Paver Calculator
How many pavers for a patio or walkway
Laying a paver patio or walkway? Enter the area to see how many pavers you need in five common sizes, with a waste allowance for cuts and breakage. Below: a size chart, how much waste each pattern really needs, a worked 12 × 16 ft patio, the gravel and sand that go underneath, and what the whole thing costs.
How many pavers per square foot
Paver counts come straight from the face area of one paver. A standard 4 × 8 inch brick paver is 32 in², which is 0.222 ft², so you need 4.5 pavers per square foot. A 12 × 12 slab is exactly 1 ft², so one per square foot. Everything else falls between.
One wrinkle worth knowing before you count: pavers are sold at nominal size, and the actual moulded unit is usually about an eighth of an inch smaller on each face. A "4 × 8" is often 3⅞ × 7⅞. That missing eighth is the joint. Because the nominal size already includes it, using nominal dimensions for coverage is correct, and measuring the physical paver will make you over-order by roughly 3%.
Paver size and coverage chart
Coverage and counts for the sizes sold in most stores. The "per 100 ft²" column is bare coverage, before waste.
| Nominal size | Face area | Pavers per ft² | Per 100 ft² | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 × 8 in | 0.222 ft² | 4.50 | 450 | Patios, walkways, herringbone |
| 6 × 6 in | 0.250 ft² | 4.00 | 400 | Borders, small squares |
| 6 × 9 in | 0.375 ft² | 2.67 | 267 | Driveways, running bond |
| 8 × 8 in | 0.444 ft² | 2.25 | 225 | Paths, grid layouts |
| 12 × 12 in | 1.000 ft² | 1.00 | 100 | Stepping stones, simple patios |
| 12 × 18 in | 1.500 ft² | 0.67 | 67 | Modern large-format |
| 16 × 16 in | 1.778 ft² | 0.56 | 57 | Large-format patios |
| 24 × 24 in | 4.000 ft² | 0.25 | 25 | Slab-style, on pedestals |
Large formats look cheaper per square foot on this table, and they are quicker to lay, but they are far less forgiving. A 24-inch slab telegraphs every dip in the base, while 4 × 8 units ride over small imperfections and can be lifted one at a time for repairs.
Pattern, cuts and how much waste to add
Waste is not a safety margin, it is a prediction of how many pavers your border will cut in half. Match it to the layout.
| Pattern | Waste | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Running bond / stack bond | 5% | Cuts only at two edges, mostly clean halves |
| Basketweave | 5 to 8% | Repeating square module, tidy borders |
| 90° herringbone | 10% | Every border paver is cut |
| 45° herringbone | 15% | Angled cuts on all four edges, offcuts unusable |
| Circle or curved edge | 15 to 20% | Radius cuts waste most of each paver |
Buy the whole quantity, waste included, in one order. Concrete pavers are pigmented in batches, and a pallet bought three weeks later will not quite match. Keep a dozen spares from that same batch for repairs; you will want them the first time a tree root lifts a corner.
Worked example: a 12 × 16 ft paver patio
A 12 by 16 ft patio is 192 ft², laid in 45° herringbone with 4 × 8 pavers, so 15% waste. Used as a patio paver calculator, that is what the tool returns:
| Item | Working | Order |
|---|---|---|
| Area with 15% waste | 192 × 1.15 | 221 ft² |
| 4 × 8 pavers | 221 ÷ 0.222 | 994 pavers |
| Same patio, running bond (5%) | 202 ÷ 0.222 | 908 pavers |
| If 12 × 12 instead | 221 ÷ 1.0 | 221 pavers |
| Base gravel, 6 in +10% | 192 ft² × 0.5 ft | 3.91 yd³ = 5.81 tons |
| Bedding sand, 1 in +10% | 192 ft² × 0.083 ft | 0.65 yd³ = 0.88 tons |
| Edge restraint | perimeter 56 ft +10% | 62 ft plus spikes |
The pattern choice alone is 86 pavers, close to 10% of the order. That is the single decision on this page with the biggest effect on your bill, and it is worth making before you order rather than after.
How much gravel under pavers
The base is the project. Pavers are only the surface you see, and more people come to a paver gravel calculator unsure about what goes underneath than unsure about the paver count itself. That instinct is right: almost every failed patio failed below the sand.
| Base depth | Suits | Cubic yards | Tons |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 in | Walkways, foot traffic, sandy soil | 1.36 yd³ | 2.02 tons |
| 6 in | Patios, most soils | 2.04 yd³ | 3.03 tons |
| 8 in | Clay soil, mild freeze | 2.72 yd³ | 4.03 tons |
| 10 in | Driveways, hard freeze | 3.40 yd³ | 5.04 tons |
| 12 in | Driveways in clay with deep frost | 4.07 yd³ | 6.05 tons |
Use crushed stone with fines (often sold as road base, crusher run, or 3/4-inch minus), not clean pea gravel. The fines are what let it lock together under a plate compactor. Compact in lifts of 3 to 4 inches, never the full depth in one pass, and check that the surface falls about 1/4 inch per foot away from the house. Run your own dimensions through the paver base calculator to price the stone by the ton.
Bedding sand and edge restraint
On top of the compacted base goes 1 inch of coarse bedding sand, screeded flat and never compacted before laying. It is a levelling course, not a structural one, and going thicker is a classic mistake: 2 or 3 inches of sand will rut under load no matter how good the base beneath it. Use washed concrete sand, not soft play sand or mason's sand.
Edge restraint is not optional. Without it the outer row creeps outward, the joints open, and the whole field loosens from the perimeter inward over a few seasons. Plastic paver edging spiked every 12 inches into the base is the standard fix. Finish by sweeping polymeric sand into the joints and misting it to set, which locks the field and keeps weeds and ants out.
Paver patio cost
Enter a price per paver above and the calculator prices the field for you. For budgeting the whole job, these are the usual US planning ranges per square foot:
| Item | Per ft² | 192 ft² patio |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete pavers | $2 to $6 | $384 to $1,150 |
| Base gravel and sand | $0.75 to $2 | $145 to $384 |
| Edging, polymeric sand, fabric | $0.50 to $1 | $96 to $192 |
| Plate compactor hire | — | $60 to $120 per day |
| DIY total | $3.50 to $9 | $700 to $1,750 |
| Installed by a contractor | $12 to $25 | $2,300 to $4,800 |
Natural stone, permeable pavers and large-format porcelain sit well above these ranges. The labour gap is wide because most of the work is excavation and compaction, which is exactly the part that is hardest to do well by hand.
Paver mistakes that show up in year two
- Too little base. The commonest failure by a distance. Four inches under a patio in clay will settle.
- Compacting in one lift. A plate compactor only densifies 3 to 4 inches at a time; below that the stone stays loose.
- Clean gravel with no fines. Rounded pea gravel never locks up, so the base stays mobile.
- Thick sand to fix a bad base. Sand flows under load. Fix the level in the base, not the bedding.
- No edge restraint. The field spreads from the perimeter inward and the joints open.
- Laying dead flat. Without about 1/4 inch per foot of fall, water sits on the surface and works into the joints.
- Ordering a second pallet later. Different batch, visibly different colour.
How this paver calculator works out its numbers
Paver counts are area × (1 + waste) ÷ face area, rounded up to a whole paver. Face areas use nominal sizes (4 × 8 in = 0.222 ft²), which is correct because the nominal dimension already includes the joint width; the moulded unit is typically 1/8 in smaller per face.
- Waste percentages (5% running bond, 10% 90° herringbone, 15% 45° herringbone) reflect how much of each border paver is lost to cuts, not a general safety margin.
- Base tonnage uses 110 lb/ft³ for compacted crushed stone, the same constant as the paver base calculator, with 10% added for compaction loss. Real crusher run ranges 100 to 135 lb/ft³ by stone type and moisture.
- Bedding sand uses 100 lb/ft³ at a fixed 1 inch depth. Thicker bedding is a defect, not an option, so the figure is not meant to scale.
- Base depth guidance (4 in walkway, 6 in patio, 8 to 12 in driveway or deep frost) is common practice in freeze-prone regions. Frost depth is set locally, so check your building department.
- Cost ranges are US planning figures gathered September 2026 and vary widely by region and stone type.
Reviewed September 2026.
Figures reviewed . Every worked example on this page is checked against the calculator above.
Paver Calculator: frequently asked questions
How many 4x8 pavers per square foot?
4.5. A 4 × 8 inch paver has a face area of 32 in², which is 0.222 ft², so 1 ÷ 0.222 = 4.5 pavers per square foot, or 450 per 100 ft² before waste.
How many pavers do I need for a 12x16 patio?
About 994 standard 4 × 8 pavers for a 45° herringbone layout, which is 192 ft² plus 15% waste divided by 0.222 ft². The same patio in a simple running bond needs roughly 908, since it only needs 5% waste.
What goes under pavers?
Four to six inches of compacted crushed stone with fines, then exactly 1 inch of coarse bedding sand, then the pavers, with an edge restraint around the perimeter. Go to 8 to 12 inches of base for driveways or clay soil with deep frost.
How much gravel do I need under pavers?
About 2 cubic yards, or 3 tons, of crushed stone per 100 ft² at a 6 inch depth including compaction loss. At 4 inches it is 1.36 yd³ per 100 ft², and at 10 inches for a driveway it is 3.4 yd³.
How much extra should I buy for paver cuts?
5% for running bond, 10% for 90° herringbone, 15% for 45° herringbone, and 15 to 20% for circles or curved edges. Buy it all in one order so every paver comes from the same colour batch.
Can I lay pavers on sand only?
Only for a temporary path in dry, sandy ground. Sand alone has no load-bearing strength, so a patio laid straight onto it will rut, settle and heave. The compacted stone base is what carries the load.
Should I use polymeric sand between pavers?
Yes for patios and driveways. Swept into the joints and misted, it hardens to lock the field together and resists weeds, ants and washout. Regular joint sand works but needs topping up every season or two.
How much does a paver patio cost?
Roughly $3.50 to $9 per square foot in materials if you lay it yourself, so about $700 to $1,750 for a 192 ft² patio. A contractor-installed patio typically runs $12 to $25 per square foot, since most of the cost is excavation and compaction labour.