A number of soil particle gradings exist. The main ones are as follows:
- United States Department of Agriculture,
- Soil Survey of England and Wales,
- International Society of Soil Science.
Within the UK turf industry an almost identical analysis as that used by the USDA is typically employed.
| Particle Size Description | USDA | SSEW | ISSS | UK Turf Industry |
| Very Coarse Sand | 2 - 1 | n/a | n/a | 2 - 1 |
| Coarse Sand | 1 - 0.5 | 2 - 0.6 | 2 - 0.2 | 1 - 0.5 |
| Medium Sand | 0.5 - 0.25 | 0.6 - 0.2 | n/a | 0.5 - 0.25 |
| Fine Sand | 0.25 - 0.1 | 0.2 - 0.06 | 0.2 - 0.02 | 0.25 - 0.125 |
| Very Fine Sand | 0.1 - 0.05 | n/a | n/a | 0.125 - 0.05 |
| Silt | 0.05 - 0.002 | 0.06 - 0.002 | 0.02 - 0.002 | 0.05 - 0.002 |
| Clay | < 0.002 | < 0.002 | <0.002 | < 0.002 |
| (All figures are in mm) | ||||
It sometimes more convenient to refer to particle sizes as being in microns, especially for those below 1mm in diameter.
1 micron is 0.001mm. Therefore sand particles of 0.5mm would be referred to as being 500 microns.
The relative sizes of particles are shown below to give a visual aid for comparative purposes.
