ConcreteConcrete Cost Calculator

Concrete Cost Calculator

Estimate mix, labour, finish and the delivery fees a ready-mix supplier adds to the ticket.

Project Details

Project Length (ft)

Project Width (ft)

Thickness (inches)

Project Type

Pricing a driveway? Its thickness, sub-base, and jointing change the bid, so use the concrete driveway cost calculator instead.

Bid check

Confirm thickness, base prep, finish, delivery fees, and whether the quote includes forms, reinforcement, permits or demolition before you compare two bids.

Estimates only. Not professional advice.

Estimated installed cost

$1,390–$2,381

Patio with broom finish. Short-load fees are likely below 3 cubic yards.

2.59yd³ to order

200sq ft poured

11780 lb bags instead

Shortload class →

Mix and delivery: $490 – $681
Labour, forms and prep: $800 – $1,600
Broom Finish: $100
Installed per sq ft: $6.95 – $11.9

Last updated August 12, 2026 by our expert review team.

Delivery ticket

What the ready-mix truck bills on top of the concrete price

A quoted yard price is the mix. The ticket that arrives with the truck can carry four more lines, and a small pour is where they hurt: on a two-yard order the fees can run past the concrete itself.

Mix and delivery: $490 – $681; 2.6 yd³ at $160 to $195 per yd³; 31%
Labour, forms and prep: $800 – $1,600; patio rate, $4 to $8 per sq ft; 64%
Broom Finish: $100; $0.5 per sq ft over a plain trowel; 5%

Shares use the midpoint of each range. On most flatwork the mix is the smallest line on the page, which is why a cheaper yard price rarely rescues a high bid.

Ticket extras

Concrete delivery fees: short load, waiting time, washout, Saturday

These four are the ones homeowners get caught by, because none of them appear in a quoted yard price. The figures are lifted from published supplier price schedules and one municipal bid tabulation, each named in its row.

Your order is 2.6 yd³ on a weekday-priced ticket, which sits under every full-load minimum published below, so budget the short-load line.

Line on the ticketWhen it landsPublished figures

Short-load fee

applies to you

Your order is under the plant's full-load minimum. Published thresholds run 3 to 6 cubic yards, and 5 is the most common. Below roughly 1.5 to 2 yards many plants will not dispatch a truck at all.

Source: Consumers Concrete price list (MI), Townsend Concrete (CA), Jefferson County MO ready-mix bid tabulation.

$100 to $200 per load

or about $40 per yard short

Waiting time

The truck is on site longer than your free unloading allowance, which is 5 to 10 minutes per cubic yard or a flat 20 to 45 minutes depending on the plant. The clock usually starts a set number of minutes after arrival, so a crew that is not ready when the truck rolls in pays for it.

Source: HC&D Hawaii 2025 price schedule, Townsend Concrete, Consumers Concrete demurrage rate.

$2.00 per minute

or $120 to $150 per hour

Washout

The drum and chute are rinsed on your property. Only one US schedule we could open puts a price on it. Several suppliers charge nothing and instead make washout your responsibility, which means you provide a containment area that meets local environmental rules.

Source: HC&D Maui 2025 price schedule; colour figures from Consumers Concrete and Short Load Concrete (NJ).

$49 per occurrence

colour cleanout is separate, $50 to $200 per truck

Saturday and after-hours

Delivery outside normal plant hours. Some suppliers bill it per load, some per cubic yard, and some add a separate charge on top just for opening the plant on a weekend.

Source: Townsend Concrete, Consumers Concrete, HC&D Hawaii (Oahu and Maui schedules).

$50 to $100 per load

or $2 to $5 per yard, plus up to $500 per order

Two more adders, both well documented

Winter mix or hot water: $6 to $13 per yd³
Calcium chloride, per 1%: $3.00 per yd³

Consumers Concrete and the Jefferson County bid tabulation agree almost exactly on both, which is rare enough to be worth stating. Cold-weather concrete is seasonal: one schedule charges the lower rate from mid October and the higher one from December through March.

Two we could not source, and will not invent

Fuel surcharges and extra-chute or pump fees are real, and suppliers confirm they exist. One price list points at a separate fuel chart it does not publish. No US schedule we could open states either number, and the ranges circulating online trace back to auto-generated calculator sites rather than to a supplier.

Ask for both in writing when you book the truck. It is a one-line question and it is the only reliable source for your own plant.

The calculator above carries a $75 to $175 short-load allowance below 3 cubic yards, which sits just under the $100 to $200 the published schedules show. Treat it as a floor and confirm your own plant's minimum before you order.

Bid sheet

Getting concrete cost quotes you can actually compare

Three bids on the same job routinely land 30 to 50% apart, and most of that gap is scope rather than margin. These are the things to pin down before you ask for a price.

Get at least 3 quotes from local contractors. Prices vary 30 to 50% between companies for the same project. Always check references and insurance.
Use our concrete slab calculator to estimate the exact cubic yards needed before requesting quotes. Knowing your volume prevents overcharging.
Broom finish is the best value. It costs almost nothing extra and provides excellent slip resistance for driveways, sidewalks, and pool decks.
Stamped concrete looks like stone or brick but costs 40 to 60% less than real pavers. Budget $8 to $18 per sq ft total for stamped work.
Planning a patio? Our concrete patio calculator provides finish-specific pricing for broom, stamped, and polished options.
Pour in spring or fall when temperatures are between 50 and 80 degrees F. Hot summer pours cure too fast, cold winter pours risk freeze damage.
Foundation costs are 2 to 3 times higher than slabs because of deeper excavation, rebar requirements, and form work. Budget $13 to $23 per sq ft.
For kitchen projects, our concrete countertop calculator estimates mix, sealer, and costs for DIY or professional countertops.

Change order

Concrete cost overruns: five ways a quote grows before the pour

This is where the money is decided. Every line below is an item left out of the original bid, which is exactly how a signed price grows on the way to the truck.

What goes wrongDo this instead

Taking one quote, or three quotes with different scopes

Prices vary 30 to 50% between contractors, and the cheapest sheet is usually the thinnest scope.

Ask all three to price the same thickness, base depth, reinforcement and finish, then compare the totals.

Pouring too thin for the application

A 4 in driveway cracks under vehicle weight, and the concrete saved is the cheapest part of the job.

4 in for patios and walkways, 6 in for driveways, 8 to 12 in for foundations and equipment pads.

Skipping the sub-base

A slab poured on loose soil settles unevenly and cracks inside the first year.

Excavate and compact 4 in of gravel in lifts. It is a line item worth insisting on.

Choosing stamped without budgeting the resealing

The finish is the biggest single line on a decorative job, and it keeps costing after the pour.

Add resealing every 2 to 3 years at about $0.50 per sq ft to the 10-year number before you decide.

Leaving permits out of the budget

Most municipalities permit flatwork, and the wait can hold the pour date for a week or two.

Budget $50 to $200 and pull the permit before you book the truck, not after.

Priced jobs

Concrete cost by project: four bids, line by line

Each total splits into the same three lines a contractor quotes: mix and delivery, labour with prep, then the finish allowance. All four are 4 in slabs.

Patio · 10 × 12 ft

$865 to $1,499

Mix $325 to $479, labour $480 to $960, plus $60 of broom finish. At 1.6 yd³ this order also picks up a short-load fee.

Garage floor · 24 × 24 ft

$4,363 to $7,504

Mix $1,195 to $1,456, labour $2,880 to $5,760, plus $288 of broom finish. Interior slab, so no apron or drain in this bid.

Sidewalk · 40 × 4 ft

$1,127 to $1,779

Mix $407 to $579, labour $640 to $1,120, plus $80 of broom finish. Front walk from the driveway to the door.

Stamped patio · 15 × 20 ft

$4,222 to $5,558

Mix $622 to $758, labour $1,200 to $2,400, plus $2,400 of stamping. Here the finish outweighs everything else on the sheet.

Concrete cost planning diagram showing measured volume, order allowance, ready-mix versus bags, material-only cost, installed cost, base prep, and finish.

The same three lines, drawn as one chain. A bid that quotes only the right-hand end is impossible to compare against one that itemises the left.

Takeoff

How this concrete cost calculator gets to a number

Three steps, and every constant is stated so you can audit the figure rather than trust it.

01
Length times width gives the area, area times thickness gives the raw volume, and the volume is divided by 27 to reach cubic yards.
02
The order allowance is added on top, because you buy what the truck brings, not what the slab holds. Five per cent is the default.
03
Cubic yards are priced against the delivered mix band, then labour, prep and the finish allowance are added per unit of surface.

yd³ = L × W × t ÷ 27order = yd³ × (1 + allowance)mix = order × $160 to $195labour = area × project rateinstalled = mix + labour + finish

What the estimate does not include

Excavation, grading and haul-off of spoil
Demolition of an existing slab
Reinforcement, whether mesh, rebar or fibre
Permits, inspections and right-of-way work
Pumping, wheeling or difficult site access
Sealing, and the resealing a decorative finish wants

Any of these can be a four-figure line on its own, so treat the estimate as the concrete scope rather than the whole project.

Rate card

Concrete cost per square foot by project type

Five installed ranges on one shared scale, so the distance between a sidewalk and a foundation is visible instead of arithmetic.

Sidewalk$7 – $12

Patioyour project$7 – $13

Driveway$9 – $16

Garage Floor$9 – $17

Foundation$13 – $23

$6$12$18$24

Installed, per sq ft, including material, a delivery allowance and labour with a broom finish. Decorative finishes sit on top of these.

Reading the spread

The width of each bar is site access and prep, not the mix. A sidewalk a wheelbarrow can reach and a sidewalk behind a fence carry the same concrete and very different labour.

Foundations sit apart because they add excavation, footings, rebar and formwork. Driveways are shown for comparison and have their own calculator.

Unit of sale

Concrete cost per cubic yard vs per square foot

Suppliers sell volume and contractors bid surface, which is why two honest numbers for the same job look nothing alike. Thickness is the exchange rate between them.

ThicknessOne cubic yard coversMix alone, per sq ftTypical use

4 in81 sq ft per yd³$1.98 to $2.41Patios, walkways

5 in64.8 sq ft per yd³$2.47 to $3.01Light truck traffic

6 in54 sq ft per yd³$2.96 to $3.61Driveways

8 in40.5 sq ft per yd³$3.95 to $4.81Foundations, equipment pads

Read the third column against the installed ranges above. The mix is typically a fifth to a quarter of what you pay per sq ft, so shopping suppliers on yard price moves a small part of the total. Shopping scope moves the rest.

Before you sign

Concrete cost questions homeowners ask before signing

Answered against the same price bands and thickness rules this calculator uses.

How much does a concrete patio cost?

$7 to $13 per sq ft for a standard broom finish. A 200 sq ft patio runs about $1,400 to $2,400 before unusual site prep. Stamped adds about $8 per sq ft.

How much does a concrete foundation slab cost?

$13 to $23 per sq ft installed, roughly two to three times a patio. Deeper excavation, footings, rebar, and forms drive the spread. A 1,000 sq ft slab lands near $13,000 to $23,000.

How much does a garage floor slab cost?

$9 to $17 per sq ft installed. A 24 x 24 ft garage floor at 4 inches usually quotes around $4,400 to $7,500 with a broom finish, before any apron or drain work.

Is stamped concrete worth it?

Stamped adds $8 to $18 per sq ft but mimics stone, brick, or slate at 40 to 60% less cost. It needs resealing every 2 to 3 years ($0.50/sq ft).

How much does concrete cost per cubic yard?

$160 to $195 per cubic yard is a practical current planning range for delivered ready-mix. Short loads under 3 cubic yards often add a separate delivery fee.

Does concrete or pavers cost more?

Concrete costs $7 to $16/sq ft installed. Pavers cost $10 to $25/sq ft. Concrete wins upfront, but pavers are easier to repair individually.

How thick should my concrete be?

4 inches for patios and walkways. 6 inches for driveways. 8 to 12 inches for foundations and heavy equipment pads.

What is the cheapest concrete finish?

Plain (steel trowel) is cheapest but slippery when wet. Broom finish adds $0.50/sq ft and gives safe traction. Both are far cheaper than stamped or polished.

How can I save money on a concrete project?

Do your own demolition and grading. Order the right amount (no short loads). Choose broom finish. Pour in the off-season (late fall) when contractors are less busy.

What is a short-load fee on concrete delivery?

A surcharge for ordering less than the plant's full-load minimum. Published supplier schedules set that minimum at 3 to 6 cubic yards and charge $100 to $200 per load, or about $40 for every yard you fall short.

How long do you get to unload a concrete truck?

Five to ten minutes per cubic yard, or a flat 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the supplier. After that, published rates run $2.00 per minute or $120 to $150 per hour of waiting time.

Is there a surcharge for Saturday concrete delivery?

Yes. Published schedules charge $50 to $100 per load, or $2 to $5 per cubic yard. One supplier also adds up to $500 per order simply to open the plant on a Saturday.

Disclaimer

These estimates are for planning purposes only. Actual costs vary by location, material availability, and project complexity. Always get at least 3 local quotes. This calculator does not replace professional advice.

Sources

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