Concrete Cost Calculator

The seven line items every estimate should show.

A complete concrete bid breaks the cost into seven parts. A contractor who hands you a single lump-sum number isn't necessarily padding the price — they're skipping the conversation about what you're paying for. Insist on line items, even when the total is the same.

1. Concrete (the mix) — sold by volume. Order is total volume × waste factor, rounded to the supplier's delivery increment.
2. Reinforcement — rebar grid, wire mesh, or fiber. Rebar is the most expensive but adds the most structural value on driveways and garage slabs.
3. Sub-base — typically compacted gravel, sometimes with a vapor barrier under interior or near-grade slabs.
4. Formwork & supplies — lumber for forms, stakes, sealer, curing compound. Usually a small fixed cost, but it gets folded into labor on some bids.
5. Labor — placing, screeding, troweling, and finishing. By far the biggest cost variable across regions.
6. Finish upgrade — broom finish is standard. Stamped, exposed aggregate, smooth troweled, and integral color all add per-area cost.
7. Delivery & short-load fees — ready-mix plants charge extra for partial loads. Below 3 yards (US) or about 3 m³ elsewhere, expect a per-yard surcharge.

Permits are a separate line and rarely included in a concrete bid. Most municipalities require a permit for driveways, structural slabs, and foundations; small patios and walkways at grade are usually exempt. Check before pouring — pulling a permit retroactively is more expensive than getting one upfront.

What concrete projects actually cost.

Why two bids on the same slab look different.

You get three bids on a 600 sq ft driveway. They come back at $3,800, $5,200, and $7,400. None of them is necessarily wrong — they're probably specifying different work. These are the five biggest variables:

• Thickness. Going from 4 to 6 inches uses 50% more concrete, but the labor barely changes. On a 600 sq ft pour, that's roughly $400–$600 in extra material alone.
• Mix strength. A 4,000 psi air-entrained mix runs $10–$25 more per cubic yard than 3,000 psi. On 8 yards, that's $80–$200 of cost the cheap bidder may have omitted.
• Reinforcement. Wire mesh adds $0.20–$0.35 per sq ft. A rebar grid at 12" on centre adds $0.50–$1.00 per sq ft. Some bidders skip reinforcement entirely on driveways — which voids any meaningful service life.
• Sub-base. A 4–6 inch compacted gravel base under a residential slab adds $0.40–$0.80 per sq ft. Skipping it is the most common reason for premature settling and cracking.
• Site access. If the truck can back to the form, you pay the base labor rate. If concrete has to be barrowed, pumped, or chuted around the house, labor jumps 30–80%.

Where the savings actually are.

Doing your own concrete work can save 40–55% of the total project cost — but only if you have the labor, the equipment, and the experience to finish it properly. Concrete is unforgiving: it cures whether you're ready or not, and a poorly finished slab is more expensive to fix than to redo. Honest math on a small slab:

• 10 × 10 patio at 4 inches. 1.5 cubic yards. Hire it out: $700–$1,200. Bagged DIY: $350–$500 in materials. The difference is your weekend, your back, and whether you have a 4-person crew to keep up with the pour.
• 20 × 20 patio at 4 inches. 5 cubic yards. Hire it out: $2,400–$4,800. DIY with rented mixer and ready-mix delivery: $900–$1,400. But screeding and finishing 400 sq ft alone is a stretch — most DIYers need help.
• Anything over 800 sq ft. Hire it. The finish window on a residential pour is 2–4 hours from delivery. A two-person crew can't keep up, and a cold joint or improperly finished surface costs more to fix than the labor you saved.

The middle ground a lot of people don't consider: DIY the site prep, hire the pour. Excavation, gravel base, form lumber, and any rebar grid can be done over weekends. A contractor pours and finishes only — usually a half-day. Splits the cost roughly in half without putting the finished surface at risk.

Quick answers.

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