Pavers vs Concrete Patio: Which Should You Build?
How a paver patio and a poured concrete patio compare on materials, labour, looks, repairs and DIY difficulty, with the materials for the same patio side by side.
Pavers and poured concrete are the two most common hard patios. Both last for decades when they’re built well. They differ in how they’re built, how they fail, and how easy they are to fix.
The short answer
- Choose pavers if you’re doing it yourself, want to work at your own pace, or want a surface you can repair one piece at a time.
- Choose concrete if you’re hiring a crew, want a smooth, continuous surface, or want the job done in a day or two.
Side by side
| Pavers | Poured concrete | |
|---|---|---|
| DIY difficulty | Moderate. Slow and physical, but every step can be paused and fixed. | Hard. Once the truck arrives you have a short window to place and finish it. |
| Time | Usually several weekends for one person. | Forms and base in a day or two; the pour itself is a few hours. |
| Cracks | Joints flex, so the surface doesn’t crack as a whole. | Will crack; control joints decide where. |
| Repairs | Lift and reset or replace single pavers. | Patches show. Big repairs mean cutting out sections. |
| Upkeep | Top up joint sand; weeds can appear in joints. | Occasional cleaning and resealing if sealed. |
| Looks | Many colors, sizes and patterns. | Plain, broomed, stamped or colored. |
| Use straight away | Yes, once compacted. | No; see curing times. |
Materials for the same 12 × 16 ft patio
| Paver patio | Concrete patio |
|---|---|
| 538 pavers (6” × 9”) | 2.61 cubic yards of concrete (2.75 yd ready-mix, or 118 bags of 80 lb) |
| 6.59 tons of crushed base, 6” deep | 3.82 tons of gravel base, 4” deep |
| 0.84 tons of bedding sand | 21 rebar bars (20 ft) at 18” spacing |
| 5 bags of polymeric sand | 8 form boards and 20 stakes |
| 7 pieces of edging | Control-joint tool or saw cuts |
| Dig about 9” deep | Dig about 8” deep (slab plus base) |
A paver patio needs a deeper, thicker base because the pavers rely on it entirely. A concrete slab spreads loads itself, so it can sit on less.
Cost: what changes the answer
Prices vary too much by region to give one figure, so get local quotes for both. As a rule of thumb:
- DIY, pavers often come out cheaper, because you’re not paying for a truck, a pump or a finishing crew, and you can buy materials in stages.
- Hired out, concrete is often cheaper per square foot, because a crew can form and pour a slab far faster than they can lay pavers.
- Decorative finishes change everything: stamped and colored concrete costs much more than a plain broom finish, and premium pavers cost much more than basic ones.
Enter your local prices in each planner to compare your own patio.
Which lasts longer?
Both can last decades. Pavers usually fail slowly: a corner settles, some joints wash out, and you fix it in an afternoon. Concrete usually fails suddenly: a crack appears and keeps growing, and fixing it properly is a bigger job. Either way, the base underneath does most of the work; see Paver Patio Base Depth and How Thick Should a Concrete Slab Be?
Next steps
- How to Build a Paver Patio and the Paver Patio Planner
- How to Pour a Concrete Patio Slab and the Concrete Slab & Footing Planner