Concrete Cost Calculator: Estimate a Pour

Estimate what a concrete pour will cost from your supplier's quoted rate, including the waste buffer and delivery or short-load fees.

Your pour and your quote

Use the rate your supplier quoted — prices vary far too much to guess.

Enter a volume and your quoted rate to see the cost.

All calculations run in your browser — nothing is sent anywhere.

How to work out concrete cost

cost = (volume × 1.10) × rate + fees

Multiply the volume by your supplier's rate per cubic yard or cubic metre. Apply the rate to the buffered volume, not the raw one, because you pay for what you order. Then add delivery, pump and short-load fees, which are charged separately.

Worked example: 5 yd³ buffered to 5.5, at a quoted rate per yard, plus a delivery fee — the fees are often the larger share on a small pour.

Concrete is quoted per cubic yard or cubic metre, but the number on the invoice is rarely just volume times rate. Delivery, short-load surcharges and pumping are billed separately, and on a small pour those extras can exceed the cost of the concrete itself.

This calculator uses your quoted rate rather than an assumed one, for a simple reason: ready-mix pricing varies too much by region, mix and load size for any built-in figure to be useful. A published average would be wrong for most people and would look authoritative while being so.

What actually drives the price

What this estimate does not include

The calculator prices concrete and the fees you enter. A finished slab also involves:

formwork and stakes · subbase material and compaction · excavation and spoil removal · reinforcement mesh or rebar and chairs · vapour barrier · labour for placing and finishing · saw-cutting control joints · curing compound or sealer · equipment hire

On a typical residential slab the concrete is a minority of the total. Treat this figure as the material line of a budget, not the budget.

Getting a useful quote

Ask for the rate delivered to your postcode, for your specific mix and volume, and ask explicitly what is excluded. The questions worth asking:

Get two or three quotes for anything substantial. Plant rates for the same mix in the same area vary more than most people expect, and the cheapest rate per yard is not always the cheapest job once fees are counted.

A note on cutting cost

The tempting saving — pouring thinner than specified — is the one that reliably costs more. A slab that cracks or settles has to be broken out and replaced, and the demolition alone will exceed whatever the extra 25 mm of concrete would have cost. Save on ordering accuracy and access instead.

Work out the volume first with the cubic yard calculator, or convert a figure you already have with the cubic feet to cubic yards converter. For small pours, compare against bags using the concrete bag calculator — below about a cubic yard, bags often beat a delivery once the short-load fee is counted.

Related concrete calculators

Pouring a different shape? These cover the rest of the common jobs.

Working out volumes on site?

This tool is web-only. The Concrete Calculator app covers the five volume calculators — rectangular and circular slabs, irregular slab area, circular columns and post holes — with saved projects, job history and full offline use.

Download on the App Store

Free · 4.8 ★ on the App Store

Frequently asked questions

How much does concrete cost?
There is no single answer, which is why this calculator asks for your rate rather than assuming one. Ready-mix pricing varies widely by region, mix specification, load size, delivery distance and season. Get a quote for your postcode and mix, then use it here.
Why does the calculator not fill in a price?
Because any figure baked in would be wrong for most people and would read as authoritative. Rates move with cement prices, fuel and local competition, and differ between a plain mix and one with fibre, additives or a higher strength grade. Your supplier's number is the only accurate one.
What is a short-load fee?
A surcharge applied when you order less than the plant's minimum, often three or four cubic yards. A truck costs roughly the same to send out whether it is full or not, so the fee covers the difference. On small pours it can rival the cost of the concrete itself.
What does the estimate leave out?
Everything except the concrete and the fees you enter. Formwork, reinforcement, subbase, excavation, labour, finishing, sealing and equipment hire are all excluded. On a typical residential slab the concrete is only a fraction of the finished cost.
Should I price the exact volume or the buffered one?
The buffered one. You pay for concrete ordered, not concrete placed, and the 10% covers uneven subgrade, formwork bow and losses in the chute. Pricing the raw figure understates the bill.
How can I reduce the cost?
Order accurately, combine small pours into one delivery to avoid repeated short-load fees, and make sure access lets the truck discharge directly — pumping and barrowing both add cost. Do not economise by thinning the slab; replacing a cracked one costs far more than the concrete saved.