How to Measure Your Yard

The pictures were taken at Folger Park, a public park on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, so no one's home is shown. On your screen the map uses Mapbox satellite imagery; these screenshots use the District of Columbia's 2023 aerial photos. Everything else is exactly what you will see.

Measure on the satellite map

Step 1. Open the map

Most calculators on this site start with a Measure box. Choose the Draw on satellite map tab (1). The lawn size calculator opens straight to it. The address box (2) sits above the map.

Step 2. Find your property

Type your street address and press Find (1). If more than one match comes up, pick yours from the list. The map flies to it and zooms in close.

• No match? Add the city or ZIP code, or drag and zoom the map to your home by hand.
• Use the + and - buttons (2) to frame the whole area you want to measure. Everything you plan to trace should fit on screen.
• Once you are close enough, Draw area (3) turns solid orange. If it is still faded, zoom in a step or two. This stops anyone from measuring a whole town by accident.

Step 3. Trace your first area

Press Draw area. A dark bar appears on the map: Tap each corner. Tap the first corner again to finish.

1. Tap one corner of your lawn or bed (1).
2. Go around the edge in order, tapping each corner (2, 3). An orange shape fills in behind you.
3. Tapped the wrong spot? Press Undo last corner (4) and tap again. You can undo as many corners as you like.
4. Want to start over? Press Cancel this outline (5). On a computer, the Esc key does the same.
5. When every corner is in, tap the first corner again to close the shape.

As soon as the shape closes, it appears in the list under the map as Area 1 (1), with its square footage and the length of its edge. The edge length is what you need for edging, borders, or fencing.

Step 4. Curved edges and odd shapes

The map joins your taps with straight lines, so a curve needs more taps. Follow the curve with a tap every few feet, as with the dots along the bottom of this lawn. More taps give a closer number. Two things to know:

• Keep your taps a finger-width apart. Tapping right on top of the last point (or the first one) finishes the outline.
• For something small, like a tree ring or a narrow bed, zoom in a step before you trace it, then zoom back out.

Step 5. Add more areas

Front yard and back yard? Side strip? Press Draw area again for each piece. Every area adds into one total. Each piece stays in the list with its own size, so you can delete one or change it without redrawing the rest.

Step 6. Subtract what you are not covering (cut-outs)

Often the easiest way is to outline the whole space, then remove what does not count: the house, a patio, a shed, a flower bed, a pool. Press Draw cut-out (1) and trace it the same way (2). Cut-outs show with a white outline, and the list shows them as minus (3).

Drew something as an area that should have been a cut-out, or the other way around? Press Make cut-out or Make area next to it in the list.

Step 7. Fine-tune the corners

Press Edit corners, then tap an outline. It turns yellow and shows a handle on every corner.

• Drag a corner (1) to move it.
• Drag one of the small dots halfway along an edge (2) to add a new corner there, handy when a straight edge should bend.
• On a computer, right-click a corner to remove it (a shape needs at least three). On a phone, delete the outline from the list and draw it again.
• Press Done editing when you are finished. The numbers update as you go.

Step 8. Use the number

The total (1) is everything you drew, minus the cut-outs, in square feet and acres. The calculators under it (2) open with your measurement already filled in, so you go straight to how many bags, yards, pallets, or tons to order. On any material calculator, the measurement feeds the Order Plan directly.

Want to come back later or send it to someone? Open a material or project calculator from those links and press Share plan. The link saves your outlines, so whoever opens it sees exactly what you drew.

On a phone

The map is built so you can still scroll the page. With one finger you scroll past the map as usual; to move or zoom the map itself, use two fingers. If you try with one, the map reminds you. Taps for drawing corners are single taps, as normal.

On a computer, the mouse wheel scrolls the page too. Hold Ctrl (Cmd on a Mac) while scrolling to zoom the map, or use the + and - buttons. Click and drag to move it.

Getting an accurate number

• Trees hide edges. From above you see the top of the tree, not the lawn under it. If the grass continues under a tree, trace where you think the edge runs, or measure that part with a tape. Roof overhangs work the same way: the roof edge is usually a foot or two past the wall.
• Photos can be a few years old. If you have added a patio or a bed since, trace what is there now, not what the photo shows.
• Slopes are bigger than they look. The map measures the flat footprint. A slope that rises 1 foot in every 4 adds about 3 percent of real surface; 1 foot in 2 adds about 12 percent. Raise your waste allowance for steep ground.
• Check one edge. When the order is expensive (sod, pavers), measure one long side with a tape and compare it with the edge length from the map. If they agree, the rest will be close.
• Decide what counts. For mulch, measure the bed itself, not the lawn around it. For sod, leave out paths and beds. For a gravel driveway, include the full width you plan to cover, edges and all.

If something goes wrong

Draw area and Draw cut-out are faded and do nothing

Zoom in closer on your property. Drawing unlocks at street level.

The map will not move on a phone

Use two fingers. One finger scrolls the page.

The outline closed before I finished

You tapped too close to the first or last point. Press Edit corners and drag a middle dot to add the missing corners, or delete it and redraw with taps a little farther apart.

I tapped the wrong spot

While drawing, press Undo last corner. After it is finished, use Edit corners to drag it into place.

The address is not found

Add the city and state or ZIP code. Or skip the search and zoom in on the map by hand.

The photo is blurry or old where I live

Use the photo for the outline you can see and a tape for the rest, or switch to the Type dimensions tab.

The total says the cut-outs are bigger than the area

A cut-out was drawn as an area or the other way around. Press Make area or Make cut-out next to it in the list.

There is no satellite map tab

The map is unavailable right now. Use Type dimensions or Pace it off; both are described below.

With a tape measure

Choose the Type dimensions tab. Break the yard into simple shapes, measure each one, and add them as separate areas. Use cut-outs for anything in the middle you will not cover.

• Rectangle: length and width. Most lawns and patios are one or two of these.
• L-shape: the overall length and width, then the size of the missing corner.
• Circle: the diameter, straight across through the middle.
• Triangle: all three sides. Any triangle works, not just right angles, which makes it handy for odd corners.
• Ring: the outer diameter and the inner one, for a mulch ring around a tree or a border around a round bed.

A 100 ft tape and a helper make it quick. Measure to the nearest half foot; that is plenty for ordering.

By pacing it off

No tape and no map? Choose Pace it off. Walk the length at a normal pace and count your steps, then the width. Most adult steps are about 2 to 2.5 feet. For a better number, pace something you know first, like a 30 ft driveway, and divide 30 by your steps. Pacing is good for a first estimate; check with a tape before a big order.

Your privacy

The address you search for is sent to Mapbox, which finds it on the map and supplies the imagery. We do not store your address. Your outlines stay in your browser. A share link does contain the outline's map position, so anyone you send it to can see where the property is. See the privacy page for details.