Ready-Mix Concrete Price: What a Quote Includes vs Bagged Mix

What is included in a ready-mix concrete price?

A ready-mix price is the plant’s price per cubic yard (yd³) for one mix design, delivered fresh in a truck mixer. It covers the batched concrete and normal delivery; order fees such as short-load, waiting time or after-hours charges are added on the ticket. Ready-mix is made and delivered under ASTM C94/C94M, the US specification for ready mixed concrete, and the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) notes there is “no typical recipe”: materials and proportions vary by region and by the properties you ask for. That is why we do not print a national average. Prices only compare when every plant quotes the same mix.

Ready-mix ticket = ordered yd³ × price per yd³ for the specified mix + additives per yd³ + order fees

This page is about what you are buying and how to compare it with bagged concrete. For coverage per yard and price-per-yard conversions, see concrete price per yard; for truckloads and fees by order size, see concrete delivery cost.

What should I specify so ready-mix quotes compare?

Give every plant the same five items. NRMCA’s guide to ordering (CIP 31) lists what the purchaser should state, and each one can change the price per yard.

Also tell the plant the quantity in yards, the street address, how the concrete will be placed (chute or pump, and pump line size), the delivery rate and the start time. NRMCA adds that ASTM C94/C94M requires the purchaser to provide a copy of the project specifications if there are any. Strength in MPa is psi × 0.006895 (3,500 psi ≈ 24.1 MPa, 5,000 psi ≈ 34.5 MPa); NRMCA rounds to 25–35 MPa.

Which order fees should I ask about?

A low price per yard can still be the dearer ticket. Ask each plant for every line below and add them up before you compare; the concrete delivery cost page shows how each flat fee spreads over the yards.

• Short-load fee. A flat charge below the plant’s minimum load. Ask the threshold and the amount, and whether it applies per truck or per order.
• Additives per yard. Accelerator, retarder, fiber, color and air entrainment where needed.
• Waiting time. Free unloading time, then a charge. Under ASTM C94/C94M-24d the purchaser (or else the producer) sets the time limit to finish discharge, and it is printed on the ticket.
• Zone or distance charge. Some plants add one beyond a set radius.
• After-hours and weekend. Usually flat.
• Pump or conveyor. Quoted separately when the truck cannot reach the forms.

Is ready-mix cheaper than bagged concrete?

Work out the bag price at which the two cost the same. Divide the full ready-mix ticket by the number of bags that make the same volume; if your store’s bag price is above that figure, ready-mix is cheaper. Bag counts use QUIKRETE’s data-sheet yields (80 lb ≈ 0.60 ft³, 60 lb ≈ 0.45 ft³), rounded up to whole bags. To run both totals side by side with your quotes, use the ready mix concrete calculator (truck vs bags).

Break-even bag price = ready-mix ticket for V yd³ ÷ bags needed for V yd³

The ticket column uses one placeholder quote, $150 per yd³ plus a $200 short-load fee below 5 yd³, computed with the site’s cost function (scripts/ready-mix-concrete-price.ts). It is not a typical price. Swap in your own: the method stays the same. Two patterns hold whatever the prices: the break-even bag price falls as the order grows, and it jumps at the plant’s short-load threshold.

Bags still carry costs the table leaves out: mixer rental, water, and lifting every bag at least twice. A 2 yd³ job in 80 lb bags is 7,200 lb of dry mix. Bags win on very small or remote pours, and when the work can be done in stages; ready-mix wins when the slab must be placed in one go.

Is ready-mix stronger than bagged concrete?

Ready-mix is batched to the strength you order; a bag has a fixed rating. QUIKRETE’s Concrete Mix (No. 1101) data sheet lists 2,500 psi (17.2 MPa) at 7 days and 4,000 psi (27.5 MPa) at 28 days. NRMCA puts most ready-mix orders at 3,500–5,000 psi. So for a patio or walk the two can be similar; the difference is control. Ready-mix arrives at a stated slump and air content within ASTM C94 tolerances, while a bag’s result depends on how much water each batch gets. For the difference between cement and concrete themselves, see cement vs concrete.

How much ready-mix should I order?

Order 4% to 10% more than the volume from plan dimensions, NRMCA advises, then round up to the plant’s step (often ¼ yd³; ask). Re-check the quantity before you finish the pour, and avoid both a large leftover and a small clean-up load, which brings its own fee.

Load counts use the +10% order and NRMCA’s 8 to 12 yd³ (5 to 9 m³) range for truck mixers; your plant’s figure may differ. On the 20 × 20 ft slab, the step from +4% to +10% is ¼ yd³; at an example $150 per yard that is $37.50, cheap insurance against a second truck. Volumes for other shapes come from the concrete yards calculator.

Who is responsible for what on delivery day?

The price assumes you are ready when the truck arrives. NRMCA’s CIP 31 sets out the split:

• The producer delivers the slump and air you ordered, within tolerance, measured at discharge from the truck, and is responsible for the slump for 30 minutes after the requested time or the truck’s arrival, whichever is later.
• The purchaser passes on every project requirement, checks the mix on the ticket, directs the truck, and signs the ticket noting anything unusual.
• Site changes are on you: the producer cannot answer for quality if excess water, admixtures, fibers or other products are added at the site, or if the crew is not ready to take the concrete.
• Access matters for cost and safety: NRMCA says a loaded truck weighs about 80,000 lb (36,000 kg) and may not manage loose dirt or residential curbs, so plan a pump or other placing method where access is tight.

Concrete normally sets and hardens within two to eight hours after mixing (NRMCA), which is why waiting time is billed and why the discharge time limit goes on the ticket.

Common mistakes when buying ready-mix

• Comparing prices for different mixes. A 3,000 psi quote and a 4,000 psi quote with air are different products. Send every plant the same spec list.
• Ignoring fees. In the worked example, the plant $15 cheaper per yard cost $155 more on 3 yd³.
• Buying bags on habit. Above about a yard, check the break-even bag price; small orders near the short-load threshold are where bags can still win.
• Ordering the exact plan volume. NRMCA’s 4–10% margin exists because forms bow and bases vary.
• Adding water to make it easier to place. It can lower strength and shifts responsibility for quality to you.

To cost the whole slab with labor and base, use cost to pour a concrete slab; to get volume for any shape, start on the concrete calculator.