Concrete Pad Cost Calculator: What a Poured Pad Really Costs in 2026

A concrete pad is the smallest job that still counts as real flatwork — a shed base, a hot-tub pad, an AC condenser slab, a patio extension. And it has a pricing quirk that surprises almost everyone: small pads cost more per square foot than big slabs. A 10×10 pad can run $10–$15 a foot while a 30×30 slab drops toward $6–$8. Here's why, and how to price yours.

The short answer

A standard 4-inch residential concrete pad costs $6–$12 per square foot installed in 2026, with most straightforward jobs landing near $8. That number includes excavation, gravel base, forms, reinforcement, the pour, and a broom finish. Labor alone is roughly $3–$5 of that.

What it looks like by size:

• 10×10 (100 sq ft) — $600–$1,200 installed; small-job pricing applies
• 12×12 (144 sq ft) — $864–$1,728 installed
• 20×20 (400 sq ft) — $2,400–$4,800 installed
• 30×30 (900 sq ft) — $5,400–$10,800 installed

(Planning something bigger, like a full garage or driveway slab? Our concrete slab cost guide walks through the thicker, reinforced version of this same math.)

The minimum-charge trap

This is the quirk. Almost every contractor has a $800–$1,200 minimum for a pour, because mobilizing a crew, forms, and equipment costs the same whether the pad is 64 or 400 square feet. So a small 8×8 AC pad doesn't cost $384 at $6/ft — it costs whatever the contractor's minimum is, effectively $12–$18 a foot.

If your pad is under ~150 sq ft, that "minimum" is doing most of the pricing. It also means the most economical small pad is often a DIY job with bagged mix — more on that below.

Thickness decides the price class

• 4 inches — the standard for patios, shed pads, walkways, hot-tub pads. Everything above assumes this.
• 5–6 inches — for driveways, garage floors, and anything carrying vehicles or heavy equipment. Adds roughly $1–$2 per square foot in concrete plus more labor.

Don't pour a 4-inch pad and then park a truck on it. The thickness decision is made by what sits on the pad, not by what looks cheaper.

Bagged mix vs ready-mix: do the volume math first

Figure out how much concrete you actually need before choosing:

Cubic yards = (length × width × thickness in feet) ÷ 27

A 10×10 pad at 4 inches (0.33 ft): 10 × 10 × 0.33 ÷ 27 ≈ 1.25 cubic yards.

• Ready-mix runs $125–$195 per cubic yard delivered in 2026 — but orders under 3–4 yards usually trigger a short-load fee that pushes the effective price 20–50% higher. For a 1.25-yard pad, you're paying a premium either way.
• Bagged mix (80-lb bags, ~0.6 cu ft each): that same pad needs about 56 bags. At $5–$7 a bag, that's $280–$390 in concrete alone — before gravel, forms, and your weekend.

Rule of thumb: under ~1.5 cubic yards, bagged mix is often competitive; above it, ready-mix usually wins even with the short-load fee. Run your exact numbers through our concrete calculator before deciding.

What the quote usually leaves out

Most per-foot quotes assume an easy site. These items show up as separate lines — or surprise bills:

• Site prep — excavating, hauling soil, grading a sloped lot: $500–$2,000
• Pump — if the truck can't get within ~20 feet of the forms, a line pump costs $600–$1,100
• Demolition — removing old concrete: $2–$4/sq ft on top
• Rebar — #3 or #4 grid adds $0.50–$1.50/sq ft (wire mesh is usually the baseline, fiber mix is a cheap crack-reducer, not a substitute for steel)
• Permits — $50–$500 in many jurisdictions for pads over ~100 sq ft or under permanent structures
• Decorative finishes — stamped, colored, or exposed aggregate runs $8–$20/sq ft installed, a different product entirely

DIY: the honest math

A 10×10 pad's materials — bagged concrete, gravel, forms, mesh — run roughly $500–$600, plus $200–$400 in tool rentals (compactor, mixer, floats) if you don't own them. Your time: 24–40 hours across forming, pouring, and finishing. The job is genuinely doable under ~200 sq ft. Above that, or where footings, inspections, or heavy loads are involved, the pro's margin buys real risk reduction.