★ CONSTRUCTION · OUTDOOR · DRIVEWAYS
A 24 by 12 ft driveway needs 5.74 tons and costs $706.62. The driveway is 288 sq ft, the volume is 79.20 cubic feet at 3 inches deep, the material is $631.62 at $110 a ton, plus $75.00 delivery. That is $2.45 a square foot. Enter your size and prices to cost any driveway, or work out how much driveway a budget covers.
Asphalt is sold by the ton, so the price of a driveway is worked out in four steps: the area, the volume, the weight in tons, and the cost. This calculator works out the area, adds the waste allowance, turns the volume into tons at 145 pounds per cubic foot, prices the material, and adds the delivery — so the number you get is the number you pay the plant.
Asphalt is sold by the ton, so the price of a driveway is worked out in four steps: the area, the volume, the weight in tons, and the cost. The area is the length times the width. The billable area is the area plus the waste allowance, because spillage, uneven ground and cutting in all use extra asphalt. The volume is the billable area times the depth in feet, which is the depth in inches divided by 12. The weight is the volume times 145 pounds per cubic foot, which is the density of compacted asphalt, and the tons are the pounds divided by 2,000. The material cost is the tons times the price per ton, and the total adds the delivery.
At the defaults — 24 by 12 ft, depth 3 in, price $110/ton, waste 10%, delivery $75.00 — the area is 24 × 12 = 288.00 sq ft, the billable area is 288 × 1.10 = 316.80 sq ft, the volume is 316.80 × 3 ÷ 12 = 79.20 ft³, the weight is 79.20 × 145 = 11,484.00 lb, the tons are 11,484 ÷ 2,000 = 5.74 tons (5.7420 unrounded), the material is 5.7420 × $110.00 = $631.62, and the total is $631.62 + $75.00 = $706.62 — which is $706.62 ÷ 288 = $2.45/sq ft.
| Job | Area | Tons | Material | Total | Per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 x 12 ft, 3 in, $110 (default) | 288.00 sq ft | 5.74 | $631.62 | $706.62 | $2.45 |
| 20 x 10 ft, 3 in, $110 | 200.00 sq ft | 3.99 | $438.63 | $513.63 | $2.57 |
| 24 x 12 ft, 4 in, $110 | 288.00 sq ft | 7.66 | $842.16 | $917.16 | $3.18 |
| 24 x 12 ft, 3 in, $85 | 288.00 sq ft | 5.74 | $488.07 | $563.07 | $1.96 |
| 24 x 12 ft, 3 in, $110, 0% waste | 288.00 sq ft | 5.22 | $574.20 | $649.20 | $2.25 |
| 24 x 12 ft, 3 in, $110, $0 delivery | 288.00 sq ft | 5.74 | $631.62 | $631.62 | $2.19 |
| 30 x 12 ft, 3 in, $110 | 360.00 sq ft | 7.18 | $789.53 | $864.53 | $2.40 |
| 24 x 12 ft, 2 in, $110 | 288.00 sq ft | 3.83 | $421.08 | $496.08 | $1.72 |
Setup: 24 by 12 ft, depth 3 in, price $110/ton, waste 10%, delivery $75.00, budget $1,000.
Line 1 — the area. 24 × 12 = 288.00 sq ft.
Line 2 — the billable area. 288.00 × 1.10 = 316.80 sq ft. The waste allowance adds 28.80 sq ft.
Line 3 — the volume. 316.80 × 3 ÷ 12 = 79.20 ft³.
Line 4 — the weight and the tons. 79.20 × 145 = 11,484.00 lb, and 11,484 ÷ 2,000 = 5.74 tons.
Line 5 — the material and the total. 5.7420 × $110.00 = $631.62, and $631.62 + $75.00 = $706.62.
Line 6 — the cost per square foot. $706.62 ÷ 288 = $2.45/sq ft.
Line 7 — the budget. A $1,000 budget minus the $75.00 delivery leaves $925.00, and the material costs $2.19 a square foot, so $925.00 ÷ $2.193125 = 421.77 sq ft of driveway, which is 463.95 sq ft billable. A $500 budget buys 193.79 sq ft (213.17 billable), and a $2,000 budget buys 877.74 sq ft (965.52 billable).
20 by 10 ft: the area is 20 × 10 = 200.00 sq ft, the billable area is 220.00 sq ft, the volume is 55.00 ft³, the weight is 7,975.00 lb, the tons are 3.99, the material is $438.63 and the total is $513.63, or $2.57/sq ft. A smaller driveway costs less in total, but a little more per foot, because the $75 delivery is spread over fewer feet.
Depth 4 in: the volume rises to 316.80 × 4 ÷ 12 = 105.60 ft³, the tons are 7.66, the material is $842.16 and the total is $917.16, or $3.18/sq ft. An extra inch of asphalt adds about $210 to this driveway.
Price $85/ton: the material falls to 5.7420 × $85.00 = $488.07, so the total is $563.07, or $1.96/sq ft. A cheaper ton is the fastest way to cut the bill, if the plant near you sells it.
Waste 0%: the billable area is the full 288.00 sq ft, the tons are 5.22, the material is $574.20 and the total is $649.20, or $2.25/sq ft. Skipping the waste allowance saves $57.42, but only if the ground is dead flat and nothing spills.
$0 delivery: with no delivery charge, the total is the material alone: $631.62, or $2.19/sq ft. Picking the asphalt up yourself saves the $75, if you have a truck that can carry 5.74 tons.
30 by 12 ft: the area is 30 × 12 = 360.00 sq ft, the tons are 7.18, the material is $789.53 and the total is $864.53, or $2.40/sq ft. A longer driveway costs less per foot than a short one, because the delivery is spread over more feet.
Depth 2 in: the volume falls to 316.80 × 2 ÷ 12 = 52.80 ft³, the tons are 3.83, the material is $421.08 and the total is $496.08, or $1.72/sq ft. A thin layer costs less, but it ruts faster under cars, so 2 inches is for light use only.
Reverse — the budgets: a $1,000 budget covers 421.77 sq ft (463.95 sq ft billable), a $500 budget covers 193.79 sq ft (213.17 sq ft billable), and a $2,000 budget covers 877.74 sq ft (965.52 sq ft billable). The budget buys the area after the delivery is paid, so a bigger budget buys more than twice the area of a smaller one.
The model assumes compacted asphalt weighs 145 lb per cubic foot, which is the standard density for a finished driveway, and that the depth is the same across the whole driveway. It assumes the price per ton is the delivered or picked-up price for the asphalt itself, and that the delivery is one flat fee. It leaves out the base prep, the edging, the sealing, the permit, and tax — ask the contractor whether the quote includes those. Rounding convention: money is rounded to cents, areas and volumes to 2 decimals, tons to 2 decimals for display (4 decimals in the worked example), and all figures are computed from unrounded values, rounded only for display.
| Output | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Area | length × width | 288.00 sq ft. |
| Billable area | area × (1 + waste ÷ 100) | 316.80 sq ft. |
| Volume | billable area × depth ÷ 12 | 79.20 ft³. |
| Weight | volume × 145 lb/ft³ | 11,484.00 lb. |
| Tons | weight ÷ 2,000 | 5.74 tons (5.7420 unrounded). |
| Material cost | tons × price/ton | $631.62. |
| Total cost | material + delivery | $706.62. |
| Cost per sq ft | total ÷ area | $2.45/sq ft. |
| 20 x 10 ft | same model | Area 200.00 sq ft, tons 3.99, total $513.63, $2.57/sq ft. |
| Depth 4 in | same model, 4 in | Volume 105.60 ft³, tons 7.66, total $917.16, $3.18/sq ft. |
| Price $85/ton | same model, $85 | Material $488.07, total $563.07, $1.96/sq ft. |
| Waste 0% | same model, 0% waste | Tons 5.22, total $649.20, $2.25/sq ft. |
| $0 delivery | same model, $0 delivery | Total $631.62, $2.19/sq ft. |
| 30 x 12 ft | same model | Area 360.00 sq ft, tons 7.18, total $864.53, $2.40/sq ft. |
| Depth 2 in | same model, 2 in | Volume 52.80 ft³, tons 3.83, total $496.08, $1.72/sq ft. |
| Reverse: $1,000 budget | (budget − delivery) ÷ material $/sq ft | 421.77 sq ft (463.95 sq ft billable). |
| Reverse: $500 budget | (budget − delivery) ÷ material $/sq ft | 193.79 sq ft (213.17 sq ft billable). |
| Reverse: $2,000 budget | (budget − delivery) ÷ material $/sq ft | 877.74 sq ft (965.52 sq ft billable). |
The math is exact for the numbers you enter: the area is the length times the width, the billable area adds the waste, the volume is the billable area times the depth in feet, the weight is the volume times 145 lb per cubic foot, the tons are the pounds divided by 2,000, and the total is the material plus the delivery. What the model cannot do is measure your driveway for you: measure the run you drive, and for a driveway that curves or follows a slope, measure the driveway, not the straight-line distance. It leaves out the base prep, the edging, the sealing, the permit, and tax — ask the contractor whether the quote includes those. It assumes the depth is the same across the whole driveway, and that the density is 145 lb per cubic foot. For the whole driveway job, see driveway cost calculator; for the concrete for the same driveway, see concrete driveway calculator.
Bright Side Kit. "Asphalt Calculator: Tons & Cost for Driveways 2026." https://brightoolbox.com/asphalt-calculator/ Accessed October 25, 2026.5.74 tons. The area is 288.00 sq ft, the billable area with 10% waste is 316.80 sq ft, the volume is 79.20 cubic feet, and the weight is 11,484.00 lb, which is 5.74 tons.
Area, volume, tons, then price. The area is 24 × 12 = 288.00 sq ft, the billable area is 316.80 sq ft, the volume is 79.20 cubic feet, the weight is 11,484.00 lb or 5.74 tons, the material is 5.7420 × $110.00 = $631.62, and the total with delivery is $706.62.
$2.45 a square foot for this driveway. The total is $706.62 for 288 sq ft, which is $706.62 ÷ 288. The material alone is $631.62, or $2.19 a square foot, and the delivery adds $0.26 a foot.
$513.63. The area is 200.00 sq ft, the tons are 3.99, the material is $438.63 and the delivery is $75.00. That is $2.57 a square foot — a little more per foot than the 288 sq ft driveway, because the delivery is spread over fewer feet.
3 inches is the standard for a driveway that carries cars. At 3 inches this driveway costs $706.62, at 4 inches it costs $917.16, and at 2 inches it costs $496.08. Two inches is for light use only, because a thin layer ruts faster under cars.
421.77 sq ft. The delivery takes $75 of the budget, leaving $925, and the material costs $2.19 a square foot, so $925 ÷ $2.193125 is 421.77 sq ft of driveway, which is 463.95 sq ft billable. A $500 budget buys 193.79 sq ft.
$563.07 for this driveway. The material is 5.7420 × $85.00 = $488.07, plus $75.00 delivery. That is $1.96 a square foot, against $2.45 a square foot at $110 a ton.
$864.53. The area is 360.00 sq ft, the tons are 7.18, the material is $789.53 and the delivery is $75.00. That is $2.40 a square foot.