Compost costs $20 to $50 per cubic yard for bulk material on HomeGuide, or $75 to $225 per cubic yard delivered and installed. Bags run $3 to $10 for a 40-to-45-pound bag, and bulk by weight runs $30 to $70 per ton, all as published. Compost blends cost more: Topsoil.com prices a blended topsoil-compost mix at $40 to $80 per cubic yard picked up and $45 to $90 per cubic yard delivered, and one national vendor, 1-800-COMPOST Connect, lists STA-certified compost starting at $40 per cubic yard plus delivery. HomeGuide and Topsoil.com are separately owned publishers; Topsoil.com’s supplier figures are its own directory data. All figures are as published by each source.123
Cost by quantity
HomeGuide publishes average material prices by cubic-yard quantity; delivery is excluded, as published.1
| Cubic yards | Average material cost |
|---|---|
| 1 cubic yard | $20 – $50 |
| 2 cubic yards | $40 – $100 |
| 3 cubic yards | $60 – $150 |
| 4 cubic yards | $80 – $200 |
| 5 cubic yards | $100 – $250 |
| 10 cubic yards | $200 – $500 |
By unit instead of quantity, the same page prices a 40-to-45-pound bag at $3 to $10 per bag, bulk material at $20 to $50 per cubic yard, and bulk by weight at $30 to $70 per ton, all excluding delivery, as published. It notes that compost weight varies with density and moisture content.1
Cost by depth of application
HomeGuide publishes compost prices of $0.03 to $0.75 per square foot depending on layer depth, and prices per 1,000 square feet as follows, excluding delivery and installation, as published.1
| Depth | Cost per 1,000 square feet |
|---|---|
| 0.5 inch | $30 – $125 per 1,000 square feet |
| 1.0 inch | $60 – $250 per 1,000 square feet |
| 2.0 inches | $120 – $500 per 1,000 square feet |
| 3.0 inches | $180 – $750 per 1,000 square feet |
Cost by compost type
HomeGuide publishes average prices per cubic yard by compost type, excluding delivery and installation, as published.1
| Compost type | Average price per cubic yard |
|---|---|
| Leaf compost | $15 – $30 per cubic yard |
| Mushroom compost | $20 – $35 per cubic yard |
| Organic compost | $20 – $50 per cubic yard |
| Vermicompost (worm castings) | $200 – $500 per cubic yard |
Delivery and installation costs
Delivery and spreading can cost more than the material. On HomeGuide, as published: delivery runs $40 to $150 for a 1-to-2-cubic-yard minimum depending on quantity, vehicle, and distance; spreading compost over a lawn or garden costs $15 to $25 per cubic yard; landscapers charge $50 to $100 per hour on average; tilling compost into 6 to 8 inches of soil costs $0.70 to $2.00 per square foot; and installing with a blower truck adds $40 to $100 per cubic yard on large properties with a $500 minimum fee. Blend products cost more than straight compost on the same page: a compost-and-soil blend runs $30 to $70 per cubic yard and a biochar-compost blend runs $80 to $125 per cubic yard.1
Topsoil.com describes the same delivery-driven pattern from its own directory work: most yards charge a flat trip fee of $50 to $150 for up to roughly 15 yards and add mileage beyond a set radius, so small orders carry a high effective per-yard rate — its worked example puts three yards with a $120 delivery at $40 per cubic yard of haulage on top of material, as published. It lists 14,695 bulk suppliers across all 50 states in its own directory, as published.3
Vendor starting prices and blends
1-800-COMPOST Connect, a national compost delivery vendor, lists US Composting Council STA-certified compost starting at $40 per cubic yard plus delivery — a single vendor’s published starting price, not a market range.2 Topsoil.com prices blended products higher than plain material, as published: blended topsoil-compost at $40 to $80 per cubic yard picked up or $45 to $90 per cubic yard delivered, and garden or raised-bed mix at $50 to $120 per cubic yard picked up or $60 to $130 per cubic yard delivered.3
DIY and buying notes
Bagged compost is the practical DIY route for small beds and lawn top-dressing: HomeGuide puts a 40-to-45-pound bag at $3 to $10 per bag, as published.1 For DIY browsing, Home Depot’s compost category lists bagged compost and soil amendments (non-affiliate link). For bigger areas, bulk delivery usually wins on unit price once the order clears a few yards — Topsoil.com’s flat-trip-fee structure means delivery cost per yard falls as order size grows, as published.3
Related guides
Putting Green Cost
Sprinkler Repair Cost
Topsoil Cost
Lawn Seeding Cost
Yard Grading Cost
Sources
- HomeGuide, 2026 Compost Costs | Bulk Prices by Cubic Yard, Ton, & Type, homeguide.com (page byline dated April 5, 2023, as published).
- 1-800-COMPOST Connect, Compost Delivery, compost.com (vendor page, no publication date shown).
- Topsoil.com, Topsoil Prices — What a Yard Actually Costs in 2026, topsoil.com (2026; supplier counts are the site’s own directory data).