Concrete Cost Per Yard Estimator
Total a ready-mix order from the numbers you enter: yardage times price per cubic yard, plus delivery, short-load and pump fees.
Calculator
5.00 yd³ at $160.00/yd³ plus delivery, short-load and pump is about $880.00. Small pours (under ~4–5 yd³) often carry a short-load fee — ask the plant.
The sticker price of concrete is only the mix — the number on your invoice also carries delivery, a short-load fee on small orders and, if the truck cannot back up to the forms, a pump. This estimator adds them up from your quoted figures so there are no surprises on pour day. It stores no prices of its own; the plant rate you type is the only price in the math, which is why the result never goes stale.
Formula
total = (yd³ × price/yd³) + delivery + short-load + pump
Worked example
Ordering 5 yd³ at $160/yd³ with $80 delivery and no short-load or pump:
- Mix = 5 × $160 = $800
- + delivery $80, short-load $0, pump $0
- Total = $880
The fees that catch people out
Two line items surprise first-time buyers. The short-load fee applies to orders under a plant’s minimum — often around 4–5 yd³ — because a truck and driver roll out no matter how full the drum is. A pump is rented when the forms are in a back yard or up a slope the chute cannot reach, and it is usually priced as a day rate plus yardage. Get both quoted up front. The ready-mix band on our $/yd³ reference is a labeled sanity check only — your plant’s quote is the real number.