Cost planning guide
Concrete Cost per m³ in the UK: How a Delivered Price Is Built
Concrete cost per m³ in the UK is the supplier's rate × billed volume, plus part-load, pump, waiting time and 20% VAT. Worked 2.4 m³ slab example inside.
Published 2026-09-19 · Updated 2026-09-19 · BuildMeasure Editorial Team
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Open the UK Concrete Cost CalculatorHow much is concrete per m³ in the UK? Rate × billed m³, plus fees and VAT
Concrete cost per m³ in the UK is not one national figure. A delivered price is the supplier's rate per m³ for your mix multiplied by the volume they bill, plus any part-load or minimum charge, delivery, pump hire and waiting time, then 20% VAT if the quote is ex-VAT. Small orders cost far more per m³ than a full truck.
Published examples show the spread (published prices checked 19 Sep 2026; prices change — get a written quote). Mister Concrete, a London-area supplier, lists C20 at £135, C25 at £139 and C30 at £142 per m³, excluding delivery, additives, offload time and pump hire, with a minimum charge of £625 + VAT. HH Muckers, a volumetric supplier covering Hertfordshire, Essex and north London, advertises from £85 per m³. Neil Sullivan & Sons in Essex lists C25 at £119.80–£182.90 per m³ with a 0.3 m³ minimum for delivery and a £25 + VAT delivery fee.
Because the fees are charged per order rather than per m³, the useful number is the effective cost per m³: the whole delivered total divided by the cubic metres you actually use. The worked example below shows a headline rate climbing by roughly half once fees and VAT are added.
What each line of a UK concrete quote does to the price
Ask every supplier for the same lines so the quotes can be compared like for like. Heidelberg Materials' ready-mixed pricing guide states there is no flat rate and that price depends on the mix, distance, part loads and unloading time; CEMEX's trading terms allow 30 minutes from arrival before a waiting-time charge applies to ready-mixed deliveries.
| Quote line | How it is charged | Where the figure comes from | In the 2.4 m³ example below |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concrete | Rate per m³ × billed m³ | Price list or written quote for your mix | 2.75 m³ × £130 = £357.50 |
| Part-load or short-load fee | Flat fee when the order is below a full load | Supplier terms or quote | £100 |
| Minimum charge | The invoice cannot fall below a set total | Price list (for example £625 + VAT at Mister Concrete) | Not applied in this example |
| Delivery or distance | Per load, or by distance from the plant | Quote | Assumed included |
| Pump or conveyor | Hire by the day or part day, often with travel | Separate pump quote | £0 — the truck chute reaches |
| Waiting time | Per period after the free unloading time | Terms (30 minutes at CEMEX; half an hour at Heidelberg) | £0 — unloaded within the free time |
| VAT | 20% on ex-VAT lines | GOV.UK standard rate | £91.50 |
The £130 per m³ rate and £100 part-load fee are illustrative figures you would type into the calculator, not market prices. Copy the real figures from your own written quote.
Worked example: a 6 m × 4 m slab, 100 mm thick
Volume = length × width × depth, all in metres: 6 × 4 × 0.10 = 2.4 m³. Add a 5% allowance for an uneven sub-base and spillage: 2.4 × 1.05 = 2.52 m³. If the supplier sells in 0.25 m³ steps (ask — increments vary), round up: 2.52 ÷ 0.25 = 10.08, so 11 steps = 2.75 m³ ordered and billed.
Using an illustrative rate of £130 per m³ ex-VAT: 2.75 × 130 = £357.50. Add an illustrative £100 part-load fee because 2.75 m³ is well below a full truck (Heidelberg's trucks carry six or eight cubic metres). No pump is needed and the pour finishes within the free unloading time, so those lines are £0. Subtotal ex-VAT = 357.50 + 100 = £457.50. VAT at 20% = 457.50 × 0.20 = £91.50. Delivered total = 457.50 + 91.50 = £549.00.
Effective cost per billed m³ = 549.00 ÷ 2.75 = £199.64, against a headline rate of £130. Per m² of slab it is 549.00 ÷ 24 m² = £22.88. If access forced a line pump quoted at, say, £350 + VAT, the ex-VAT subtotal becomes 457.50 + 350 = £807.50 and the total 807.50 × 1.2 = £969.00, or £40.38 per m². Supplier RMS Concrete publishes line-pump day rates of £275–£450 and boom pumps of £500–£800 (published price checked 19 Sep 2026; prices change — get a written quote).
Slab cost per m²: depth × rate per m³
To turn a price per m³ into a concrete cost per m² of slab, multiply the slab depth in metres by the rate. At 100 mm every square metre holds 0.1 m³, so a £130 per m³ rate is £13.00 of concrete per m². This is the concrete line only: part-load fees, pump, sub-base, formwork, reinforcement, labour and VAT come on top.
| Slab depth | m³ per m² | m³ for 10 m² | Concrete cost per m² at £130/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 75 mm | 0.075 | 0.75 | £9.75 |
| 100 mm | 0.100 | 1.00 | £13.00 |
| 125 mm | 0.125 | 1.25 | £16.25 |
| 150 mm | 0.150 | 1.50 | £19.50 |
Cost per m² = depth in metres × rate per m³. Replace £130 with the rate on your own quote. Slab depth for any structural use must come from your designer or building control, not from this table.
Small pours: why 3 m² at 100 mm is a pricing problem
A 3 m² slab at 100 mm is 3 × 0.10 = 0.3 m³. That is below most minimum loads. Heidelberg's mini-mix service (in its northern regions) is described for orders between 0.5 and 3 m³; HH Muckers' volumetric trucks are set up for 1–10 m³ per visit; Neil Sullivan & Sons lists 0.3 m³ as its minimum for delivery (published terms checked 19 Sep 2026).
Minimum charges hit hardest here. At Mister Concrete's published C25 rate, 0.3 m³ would be 0.3 × £139 = £41.70 of concrete, but the published £625 + VAT minimum charge applies instead — about £2,083 per m³ ex-VAT for that pour (625 ÷ 0.3). For pours this size, mixing from cement and all-in ballast or using bagged concrete is usually cheaper: the UK ballast guide's 0.30 m³ example needs about six 25 kg bags of cement and one bulk bag of ballast.
Volumetric (mix-on-site) trucks vs ready-mix drum trucks
A ready-mix drum truck is batched at the plant and brings a fixed quantity. You pay for what is loaded, part loads attract a fee, and any surplus is yours to deal with. Heidelberg notes free delivery on full truck loads, with trucks of six and eight cubic metres.
A volumetric truck carries sand, stone, cement and water in separate compartments and mixes on site, so it stops when you have enough. HH Muckers describes paying per m³ for what is used, with no part-load waste. That suits pours where the volume is uncertain or small. Compare the per-m³ rate, any minimum or call-out charge, and waiting terms from both types before choosing — the lower headline rate is not always the lower delivered total.
- Ready-mix drum: best value on full or near-full loads; watch part-load fees and returned-concrete charges.
- Volumetric: pay for the volume actually mixed; useful for small, staged or uncertain pours; check the minimum or call-out charge.
- Either way: confirm the mix designation, consistence, access for the truck and whether a pump is needed.
VAT on concrete: check the basis of every line
The UK standard VAT rate is 20% and applies to most goods and services. Trade price lists are often ex-VAT, so an ex-VAT rate of £139 per m³ becomes £166.80 once 20% is added (139 × 1.2). HMRC's VAT Notice 708 explains that building materials can be zero-rated when a VAT-registered builder supplies them as part of zero-rated work, such as building a qualifying new dwelling, while retailers and builders' merchants charge the standard rate on most items. Do not assume either: confirm the VAT treatment on each quote.
Common questions
These are the questions UK searchers ask most about the price of concrete per m³.
- How much is concrete per m3 in the UK? — There is no single national price. Published examples checked on 19 Sep 2026 range from 'from £85 per m³' (volumetric, Hertfordshire/Essex) to £135–£142 per m³ for C20–C30 (London area, excluding delivery). Your delivered total also depends on minimums, part loads, pump and VAT.
- How much does 1 m³ of concrete cost? — 1 m³ × your quoted rate, plus the per-order fees. On a 1 m³ order those fees are spread across only one cubic metre, so the effective price per m³ is much higher than on a full truck.
- How much does a 3 m² concrete slab cost? — At 100 mm it is 0.3 m³. Multiply by the rate, then check whether a minimum charge replaces that figure; for many suppliers it will, so bags or a site mix may be cheaper.
- Does the concrete price include a pump? — Usually not. Mister Concrete's published prices exclude pump hire, and pumps are generally quoted per day or part day.
- Is volumetric concrete cheaper than ready-mix? — Sometimes. Volumetric charges for what is mixed, which avoids part-load waste; a drum truck can be cheaper per m³ on full loads. Compare the delivered totals.
Same project
Related measurement guides
Sources and limits
Check the project-specific details
- Mister Concrete — Ready mix concrete prices — Supplier price list: C20 £135, C25 £139, C30 £142, C35 £145, C40 £150 per m³; excludes delivery, additives, offload time and pump hire; minimum charge £625 + VAT (20%). Published price checked 19 Sep 2026; prices change — get a written quote.
- HH Muckers — Volumetric ready mix concrete (Essex) — Volumetric supplier page: 'from £85 per m³', mixed on site, 1–10 m³ per visit, pay only for what is used; VAT basis not stated. Published price checked 19 Sep 2026; prices change — get a written quote.
- Neil Sullivan & Sons — C25 concrete — Supplier product page listing C25 at £119.80–£182.90 per m³, a 0.3 m³ minimum order for delivery and a £25 + VAT delivery fee. Published price checked 19 Sep 2026; prices change — get a written quote.
- RMS Concrete — Ready mix concrete prices (London) — Supplier page quoting line-pump hire at £275–£450 a day and boom pumps at £500–£800 a day, plus waiting-time and small-load charges. Published price checked 19 Sep 2026; prices change — get a written quote.
- Heidelberg Materials UK — Ready-mixed concrete pricing guide — States there is no flat rate; free delivery on full loads with six and eight cubic metre trucks; part loads charged; half an hour to offload before extra charges; mini-mix for 0.5–3 m³.
- CEMEX UK — Trading terms and conditions — Terms allowing 30 minutes from arrival before a waiting-time charge on ready-mixed concrete, with part-load and other supplementary charges set out in a separate list.
- GOV.UK — VAT rates — Official source for the 20% standard rate applying to most goods and services.
- GOV.UK — Buildings and construction (VAT Notice 708) — HMRC guidance on zero-rated construction of qualifying new dwellings and when building materials follow that rate; retailers and merchants charge the standard rate on most items.
Review status: Formulas and worked examples checked by hand; measurement practice pending human trade review.
This guide supports planning only. It does not specify structural design, code compliance, or a supplier quotation.