How much does gravel cost by type?
Gravel prices depend first on the type. The table puts each type’s typical price per ton next to the same price per cubic yard, converted with the stone’s sourced weight.
| Gravel | Price per ton | Weight per cubic yard | Same price per cubic yard |
|---|---|---|---|
| #57 stone and crushed gravel | $24–$54 | 1.25–1.29 tons | $30–$69 |
| Crusher run | $24–$34 | 1.22–1.5 tons | $29–$51 |
| Pea gravel | $28–$45 | 1.22–1.5 tons | $34–$68 |
| River rock | $110 | 1.2–1.3 tons | $132–$143 |
The #57 and crusher run ranges combine HomeGuide’s national figures with a Tennessee quarry’s 2026 price list, and #57 adds a Kansas landscape yard. The pea gravel range is HomeGuide’s alone: $28 a ton on orders of 24 tons or more and $45 on smaller ones. River rock is one Kansas yard’s 2025 price for 1½ in rock, so treat it as an example of decorative stone, not a national figure.
The seller moves the price as much as the stone does. Per-ton figures for crushed gravel run from $10 to $65 across our sources, with national bulk pricing and quarry lists at the low end and a landscape yard’s retail list at the high end. The calculator above prices all four types by the ton, the way quarries sell.
What drives the price of gravel
- Type and finish. Crushed stone straight from the crusher is the cheapest. Stone that has been washed, screened to one size or picked for color costs more.
- Where you buy. A quarry sells by the truckload at its own scale. A landscape yard stocks stone in bins, sells smaller amounts and charges for the extra handling.
- How much you buy. Some prices drop with volume; HomeGuide’s pea gravel figure falls from $45 to $28 a ton at 24 tons. Small orders also carry the full delivery fee.
- Distance. Delivery fees cover a set radius, and stone is heavy to haul. The farther the job is from the supplier, the more each ton costs to deliver.
- The unit. A per-yard price and a per-ton price for the same stone look different but can be the same money, so convert before you compare.
- Tax and extras. Sales tax, fuel charges and spreading are often separate lines.
Which gravel the job needs
Each type in the calculator suits different work, and the cheapest one is often the right one for the layer nobody sees:
- Crusher run packs hard, so it’s the base under pavers, slabs and driveways. It’s also the cheapest of the four.
- #57 stone is clean crushed stone that water runs through, used in drainage trenches, at the bottom of a driveway and under slabs. Our French drain cost guide works out how much a drain takes.
- Pea gravel is small and rounded, comfortable underfoot on paths and in play areas. It rolls, so it needs edging.
- River rock is larger, smooth and mostly decorative, for beds and dry creek beds, and it’s the most expensive per ton here.
How much is a ton of gravel vs a cubic yard?
Quarries usually weigh every truck and sell by the ton. Landscape yards more often price by the cubic yard and scoop it with a loader. Neither unit is cheaper in itself, so to compare two quotes, convert one with the stone’s weight: #57 stone weighs 1.25–1.29 tons per cubic yard, so a per-ton price times 1.25–1.29 gives the per-yard price.
Landscape suppliers in our survey list gravel at a typical $41–$75 per cubic yard, with figures from $15 to $90. What should ¾ in crushed rock cost per cubic yard? At #57’s weight, the typical per-yard range works out to $32–$60 a ton, close to the per-ton range of $24–$54. A per-yard quote well above $75 is worth a question: is it decorative stone, a small-order price, or a price that includes delivery?
Weight also tells you how much you’re getting. A ton of #57 stone is 0.78–0.80 cubic yards, which covers 84–86 square feet at 3 inches deep. Crusher run and pea gravel are heavier per yard at the top of their ranges, so a ton of either can cover as little as 72 square feet at that depth.
Delivery fees and minimums
Delivery is often the biggest variable on a small order. National and supplier figures put a bulk delivery fee at a typical $50–$150 per load. HomeGuide also quotes delivery at $10–$25 per ton, and says some suppliers deliver free on orders of 5 tons or more within 5 miles. Beyond a supplier’s standard radius, expect a per-mile charge on top.
On a small order, delivery can cost more than the gravel itself: one ton of #57 stone typically costs $24–$54, and delivering it costs $50–$150. The fee is per trip, so a one-ton order pays as much for it as a ten-ton one.
For big orders, ask how much the supplier’s truck carries. Select Sand & Gravel, a supplier in Texas and Oklahoma, describes its tandem dump trucks as built for 10 to 15 ton loads. At the typical price, 10–15 tons of #57 stone is about $245–$805 before delivery.
Bagged vs bulk gravel
Hardware stores and home centers sell gravel in half-cubic-foot bags, such as Quikrete’s 50 lb all-purpose gravel, and it takes 54 of them to make a cubic yard. The 20 × 10 ft area at 3 inches, the calculator’s example, is 50 cubic feet: 100 bags, or 105 with 5% extra for spillage.
Our price survey has no national price for bagged gravel, so work out the break-even from your own store’s price. Bulk #57 stone for that area costs $105–$280 delivered at typical prices. Divide by 100 bags and you get $1–$2.75: if a half-cubic-foot bag costs more than that, bulk is cheaper for this project. For a few bags around a step or a downspout, bags win on convenience, and you carry them home in the car.
What your project will cost
These are common gravel jobs in #57 stone, priced at the typical per-ton range plus one delivery fee. Each row shows its tons from the stone’s sourced weight.
| Size | #57 stone, delivered |
|---|---|
| 10 × 10 ft, 2 in · 0.8 tons | $70–$195 |
| 20 × 10 ft, 3 in · 2.3–2.4 tons | $105–$280 |
| 3 × 50 ft, 3 in · 1.7–1.8 tons | $90–$245 |
| 10 × 60 ft, 4 in · 9.3–9.6 tons | $275–$665 |
| 12 × 100 ft, 4 in · 18.5–19.1 tons | $500–$1,180 |
National typical ranges, 2025–2026 sources, before extra for spillage. #57 stone, delivered: $24–$54 per ton. Includes bulk landscape delivery fee, per load: $50–$150.
Two real price checks from homeowners:
- $250 for 3 tons, delivered. Three tons of #57 stone cost $75–$160 at the typical price, or $125–$310 with a delivery fee. At $83.33 a ton delivered, $250 is inside that range.
- $225 for 5 tons of #57 stone, delivered. That’s $45 a ton including delivery, at the low end of typical. Five tons cost $120–$270 before delivery at typical prices, so if the stone was at the low end, about $104 of the $225 was delivery. A supplier with free delivery over 5 tons would make it all stone.
Spreading gravel yourself: a 10 × 60 ft driveway top-up
Take a 10 × 60 ft gravel driveway topped up with 4 inches of #57 stone. Buying and spreading it yourself, with 5% extra:
- Stone: 200 cubic feet, 7.41 cubic yards, rounded to an 8-yard order of 9.7–10.0 tons, $235–$540.
- Delivery: $50–$150.
That’s $285–$690. At the typical installed price for gravel driveways, $1–$4.75 per square foot, the same 600 square feet costs $600–$2,850, though sources disagree widely on that figure; the gravel driveway cost guide explains why.
Most of the work is moving it. Eight yards of stone is 216 cubic feet, about 36 loads in a 6 cu ft contractor wheelbarrow, and dumped gravel has to be raked level and compacted. Some drivers will spread the load as the truck unloads, which saves much of the raking, so ask when you order. Hauling it yourself rarely pays: at about 0.91–0.94 cubic yards of #57 stone per trip, the payload of a half-ton pickup like the 2026 Ram 1500 Tradesman, this job takes about 9 trips.
How to save on gravel
- Buy by the ton from a quarry if one is within delivery range. Quarry prices sit at the low end of the range.
- Order everything at once. Every delivery carries a fee, so one bigger order costs less than two small ones.
- Use the cheaper stone where nobody sees it: crusher run under a driveway or patio, decorative stone only on top.
- Share a truckload with a neighbor who needs the same stone, and split the delivery fee.
- Order the right amount the first time. The gravel calculator works out tons and yards for any shape, so you don’t pay for a second delivery.
What to ask a gravel supplier
- Do you sell by the ton or by the yard, and what does a yard of this stone weigh?
- What’s the delivery fee, and is there a minimum order or a free-delivery threshold?
- How many tons or yards does one truckload carry?
- Is the stone washed? Washed stone matters for drainage.
- Will the driver spread the stone while dumping it?
- Is tax included in the price?
How to read a gravel quote
Put every quote in the same units: price per ton or per yard of stone, plus delivery, plus tax. Then set it against the typical range for the stone you’re buying. The calculator’s quote checker does this for the area and stone you enter.
A quote well above the range usually has a reason: decorative stone, a long drive from the quarry, a tiny order or a price that includes spreading. A quote well below it may be for unwashed stone, or for crusher run where you asked for #57. Ask what’s in the load, by name, before the truck arrives.