Topsoil, Triple Mix, and Compost: What Is the Difference and How Much Do You Need?

Three Products, Three Different Jobs

You are standing at the garden centre, or scrolling a supplier's site, and the choices all look like dirt. Order the wrong one and your sod struggles or your beds stay hungry. Here is the plain version we give every customer.

• Topsoil is screened natural soil, the top layer scraped from farm fields. It builds volume, fills holes, and sets grades. It is not especially rich.
• Triple mix is roughly one third topsoil, one third peat moss, and one third compost. It holds moisture, drains well, and feeds plants. It is the workhorse for gardens.
• Compost is fully decomposed organic matter. Landscape Ontario describes it as a natural organic fertilizer, and that is exactly how to use it: a nutrient boost, not a fill material.

What to Use Where

• Under new sod: screened topsoil, 10 to 15 cm deep, graded smooth. This is the base we use for sod installation.
• New garden beds: triple mix, 15 to 30 cm deep. Perennials, shrubs, and vegetables all settle in fast. It is our standard fill for flower bed creation.
• Topdressing an existing lawn: a thin 1 cm layer of compost or a compost and soil blend, raked in after aeration.
• Reviving tired beds: 5 cm of compost worked into the top of the soil each spring or fall.

The Simple Math for Cubic Yards

Suppliers sell soil by the cubic yard. One cubic yard is 27 cubic feet and covers about 100 square feet at 3 inches deep. The formula is easy: length times width times depth, all in feet, divided by 27.

Example: a new bed 20 feet long and 10 feet wide, filled 3 inches deep. That is 20 x 10 x 0.25, which equals 50 cubic feet. Divide by 27 and you get about 2 cubic yards. Order 2 yards and you will have a little extra for settling, which you want.

Bag vs Bulk Pricing in Ontario

In 2026, bulk prices around southern Ontario look like this: screened topsoil runs $30 to $50 per cubic yard, triple mix $45 to $75, and compost $40 to $70. Delivery adds $50 to $150 per load depending on distance.

Bags are a different story. A 25 litre bag costs $4 to $8, and it takes about 30 bags to equal one cubic yard. That is $120 to $240 for the same yard of material, three to four times the bulk price. Our rule of thumb: under half a yard, buy bags and save your driveway. Anything more, order bulk.

How to Spot Good Soil

Quality varies a lot between suppliers. Good soil is dark, crumbly, and smells earthy, like a forest floor. Walk away from material that smells sour, arrives full of clay lumps, stones, or glass, or is soaking wet and heavy. Ask if it was screened, and to what size. A reputable supplier answers without hesitation.

Get the Right Soil, Delivered and Installed

We supply, spread, and grade soil as part of every planting and lawn project in Oakville, Burlington and the surrounding area. Price your project with our online cost calculator, or book a free estimate and we will calculate the yards for you. Deciding what goes on top of that fresh soil? Start with sod vs grass seed.