Square Footage Calculator for Sod
Turn any lawn shape into square feet — plus square meters and square yards — so you can order sod with confidence. Rectangles, L-shapes, triangles, circles and more.
Calculate square footage for sod
Measuring your lawn the right way
Square footage is the foundation of every sod order, and it's where most mistakes start. Grab a tape measure or, for anything bigger than a small yard, a measuring wheel — pacing it out by eye is how people end up a pallet short. Measure in a straight line, keep the tape level, and write each dimension down as you go rather than trusting memory.
If your lawn is a clean rectangle, you're one multiplication away from done. Most yards aren't that tidy, though, and that's fine: the trick is to see a complicated shape as a few simple ones stitched together.
Formulas for common lawn shapes
| Shape | Formula | You measure |
|---|---|---|
| Rectangle / square | length × width | Two sides |
| Triangle | ½ × base × height | Base and height |
| Circle / round bed | π × radius² | Diameter (halve it) |
| Trapezoid | ½ × (top + bottom) × height | Both parallel sides + height |
| L-shape | split into two rectangles, add | Four sides |
From square feet to a sod order
Once you've got your number, you're ready for the parts that actually cost money. Add a waste factor and convert to pallets with the sod pallet calculator, price the whole job with the cost calculator, or go straight to the full sod calculator which folds area, waste, pallets, topsoil and cost into one screen.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate square feet for sod?
For a rectangle, multiply length by width in feet. For other shapes, use the right formula — half base times height for a triangle, pi times radius squared for a circle. This calculator has each shape built in, and for odd yards you can add several shapes together to get one total in square feet.
How do I find the square footage of an irregular yard?
Break the yard into simple shapes you can measure, calculate each one, and add them up. Subtract areas you won't sod, like a patio or pond. This tool supports L-shapes and multiple sections; for truly complex boundaries, trace the lawn on a satellite image with the map measure tool.
How many square feet does sod come in?
Sod is sold by coverage: rolls around 10 square feet, slabs around 2 square feet, and pallets around 450 square feet. Once you know your lawn's square footage here, convert it to those units with the sod pallet calculator.
What's the difference between square feet and square yards for sod?
One square yard equals nine square feet. Some suppliers, especially outside the US, price sod by the square yard or square meter, so this tool shows all three at once to make ordering and comparing quotes easier.