How to use the concrete bag calculator
Enter how much concrete you need, in cubic yards, cubic feet or cubic metres, and the bag size you plan to buy. The calculator rounds up to whole bags, adds the dry weight you'll be lifting and hauling, and works out how many trips that is for your vehicle. Add a bag price and a ready-mix quote to see which is cheaper.
If you only have measurements, start with the concrete calculator to get the volume, or the post hole calculator for fence posts.
The formula
bags = volume (ft³) × (1 + waste) ÷ bag yield (ft³), rounded up
bag yield ≈ 0.0075 ft³ per pound of dry mix
QUIKRETE Concrete Mix, QUIKRETE 5000 and Fast-Setting Concrete Mix all publish the same yield per pound, so an 80 lb bag of any of them makes about 0.60 ft³ of concrete.
Worked example: one cubic yard in 80 lb bags
- One cubic yard is 27 ft³; with 10% extra that's 29.7 ft³.
- Bags: 29.7 ÷ 0.60 = 49.5, so 50 bags.
- Dry weight: 50 × 80 = 4,000 lb. With a 1,500 lb payload that's 3 trips.
- At, say, $6.50 a bag: $325, or about $293 per cubic yard of finished concrete before waste. Enter your local price above.
Bags per cubic yard and cubic foot
| Bag | Yield | Bags per yd³ | Bags per ft³ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 lb | 0.30 ft³ | 90 | 3.33 |
| 50 lb | 0.375 ft³ | 72 | 2.67 |
| 60 lb | 0.45 ft³ | 60 | 2.22 |
| 80 lb | 0.60 ft³ | 45 | 1.67 |
| 90 lb | 0.675 ft³ | 40 | 1.48 |
Which mix?
- Standard concrete mix (4,000 psi class) suits slabs, steps, footings and general work.
- High-early-strength mix (5,000 psi class, such as QUIKRETE 5000) reaches strength faster and is a good choice for driveways and cold weather.
- Fast-setting mix sets in under an hour and is made for fence and mailbox posts poured dry into the hole.
- Crack-resistant and fiber mixes add fibers that reduce shrinkage cracking; useful for thin slabs and countertops.
Handling a lot of bags
- Mix size: one 80 lb bag fills a wheelbarrow about halfway; two at a time is the practical limit by hand. A rented drum mixer handles two or three bags per batch.
- Pace: big pours by hand risk cold joints, where one batch has started to set before the next one arrives. Line up helpers and a mixer before you open the first bag.
- Storage: keep bags off the ground and covered. A bag that has taken on moisture and gone lumpy shouldn't be used.
Questions people ask
How many bags of Quikrete make a yard?
45 bags of 80 lb, 60 bags of 60 lb, 72 bags of 50 lb or 90 bags of 40 lb. QUIKRETE's data sheets give 0.60, 0.45, 0.375 and 0.30 cubic feet per bag, and a cubic yard is 27 cubic feet.
How many bags of concrete are in a cubic foot?
About 1.7 bags of 80 lb, 2.2 bags of 60 lb or 3.3 bags of 40 lb. Every QUIKRETE concrete mix we checked works out to 0.0075 cubic feet per pound of dry mix.
Is 80 lb or 60 lb bag concrete better?
Same concrete, different handling. 80 lb bags mean fewer bags to open and slightly lower cost per cubic foot; 60 lb bags are easier to lift and mix in a wheelbarrow. For fast-setting post mix, 50 lb bags are standard.
How many bags of concrete can a pickup carry?
Check the payload rating on the door sticker. A half-ton pickup is often rated for roughly 1,500 to 2,000 lb including passengers, which is about 18 to 25 bags of 80 lb. Overloading affects braking and tires.
When is ready-mix cheaper than bags?
Usually somewhere between 1 and 2 cubic yards, but it depends on your local bag price and the supplier's short-load fee. Enter both prices above to see the break-even for your job.
Sources and assumptions
- QUIKRETE Concrete Mix (No. 1101) data sheet: 40/50/60/80/90 lb bags yield 0.30/0.375/0.45/0.60/0.675 ft³
- QUIKRETE 5000 (No. 1007) data sheet: 50/60/80 lb bags yield 0.375/0.45/0.60 ft³
- QUIKRETE Fast-Setting Concrete Mix (No. 1004) data sheet: 50 lb bag yields 0.375 ft³
- Other brands publish similar yields (Sakrete High Strength: 80 lb 0.60 ft³), but check the bag. Wet weight uses 145 lb/ft³.
Last reviewed 27 October 2026. Every formula on this page is checked against the worked example above in our automated tests. Found a problem? Tell us.