How much does a concrete driveway cost in the UK?
A concrete driveway costs £70 to £120 per m² in the UK, typically around £85. What moves the price most is plain finish versus coloured or imprinted concrete, so a simpler job sits near the bottom of that range and a larger or higher-spec one near the top. Prices reviewed June 2026.
A concrete driveway is priced per square metre, and the main things that move the figure are the size of the area, the finish you choose, and how much digging out and sub-base work the ground needs. A plain brushed finish sits at the lower end, while coloured or pattern imprinted concrete costs more.
Concrete driveway cost calculator
Use the calculator to price your concrete driveway in 2026. Adjust the options and area for a UK cost range. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Need to know how much material to order? Try the concrete calculator.
Concrete driveway cost breakdown
Typical concrete driveway costs, by the unit:
| What | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| Per m², supplied and fitted | £70 to £120 per m² |
| + Needs a new sub-base | add £15 to £25 per m² |
| + Coloured or imprinted finish | add £25 to £45 per m² |
| 25 m² | £1,750 to £3,000 |
| 50 m² (typical) | £3,500 to £6,000 |
| 100 m² | £7,000 to £12,000 |
What's included in the price?
Typical concrete driveway prices include:
- Digging out and disposal of the old surface
- A compacted sub-base and formwork
- Steel mesh reinforcement and poured concrete
- Brushed or floated finish with expansion joints
What changes the price?
The things that move concrete driveway prices most:
Plain finish versus coloured or imprinted concrete
How much excavation and sub-base the ground needs
Driveway size, with larger areas costing less per m²
Drainage runs, edging and any dropped kerb
Does where you live change the cost?
In London, a concrete driveway typically costs around £100 per m², about 20% above the UK average of £85. In the North, Scotland and Wales the guide figure is nearer £80.
| Region | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midlands / East (UK average) | £70 | £85 | £120 |
| London | £85 | £100 | £140 |
| South East / South West | £75 | £90 | £130 |
| North / Scotland / Wales | £70 | £80 | £120 |
Guide prices per m², scaled with the same regional multipliers as the calculator. Not quotes.
Concrete driveway cost in major UK cities
| City | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | £65 | £80 | £110 |
| Birmingham | £70 | £85 | £120 |
| Bristol | £75 | £90 | £130 |
| Cardiff | £70 | £80 | £120 |
| Edinburgh | £70 | £80 | £120 |
| Glasgow | £70 | £80 | £120 |
| Leeds | £70 | £80 | £120 |
| Liverpool | £70 | £80 | £120 |
| London | £85 | £100 | £140 |
| Manchester | £70 | £80 | £120 |
| Newcastle | £70 | £80 | £120 |
| Sheffield | £70 | £80 | £120 |
City guide estimates, scaled by local labour costs. Indicative averages for concrete driveway, not quotes.
London and the South East cost the most, and almost all of the difference is labour.
Compare this with a real quote
The figures above are guide prices. Two or three quotes for your concrete driveway tell you what it costs where you live.
Common questions
How much does a concrete driveway cost for an average drive?
A typical 50m² plain concrete driveway costs around £3,500 to £5,500 fitted, or roughly £70 to £110 per m².
Is concrete cheaper than block paving for a driveway?
Yes, plain concrete at £70 to £100 per m² is usually cheaper to lay than block paving, though an imprinted concrete finish can cost £100 to £130 per m².
Is a concrete driveway cheaper than tarmac?
No: concrete runs £70 to £120 per m² against £40 to £65 for tarmac. What concrete buys is lifespan and resilience, as it comfortably outlasts tarmac and shrugs off fuel spills. On a drive you expect to keep for decades the annualised costs converge; on upfront budget alone, tarmac wins.
How long does a concrete driveway last?
25 to 30 years or more is normal for a properly laid concrete drive on a sound sub-base, with the main maintenance being keeping movement joints in order. The failures you see are almost always base failures, which is why the £15 to £25 per m² for a new sub-base matters more than the finish.
Does a concrete driveway need planning permission?
Plain concrete is impermeable, so in England, if the new or replacement surface is in front of the house, covers more than 5 m² and its rainwater runs off to the road or into the drains, you need planning permission, or more practically, drainage to a soakaway, lawn or permeable border within your boundary, which removes the requirement. Any decent installer designs the fall to deal with this.
Can I lay a concrete driveway myself?
You can, but it is heavy, unforgiving work. The sub-base, formwork, and getting the concrete poured and finished before it sets all have to go right, and a large pour usually needs several pairs of hands and a ready-mix delivery. Doing your own labour can cut into the £70 to £120 per m2, but a drive that cracks or ponds is costly to break out and redo. Only worth it if you have done concreting before.
Does a concrete driveway add value to a house?
A tidy off-street drive helps a sale and adds parking, which buyers notice, but it rarely returns the full cost pound for pound. At £70 to £120 per m2, a plain concrete finish is practical rather than a selling feature. It is worth doing for the everyday convenience of parking and a clean approach more than as money back at resale.
Official guidance and sources
The rules and schemes referenced on this page come from these official UK sources. The price figures are Costwise's own; see how we price.
- General Permitted Development Order 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1, Class F legislation.gov.uk · The statutory condition: a new or replacement hard surface over 5 m² between the front wall of a house and a highway must be porous or drain to a permeable area within the property.
- Paving your front garden: planning permission Planning Portal · Planning Portal's plain-English statement of the rule for England: more than five square metres of impermeable driveway that does not drain to a permeable area needs planning permission.
- Guidance on the permeable surfacing of front gardens GOV.UK · The government's guidance: concrete is a conventional impermeable surface, and its run-off can be sent to a border, rain garden or soakaway instead of the drains.
Cite this data
These figures are free to use in articles, reports and research under a CC BY 4.0 licence. All we ask is a credit to Costwise, and online a link. Where your style allows, please make "Costwise" the linked word so readers can check the figure for their own region.
Costwise (2026): A concrete driveway typically costs £85 in the UK, ranging from £70 to £120 per m². Reviewed June 2026. costwiseuk.co.ukSource: Costwise (costwiseuk.co.uk)Costwise (2026). Concrete driveway cost. Costwise UK cost data, version 2026-09-28. https://costwiseuk.co.uk/concrete-driveway-cost/2026-09-28 (156 jobs)Dataset DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21159943 · also on Kaggle, Hugging Face and Figshare. Method: how we price. Downloadable CSV.
These are independent guide prices based on typical UK jobs in 2026. Your actual cost depends on your property, spec, access and where you live. Always get at least three written quotes before committing.