Gravel Driveway Calculator and Guide: Depth, Tons, and Cost

A well-built gravel driveway uses three layers of progressively smaller stone:

Base Layer (4 inches)

Use #3 stone (1-2 inches) or #4 stone (1.5-3 inches). These large angular stones create a stable foundation and won't sink into soft soil. A geotextile fabric under this layer prevents the stone from migrating into the subgrade.

Middle Layer (4 inches)

#57 stone (3/4 to 1 inch) is the standard choice. It fills the gaps in the base layer, adds stability, and provides a transition to the finer top layer.

Top Layer (2-3 inches)

#8 gravel (3/8 to 1/2 inch) or crushed limestone creates a smooth driving surface. Some homeowners prefer #411 (a blend of #57 stone and stone dust) because the dust fills voids and compacts into a very firm surface.

What to Avoid

Avoid using pea gravel or river rock for driveways — their rounded shape means they never lock together and will constantly shift under tires, creating ruts.

Gravel and concrete each have clear advantages depending on your priorities, budget, and project requirements.

Where Gravel Wins

A gravel driveway costs $1-$3 per square foot installed, while concrete runs $5-$10 per square foot. Gravel can be a DIY project; concrete requires professional installation. Gravel is permeable and handles drainage naturally; concrete requires slopes and drainage planning.

Where Concrete Wins

A properly installed concrete driveway lasts 25-30 years with minimal upkeep. Gravel driveways need periodic regrading, rut filling, and top-layer replenishment. Concrete provides a smooth, clean surface year-round; gravel can be dusty in summer and difficult to plow in winter.

Cold Climate Considerations

For driveways in cold climates, concrete can crack from freeze-thaw cycles and road salt damage. Gravel handles freezing and thawing without damage but is harder to snow-plow.

Which Should You Choose?

Choose gravel when budget is a priority, the driveway is long (rural properties), drainage is a concern, or you want a rustic aesthetic. Choose concrete for short suburban driveways, wheelchair accessibility, frequent snow removal, and a modern look.

Good Underneath, Not on Top

Bank run makes an excellent driveway base. The wide gradation means small particles wedge between the large ones under compaction, so the layer locks up and spreads load well. It costs roughly a third of what processed stone costs, which is why rural driveways and farm lanes are built on it.

What it will not do is finish. Raw bank run has no wearing course, it tracks onto your shoes and tires, and it ruts under traffic. Cap it with 2 to 3 inches of crusher run or #57 once the base is compacted and crowned.

How to Build It

Spread in lifts and compact each one rather than dumping the full depth at once. On soft clay, lay geotextile fabric first so the stone does not punch down into the mud. Crown the surface slightly so water runs off instead of ponding.

One Is Processed, One Is Not

Crusher run is crushed to a controlled top size with the stone dust deliberately retained so the material binds. It packs into a hard surface that sheds rain, which is why it is the standard driveway wearing course.

Bank run is dug out of a gravel bank or pit and sold essentially as-is. Nothing is crushed, nothing is washed, and nothing is graded to a spec. The blend is whatever the deposit holds, so it is looser, more variable, and considerably cheaper.

Which to Buy

Use crusher run for the surface. Use bank run underneath it, or anywhere bulk fill matters more than finish. On a driveway you often want both: bank run for the base, crusher run for the top 2 to 3 inches.

Partly, and Not Enough for a Drain

Water does move through the coarse fraction of bank run, but the material commonly carries 10 percent or more sand and fines, and those fines slow flow considerably. Bank run drains far better than clay and far worse than clean stone.

Never in a French Drain

The fines will choke the trench, which is the exact failure a drain exists to prevent. Use clean, washed stone with no fines: #57 or #4. The same applies behind retaining walls and around foundation drains.

There is a second reason to keep it out of wet locations. Where fines trap water in the section, a bank run layer can heave in freeze-thaw. Daylight the edge of the base wherever the site allows so water has somewhere to go.

Freight, Not Material

Bank run has the widest gap between gate price and delivered price of any common aggregate. Published 2026 list prices put it near $8.50 per ton FOB at the quarry, while delivered pricing commonly runs $15 to $30 per ton. Consumer guides quoting $25 to $40 are usually reporting delivered prices in markets with a long haul.

On a material this cheap, trucking is most of the bill. Delivery typically adds $50 to $150 per load within a normal radius, with per-mile charges beyond it.

What That Means for You

The pit's price per ton barely matters if you are far from it. Compare delivered quotes to your address, not gate prices. And confirm which product you are being quoted, since crushed bank run is a separate, higher-priced line item from plain bank run.