Asphalt Driveway Cost Calculator

An asphalt driveway cost has two parts: the asphalt, which is bought by weight, and everything else the job needs. The calculator finds the area, multiplies by the compacted thickness to get a volume, and multiplies by density to get tons. It adds an extra percentage and multiplies by your price per ton. It then adds a base layer, labour, delivery, optional sealing and other costs.

This is an asphalt cost calculator, an asphalt paving cost calculator and an asphalt driveway estimator in one. The tonnage uses the same area and depth maths as any asphalt quantity calculation, and the result shows the total, the cost per square foot and the all-in cost per ton ordered. For a 20 × 20 ft drive the order is 7.613 tons.

Every price on the page is a placeholder. Asphalt prices change with region, plant, season and job size, so replace each default with a local quote before relying on a total.

Tonnage comes first, because the material cost follows from it. Multiply the area in square feet by the thickness in inches, divide by 12 to get cubic feet, multiply by 145 pounds per cubic foot, and divide by 2,000. A 20 × 20 ft driveway at 3 inches is 7.25 tons. A 1,000 sq ft area is 18.12 tons, and a 1,500 sq ft area is 27.19 tons.

The Asphalt Institute's magazine gives a field rule of 110 pounds per square yard per inch of thickness, and notes that some agencies use 106 or 112. The 110 rule is the same as about 147 pounds per cubic foot, so the two methods agree closely. The density is editable if your supplier gives another figure.

The tons table lists common sizes with the order after 5 percent extra. Odd shapes can be split into rectangles and entered as a known area.

Enter the compacted thickness, which is the finished depth after rolling. Hot mix is laid thicker and compresses under the roller, so loose depth would overstate the tons. Thickness drives the asphalt cost directly. Going from 2 to 3 inches raises the tons by 50 percent, and from 3 to 4 inches by about 33 percent.

The thickness table shows a 20 × 20 ft driveway at four thicknesses. The total moves from $1,569 at 2 inches to $2,076 at 4 inches, a smaller change than the tonnage because the base, labour and delivery do not scale with thickness.

How thick a driveway should be is a design question that depends on the traffic, the soil and the base. The Asphalt Institute notes that lift thickness should be at least 3 times the nominal maximum aggregate size. Ask a paving contractor or engineer, and use this tool to price the thickness they specify.

The price per ton is the number most likely to be wrong, so the page uses a clearly labelled placeholder of $100 and invites you to replace it. Ask local asphalt plants or paving contractors for a delivered price per ton for the mix you need, including any haul charge and minimum load. Prices vary with region, season and the cost of the binder and aggregate.

The cost table shows what a given tonnage costs at four example prices. For example, 7.6 tons at $100 is $760 and at $150 it is $1,140. The per square foot table turns a price per ton and a thickness into a cost for each foot of surface, for instance $1.903 at 3 inches and $100 per ton.

In metric the asphalt price is per tonne, and one tonne is 1.102 short tons, so a price per ton becomes a price per tonne when multiplied by 1.102.

Asphalt sits on a compacted stone base, and the base is a real cost. The calculator takes a thickness and a price per cubic yard of delivered base material, and adds the same extra percentage. A 6 inch base under 400 sq ft is 7.78 cubic yards. If you only need the quantity of stone, the gravel calculator gives it by area and depth.

Labour and equipment are priced per square foot, with a placeholder of $1.50, because paving crews usually quote by area. Delivery is a flat amount for trucking. Use the other costs box for removal of an old driveway, grading, edging, drainage and permits.

The labour table shows how the total of the 20 × 20 ft example changes with labour from $1 to $3 per square foot. Because labour is a big part of the bill, compare contractors on the total and the cost per square foot, not only on the price per ton.

Sealcoating is optional, so it is switched off by default. Switch it on and enter a price per square foot, and the calculator adds area times that price. The sealcoat table shows costs for several areas at three example prices.

The Asphalt Institute says a well-constructed low-traffic driveway should not require sealing for approximately 2 to 5 years, so sealing is normally a later cost rather than part of the first paving quote. Wikipedia describes sealcoating as a maintenance measure that helps keep water and petroleum products out of the surface.

If you include sealing in a lifetime budget, add each recoat separately. For a 1,500 sq ft driveway, one coat at $0.25 per square foot is $375.

People often compare asphalt with concrete, gravel and pavers. A fair comparison uses the total installed cost per square foot for each surface, over the same area and including the base, labour and any upkeep. This calculator gives that figure for asphalt at the prices you enter, so you can set it beside quotes for other surfaces.

Concrete is priced by the cubic yard and asphalt by the ton, so a comparison on price per unit of material is not meaningful. Compare totals. Also ask each contractor about thickness, base, warranty and expected maintenance, since these differ between surfaces and between jobs.

No price on this page is a market figure. Placeholders exist only so the worked examples run, and you should replace each one.

This is an estimate. It assumes a flat surface of uniform compacted thickness and uses prices you supply, so it cannot know your local rates, your ground, your design or your contractor's terms. It does not design the pavement or set its thickness. Follow local code and the contractor's specification, and have a qualified professional confirm the base and thickness for your traffic and soil.

For the base stone use the gravel calculator. If you are pricing the job as a contractor, the markup calculator turns costs into a price, and the loan payment calculator shows what financing the project would cost per month.