How Many Bags of Concrete Make a Yard?
It takes 45 bags of 80-pound concrete to make one cubic yard. That number surprises most people, and it is the main reason bagged concrete only makes sense for small jobs. Here is the full breakdown by bag size.
Bags per yard by bag size
Each bag lists a yield, which is how much wet concrete it makes. A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so you divide 27 by the yield to get bags per yard.
| Bag size | Yield per bag | Bags per cubic yard |
|---|---|---|
| 40 lb | 0.30 cu ft | 90 |
| 50 lb | 0.375 cu ft | 72 |
| 60 lb | 0.45 cu ft | 60 |
| 80 lb | 0.60 cu ft | 45 |
Flip it around and one 80-pound bag makes about 0.022 cubic yards, which is next to nothing. That is why you see people stacking 40 or 50 bags for what looks like a modest slab.
Why it takes so many
Concrete is dense and heavy, and a bag holds mostly dry mix that does not expand much when you add water. An 80-pound bag yields a little over half a cubic foot. Multiply that across the 27 cubic feet in a yard and the count climbs fast. There is no trick to it, the volume is just large.
Bags or a ready-mix truck?
This is the real question behind the search. The answer comes down to how much you are pouring.
- Under about half a yard. Bags win. No delivery fee, no minimum order, and you mix at your own pace. Think fence posts, a small pad, or setting a mailbox.
- Half a yard to a full yard. It is close. Add up the bag cost and the labor of mixing by hand or renting a mixer, then compare it against a small-load delivery.
- Over a yard. A ready-mix truck almost always wins on both cost and effort. Forty-five bags per yard is a full day of heavy mixing, and the bag cost often runs higher than delivered concrete anyway.
At $5 to $6 per 80-pound bag, a yard in bags costs $225 to $270 before you lift a finger. A delivered yard of ready-mix runs about $155 plus fees. The bags cost more and you do all the work.
Estimate your own bag count
Bag counts scale with your exact volume, so the fastest way to get your number is to measure the pour and let the concrete calculator do it. Enter your dimensions and it returns how many bags you need in each size, or the yards to order if you have crossed into truck territory.
Frequently asked questions
How many 80 lb bags of concrete in a yard?
45 bags. Each 80-pound bag yields about 0.6 cubic feet, and a yard is 27 cubic feet.
How many 60 lb bags of concrete in a yard?
60 bags. A 60-pound bag yields about 0.45 cubic feet.
How many 40 lb bags in a yard?
90 bags. A 40-pound bag yields about 0.30 cubic feet.
Is it cheaper to buy bags or order a truck?
Bags are cheaper only for very small jobs. Past a yard, a ready-mix truck costs less per yard and saves you hours of mixing.