ft at 3 in | 2.04 yd³ · 2.75 tons | $213 | $440 to $880 |
| Single car driveway | 20 × 12 ft at 4 in | 3.70 yd³ · 5.00 tons | $325 | 200 bags, not practical |
| Two car driveway | 20 × 24 ft at 4 in | 7.41 yd³ · 10.00 tons | $575 | 400 bags, not practical |
| Playground fall zone | 20 × 20 ft at 9 in | 12.22 yd³ · 16.50 tons | $900 | 660 bags, not practical |
Stone is rarely the expensive part. On the patio, $174 of gravel sits on top of a day of digging, and a driveway needs a compacted crushed stone base of similar tonnage underneath. The driveway guide and the patio guide cover the base layer in detail.
Budget
The costs a quantity estimate leaves out
Every calculator, this one included, prices the gravel. These are the line items that turn a $174 gravel order into a finished patio.
| Item | Typical cost | When you need it |
|---|---|---|
| Crushed stone base | $25 to $55 per ton | Driveways and patios, 2 to 6 in under the gravel |
| Landscape fabric | $0.05 to $0.25 per sq ft | Paths and beds, to slow weeds and keep stone out of the soil |
| Plastic edging | $0.50 to $3 per linear ft | Light foot traffic |
| Metal edging | $2 to $6 per linear ft | Paths and patios that need a crisp line |
| Stone or brick border | $3 to $18 per linear ft | Where the edge is part of the look |
| Delivery by distance | $5 to $10 per mile | Where a yard charges by the mile instead of by the ton |
| Top-up after settling | 5 to 10 percent more stone | The first month, as the gravel beds in |
Priced out, the 12 × 12 ft patio comes to about $330 in materials. That is $174 of pea gravel, about 1.6 tons of crushed stone base at 2.5 inches and $40 per ton for $62, $22 of fabric, and $72 of plastic edging around its 48 foot perimeter.
Why quotes differ
Why pea gravel prices vary so much
The price of pea gravel per ton can differ by 50 percent between two yards in the same county. Four things explain almost all of it.
Distance from the quarry
Pea gravel is cheap to dig and expensive to move. Delivery adds $10 to $25 per ton or $5 to $10 per mile, so the nearest yard can undercut a cheaper one further away. Some yards deliver free within about 5 miles on orders of 5 tons or more.
How much you buy
Price per ton falls as the order grows. Lawn Love lists a full truckload of about 25 tons at $250 to $500, which is $10 to $20 per ton, against $30 to $55 for a few tons from a landscape yard. On a large job, splitting a truckload with a neighbor can more than halve what each of you pays per ton.
Washed stone or a decorative bag
Bulk pea gravel is washed and screened stone sold by weight. Bagged gravel adds packaging, pallets and retail margin, and branded or decorative blends add more again.
Wet stone on a scale
Anything sold by the ton is weighed as it leaves the yard, water included. The 8 percent wet uplift is small on one ton and noticeable on ten.
Alternatives
Pea gravel cost against other landscape stone
| Material | Price per ton | Per sq ft at 3 in |
|---|---|---|
| Pea gravel | $30 to $55 | $0.38 to $0.69 |
| Crushed stone #57 | $25 to $55 | $0.33 to $0.72 |
| Decomposed granite | $25 to $50 | $0.33 to $0.65 |
| River rock | $45 to $130 | $0.56 to $1.63 |
Pea gravel and crushed stone cost about the same per ton, so choosing between them is about performance rather than price. Crushed stone has angular faces that lock together under a car, and rounded pea gravel does not. River rock can cost more than twice as much for a similar look in larger sizes. The aggregate comparison on the main page covers what each one is good at.
Spend less
How to pay less for pea gravel
- Order once. A second delivery for the last half yard means paying for delivery twice. Add 10 percent to the quantity up front instead.
- Compare quotes in the same unit. Convert every quote to a price per ton with the 1.35 factor before choosing a supplier.
- Collect small loads yourself if your vehicle can carry them. Most half-ton pickups are rated below the 2,700 lb of a full cubic yard, so check the payload table first.
- Buy plain washed pea gravel rather than a decorative blend. The stone does exactly the same job.
- Share a truckload with a neighbor on a big job, where the price per ton drops sharply.
Questions
Pea gravel cost FAQ
About $30 to $55 per US ton from a landscape yard in 2026, before delivery. Delivery usually adds $10 to $25 per ton. A ton covers about 120 square feet at 2 inches deep.
About $40 to $75 per cubic yard in bulk, because a cubic yard weighs about 1.35 US tons. At $50 per ton that is $67.50 per cubic yard. Bought in half cubic foot bags, the same cubic yard costs $216 to $432.
A half cubic foot bag usually costs $4 to $8. It takes 54 bags to make one cubic yard.
At $50 per ton, $100 buys 2 tons, about 1.48 cubic yards, which covers roughly 240 square feet at 2 inches deep before delivery. The same $100 buys 12 to 25 bags at $4 to $8, enough for 36 to 75 square feet at 2 inches.
Typically $10 to $25 per ton, or $5 to $10 per mile. Some yards deliver free within about 5 miles on orders of 5 tons or more, and a full truckload costs $100 to $500 to haul.
About $0.86 to $3.78 per square foot installed according to Lawn Love, and $1.85 to $3.39 per square foot on the Homewyse national average for May 2026. The gravel itself is only $0.42 to $1.25 per square foot in bulk depending on depth, so most of an installed price is labor.
A 12 by 12 foot patio at 3 inches needs about 2 tons, roughly $174 delivered at $50 per ton. With a crushed stone base, landscape fabric and plastic edging the materials come to about $330. At the Homewyse installed rate of $1.85 to $3.39 per square foot, a landscaper would charge about $270 to $490, though that rate assumes a 2 inch layer.
About the same. Both run roughly $25 to $55 per ton, and at 3 inches deep either costs about 33 to 72 cents per square foot in material. River rock costs more, at $45 to $130 per ton.
Transparency
Sources and methodology
- Bulk and bagged price ranges. National 2026 cost guides from HomeGuide and Angi, cross-checked against Lawn Love's pea gravel cost guide, updated December 2025, which also supplies the truckload, delivery per mile, labor and installed per square foot figures.
- Installed cost, $1.85 to $3.39 per square foot. Homewyse national average for May 2026, a 2 inch layer including preparation and fabric.
- Delivery. $10 to $25 per ton, free delivery within about 5 miles on 5 ton orders at some yards, and $100 to $500 per truckload, from the HomeGuide and Angi gravel price guides. $5 to $10 per mile from Lawn Love.
- Fabric and edging. Homewyse cost guides for landscape fabric and landscape edging, with material ranges from Angi's landscape curbing guide.
- Other stone. HomeGuide gravel prices for crushed stone and decomposed granite, and Lawn Love's river rock cost guide.
- Weight and bag conversions. 100 lb/ft³, 1.35 US tons per cubic yard and 54 half cubic foot bags per yard, as set out in the weight guide and the main sources.
Not a rectangle?
The main calculator handles circles, L-shapes, known areas and metric units, with the same price per ton field.