Paver Installation Cost Calculator

On a concrete paver patio, labor and materials split the bill roughly evenly. At the typical estimate, labor is about 33% of a 10×12 patio, 42% of a 15×20 and a little more on larger jobs, because fixed material costs such as delivery spread over more square feet. The crew digs, hauls, compacts and cuts by hand and machine. The table shows the materials (DIY) and labor estimates next to the installed total.

On the default 15×20 patio, materials come to about $1,500–3,850 and labor to about $1,000–2,750. The paver patio cost calculator shows the same split with a full material list for patios specifically.

Every line below is labor time. A detailed quote names each step; a lump-sum quote hides them.

• Excavation: digging out soil to the planned depth and hauling it away.
• Base in lifts: 4 inches of gravel (about 6.7 tons for 15×20), spread and compacted in thin layers with a plate compactor. Skipping lifts is the most common shortcut, and the most common cause of sinking pavers.
• Screeding: 1 inch of bedding sand (about 1.3 tons), leveled with rails and a straightedge to set the slope for drainage.
• Laying: setting each paver by hand in the chosen pattern.
• Cutting: wet-saw or splitter cuts along every edge, step and obstacle. Cuts are the slowest part of laying.
• Edge restraint: about 70 linear feet of edging spiked around a 15×20 patio to stop the field from spreading.
• Joint sand: about 5 bags of polymeric sand swept in, compacted and misted to set.

The paver base calculator and paver sand calculator show these quantities for any size.

Installed prices for concrete pavers at the U.S. average of $8–22 per square foot, on bare, roughly level ground:

The calculator uses a flat national rate per square foot. Quotes for very small jobs often carry a minimum charge, because mobilization, delivery and equipment rental don't shrink with the area.

Harder and larger materials take longer to install. Natural stone and porcelain need a wet saw with a diamond blade, cut more slowly, and must be leveled piece by piece. Mortared flagstone also needs a concrete slab underneath. Installed rates per square foot:

Estimated labor share on a 15×20 patio, by material:

• Concrete pavers: $1,000–2,750 labor of $2,400–6,600
• Clay brick: $1,550–3,350 labor of $3,600–7,800
• Travertine: $2,450–4,400 labor of $4,500–8,100
• Porcelain: $2,350–5,100 labor of $4,800–10,500
• Mortared flagstone: $4,800–10,800 labor and slab of $6,000–13,500 (the installed rate includes the concrete slab underneath)

For stone projects, the flagstone calculator gives tons of stone to order. Material details are on our concrete pavers and travertine pages.

If you install pavers yourself, the materials column is your budget. On a 15×20 patio that is about $1,500–3,850, versus $2,400–6,600 for a professional job. You still need to rent a plate compactor and a saw, and to haul soil and gravel.

DIY makes sense on small, flat, rectangular patios with good access. Hire out when the site slopes, the soil is clay, the area is large, or the surface will carry a car. A poorly compacted base is the one mistake you can't fix without starting over. Use the paver calculator to build your shopping list and the polymeric sand calculator for the joints.

Driveways need about 8 inches of compacted base instead of 4, thicker pavers and heavier compaction. That raises the installed rate by a factor of about 1.25. A 20×24 two-car paver driveway comes to roughly $4,800–13,200, with about $2,500–6,900 in labor.

The paver driveway cost calculator covers driveways in detail; for a poured alternative see the concrete driveway cost calculator on SlabCalc.

Regional prices shift the whole job. A 15×20 patio runs about $2,850–7,800 on the West Coast and $2,150–5,950 in the South (×0.90).

These are broad multipliers, not ZIP-level quotes. Dense metro areas often sit above their region's average. The calculator applies the same multiplier to materials and labor, so a DIY budget and a professional quote move by the same percentage. Set your region in the calculator above to adjust the whole estimate, including the labor share.

A small patio is often finished in a few days by a crew of two or three. Most of that time goes to excavation and base compaction, not to laying pavers. Larger patios, driveways, intricate patterns and natural stone all add days. Mortared flagstone takes longer still, because the concrete slab underneath has to cure first.

Weather matters too. Crews don't compact a wet base, and polymeric sand needs a dry window to set. Ask each installer for a start date and an expected number of working days, not just a price. You can usually walk on a new paver patio as soon as the joint sand has set, which is one advantage over poured concrete.

Divide each quote by the square footage, then check the scope line by line. A low quote often means a thinner base or no edge restraint.

• Base depth: 4 inches compacted for a patio, more on clay soil.
• Removal: breaking out an old slab adds $2–6 per sq ft; a 15×20 with removal comes to about $3,000–8,400.
• Paver product and pattern: named brand, thickness and pattern.
• Edge restraint and joint sand: type, and whether polymeric sand is included.
• Warranty: what's covered if pavers settle.

Compare paver pricing with poured concrete in the patio cost calculator, and read our concrete patio vs pavers guide for durability and upkeep.