Concrete Footing Cost Calculator

How do you work out concrete footing cost?

Price a footing by the linear foot. Multiply the total length of footing by its width and depth to get the volume, convert to cubic yards, add 10% extra and round up to the ¼ yd³ your plant sells. Multiply by the yard price, then add the lines that have nothing to do with concrete.

Concrete $ per linear ft = price per yd³ × width (in) × depth (in) ÷ 3,888

The 3,888 comes from 27 ft³ per yard × 144 in² per ft². A 16 in wide, 8 in deep footing is 128 in² in section, so one linear foot holds 128 ÷ 3,888 = 0.033 yd³, and a yard runs 30.4 ft.

This page does not quote a national price per foot. Ready-mix, labor and excavation rates vary by region and season, and we have found no primary source that publishes a reliable average. Instead it turns your yard quote into a per-foot figure for any footing size, and lists what else a contractor’s footing price includes. Enter the total length, width and depth above, plus your price per yard, to get the yards to order and the concrete cost. For volume only, the concrete footing calculator has more shapes and bag counts.

Footing cost per linear foot by size

Read across from your footing size. The “per $100/yd³” columns scale to any yard price: multiply by your price ÷ 100. Sizes are common examples, not recommendations.

Bag counts use QUIKRETE’s 0.60 ft³ yield for an 80 lb bag, with no extra added. The pattern is simple: concrete cost per foot grows with the cross-section. Going from 16 × 8 in to 20 × 10 in nearly doubles the area (128 to 200 in²), so it adds 56% to the concrete line at any yard price.

How much do footings cost for a garage, house or shed?

Multiply the per-foot figure by the footing length, usually the building perimeter plus any interior footings. The table gives the order with 10% extra and ¼ yd³ rounding, and the concrete cost for each $100 of yard price.

The shed costs the least in total but the most per foot of its size class, because 1.38 yd³ rounds up to 1¾ yd³ and a short-load fee would be spread over only 56 ft. On a house, interior bearing lines and pads for posts add length that the perimeter misses; take those from the foundation plan.

What drives the price of a footing besides concrete?

Concrete is often the smaller part of a footing quote. These lines carry the rest, and each one is worth asking about separately.

• Excavation and spoil. Digging the trench to the depth your plans and frost depth require, and hauling or spreading the soil. A footing trench is often wider than the footing itself to leave room for forms.
• Forms or trench pour. Formed footings need lumber and setting time. Where soil holds a clean edge, some jurisdictions accept concrete placed directly in the trench; ask your inspector.
• Reinforcement. Bar size, count and laps come from the plans. The table below gives weights for a common layout.
• Inspection. Many building departments inspect the trench and steel before the pour. A failed inspection can mean a second truck date.
• Delivery and access. Short-load fees on small orders, waiting time, and a pump or buggies when the truck cannot reach the trench. See concrete delivery cost for how these fees work.
• The mix. Footings may call for a specific strength or air content. Ask the plant to price the exact mix on the plans; the concrete price per yard page lists what to ask.
• Weather and dewatering. Water in the trench or freezing weather adds pumping, heating or a delay.

How much rebar is in a footing?

Your plans decide the steel. As an example, a footing with two continuous #4 bars carries 200 ft of bar per 100 ft of footing. At Gerdau’s nominal 0.668 lb/ft for #4 bar, that is 133.6 lb per 100 ft; three bars make it 200.4 lb.

Lap splices, corner bars and dowels into the wall add length on top. Price the steel by the bar or by weight from your supplier, and use the rebar calculator or the rebar size chart for other sizes.

How much do deck and post footings cost?

Deck and porch footings are pads or round piers, not continuous trenches, so they are counted per footing. For small numbers, bagged concrete often makes sense; price both ways with your local numbers.

Bag counts use 0.60 ft³ per 80 lb bag and 0.45 ft³ per 60 lb bag (QUIKRETE Concrete Mix data sheet). To compare, multiply the bag count by your bag price and set it against the plant’s yard price plus any short-load fee. One cubic yard is 45 bags of 80 lb. Round piers formed with tubes are sized on the Sonotube calculator, and posts set directly in concrete on the fence post concrete calculator.

How big should a footing be?

Footing width and depth come from the load, the soil and the frost depth, so the answer belongs to your plans and your building department, not to a price page. In most US jurisdictions, residential footings follow IRC Section R403.1 as adopted and amended locally; other countries have their own codes.

Two points matter for cost. First, a bigger footing than the plans require wastes money, and a smaller one may fail inspection, so price the size on the drawings. Second, frost depth sets the trench depth in cold climates, which often costs more in digging and in wall height than the footing concrete itself. Ask the building department for your frost depth before you collect quotes. Where loads are heavy, soil is poor or the plans call for it, have an engineer size the footings.

Worked examples with your own prices

Each example uses made-up prices to show the arithmetic: an example $160/yd³ yard price and a $90 short-load fee where the order is small. Replace them with your quotes.

In metric, multiply width × depth in metres for m³ per metre. A 400 × 200 mm footing holds 0.08 m³ per metre, so 30 m needs 2.4 m³, or 2.64 m³ with 10% extra. A 1 yd³ price converts to m³ by dividing by 0.7646 (NIST SP 811).

Common mistakes when pricing footings

• Pricing the perimeter only. Interior bearing lines, porch footings and pads add length.
• Ignoring the short-load fee. Small footing pours often fall under a plant’s minimum load; ask for the fee before choosing bags or ready-mix.
• Comparing a concrete-only figure with a contractor’s price per foot. A per-foot bid includes digging, forms and steel.
• Guessing the size. Use the plans; check them against your local code with the building department.
• Forgetting the wall. A footing usually carries a stem or foundation wall priced separately; the concrete wall calculator gives its yards.