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Quikrete Concrete Calculator

Enter your slab, footing or post dimensions and pick your Quikrete bag size - 40, 60 or 80 lb - to get the exact number of bags to buy. Works for slabs, footings, columns and fence posts.

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Pour sections

01. Sections & shapes

02. Mix & wastage

Calculated requirement
0.63m³ of concrete

Net volume

0.60 m³

Guide & worked example

How this calculator works

The calculator works out the volume of your pour, adds a wastage allowance, then divides by the yield of one Quikrete bag to give the number of bags:

bags = ceil( volume × wastage ÷ bag yield )

Quikrete prints the yield on every bag - 0.30 cu ft for 40 lb, 0.45 cu ft for 60 lb, 0.60 cu ft for 80 lb - and those exact yields are the bag options above. Pouring more than one element (a slab plus a few footings)? Add a section for each and the bags round once for the whole order. All math runs in exact metric internally, so switching between feet and metres never changes the answer.

Quikrete bag yields

BagYield (set concrete)Bags per cubic metre
40 lb (18 kg)~8.5 L~118
60 lb (27 kg)~12.7 L~78
80 lb (36 kg)~17 L~59

Worked example

This example follows the unit system you pick in the calculator above.

A 3 m × 3 m slab at 100 mm thick, using 80 lb bags:

  1. Volume: 3 × 3 × 0.1 = 0.9 m³ (about 900 litres).
  2. With a 10% allowance for an uneven sub-base: about 0.99 m³ (~990 litres).
  3. From 80 lb bags at ~17 litres (0.60 cu ft) each: 990 ÷ 17 = 59 bags - well past the point where ready-mix delivery would be easier and cheaper.

Tips

  • For fence posts, use the Circle / column shape and enter the hole diameter, not the post size - the hole is what you fill.
  • Mixing 60+ bags by hand is a big job; once you are near a cubic yard, price up ready-mix delivery.
  • Buy one or two spare bags - running out mid-pour leaves a cold joint in the slab.
  • Need a general concrete tool not tied to a brand? Use the Concrete Calculator.

Frequently asked questions

01

How many bags of Quikrete do I need?

It depends on the volume and the bag size. One 80 lb bag of Quikrete yields about 17 litres (0.60 cu ft) of set concrete, so a cubic metre takes about 59 bags. A 60 lb bag yields about 12.7 litres (78 bags per m³) and a 40 lb bag about 8.5 litres (118 bags per m³). Enter your slab or footing size above and pick the bag - the calculator returns the exact count.

02

How much does an 80 lb bag of Quikrete cover?

An 80 lb bag of Quikrete Concrete Mix makes about 17 litres (0.60 cu ft) of set concrete - enough for a 600 × 600 mm pad about 45 mm thick, or roughly a 450 mm square at 75 mm. The 60 lb bag makes 12.7 litres and the 40 lb bag 8.5 litres. These yields are built into the bag options in the calculator.

03

How many bags of Quikrete for a fence post?

For a typical 100 × 100 mm post in a 250 mm wide hole dug 600 mm deep, you need roughly one to two 50 lb bags of Quikrete Fast-Setting Mix per hole. Set the calculator shape to "Circle / column", enter the hole diameter and depth, and it gives the volume and bag count - remember the post itself displaces some concrete, so round down slightly.

04

Is bagged Quikrete or ready-mix cheaper?

Bagged Quikrete suits small jobs - posts, small pads, repairs - and lets you mix only what you need. Once a job needs roughly a cubic metre (around 59–118 bags depending on size), ordering ready-mix delivered by the truck is usually cheaper and far less work than mixing dozens of bags. The calculator shows both the bag count and the bulk volume so you can compare.

05

Which Quikrete mix should I use?

Use standard Quikrete Concrete Mix for slabs, footings and general work; Quikrete Fast-Setting Concrete Mix for fence posts and where you want it to set quickly (often without pre-mixing); and Crack-Resistant or 5000 mixes for higher-strength or thinner pours. The bag yields are similar, so the calculator's bag count applies across the mixes - check the exact yield on your bag.

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