Work out what concrete costs per cubic yard and per cubic metre, once delivery and fees are counted. Enter your job or your yards, add your price, and see the total, the true all-in rate and how the rate changes with the size of your order.
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Uses your price and fees, so you can see how fees spread over a bigger order.
Estimated Concrete Cost
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The Order
A price per yard only tells part of the story. Delivery and small order fees are charged on top, so the rate you really pay can be much higher than the rate you were quoted. This concrete cost per yard calculator adds those fees back in and shows your true all-in rate.
A yard of concrete means one cubic yard. It is a block 3 ft long, 3 ft wide and 3 ft high, which is 27 cubic feet. In metric, it is 0.765 m³, or a block about 914 mm each way.
At a typical 2,400 kg per m³, one cubic yard of concrete weighs about 1,835 kg. That is why a small trailer or ute is rarely the answer for even one yard.
| Cubic Yards | Cubic Metres | Cubic Feet | Approximate Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 yd³ | 0.382 m³ | 13.5 ft³ | 917 kg |
| 1 yd³ | 0.765 m³ | 27 ft³ | 1,835 kg |
| 2 yd³ | 1.529 m³ | 54 ft³ | 3,670 kg |
| 3 yd³ | 2.294 m³ | 81 ft³ | 5,505 kg |
| 5 yd³ | 3.823 m³ | 135 ft³ | 9,175 kg |
| 8 yd³ | 6.116 m³ | 216 ft³ | 14,679 kg |
| 10 yd³ | 7.646 m³ | 270 ft³ | 18,349 kg |
Australian plants quote and deliver in cubic metres, so the yard is an American and older trade unit here. If you see a price per yard on an overseas website, do not compare it directly with an Australian price per m³. Convert it first. Our concrete CFT calculator covers cubic feet in more detail.
Published Australian guides disagree on the price of concrete, and the gap is wide. We have converted their figures to a price per yard so you can see them side by side.
| Source | Published Per m³ | Converted Per Yard |
|---|---|---|
| New Life In Aus, 20 MPa, before delivery | $180 to $220 | $138 to $168 |
| New Life In Aus, 32 MPa, before delivery | $250 to $300 | $191 to $229 |
| What's The Damage, ready-mix supply | $300 to $480, typically $380 | $229 to $367, typically $291 |
| Yellow Pages, standard mixes | $400 to $450 | $306 to $344 |
Part of the gap comes down to what each figure covers. Some are plain plant prices, and others look closer to what a small buyer pays once a small order is delivered. Yellow Pages also lists one Ballarat supplier at $407 for 1 m³, $583 for 2 m³ and $795 for 3 m³. That is about $265 per m³ at 3 m³, or $203 per yard, which shows how much order size matters.
The calculator starts at $380 per m³, or about $291 per yard, because that is the typical figure on What's The Damage. It is only a starting point. New Life In Aus says quotes can differ by $30 to $60 per m³ between suppliers, and that rural areas are commonly quoted 15% to 25% higher. Get a written quote from your local plant and enter that.
One cubic yard is 0.7646 m³. So multiply a price per m³ by 0.7646 to get a price per yard. To go the other way, divide by 0.7646.
| Price Per m³ | Price Per Yard | Price Per Cubic Foot |
|---|---|---|
| $200 | $152.91 | $5.66 |
| $250 | $191.14 | $7.08 |
| $300 | $229.37 | $8.50 |
| $350 | $267.59 | $9.91 |
| $380 | $290.53 | $10.76 |
| $400 | $305.82 | $11.33 |
| $450 | $344.05 | $12.74 |
| $500 | $382.28 | $14.16 |
These are the same price in different units, in the same currency. They do not convert Australian dollars to US dollars. For that you would need the exchange rate on the day, and even then the two markets are not directly comparable.
Stronger concrete uses more cement, so it costs more per yard. Here are two Australian sets of figures, with the per-yard rate worked out for you.
| Grade | New Life In Aus, Per m³ | Per Yard | Yellow Pages, Per m³ | Per Yard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 MPa | $180 to $220 | $138 to $168 | $400 | $306 |
| 25 MPa | $210 to $250 | $161 to $191 | $410 | $313 |
| 32 MPa | $250 to $300 | $191 to $229 | $430 | $329 |
| 40 MPa | $300 to $380 | $229 to $291 | $450 | $344 |
Moving from 20 MPa to 32 MPa adds roughly $50 to $80 per m³ on New Life In Aus figures, or about $38 to $61 per yard. Order the grade on your plans, not the cheapest one on the list. Our guide to concrete grades explains what each one is for.
The cubic yard is the usual unit for concrete in the US, so the calculator has a US setting too. It counts your order in yards, starts at US$130 per yard and treats any order under 10 yards as a short load.
| Item | Published Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ready-mix per yard | $110 to $150, averaging near $130 | Angi |
| Ready-mix per yard | $100 to $200, averaging $128 | Bob Vila, 2022 |
| Full load of about 10 yards | $1,100 to $1,440 | Angi |
| Delivery fees | $50 to $400 | Angi |
| Short load, under about 10 yards | $40 to $60 per yard | Angi and Bob Vila |
| Flat short load fee | $60 to $110 | Bob Vila |
| 3,000 psi | $100 to $115 per yard | Bob Vila |
| 4,000 psi | $118 to $130 per yard | Bob Vila |
The Bob Vila figures date from 2022, and the Angi page is labelled as 2025 data, so current prices may be higher. If your US supplier charges the short load fee per yard, multiply it by your yards and enter the result as a flat fee.
| What You Want | Formula |
|---|---|
| Cubic yards from feet | Length ft × width ft × depth ft ÷ 27 |
| Cubic yards from metres | Cubic metres ÷ 0.7646 |
| Price per yard | Price per m³ × 0.7646 |
| Concrete cost | Order volume × price |
| Truck loads | Order volume ÷ most per load, rounded up |
| Total cost | Concrete + delivery + surcharge + short load + pump + tax |
| All-in price per yard | Total cost ÷ yards ordered |
The calculator rounds your order up to the next 0.1 m³ on the Australian setting, and the next 0.25 yard on the US setting. Those steps are our planning settings, so ask your plant how it rounds. The all-in rate is worked out on the volume you order, not the volume you measured. See our calculator methodology for how we handle volumes.
This table shows yards for every 100 square feet of slab, and the same for 10 m². It has no waste added.
| Thickness | Metric | Yards Per 100 sq ft | Yards Per 10 m² |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 in | 75 mm | 0.93 | 0.98 |
| 4 in | 100 mm | 1.23 | 1.31 |
| 5 in | 125 mm | 1.54 | 1.63 |
| 6 in | 150 mm | 1.85 | 1.96 |
| 8 in | 200 mm | 2.47 | 2.62 |
A simple rule follows from this. At 4 in, or about 100 mm, a yard covers about 81 square feet, or about 7.6 m². Plan your thickness from your drawings, not from the budget. Our concrete slab thickness guide explains the usual sizes, and the concrete volume calculator handles more shapes.
A price per yard or per m³ is rarely the whole bill. These are the extras to ask about.
| Fee | Published Australian Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery | Roughly $90 to $170 per load | New Life In Aus |
| Short load | Surcharge below a minimum, typically 1 to 3 m³ | New Life In Aus |
| Fuel surcharge | $12.25 per m³, ex GST, from 12 October 2026 | Heidelberg Materials |
| Line pump | Roughly $300 to $800 per job | New Life In Aus |
| Traffic management | $100 to $300 per delivery | New Life In Aus |
| Weekend or after hours | Surcharges apply, ask your plant | New Life In Aus |
The Heidelberg fuel surcharge alone adds about $9.37 per yard. Fuel and other surcharges change often, so check the current figure. Also ask whether your quote includes GST. Heidelberg states its surcharge amounts without GST, and other sources do not always say.
The calculator's most per truck load starts at 6 m³, which is our planning figure. Trucks come in different sizes, and iSeekPlant lists standard mixer trucks at about 6 to 10 m³, so ask your plant. Use our concrete truck calculator to plan the loads, the concrete delivery cost calculator for delivery, and the concrete pumping cost guide for pump prices.
Delivery is charged per load, not per yard. So the fewer yards on the truck, the more of that fee each yard has to carry. This table uses the calculator's starting figures: $380 per m³, $130 delivery and a 6 m³ truck, with no short load fee.
| Order | Yards | Total | All In Per m³ | All In Per Yard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 m³ | 1.31 | $510 | $510.00 | $389.92 |
| 2 m³ | 2.62 | $890 | $445.00 | $340.23 |
| 3 m³ | 3.92 | $1,270 | $423.33 | $323.66 |
| 4 m³ | 5.23 | $1,650 | $412.50 | $315.38 |
| 6 m³ | 7.85 | $2,410 | $401.67 | $307.10 |
| 8 m³ | 10.46 | $3,300 | $412.50 | $315.38 |
The rate falls as the load grows, then jumps a little at 8 m³, because that order needs a second truck. A short load fee would lift the small orders further. iSeekPlant says most suppliers want 3 to 4 m³ per delivery, so small orders are where you should ask the most questions.
Each Australian example uses the calculator's starting settings: $380 per m³, $130 delivery, a 6 m³ truck and 10% waste, unless it says otherwise.
With no waste, one yard is 0.765 m³, and the plant rounds that to 0.8 m³. Concrete costs $304 and delivery $130, for a total of $434. That works out to about $415 per yard all in, before any short load fee.
The slab measures 3.600 m³, or 4.71 yards. With 10% waste, you order 4.0 m³, which is 5.23 yards. Concrete costs $1,520 and delivery $130, for $1,650. That is about $315 per yard, or $412.50 per m³.
Add a $600 pump, a $12.25 per m³ surcharge and 10% GST. The bill becomes $2,528.90, or about $483 per yard. The concrete price has not changed, but the rate you pay is over 50% higher.
This slab measures 7.500 m³, and the order is 8.3 m³, or 10.86 yards. That needs 2 truck loads. Concrete costs $3,154 and delivery $260, for $3,414, or about $314 per yard.
The slab measures 4.94 yards, or 5.43 yards with waste, so you order 5.5 yards. At US$130 per yard, that is US$715. If the supplier adds a US$50 per yard short load fee, that is another US$275, taking the rate to US$180 per yard.
At 108 bags per m³, the rate on the Dingo MaxPRO listing, one cubic yard takes about 83 bags of 20 kg premix. That is 1,660 kg to lift by hand. At a sample price of $13 a bag, a yard of bagged concrete comes to about $1,079, before any mixer hire. Bunnings prices we found ran from $9.90 to $14.44 a bag.
That is several times the price of ready-mix per yard. Bags still make sense for a few post holes or a small repair, where a truck is not worth booking. Beyond about 0.5 m³, or about two thirds of a yard, ready-mix is worth pricing. Compare both with the concrete bag calculator and the concrete mixer calculator.
This page prices the concrete arriving at your site. It does not price the people, steel or base. A finished slab costs far more than the concrete in it.
New Life In Aus gives $40 to $80 per m² for labour and finishing, and $8 to $15 per m² for steel mesh. It puts a finished slab at roughly $85 to $130 per m². Other guides go higher. A 100 mm slab uses only about 0.13 yards per square metre, so concrete may be well under half of the finished price.
For a full job price, use our concrete slab estimator, which adds labour, mesh, base and film. For a quick total, try the concrete cost calculator.
Never lower the grade or thickness to hit a price. Those come from your plans. Check your final quantity with the concrete order calculator before you ring the plant.
Wet concrete can burn skin, and dry mix dust is harmful to breathe. Wear suitable gloves, eye protection and boots, and read Safe Work Australia's silica guidance.
Converted from published figures, about A$138 to A$367 per yard before delivery. The calculator starts at about A$291 per yard, which is A$380 per m³.
Angi gives about US$110 to US$150 per yard, averaging near US$130. Bob Vila gave US$100 to US$200 in 2022. Delivery and short load fees are extra.
One cubic yard is 0.765 m³. One cubic metre is 1.308 cubic yards.
Multiply the price per m³ by 0.7646. A price of $380 per m³ is about $291 per yard.
About 1,835 kg, based on 2,400 kg per m³. That is roughly 4,050 lb.
About 81 square feet at 4 in thick, or about 7.6 m² at 100 mm.
About 83 bags of 20 kg, at 108 bags per m³.
Yes, when people talk about concrete. A yard of concrete means one cubic yard, or 27 cubic feet.
No. Australian plants quote and deliver in cubic metres, so give them your order in m³.
It is an extra charge on a small order. In Australia it commonly applies below about 1 to 3 m³. In the US it commonly applies under about 10 yards.
Because it spreads delivery, surcharges, pump and tax across your order. On a small order those fees add a lot to each yard.
No. This calculator prices concrete supply and fees only. Use the concrete slab estimator for labour, mesh and base.
No. Standard mixer trucks carry about 6 to 10 m³, or about 8 to 13 yards, so one yard is a very small load.
The calculator starts at 10%. Ask your concreter what suits your job, since uneven ground can use more.
Figures reviewed November 2026. Sources: New Life In Aus, What's The Damage, Yellow Pages, Heidelberg Materials, iSeekPlant, Bunnings, Angi, Bob Vila and Safe Work Australia. Prices change and vary by location, so get local quotes. See our Disclaimer and Calculator Methodology.