How much does a slab foundation cost?

$4–$12 per square foot of footprint for a slab-on-grade, by Fixr (updated February 13, 2026), so a 2,000 sq ft slab is $8,000–$24,000. A monolithic slab, poured with its edge footing in one go, is $4–$16 per sq ft, and a stem wall slab, a slab inside short perimeter walls, $6–$18. Soil, site prep, thickness and reinforcement move the price.

How much does a foundation cost for a 2,000 sq ft house?

About $8,000–$24,000 on a slab, $20,000–$36,000 with a crawl space and $40,000–$100,000 with a basement, for a 2,000 sq ft footprint. A two-story house of 2,000 sq ft sits on about 1,000 sq ft of foundation, so price the footprint, not the living area.

Is a slab or a basement foundation cheaper?

A slab. Fixr puts a slab-on-grade at $4–$12 per sq ft against $20–$50 for a basement, which needs deep excavation, full-height walls and waterproofing; a crawl space sits between at $10–$18.

How much does a concrete block foundation cost?

Within the same ranges. Fixr says block foundations cost less, while poured concrete basements climb to $50 per square foot, and it gives no separate block price. So HomeMath shows the basement range of $20–$50 for both. To price the block walls alone, use the block wall cost calculator.

How much concrete do I need for a slab foundation?

27.16 cu yd for a 2,000 sq ft slab 4 inches thick with 10% waste, a 27.25 yd order, before the footings or thickened edges under it. Size those in the concrete wall calculator, which adds a strip footing to any wall length.

What does the foundation price include?

Excavation, the forms, and delivering and pouring the concrete, by Fixr. Site prep and poor soil add to it, and permits (up to $2,300) and basement waterproofing are separate costs. Ask each contractor to list grading, gravel, reinforcement, drainage, waterproofing and insulation, so quotes compare like for like.

What does a foundation cost per square meter?

About $43.06–$129 per square meter for a slab-on-grade and $215–$538 for a basement, Fixr's US ranges per square foot converted (1 m² is about 10.76 sq ft). They are US prices in dollars. Switch the calculator to metric to enter meters.

How do I check a foundation quote?

Divide the quote's total by the footprint's area and compare the result with the type's range; the quote check does it for you. A quote above the range is not wrong by itself: deep frost lines, rock, slopes, fill and engineering raise the price.

Does the calculator design the foundation?

No. HomeMath prices and measures; the footing size, wall thickness, reinforcement and depth come from your plans, your soil and your local building code. The concrete wall calculator checks a strip footing against the code's minimum size, 12 × 6 in.

Concrete Foundation Cost Calculator

A slab foundation costs about $4–$12 per square foot of footprint installed, a crawl space $10–$18 and a basement $20–$50, so a 2,000 sq ft footprint sits on $8,000–$24,000 of slab or $40,000–$100,000 of basement. Enter the footprint and pick a type to see its installed range, the other types beside it, the footing perimeter and the slab's concrete.

Units

Size preset

Footprint lengthFootprint widthFloor slab thickness (in)

Foundation typeQuote check: a quote's total ($, optional)

Slab-on-grade: a concrete slab on a gravel base, no walls below.

2,000 sq ft, slab-on-grade: about $8,000–$24,000

Cost per sq ft of footprint:: $4–$12
Monolithic slab:: $8,000–$32,000
Stem wall slab:: $12,000–$36,000
Pier and beam:: $12,000–$30,000
Crawl space:: $20,000–$36,000
Basement:: $40,000–$100,000
Perimeter (the length of the footings and walls):: 180.0 ft
Concrete in the slab, with 10% waste:: 27.16 cu yd, a 27.25 cu yd order, or 1,223 bags of 80 lb

US installed ranges per sq ft of footprint from Fixr, read October 2026. Soil, depth, access and your local code move the price; quotes can sit outside them.

Crawl space or basement walls and their footings, in yards and bags: the concrete wall calculator.
A block foundation wall's blocks, core fill and mortar: the concrete block calculator.
A slab's finish priced per square foot: the concrete slab price calculator.

How HomeMath prices a concrete foundation

HomeMath multiplies the footprint's area, length × width, by Fixr's installed price per square foot for the type: slab-on-grade $4–$12; monolithic slab $4–$16; stem wall slab $6–$18; pier and beam $6–$15; crawl space $10–$18; basement $20–$50 (updated February 13, 2026, read October 2026). The perimeter is 2 × (length + width), the length of the footing under the outside walls. The slab's concrete is the area × the thickness with 10% waste, rounded up to the next quarter yard. In metric, HomeMath converts meters and centimeters exactly (1 in = 2.54 cm) and shows the result in cubic meters, liters and square meters. In metric the ranges are shown per square meter.

The published rules it uses: US customary units; metric conversion; foundation and wall prices. Their sources, and how HomeMath tests every result, are on the about page.

What do common foundations cost?

At the published ranges: slab-on-grade $4–$12, crawl space $10–$18 and basement $20–$50 per sq ft.

24 × 24 ft garage (576 sq ft)Slab $2,304–$6,912 · Basement $11,520–$28,800
28 × 40 ft ranch house (1,120 sq ft)Slab $4,480–$13,440 · Basement $22,400–$56,000
30 × 50 ft house (1,500 sq ft)Slab $6,000–$18,000 · Basement $30,000–$75,000
40 × 50 ft house (2,000 sq ft)Slab $8,000–$24,000 · Basement $40,000–$100,000
40 × 60 ft shop (2,400 sq ft)Slab $9,600–$28,800 · Basement $48,000–$120,000

How much does a concrete foundation cost per square foot?

Fixr's concrete foundation cost page (updated February 13, 2026) gives national installed prices per square foot of footprint, labor included; labor is 40% to 60% of them. Pier and beam means concrete piers under a raised wood floor.

Installed price by foundation type
Foundation	What it is	Per sq ft	Per m²
Slab-on-grade	a concrete slab on a gravel base, no walls below	$4–$12	$43.06–$129
Monolithic slab	the slab and its thickened edge footing poured in one go	$4–$16	$43.06–$172
Stem wall slab	a slab inside short perimeter walls on footings	$6–$18	$64.58–$194
Pier and beam	concrete piers under a raised wood floor	$6–$15	$64.58–$161
Crawl space	short walls on footings, a crawl space under the floor	$10–$18	$108–$194
Basement	full-height poured or block walls on footings, and a floor slab	$20–$50	$215–$538

The per m² column is the same US range converted, for a footprint measured in meters; switch the calculator to metric to enter one.

What do slab-on-grade, monolithic and stem wall slabs cost?

A slab foundation is the cheapest to build: no crawl space or basement to dig, and the slab is the floor. Fixr prices it three ways. A slab-on-grade is $4–$12 per sq ft, a monolithic slab, poured with its thickened edge footing in one go, $4–$16, and a stem wall slab, a slab inside short perimeter walls on footings, $6–$18. A 2,000 sq ft slab-on-grade is $8,000–$24,000.

A stem wall slab suits a sloped lot or a floor that must sit higher than the ground around it. Its walls are poured concrete or block: a 40 × 50 ft house has 180 ft of them, and an 8 in wall 2 ft high on a 16 × 8 in footing takes 14.81 cu yd before waste. The concrete wall calculator sizes yours.

What do crawl space and basement foundations cost?

A crawl space raises the floor on short walls, with room under it for plumbing and ducts, at $10–$18 per sq ft. Pier and beam, concrete piers under a raised wood floor, is $6–$15. A basement, with full-height walls and a floor slab, is the most expensive at $20–$50, which works out to $40,000–$100,000 for a 2,000 sq ft footprint.

Poured concrete or block basement walls?

Fixr says concrete block foundations cost less, while poured concrete basements can climb to $50 per square foot; it gives no separate price for each. So the calculator shows the whole basement range for both, a block basement toward its lower end. To compare the walls alone, price a block wall in the block wall cost calculator and a poured wall's concrete in the concrete wall calculator, which gives the yards for the walls and footings.

What does a foundation cost for my house size?

Price the footprint, not the living area: a two-story house of 2,000 sq ft stands on about 1,000 sq ft of foundation.

Installed ranges by footprint
Footprint	Slab-on-grade	Crawl space	Basement
800 sq ft	$3,200–$9,600	$8,000–$14,400	$16,000–$40,000
1,000 sq ft	$4,000–$12,000	$10,000–$18,000	$20,000–$50,000
1,200 sq ft	$4,800–$14,400	$12,000–$21,600	$24,000–$60,000
1,500 sq ft	$6,000–$18,000	$15,000–$27,000	$30,000–$75,000
2,000 sq ft	$8,000–$24,000	$20,000–$36,000	$40,000–$100,000
2,500 sq ft	$10,000–$30,000	$25,000–$45,000	$50,000–$125,000
3,000 sq ft	$12,000–$36,000	$30,000–$54,000	$60,000–$150,000

By hand, for a 30 × 50 ft house:

Footprint: 30 × 50 = 1,500 sq ft.
Slab-on-grade: 1,500 × $4 = $6,000, and 1,500 × $12 = $18,000.
Basement: 1,500 × $20 to $50 = $30,000–$75,000.
Perimeter: 2 × (30 + 50) = 160 ft of footing and outside wall.

How much concrete goes into a slab foundation?

The slab's area × its thickness, plus 10% waste, ordered in quarter yards. For 2,000 sq ft, before the thickened edges and footings under it:

Concrete in a 2,000 sq ft slab
Thickness	Concrete	With 10% waste	Ready-mix order
4 in	24.69 cu yd	27.16 cu yd	27.25 yd
5 in	30.86 cu yd	33.95 cu yd	34.00 yd
6 in	37.04 cu yd	40.74 cu yd	40.75 yd

A 4 in slab that size would take 1,112 bags of 80 lb, so it is a truck job. Size the footings in the concrete wall calculator, price the block walls of a basement in the block wall cost calculator, and for the materials of a pour you do yourself use the concrete cost calculator.

What does a foundation quote include, and what doesn't it?

By Fixr, the per-square-foot price covers excavation, the forms and delivering and pouring the concrete. Site prep and poor soil add to it, and these are separate costs:

Permits, up to $2,300
Basement waterproofing and drainage
Grading, fill and hauling away the dug soil
Insulation and a vapor barrier in a crawl space
Engineering, where the soil, the slope or the code asks for it

How do I compare a foundation quote that gives only a total?

Divide a quote's total by the footprint to compare it with the ranges and with other quotes; the calculator does this in the quote check field. For a 2,000 sq ft footprint:

Totals and their price per sq ft, for 2,000 sq ft
Quote total	Per sq ft
$10,000	$5
$18,000	$9
$30,000	$15
$45,000	$22.50
$70,000	$35

Frequently asked questions

How much does a slab foundation cost?: $4–$12 per square foot of footprint for a slab-on-grade, by Fixr (updated February 13, 2026), so a 2,000 sq ft slab is $8,000–$24,000. A monolithic slab, poured with its edge footing in one go, is $4–$16 per sq ft, and a stem wall slab, a slab inside short perimeter walls, $6–$18. Soil, site prep, thickness and reinforcement move the price.
How much does a concrete foundation cost per square foot?: From $4 to $50 per square foot of footprint, by type: slab-on-grade $4–$12, monolithic slab $4–$16, stem wall slab $6–$18, pier and beam $6–$15, crawl space $10–$18, basement $20–$50, Fixr's national ranges. Labor is 40% to 60% of the price, by the same page.
How much does a foundation cost for a 2,000 sq ft house?: About $8,000–$24,000 on a slab, $20,000–$36,000 with a crawl space and $40,000–$100,000 with a basement, for a 2,000 sq ft footprint. A two-story house of 2,000 sq ft sits on about 1,000 sq ft of foundation, so price the footprint, not the living area.
Is a slab or a basement foundation cheaper?: A slab. Fixr puts a slab-on-grade at $4–$12 per sq ft against $20–$50 for a basement, which needs deep excavation, full-height walls and waterproofing; a crawl space sits between at $10–$18.
How much does a concrete block foundation cost?: Within the same ranges. Fixr says block foundations cost less, while poured concrete basements climb to $50 per square foot, and it gives no separate block price. So HomeMath shows the basement range of $20–$50 for both. To price the block walls alone, use the block wall cost calculator.
How much concrete do I need for a slab foundation?: 27.16 cu yd for a 2,000 sq ft slab 4 inches thick with 10% waste, a 27.25 yd order, before the footings or thickened edges under it. Size those in the concrete wall calculator, which adds a strip footing to any wall length.
What does the foundation price include?: Excavation, the forms, and delivering and pouring the concrete, by Fixr. Site prep and poor soil add to it, and permits (up to $2,300) and basement waterproofing are separate costs. Ask each contractor to list grading, gravel, reinforcement, drainage, waterproofing and insulation, so quotes compare like for like.
What does a foundation cost per square meter?: About $43.06–$129 per square meter for a slab-on-grade and $215–$538 for a basement, Fixr's US ranges per square foot converted (1 m² is about 10.76 sq ft). They are US prices in dollars. Switch the calculator to metric to enter meters.
How do I check a foundation quote?: Divide the quote's total by the footprint's area and compare the result with the type's range; the quote check does it for you. A quote above the range is not wrong by itself: deep frost lines, rock, slopes, fill and engineering raise the price.
Does the calculator design the foundation?: No. HomeMath prices and measures; the footing size, wall thickness, reinforcement and depth come from your plans, your soil and your local building code. The concrete wall calculator checks a strip footing against the code's minimum size, 12 × 6 in.