Concrete cost per m2 in Melbourne typically runs $65 to $150 laid, starting from about $79 per square
metre for plain concrete and reaching $150 to $200 for the top decorative finishes. That rate is for
supply and laying together; bare ready-mix supply is a different number entirely and not what a homeowner
gets quoted. Three levers set where your job sits: finish, job type and site access. Everything on this
page is a typical published market rate, compiled July 2026 from the named Australian cost guides, not a
Northside Concreting price. Two tables below carry the detail: finishes per square metre first, then how
the same finish shifts across paths, patios, driveways and slabs.
Market rates set expectations; your block sets the price, and the quote will not cost you anything.
Plain concrete is the benchmark at roughly $65 to $90 per square metre in Melbourne, and each decorative
step up adds $20 to $60 per square metre. Exposed aggregate cost per m2 sits mid-pack among the
decorative options, with honed and stamped work above it. The spray-on row is the odd one out, a coating
over existing concrete rather than a new pour; that work is scoped and priced as
concrete resurfacing Melbourne.
Blended published ranges, July 2026, and quotes vary by site; the source codes are listed under Sources
below. These are the benchmarks to hold any concrete price per m2 against. Finish still undecided?
Exposed aggregate concrete and
coloured concrete cover the looks and the options.
How does the job typechange the priceper m2?
The same finish prices differently by job: paths typically run $75 to $160 per square metre and patios
$80 to $180, while driveways span $65 to $150 and slabs $75 to $130 at the headline level. The
difference is the shape of the work rather than the concrete: a path is a thin pour where set-up
outweighs volume, a patio is finish-driven, a driveway adds thickness, falls and often a crossover, and
a slab adds engineering.
This page stays at the headline level for driveways and slabs on purpose; the two dedicated guides carry
the tables, the worked totals and, for slabs, the calculator. Paths and patios have no separate guide,
so for how they are quoted see concrete paths and patios.
What is included ina concreting rateper m2?
A quoted concreting rate per m2 normally covers labour, formwork, standard mesh, the concrete itself
and the finish, with labour alone accounting for $20 to $55 per square metre of it. The common extras
sit outside that rate: old concrete removal at $30 to $80 per square metre, difficult access or clay
base preparation at $15 to $25 per square metre, pump hire, and stormwater work. Removal matters most
on rebuilds, and concrete removal and replacement
explains how it is quoted. Two checks keep a comparison honest. If a quote sits well under these
published floors, ask what was left out. And check GST: the published guides do not always say whether
their figures include it, while a written quote to a homeowner should show the full price with GST in
it, so make sure you are comparing the same kind of number.
Why do small concretingjobs cost moreper m2?
Fixed costs spread over fewer metres: site set-up, truck time and the crew's call-out cost much the same
on a 10 m2 path as on a 50 m2 driveway, so the small job wears far more of them per square metre.
Ready-mix has its own version, because trucks charge for part-loads and a small pour pays for concrete it
never uses. None of that is a concreter padding the bill; it is the arithmetic of bringing a crew, steel
and a truck to one address for a morning's work. The practical answer is batching. Pour the path, the
shed base and the bin pad in one visit and the rate drops, because the fixed costs are paid once.
How do you get a firm priceinstead of a range?
Published per-m2 rates bracket the market, but a firm concreting price needs your measurements, your soil
and your access in front of someone who prices concrete for a living. Northside Concreting arranges
exactly that across Melbourne's inner north, for slabs, driveways, paths and decorative finishes. A local
concreter takes the measurements on site, and the written quote reflects what is actually in front of them.
Supply-only ready-mix concrete is priced per cubic metre, not per square metre, so the two numbers are not comparable. The $65 to $150 per m2 figures in this guide are for supplied-and-laid concreting, with labour, formwork and finishing inside the rate. Ask a concrete supplier for per-m3 pricing separately.
What is the cheapest way to concrete an area?
Plain broom-finish concrete is the cheapest way to concrete an area, at roughly $65 to $90 per square metre in Melbourne per the published ranges. Keeping the pour as one large, simple shape with clear access holds it at the low end; small or fiddly areas push the rate up.
Is exposed aggregate more expensive per m2 than plain concrete?
Yes. Exposed aggregate typically runs $85 to $150 per square metre against $65 to $90 for plain concrete, going by the published Melbourne ranges in this guide. The gap pays for the decorative stone mix and the extra finishing work of exposing it.
Do concreters charge more for small jobs?
Per square metre, usually yes. A concreter's call-out, site set-up and part-load concrete costs spread over fewer metres on a small job, so a 10 m2 pour carries a higher rate than a 50 m2 one. Batching small jobs into one visit, a path plus a shed base, brings the rate down.
Sources
The rates on this page are typical Melbourne market prices blended from published Australian concreting cost guides, compiled July 2026. The table codes:
S1: Canstar concrete slab cost guide, published May 2023. Used as lower-bound corroboration only, given its age.
S2: Airtasker concreting cost guide, last updated 4 July 2026.
S3: What's The Damage concreting cost guide, verified July 2026. Also the source of the Melbourne from-$79 figure and the path and patio ranges; skews to the national high end, flagged in the tables where it does.
