Why does the calculator not tell me the average cost of excavation?

Because we do not have a sourced dataset for it, and publishing an unsourced average would be worse than publishing nothing. Excavation rates vary by soil, depth, access, haul distance and local competition. Get two or three local quotes, enter one as your rate, and use the tool to check the quantities and the arithmetic behind them.

Should I price on bank volume or loose volume?

Excavation is normally bought on bank volume — the material measured in place — while haulage is priced on loose volume, because that is what fills the trucks. This calculator uses bank volume for the dig and swelled volume for the loads, which is why both figures appear in the results.

Does the total include hauling the dirt away?

Only if you add it. Open the advanced options, enter your truck capacity and your haul rate per load, and haulage and disposal appear as separate lines in the breakdown.

What is a fair markup on excavation work?

That is a business decision, not a calculation, and it depends on your overhead structure and risk. What the calculator does guarantee is that whichever number you pick is applied correctly — as a markup on cost or as a margin on price, whichever you select.

Cost · Total cost, at your rates

Excavation Cost Calculator

Price an excavation from the dimensions up, using your unit rates or your hourly rates. How it works

What you’ll needThe size of the dig (or a volume you already have) and your own rate, per cubic yard or by the hour. Hauling and disposal are optional, also at your rates.

Excavation Cost

Try an example

Excavated volume

cubic yards

Waiting on you

Quantities are ready. Enter your rate per cubic yard to price the job — we deliberately do not assume a market rate.

Section across the width, to scale

60 ft long · vertical walls

Cubic feet: 19,200cu ft
Cubic metres: 543.7m³

Show the calculation1 step

The working

Volume = Length × Width × Depth
= 60 ft × 40 ft × 8 ft
= 711.1 cu yd

This calculator does the quantity work — volume, swell, loads — and then applies the rates you supply. It will not invent a price per cubic yard, because there is no honest national average: rates move with soil, access, depth, haul distance and who is bidding that week. Put your own numbers in and it does the rest.

How this calculator works

Only your inputs and exact unit conversions. Where a figure comes from anywhere else, it is recorded below with its source.

Specification

Formula version: 1.0.0
Last reviewed: 2026-08-14
External data: None
Category: Cost

No benchmark, average or market figure is built into this tool. How we calculate

What this calculates

A priced excavation: the quantity of material to be moved, multiplied by rates you supply, plus haulage, disposal, mobilisation, overhead and profit. It returns a total, a full line-by-line breakdown, and an all-in cost per cubic yard for comparing bids.

Why there are no default rates

Excavation pricing is local and volatile. It changes with soil type, groundwater, access, depth, haul distance, tip fees, machine availability and how busy the contractors near you happen to be. A single national average would be wrong nearly everywhere it was used, and worse, it would look authoritative.

So every rate field starts empty. The calculator does all the geometry, unit conversion, swell, load counts, overhead and margin arithmetic — everything that is genuinely deterministic — and stops precisely where guessing would begin.

Unit rate versus hourly

The unit rate method multiplies bank volume by a price per cubic yard. It is how most subcontract excavation is bought and it is the right method when the quantity is well defined.

The hourly method multiplies your machine rate plus crew rate by the hours on task. It is the honest method for awkward work — restricted access, unknown obstructions, hand digging around services — where a unit rate is really a guess with extra steps.

Markup and margin are not the same thing

Markup is a percentage of your cost. Margin is a percentage of the price you charge. Applying 20% as a markup on $10,000 gives $12,000, and your margin on that is 16.7%. Applying 20% as a margin gives $12,500. The calculator asks which one you mean rather than quietly picking one.

Haulage

Spoil volume is bank volume expanded by your swell factor, because trucks carry loose material. Loads are the loose volume divided by your truck body capacity, rounded up — a part load is still a trip. Haul rate and disposal fee are then applied per load.

A 60 × 40 × 8 ft basement at a rate of $12.00 per cubic yard

The rate below is an illustrative input chosen to make the arithmetic easy to follow, not a market figure.

Given

Dimensions: 60 ft × 40 ft × 8 ft, vertical walls
Rate entered: $12.00 / cu yd
Overhead: 10%
Markup: 15%

Step by step

01Volume= 60 × 40 × 8= 19,200 cu ft
02Cubic yards= 19,200 ÷ 27= 711.1 cu yd
03Excavation= 711.1 × $12.00= $8,533.33
04Overhead= $8,533.33 × 10%= $853.33
05Markup= $9,386.66 × 15%= $1,408.00
06Total= $9,386.66 + $1,408.00= $10,794.66

Total at the entered rate

$10,794.66 ($15.18 / cu yd)

What it assumes

01All rates, fees and percentages come from you. No market data is used anywhere in this tool.
02Bank volume is the basis for the unit rate, which is the usual convention for excavation.
03Side slopes, when entered, are equal on all sides and the ground surface is level.
04Part loads are charged as full loads.

What it does not do

It does not price rock, groundwater control, shoring, dewatering or contaminated material — those are separate line items you should add yourself.
It does not include permits, surveys, testing or restoration.
It has no view on whether your rates are competitive. It only arithmetic-checks the ones you give it.

Common questions.

Why does the calculator not tell me the average cost of excavation?: Because we do not have a sourced dataset for it, and publishing an unsourced average would be worse than publishing nothing. Excavation rates vary by soil, depth, access, haul distance and local competition. Get two or three local quotes, enter one as your rate, and use the tool to check the quantities and the arithmetic behind them.
Should I price on bank volume or loose volume?: Excavation is normally bought on bank volume — the material measured in place — while haulage is priced on loose volume, because that is what fills the trucks. This calculator uses bank volume for the dig and swelled volume for the loads, which is why both figures appear in the results.
Does the total include hauling the dirt away?: Only if you add it. Open the advanced options, enter your truck capacity and your haul rate per load, and haulage and disposal appear as separate lines in the breakdown.
What is a fair markup on excavation work?: That is a business decision, not a calculation, and it depends on your overhead structure and risk. What the calculator does guarantee is that whichever number you pick is applied correctly — as a markup on cost or as a margin on price, whichever you select.

Behind the numbers

The methods and definitions this calculator applies, explained in full and with their sources.

GuideMarkup vs margin in constructionMarkup is a percentage of cost, margin is a percentage of price. The conversion formulas, a worked example and the full table.Buyer's guideEarthwork estimating softwareSeven tools US excavation contractors actually meet when shopping, what each one really does, and which of them will tell you a price without a sales call.Buyer's guideConstruction estimating softwareWhat the estimating products US contractors meet in search are sold to do, sorted by job, and what each vendor prints as a price, with a section for small contractors. No ranking and no “best”.Buyer's guideHeavy civil estimating softwareSix estimating products sold to heavy-civil contractors: what each vendor prints as its price and where, which offer a free trial, and what each says about DOT bid files. Nothing is ranked.

Where people go next

All cost tools

Ordered by what usually comes next in the same job, not by keyword.

01ExcavationBank volume in cubic yardsCubic yards of material to be dug out — including battered side walls, over-excavation and swell.02Dirt HaulingTruck loads and round tripsTruck loads, haul time and cost — including whether your trucks fill up by volume or by weight first.03Trenching CostCost per foot and totalPrice a run of trench per linear foot, per cubic yard or by the hour — with backfill, bedding and restoration.04Land Clearing CostCost by acre or by lotPrice clearing a parcel by the acre, by the square foot or by the hour — plus trees, stumps and debris.