Bags vs. Ready-Mix: Which Is Cheaper for Your Pour?
Enter your slab and your local prices. The tool compares 80, 60 or 40-lb bags (with an optional mixer rental) against a ready-mix truck with delivery and short-load fees, and finds the volume where the truck becomes cheaper.
At typical prices ($6.50 per 80-lb bag, $150 per yard of ready-mix, a $120 delivery fee and about a $140 short-load fee), ready-mix becomes cheaper above about 1.3 cubic yards, a 4-inch slab of about 105 sq ft, if you rent a mixer for the bags. Mixing by hand without a mixer moves the break-even to about 1.75 yd³, but costs a lot more time.
Bags vs. Ready-Mix
Your prices
Break-even: ready-mix is cheaper above about 1.3 yd³ with these prices.
Why the Fees Decide It
Per cubic yard, bagged concrete costs about twice as much as ready-mix: 45 bags of 80-lb mix make a yard, which is about $293, against $150 from the plant. But a truck brings fixed charges: a delivery fee of about $120 and, on orders under the plant's minimum (often 5–6 yd³), a short-load fee of $80–$200. On a small pour those fixed charges outweigh the cheaper concrete; on a bigger one they are spread over enough yards to disappear.
| Pour size | Bags + mixing time | Bags + mixer | Ready-mix | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 yd³ (≈ 40 sq ft at 4 in) | 25 bags, 1 h | $238 | $373 * | Bags |
| 1 yd³ (≈ 80 sq ft at 4 in) | 50 bags, 2 h | $400 | $448 * | Bags |
| 1.5 yd³ (≈ 120 sq ft at 4 in) | 75 bags, 3 h | $563 | $523 * | Ready-mix |
| 2 yd³ (≈ 160 sq ft at 4 in) | 99 bags, 4 h | $719 | $598 * | Ready-mix |
| 3 yd³ (≈ 245 sq ft at 4 in) | 149 bags, 6 h | $1,044 | $785 * | Ready-mix |
| 4 yd³ (≈ 325 sq ft at 4 in) | 198 bags, 7.9 h | $1,362 | $935 * | Ready-mix |
What the Price Doesn't Show
- Time and labor. A crew of three with one drum mixer places about 20–30 bags an hour. Past roughly 60 bags, the first concrete starts to set before the last is mixed, which risks cold joints and a patchy finish.
- Strength. Ready-mix is batched by weight to a set PSI; bags are consistent too, but only if every batch gets the same water.
- Access. Bags win where a truck can't get close: backyards behind fences, steep lots, or far from a plant.
- Leftovers. Unopened bags can be returned or saved; leftover ready-mix has to go somewhere on the day.
For the rest of the job, use the slab cost calculator, or read our guide to ready-mix vs. bagged concrete.
Frequently Asked Questions
Above about 1.3 cubic yards at typical prices if you rent a mixer for the bags, or about 1.75 yards if you would mix by hand. Below that, the delivery and short-load fees make the truck cost more.
45 bags. One 80-lb bag makes 0.60 cubic feet, and a cubic yard is 27 cubic feet.
For more than about 20 bags, yes. A drum mixer rents for $50 to $100 a day and lets a small crew place 20 to 30 bags an hour; mixing by hand in a wheelbarrow is slower and harder to keep consistent.
Most plants deliver as little as 1 yard, but charge a short-load fee ($80 to $200 flat or $30 to $45 per missing yard) below their minimum, often 5 to 6 yards.