Convert m³ to yd³ cubic metres ↔ cubic yards Free Online Secure
Type a value in cubic metres and read it in cubic yards at once. The factor is exact by definition, the arithmetic happens in your browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.
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Common values — Convert m³ to yd³ (cubic metres ↔ cubic yards)
| m³ | yd³ |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1.30795061931 |
| 2 | 2.61590123863 |
| 3 | 3.92385185794 |
| 5 | 6.53975309657 |
| 10 | 13.0795061931 |
| 20 | 26.1590123863 |
| 50 | 65.3975309657 |
| 100 | 130.795061931 |
Where these units come from
The litre has an awkward history. From 1901 it was defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water at its densest, which sounds elegant but came out at 1.000028 cubic decimetres — close enough to be confusing and far enough to spoil careful work. In 1964 the definition was abandoned and the litre became exactly one cubic decimetre, which it has been ever since. The gallon has a messier story still: the US gallon descends from the English wine gallon of 231 cubic inches, while Britain redefined its own in 1824 as the volume of ten pounds of water. Nobody reconciled the two, so a US gallon is 3.785411784 litres and an imperial gallon 4.54609 — about a fifth larger. The gallon, pint, cup, fluid ounce and spoons on this page are the US ones.
Where you meet them
Millilitres and litres run through daily life almost invisibly: bottles, fuel, paint, dosage, the capacity of a kettle. Cubic metres belong to water bills, concrete, shipping and the air a ventilation system has to move. Cubic centimetres name engine displacement, cubic feet appear in freight and in appliance capacities, and cups and spoons live almost entirely in recipes — which is exactly where the difference between a US cup and a metric one quietly ruins a cake.
Questions people ask
How many litres are in a cubic metre?
1000, since a cubic metre is a cube of ten decimetres on each side, and a litre is one cubic decimetre. A cubic metre of water weighs about a tonne. Water and gas consumption are billed in cubic metres, and a bath of 150 litres is therefore 0.15 of one.
Where is the cubic yard used?
For bulk materials in the United States and Britain: concrete, soil, sand and gravel are sold by the cubic yard. It is 27 cubic feet, or exactly 764.554857984 litres, so a cubic yard is about three quarters of a cubic metre. A common mistake is to treat it as three cubic feet, when it is three feet in each direction.
Is the answer exact?
Where both units are defined in terms of one another by whole numbers, yes — the page says so above the figure, and the only rounding is in how many digits are shown. Where the ratio has no finite decimal, the page shows twelve significant digits and says the relation is approximate rather than pretending otherwise.
Does anything I type leave my device?
No. The arithmetic runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded and there is no server to upload it to. Load the page once and it keeps working with the network switched off.
Gardens, pools and playgrounds: cubic metres into cubic yards
Order topsoil in North America and the supplier asks how many yards you need. Order the same load in Europe and the question is about cubic metres. Anyone who plans a garden bed, a driveway, a swimming pool or a playground and compares quotes across the two systems needs a single factor. To convert m³ to yd³, multiply by 1.30795: 1 m³ is 1.308 yd³, 10 m³ is 13.08 yd³ and 25 m³ is 32.7 yd³. The calculator above does the multiplication as you type, and the sections below show what the numbers mean for outdoor and leisure projects.
You will find the rule with worked examples, a short profile of each unit, a comparison, a long set of practical cases and the slips to avoid. The arithmetic runs in your browser, and the figures you enter are not sent anywhere.
How to convert m³ to yd³: multiply by 1.30795
The rule
One yard is exactly 0.9144 metres, so one cubic yard is 0.764555 cubic metres, and one cubic metre is 1.30795 cubic yards. To convert m³ to yd³, multiply the cubic metres by 1.30795. So 3 m³ is 3.924 yd³, 12 m³ is 15.7 yd³ and 0.5 m³ is 0.654 yd³. To go back, multiply cubic yards by 0.764555.
Worked examples
A raised bed of 0.9 m³ takes 1.18 yd³ of soil. A driveway layer of 12 m³ is 15.7 yd³. A pool excavation of 51 m³ is 66.7 yd³. A bunker refill of 15 m³ is 19.6 yd³, and a park path of 80 m³ is 104.6 yd³.
What the factor tells you
A cubic yard is a cube of 91.44 cm, a bit smaller than a cubic metre, so a given volume is a little over 30 per cent larger when counted in yards. The two are close enough that, for small jobs, rounding to the nearest third of a yard rarely hurts.
A quick sanity test
The yard figure should be about a third higher than the metre figure. If it is lower, you divided where you should have multiplied.
The cubic metre
The SI unit of volume
The cubic metre is the volume of a cube with edges of one metre. Landscape architects, pool builders and aggregate suppliers across Europe and most of the world order, plan and bill by it.
Where it appears
Quotations, bills of quantities, delivery notes and design drawings.
The cubic yard
A cube three feet on each side
The cubic yard holds 27 cubic feet, or 46,656 cubic inches. In the United States it is the standard for ordering soil, mulch, sand, gravel and ready-mixed concrete, and for describing dumpsters and truck bodies. In everyday speech it is simply called a yard.
Where it appears
Garden centres, landscape suppliers, concrete plants and dumpster rental firms.
Cubic metres against cubic yards
A cubic metre equals 1.308 cubic yards, so a 10 m³ load is 13.08 yd³. A cubic yard is 0.7646 of a cubic metre, close to three quarters. Anyone ordering across the border who confuses a yard of length with a yard of volume, or who assumes the two units are the same, will be about a quarter out.
The factor follows exactly from the definition of the yard at 0.9144 m, so the conversion carries no uncertainty of its own.
Where the conversion shows up
Garden beds and topsoil
A raised bed of 4 by 8 feet and one foot deep holds 32 ft³, which is 1.185 yd³ or 0.906 m³. A garden of 60 m² dressed with 15 cm of topsoil needs 9 m³, or 11.8 yd³. If a supplier sells by the yard, the “convert m³ to yd³” calculation step converts your plan into an order, and a small allowance for settling covers the difference.
Mulch and ground cover
One cubic yard of mulch covers roughly 108 square feet at a depth of three inches, which is about 10 m². A cubic metre at a depth of 5 cm covers 20 m². Mulch is light, so deliveries are measured by volume rather than weight, and a truck of 10 yd³ carries about 7.6 m³.
Driveways and paths
A driveway of 4 by 30 metres with a 10 cm gravel layer takes 12 m³, which is 15.7 yd³. At around 1.4 tonnes per cubic yard of compacted gravel, that is about 22 tonnes. Ask whether the supplier quotes loose or compacted volume, because compaction can reduce the layer by 15 to 20 per cent.
Swimming pool excavation
A pool 8 m long and 4 m wide with an average depth of 1.6 m has a volume of 51.2 m³, which is 67 yd³ of water. The hole is larger than the pool, because walls, base and working space often add a third or more. Excavated soil also swells by 25 per cent, so a haulage contractor may need to move 100 yd³ or more. The “convert m³ to yd³” calculation step turns a European plan into the yard quantities that a US-style quote uses.
Septic drain fields
A drainage trench of 30 m long, 0.9 m wide and 0.6 m deep takes 16.2 m³ of stone, which is 21.2 yd³. A system with three such trenches needs 63.6 yd³. Local codes in the US often specify stone by depth and width, while European suppliers deliver by the tonne. Converting between volume and weight means using the bulk density of the stone as well as the “convert m³ to yd³” calculation step.
Rain gardens and retention
A rain garden of 20 m² with a 30 cm excavation holds 6 m³, which is 7.85 yd³. A planting mix replaces about two thirds of that, and the rest is a layer of stone or mulch. Because local guides use inches of runoff and square feet of catchment, a designer converting between regimes works through the volume in cubic yards and cubic metres.
Retaining wall backfill
A retaining wall 20 m long and 1 m high with a 30 cm drainage layer of gravel behind it needs 6 m³, which is 7.85 yd³. Walls are often specified by the lineal foot and the height in feet, so the supplier's formula gives cubic yards directly. A European plan gives cubic metres, and the “convert m³ to yd³” calculation step ties the two together.
Tree pits and hedges
A tree pit of 1 m³ takes 1.31 yd³ of soil, so ten trees need 13.1 yd³. A hedge trench of 0.5 by 0.5 metres and 50 m long uses 12.5 m³, which is 16.4 yd³. Municipal tree planting contracts in the US specify soil by cubic yard, those in Europe by cubic metre, and the 30 per cent difference matters for budgets.
Sandboxes and small projects
A garden sandbox of 2 by 2 metres and 30 cm deep takes 1.2 m³ of play sand, which is 1.57 yd³. Play sand is bagged at about 50 lb, which fills roughly 0.5 ft³, so 1.2 m³ (42.4 ft³) needs around 85 bags. Small jobs are often cheaper by the bag, and larger ones by the yard.
Dumpsters and skips
A 30-yard roll-off dumpster holds 22.9 m³, and a 40-yard one holds 30.6 m³. Skips in the UK come in 4, 6 and 8 yard sizes, and these are cubic yards too: 6 yd³ is 4.6 m³. When a European supplier lists a skip as 6 m³, it is about 7.8 yd³. The two uses of the word yard make for confusion, so check the unit before booking.
Spreadsheet formulas
Put cubic metres in column A and use =A2*1.30795 in column B. For the reverse, use =B2*0.764555. Add a column that divides by the truck size to give the number of loads. Label each column with its unit, as a quantity list in mixed units is a common source of costly orders.
Rounding and precision
The factor 1.30795 is good to six figures. Round to a tenth of a yard for orders, and to a hundredth for estimates of small beds. A result like 15.695 yd³ is best written as 15.7. Suppliers usually sell in half-yard or whole-yard steps, so ordering to the next half yard avoids a short load.
A mental shortcut
Add a third, then take off two per cent. For 100 m³, one third is 33.3, which gives 133.3, and two per cent of that is 2.7, leaving 130.6 against the exact 130.8. For 30 m³, the shortcut gives 40 less 0.8, which is 39.2, against 39.2 exactly. It is accurate enough for planning in a meeting.
A picture to keep in mind
A full-size pickup truck bed, filled level with the rails, holds roughly 1.5 to 2 cubic yards, which is 1.1 to 1.5 m³. A cubic metre is therefore close to one pickup-bed load. If your “convert m³ to yd³” calculation answer implies a very different number of pickup loads, check the arithmetic.
Golf bunkers and sand
A golf bunker of 150 m² with 10 cm of sand needs 15 m³, which is 19.6 yd³. An 18-hole course may have 60 bunkers, and a full renovation uses around 900 m³ of sand, about 1,177 yd³. Greenkeepers on both sides of the Atlantic order by the tonne or by volume, and a conversion table saves a lot of calling back and forth.
Reference ladder
0.5 m³ is 0.65 yd³. 1 m³ is 1.31 yd³. 2 m³ is 2.62 yd³. 5 m³ is 6.54 yd³. 10 m³ is 13.08 yd³. 20 m³ is 26.16 yd³. 50 m³ is 65.4 yd³. 100 m³ is 130.8 yd³. The ladder helps when you need to scan a quote for a wrong power of ten.
Checking by reversing
To check any convert m³ to yd³ result, multiply it by 0.764555 and see whether you return to the start. If 10 m³ became 13.08 yd³, then 13.08 times 0.764555 gives 10.00. A second check is the size of the number: the yard figure must be about 31 per cent higher.
Mulch density
Bulk mulch weighs between 200 and 400 kg per cubic metre depending on moisture, so a cubic yard weighs 150 to 300 kg. A truck carrying 15 yd³ of wet mulch thus carries up to 4.5 tonnes. The same volume of gravel would weigh over 20 tonnes, so volume alone does not tell you what a lorry can carry.
Event surfaces
Temporary event floors, such as sand arenas for beach festivals or wood-chip tracks for runs, are ordered in cubic metres or yards. A 100 m track, 3 m wide and 10 cm deep, takes 30 m³ of chips, about 39 yd³. Organisers often pay by the delivered load, so a “convert m³ to yd³” calculation on the lorry size prevents either a shortage or a pile left over.
Agricultural bedding
A barn of 20 horse stalls, each bedded with 0.4 m³ of shavings, uses 8 m³ per full change, which is 10.5 yd³. Shavings come compressed in bales that expand when opened, so a 'cubic yard bale' may hold more bedding than a cubic metre of loose chips. Check how the supplier measures volume before you run a “convert m³ to yd³” calculation on its figures.
Sculptures and large casts
An artist casting a concrete installation of 6 m³ needs 7.85 yd³ of mix. Ready-mix is sold in whole yards, so an order of 8 yd³ leaves 0.15 yd³, enough for test blocks. Concrete plants round orders, and artists working abroad can save money by stating both units in the order so that the driver brings enough.
Beach volleyball courts
A competition court of 16 by 8 metres with 40 cm of sand holds 51.2 m³, or 67 yd³. A tournament with eight courts needs about 410 m³, which is 536 yd³. Sand is delivered by lorry, 20 to 25 m³ per load, and ordering to a European standard while buying from an American quarry turns every “convert m³ to yd³” calculation into a daily task.
Playgrounds and safety surfacing
Playground safety guidelines often call for 30 cm of loose-fill surfacing such as wood chips beneath climbing equipment. A fall zone of 40 m² therefore needs 12 m³, which is 15.7 yd³. Chips settle and scatter, so a yearly top-up of 5 cm adds 2 m³, or 2.6 yd³. Playground managers usually order a few cubic yards at a time, from suppliers who quote in metres or yards.
Equestrian arenas
A riding arena of 20 by 60 metres with 10 cm of footing sand needs 120 m³, which is 157 yd³. Adding a base of 15 cm of stone adds 180 m³, or 235 yd³. Riding arenas are built by contractors in many countries, and the quote for materials can arrive in cubic yards even if the plan is metric, so each quantity needs a “convert m³ to yd³” calculation before you accept it.
Beach nourishment
Coastal projects restore beaches by pumping sand onto them. A project of 1 million m³ equals 1.31 million yd³. Engineers in the US report in cubic yards, and those in Europe and Australia in cubic metres. Because dredged sand is measured in the borrow area but placed on a beach, a bulking or loss factor of 10 to 20 per cent is added, so the figures in the contract may differ from those in the design.
Snowmaking
A cubic metre of water makes roughly two cubic metres of artificial snow. A ski slope of one hectare covered with 50 cm of snow holds 5,000 m³ of snow, or 6,540 yd³, and needs about 2,500 m³ of water. Resort operators track water in cubic metres and snow in cubic yards in some markets, and the ratio between them depends on temperature and humidity.
Wood chips and biomass heat
Loose wood chips have a bulk density near 250 kg per cubic metre, so a cubic yard weighs about 191 kg. A boiler house storing 60 m³ of chips holds 78.5 yd³. At roughly 0.8 MWh per cubic metre, the store carries about 48 MWh of heat. Fuel contracts in the US use cubic yards or tons, those in Europe cubic metres, and the “convert m³ to yd³” calculation step makes the comparison possible.
Bulk bags
Bulk bags, sometimes called super sacks, are sold in sizes such as 1 yd³ or 1 m³. A 1 yd³ bag holds 0.76 m³, and a 1 m³ bag holds 1.31 yd³. An order of ten bags of the larger size therefore delivers 13.1 yd³ of material. Suppliers who sell in both markets often list bags as 0.75 m³, and contractors planning loads should check which bag is meant.
More values for convert m³ to yd³
A longer list of conversions
If the value you need is not in the first list, these further conversions may be close enough to read off directly:
- 0.1 m³ = 0.130795 yd³
- 0.5 m³ = 0.653975 yd³
- 3 m³ = 3.92385 yd³
- 4 m³ = 5.2318 yd³
- 7 m³ = 9.15565 yd³
- 15 m³ = 19.6193 yd³
- 20 m³ = 26.159 yd³
- 75 m³ = 98.0963 yd³
- 200 m³ = 261.59 yd³
- 500 m³ = 653.975 yd³
- 2,000 m³ = 2,615.9 yd³
- 10,000 m³ = 13,079.5 yd³
Common slips when you convert m³ to yd³
Using 1.0936
1.0936 converts length from metres to yards. For volume use the cube of it, 1.30795.
Dividing instead of multiplying
The cubic yard is the smaller unit, so the number must grow. If 10 m³ became 7.6, you divided.
Ignoring compaction
Gravel, sand and soil settle after laying. A quote for the volume in place is not the same as a volume delivered loose.
Short answers
How many cubic yards are in a cubic metre?
1.30795.
How do I convert m³ to yd³?
Multiply by 1.30795.
How many cubic metres is a cubic yard?
0.764555.
How much is 10 m³ in cubic yards?
13.08 yd³.
Does my number leave my device?
No, the calculation runs in your browser.
More pages and a wrap-up
For other volume conversions see Convert m³ to cm³, Convert m³ to ft³, Convert ft³ to yd³, Convert yd³ to ft³, Convert km to mi, Convert mi to km, Convert °C to °F, Convert °F to °C, Convert hp to kW. The reverse direction is Convert yd³ to m³.
In short, a “convert m³ to yd³” calculation means multiplying by 1.30795 and writing the unit beside the answer. Your number is computed locally, with no account and no upload.