Asphalt Calculator
Estimate asphalt tonnage for driveways, parking lots, roads and repairs: hot mix, warm mix, recycled millings or bagged cold patch. Then price the crushed-stone base, the sealcoat coverage, and compare DIY material cost against a contractor quote — a complete asphalt driveway calculator and driveway paving estimator. This hot mix asphalt calculator covers driveways, parking lots, roads and repairs. All densities come from published paving data (NAPA, FAA, SealMaster PDS).
Units:
Asphalt tonnage calculator
Area
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Compacted volume
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Asphalt needed
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Order (with waste)
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Cold-patch bags (50 lb)
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Truckloads (20 ton)
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Coverage per ton
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Material cost
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Density defaults: hot/warm mix 145 pcf (NAPA average), compacted millings 120 pcf, bagged cold patch 100 pcf (QUIKRETE PDS: one 50 lb bag = 0.5 ft³). Change the price to match your local plant quote. It converts square feet to tons of asphalt in one step.
Base & subbase aggregate estimator
Compacted volume
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Compacted weight
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Order loose (with waste)
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Base cost
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Crushed-stone base density 124 pcf (NAPA IS-109). A loose layer compacts to about 3/4 of its loose depth, hence the 1.33 default factor. Typical residential driveway: 6 to 8 in of compacted base.
Sealcoat coverage calculator
Per coat
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Total sealer
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5-gallon pails (round up)
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Sealcoat cost
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Coverage rates are the midpoints of SealMaster PDS ranges (sq ft per gallon of concentrate per coat): MasterSeal 100–120, PMM 85–95, PMB 85–95, acrylic 70–80, EZ-Stir 70–82. Two coats are recommended; porous, aged pavement drinks more.
Full project estimator — DIY vs contractor
| Item | Quantity to order | DIY cost |
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DIY materials total
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Contractor installed
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DIY saving
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DIY total covers materials only. A contractor quote includes labor, equipment, mobilization and profit, which is why installed prices run $3–$7 per sq ft for residential driveways.
How the asphalt calculator works
Every result on this page comes from three measurements: area, compacted depth, and the density of the mix. The formulas are:
| Quantity | Formula |
|---|---|
| Volume | length × width × (depth in inches ÷ 12) = cubic feet; ÷ 27 = cubic yards |
| Tons | volume (ft³) × density (pcf) ÷ 2,000 |
| Order quantity | tons × (1 + waste % ÷ 100) |
| Coverage per ton | 2,000 ÷ (density × depth in feet) = sq ft per ton |
| Cold-patch bags | volume (ft³) ÷ 0.5 (one 50 lb bag = 0.5 ft³ compacted) |
| Base aggregate (loose) | area × (depth ÷ 12) × 124 ÷ 2,000 × 4/3 compaction factor |
| Sealcoat gallons | area ÷ coverage (sq ft/gal) × coats × (1 + waste % ÷ 100) |
Mix density database
| Material | Density | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hot mix asphalt (HMA) | 145 pcf (1.96 t/yd³) | NAPA average: 145 pcf = 3,915 lb/yd³ |
| Warm mix asphalt (WMA) | 145 pcf | Same aggregate skeleton as HMA |
| Recycled asphalt millings (compacted) | 120 pcf (1.62 t/yd³) | Industry compacted RAP range 120–140 pcf |
| Cold patch (bagged) | 100 pcf | QUIKRETE PDS: 50 lb bag = 0.5 ft³ compacted |
| Crushed stone base (21A) | 124 pcf | NAPA IS-109 worked example |
Cross-check: the Georgia DOT rule of thumb of 110 lb per square yard at 1 inch works out to about 146 pcf, squarely inside the 142–148 pcf published range for dense-graded mixes.
Asphalt calculator FAQs
How much asphalt do I need for a 20 by 20 ft driveway?
A 20 by 20 ft driveway is 400 sq ft. At 3 inches thick that is 400 x 3/12 = 100 cubic feet, or 3.70 cubic yards. Multiply by the hot-mix density of 145 pounds per cubic foot and divide by 2,000: 7.25 tons. Add 5 percent waste and order 7.61 tons. At $120 per ton the material costs about $913.50. Use the tonnage tab above with your own measurements for an exact figure.
How many tons of asphalt per cubic yard?
One cubic yard of compacted hot mix asphalt weighs about 1.96 tons (3,915 pounds). That comes from the industry average density of 145 pounds per cubic foot: 145 x 27 = 3,915 lb per cubic yard, divided by 2,000 lb per ton. Looser material such as recycled millings is lighter, around 1.5 to 1.62 tons per cubic yard.
What is the formula for the asphalt tonnage calculator?
Tons = length (ft) x width (ft) x (depth in inches / 12) x density (pcf) / 2,000. Use 145 pcf for hot mix or warm mix asphalt, 120 pcf for compacted recycled millings, and 100 pcf for bagged cold patch. Then add 5 to 10 percent waste for spillage and uneven subgrade.
How thick should an asphalt driveway be?
For a typical residential driveway, paving guides recommend 6 to 8 inches of compacted crushed-stone base, topped with about 2 inches of hot-mix base course and 1.5 inches of surface course, so 3.5 inches of asphalt in total. Parking lots and heavier traffic need 4 to 6 inches of asphalt over 8 or more inches of base. All thicknesses refer to the compacted layer, not the loose depth behind the paver. That is the full answer to how thick should asphalt driveway be for a typical home.
How much does a cubic yard of asphalt millings weigh?
Loose, uncompacted asphalt millings average about 1.5 tons per cubic yard (3,000 lb, roughly 111 pcf). Once spread and compacted they run 120 to 140 pcf, so plan on about 1.62 tons per cubic yard at the 120 pcf default used by this asphalt millings calculator. Millings are noticeably lighter than fresh hot mix at 1.96 tons per cubic yard because of the air voids in the loose material.
How many bags of cold patch do I need for a pothole?
One 50 lb bag of cold patch yields about 0.5 cubic feet compacted, so divide your repair volume by 0.5. A 3 by 3 ft pothole at 2 inches deep is 1.5 cubic feet, which needs exactly 3 bags. Buy one extra bag for deep holes that need compaction in 1-inch lifts. Select Cold patch in the tonnage tab to use it as a cold patch bags calculator.
How much sealcoat do I need for my driveway?
Divide the area by the product coverage per gallon per coat, then multiply by the number of coats. A 600 sq ft driveway using a polymer-modified sealer at 90 sq ft per gallon needs 600/90 = 6.67 gallons per coat, or 13.33 gallons for the recommended two coats, which is 3 five-gallon pails. Coverage varies from 75 to 110 sq ft per gallon by product, so pick your sealer in the sealcoat tab.
What is the asphalt price per ton and installed cost per square foot?
Bulk hot mix material typically runs $100 to $150 per ton in the US, while recycled millings cost far less at roughly $7 to $60 per ton. A contractor usually charges $3 to $7 per square foot installed for a standard residential driveway. Prices move with oil prices and haul distance, so treat these as starting points, adjust the price fields in the calculator, and get local quotes before you commit. The Full Project tab works as an asphalt driveway cost calculator, comparing DIY materials against installed cost.
How much crushed stone base goes under asphalt?
Take the area times the base depth times 124 pcf (the crushed-stone density) divided by 2,000. A 20 by 20 ft driveway with 6 inches of base is 200 cubic feet, which compacts to 12.4 tons. Loose stone takes about 4/3 the compacted volume, so order roughly 16.5 tons delivered. The base tab does this math with an adjustable compaction factor, effectively a crushed stone base calculator.
What is the compaction factor for asphalt and base material?
A loose layer of asphalt compacts to about three quarters of its loose depth, so loose depth = compacted depth / 0.75. In practice that means ordering about 33 percent more loose material than the finished compacted volume. This calculator uses a default compaction factor of 1.33 for base aggregate, which you can adjust for your material and roller.
How many tons of asphalt fit in a dump truck?
A typical tri-axle dump truck hauls about 20 tons of asphalt. The 20 by 20 ft driveway example above needs 7.61 tons, so it fits in a single partial load. Small single-axle trucks carry roughly 10 tons. The tonnage tab shows the number of 20-ton truckloads for your project.
Is warm mix asphalt lighter than hot mix asphalt?
No. Warm mix uses the same aggregate skeleton as hot mix and compacts to essentially the same density, so this calculator uses 145 pcf for both. The difference is production temperature, roughly 30 to 50 F lower for warm mix, which cuts fuel use and emissions but does not change the tonnage math.
Data sources
- National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) — average hot-mix density 145 pcf (3,915 lb/yd³); design unit weights ~140 pcf for base and surface mixes; crushed-stone base 124 pcf (IS-109).
- FAA Advisory Circular 150/5370-14A, Hot Mix Asphalt Paving Handbook, Appendix 1 (2001) — compacted limestone HMA density 2,355 kg/m³ (147 pcf).
- Asphalt Magazine (NAPA) — residential driveway section: 6–8 in compacted aggregate base + 2 in HMA base + 1.5 in HMA surface; loose layer compacts to ~3/4 of loose depth.
- SealMaster product catalog / PDS — coverage per gallon of concentrate per coat: MasterSeal 100–120, PMM 85–95, PMB 85–95, acrylic 70–80, EZ-Stir 70–82 sq ft/gal.
- QUIKRETE Asphalt Cold Patch product data — 50 lb bag yields 0.5 ft³ compacted (covers 6 ft² at 1 in).
- Industry references for millings weight: loose ~1.2–1.7 tons/yd³ (avg 1.5), compacted RAP 120–140 pcf.
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