Concrete quantities and pricing
Cost of Concrete per Yard
Calculate concrete material cost per yard using dated source ranges. Separate delivery, short loads, waiting charges, taxes and exclusions.
Price a concrete delivery
Editable prices are planning allowances, not quotes. Unpriced work stays unknown.
Enter your measurements to start the worksheet.
Your worksheet
Start with the dimensions and planned thickness, or enter billed yards. Your worksheet updates as you enter a complete set of measurements.
Complete the required inputs to update the worksheet.
Planning estimate, not a quote. Calculation methods and price limits.
Angi $110-$150, HomeGuide $119-$147 and Concrete Network $160-$195 have different delivery inclusions. Low/high span these published supply ranges; typical $133 is the median of their midpoints. This is a supply allowance, not an installed budget. Delivery, short loads, tax and placing remain unknown. Add a separate delivery charge only after checking what your selected per-yard price already includes.
Measurement diagram and manual formula
Convert all dimensions to one unit before multiplying. Circle area = π × (diameter ÷ 2)². Add only nonoverlapping sections. Cubic yards = cubic feet ÷ 27. Whole bags = round up adjusted cubic feet ÷ published yield. Display rounding does not set a supplier order increment.
Last updated
Sections14
- Ready-mix delivery calculator
- What a cubic yard covers
- Mix details and material price
- Dated supplier examples for cost of concrete per yard
- Short loads plus delivery and waiting
- Work through a delivered bill
- Material-only versus installed totals
- Bagged mix has another price basis
- Tax and other fees
- Ordering checklist
- Keep source rates and entered rates distinct
- Keep the order confirmation with the estimate
- FAQ: ready-mix pricing
- Verdict on cost of concrete per yard
The cost of concrete per yard starts with a material price, but the delivered bill can be higher. Your mix and order size affect the bill. Delivery terms and site details also matter. Multiply a written yard rate by amount, then add fees on their own lines. Labor to install it remains a separate scope.
A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet of volume. Material cost equals billed cubic yards multiplied by the supplier's rate. The delivered total adds only fees outside that rate, with tax on the stated taxable subtotal. Divide that total by supplied amount to find effective delivered cost per yard. It is not a nationwide material average or an installed price.
Ready-mix delivery calculator
Enter cubic yards from a measured quantity sheet or a supplier quote. The tool accepts either direct yardage or volume from your dimensions. Use the concrete calculator for more sections, a circular pad or mix-specific bags. Copy the amount basis as well as its number.
The tool starts with editable low, typical and high supply inputs from dated national sources. Replace them with rates for the same mix and inclusion basis when a quote is available. Do not combine a basic material-only rate at one end with a fully delivered price at the other. That would compare other services.
Leave a rate blank if you do not have it. The calculator will keep amount visible and state that pricing is unavailable. It cannot find a local price from dimensions. A useful amount estimate does not become a priced delivery simply because a national range appears on another site.
Use each fee row to save delivery, short-load charges plus waiting and other quoted work. Blank fees remain listed as unpriced or excluded. If a unit rate includes delivery, choose that inclusion and do not add it again. Save the supplier's quote date with the result.
What a cubic yard covers
One cubic yard is a unit of volume, not a truck capacity or floor area. How much flatwork it fills depends on thickness. Divide 27 cubic feet by thickness in feet to get the theoretical area. This math assumes a constant thickness and no amount allowance.
| Assumed thickness for arithmetic | Worked area from one cubic yard | Scope limit |
|---|---|---|
| 4 inches | 81 square feet | Constant-thickness flatwork only |
| 5 inches | 64.8 square feet | No thickened edges or allowance |
| 6 inches | 54 square feet | No design approval implied |
| 8 inches | 40.5 square feet | Actual dimensions must match |
Scroll for more →
These figures do not choose a slab design. They just convert a known volume to an area at the assumed thickness. Enter the actual planned thickness before using the numbers to order concrete. A thicker edge or a separate footing needs its own volume.
For a worked rectangle, 20 feet by 20 feet at 4 inches contains about 4.94 cubic yards. If you select an allowance, the order scenario increases. Keep that increase visible. Displaying 4.94 does not show the supplier's minimum order or billing step.
Mix details and material price
Ask for the rate for the exact stated mix. Its name and strength basis should match the project record. Check any added fibers or color too.
A supplier menu may list several prices. The lowest price does not choose the design. Save the written plan first, then ask for its price.
Ready-mix requirements depend on the job and service conditions, explains NRMCA CIP 31. Use its ordering guidance to define the concrete requirements, not as a price list or one recipe for all work.
Check that both ends of a quoted range use the same basis. One price may include fiber or color while the other does not. Show those as separate choices. Do not hide a scope difference in a range with no explanation. The tool has no secret mix multiplier.
Dated supplier examples for cost of concrete per yard
These suppliers' public price pages illustrate fees in separate markets. Their rates are not interchangeable or a quote for your job. The mix labels identify each supplier's menu; use your slab specification rather than choosing a mix from this price comparison.
| Supplier and stated market | Published material or first-yard basis | Other stated charges |
|---|---|---|
| GSI Concrete, Pennsylvania, 2026 list | 3,000 PSI mix: $130 per yard | $305 delivery per truck; Philadelphia area $350 |
| Concrete On-Call, Clearwater, Florida, 2026 list | First yard of 3,000 PSI: $241; further yards $191 | $10 environmental fee per yard; local fuel charge $65 |
| Townsend Concrete, Vacaville-area California; effective date not stated | 5-sack 3,000 PSI list price: $162 per yard | Delivery, short-load and minimum terms depend on zone |
Scroll for more →
Sources: GSI delivery pricing, Concrete On-Call pricing, and Townsend's price list. Townsend's page has no visible effective date in the retained text, so the check date is not presented as its page date.
Concrete On-Call states that the first-yard price becomes $191 when a completed order exceeds five yards. Its listed delivery is included in that first-yard basis, with the separate listed fuel and environmental charges. Check whether your requested order fits that condition rather than applying one flat rate to every amount.
GSI lists separate delivery and zone terms, while Townsend lists separate minimum billing and short-load terms. Read the supplier's whole fee basis before pricing a small load. Do not copy one market's material number and another market's delivery number to invent a local total.
Short loads plus delivery and waiting
A short-load fee is not the same as a minimum bill or a delivery fee. It can apply below a stated order size. A minimum charge can make the billed amount larger than the amount supplied. A delivery fee may apply once per trip. Use the actual rule in the quote.
For manual math, keep three volumes on their own lines: net job volume, requested volume, and billed volume. A minimum rule may make the billed amount larger than the amount supplied. Use the billed amount for the mix cost. To find the delivered cost per supplied yard, divide by the amount supplied. Label each basis.
This calculator takes the yardage you choose to price. If a minimum applies, enter that billed amount and explain it in the quote basis. It does not silently turn net volume into an assumed truck load. The quantity result remains traceable to your input.
Waiting time may be charged after a stated unloading period. Ask when the clock starts and how time is billed. Some quotes charge for each started block of time. Work out the billed minutes under that rule first. Do not treat a block fee as an exact per-minute rate unless the quote says so.
The tool multiplies waiting minutes by the quoted rate per minute. Use it only when the quote has that basis. A fee under another rule can go on a fixed line instead. Do not use both fields for the same wait. Label the time as an actual charge or a scenario.
Work through a delivered bill
Use a worked GSI example with four cubic yards of its listed 3,000 PSI mix. At the published $130 material rate, the material subtotal is $520. Add the stated $305 delivery-per-truck charge to get $825 before any relevant zone, Saturday, waiting plus tax or other extras. This is arithmetic for that published basis, not a quote for a particular address.
Dividing $825 by four gives a worked effective cost of $206.25 per yard for those included lines. The material rate remains $130. The larger effective figure comes from spreading delivery across the order. It does not show that another supplier's material price is high or low.
For a separate entered scenario, suppose the same fixed delivery cost is spread over eight yards. The fee per yard would be half its four-yard amount. That is a mathematical comparison only. It does not prove one truck can carry your order or that the same trip terms apply.
The Oak Park 2026 concrete materials bid tabulation provides a separate municipal example of material plus cartage and waiting lines. It is procurement pricing for a named locality, not home installed pricing. Its fee categories are useful to read; they are not default rates for this calculator.
Material-only versus installed totals
Ready-mix delivery puts a material bill on the worksheet. It does not by itself price excavation, forms, steel placement plus finishing or curing work. Those tasks belong to a quote to install it. Some packages include the material supply within their installed rate, so adding a separate supplier bill can double-count it.
Use the driveway estimator if your task is an installed-drive budget. Choose the installed-package mode when the quote gives a full rate per square foot. Choose separate rates when the quote splits material and work. Keep extra fees separate only where the package excludes them.
The curing guide explains why pouring and opening are separate decisions. Save curing plan in the job scope before comparing installed totals. A ready-mix delivery price does not include a plan for when you can use the finished surface.
Bagged mix has another price basis
A bag price buys a defined product and package size. To compare its material cost with ready-mix, first convert bags to volume using the exact product's published yield. Multiplying bag count by its current unit price gives bag material cost. Do not compare one bag price directly with one yard price.
The QUIKRETE 1101 data sheet provides rough mix-specific yields. The amount tool uses those yields for its named presets. Other products can have other yields. A seller's price for a package of the same weight does not prove the same volume.
Keep mixing equipment plus transport and work outside the material comparison unless priced. A bag total also does not show that the intended job suits that product. Check the written plan and placing plan rather than treating a lower purchase bill as proof of project fit.
For a worked comparison method, take the same net volume in both cases. Add the same chosen allowance before rounding bags up. Price ready-mix with its billing and delivery terms. Price bags as whole packages, then list other work separately. That produces two legible material scenarios without claiming a universal winner.
Tax and other fees
Use the actual relevant tax rate and the subtotal it applies to. A material tax basis may differ from a whole-contract basis. This page does not choose a tax rule from a state name. Keep the amount unpriced until you know the relevant basis.
Choose tax on the mix alone or on all priced lines. Use that choice only if it matches the quote and tax rule. For another basis, work out tax on its own and enter a fixed fee. Do not also turn on percentage tax for that same amount.
Fuel, environmental, after-hours and Saturday charges can use other units. Some are per load and others per yard. Multiply each charge by its actual basis before adding it. Save the number of loads when a quoted charge applies per trip. The calculator will not infer trip count from volume alone.
Ordering checklist
- Specification: Exact mix, intended job and any stated admixtures.
- Amount: Net volume, allowance, requested and billed amounts.
- Service: Address, access, unloading method and requested day.
- Fees: Delivery, minimums, short-load plus waiting and any surcharges.
- Tax: Rate, taxable subtotal and whether the quote includes it.
- Evidence: Quote date, price validity and written inclusion list.
Get unclear lines settled before placing the order. If a price is subject to revision, keep that condition with the estimate. A rate checked on this page is not held for you by the supplier. Do not print the worksheet as if it were an accepted order confirmation.
Keep source rates and entered rates distinct
Use the supplier examples as examples. Their geography plus mix and charge rules are visible because those limits matter. A source example is not a local lookup service. It cannot identify which company serves your property, approves access or will accept the specified order.
For your own quote, save the supplier name and date in the basis field. Do not call an entered rate a US-wide range. If the quote expires or the scope is revised, run the math with the new facts. The old result stays marked stale until you submit new inputs.
Unknown costs remain unknown. If you have material pricing but no delivery terms, the material subtotal can be useful. It should be labelled as such rather than displayed as the completed delivered budget. Use the exclusion list to see what still needs to be checked.
Keep the order confirmation with the estimate
Keep the supplier's order confirmation with the printed estimate. It should identify the requested amount, billed amount plus mix and delivery terms. If it differs from the worksheet, use the checked basis to revise the relevant lines. Do not erase the old assumption without stating why the math differs.
After delivery, compare the invoice with those same lines. Extra waiting should have a stated time basis. An extra trip should have a stated load basis. A revised mix amount should have its quantity sheet. These checks help explain a bill.
A rough estimate alone does not prove the supplier overcharged.
The three supplier price pages describe separate local offers. Oak Park's municipal bid illustrates fee structure only, while NRMCA explains ordering requirements rather than prices. The worked totals use stated dimensions and rates, not bids for your property.
See methods and sources for scope and corrections.
FAQ: ready-mix pricing
How much does a yard of concrete cost?
The supplier's rate depends on the mix plus market and quote terms. A posted material price can exclude delivery and fees. Read the named examples above as dated local evidence, not your price. Use a written rate for the specified mix and show the extras that remain outside it.
Does the price per yard include delivery?
Sometimes it does, and sometimes delivery is separate. The source or quote must state the basis. Check fuel plus zone and short-load charges too. If delivery is included, do not add a second delivery line. A first-yard delivered rate may also differ from the rate for each further yard.
Why does a small concrete load cost more per yard?
Fixed delivery costs spread over fewer yards. A minimum billed amount or short-load fee can also raise the effective price. Keep material rate and delivered cost per supplied yard separate. The second figure reflects the completed bill for that order, not a new material rate for every job.
How many square feet does one yard cover?
It depends on thickness. Divide 27 cubic feet by the thickness in feet to get theoretical area for a constant-thickness slab. The table above shows worked examples. Use the specified thickness and keep allowance separate. The conversion does not choose a design or account for thickened edges.
Is ready-mix the same price as installed concrete?
No. A ready-mix material bill and a quote to install it describe other work. The installed scope can include preparation, forming plus steel or fibers, placing plus finishing and curing. Ask which tasks are inside the rate before combining totals. Adding material to an installed package can count the same supply twice.
Verdict on cost of concrete per yard
Use cost of concrete per yard as the start of a defined material bill. Keep the quote's mix, amount basis and fees together. Work out the delivered total without hiding unknowns, then price installed work as a separate scope. A transparent worksheet is useful even before every line has a dollar amount.