Updated · Built and checked by the PlinzoTools team, formulas tested against published sources
Estimate asphalt material and labor cost from your tonnage and your own supplier's price per ton.
$1993.75
Asphalt price per ton varies by region, mix type, and market oil prices (asphalt is a petroleum byproduct, so its cost tracks oil markets more directly than most paving materials), so this calculator never assumes a price -- it works from your area and thickness, then applies your own supplied price per ton.
Enter your paving area, thickness, the price per ton your supplier or contractor has quoted, and an optional labor cost if that's billed separately.
Tons = (Area × (Thickness ÷ 12) × 145) ÷ 2000
Material Cost = Tons × Price per Ton
Total = Material Cost + Labor Cost
This is a materials estimate based on the numbers you enter -- base preparation, milling of an existing surface, and sealing are common additional costs a full asphalt paving job may include, none of which are assumed here.
Take a 1,500 square foot area paved 3 inches thick. The volume is 375 cubic feet, and at the built-in density of 145 pounds per cubic foot the weight is 54,375 pounds, or about 27.19 tons. If a supplier quoted 110 per ton (a made-up number), material would be about 2,991. Adding a hypothetical labor bid of 1,000 brings the total to roughly 3,991. Your own quote will differ, but the structure of the calculation stays the same.
This calculator uses 145 pounds per cubic foot, a common average for compacted hot-mix asphalt. If your supplier tells you a different density, the true tonnage will differ slightly. As an approximation, tons change in proportion to density, so a mix 3 percent lighter needs about 3 percent fewer tons. For a large project, ask the supplier or contractor for a quantity based on their mix. The Asphalt Calculator lets you enter your own density.
Use your estimate to check whether a bid seems realistic. Large differences can come from thickness, base preparation, removal of old pavement, or a different scope, not only the per-ton price. Ask each contractor to state the thickness and whether the price includes preparation, compaction, and cleanup. Because asphalt pricing tends to follow market conditions, prices can change between quotes, so ask how long a quote is valid.
Base preparation, milling of an existing surface, tack coat, striping, sealing, drainage work, and permits are not part of this estimate. Include those from separate quotes to get a fuller picture of a project's cost.
Enter thickness in inches, not feet, and area in square feet. A common slip is entering the thickness as 0.25 when you mean a quarter of a foot instead of three inches. If the tonnage looks very high or low compared with a similar job you have seen quoted, check those two entries first.
Asphalt is a petroleum byproduct, so its price tends to track crude oil market fluctuations more directly than concrete or gravel, which are less oil-dependent.
No -- if your project needs a new compacted gravel base rather than paving over an existing surface, size and cost that separately (see the Gravel Calculator).
Yes. Leave labor at zero and the total equals the material cost.
Tons scale directly with thickness, so doubling the thickness doubles the material and its cost.
Only if you include it in your price per ton or in the labor field. Otherwise add it separately.