A standard 600 sq ft driveway costs $4,200 to $7,800 in asphalt or $4,800 to $10,800 in concrete, installed. Asphalt runs $7 to $13 per square foot, concrete $8 to $18, and the decision between them comes down to how long you'll own the house. Here's what drives the price, and the 30-year math most comparisons skip.
Paving quotes look simple, area times rate, but three layers hide underneath. Excavation and base work come first: 4 to 8 inches of compacted aggregate, more if your soil is clay or the drive carries vehicles heavier than a minivan. Surface material is second, and it's usually the smallest of the three cost buckets. Labor, haul distance, and site access finish it. A paving crew working forty minutes from their plant pays more in truck time than the asphalt itself costs, which is why two quotes on the same job can differ by 30%.
That's also why small driveways cost more per square foot. The mobilization cost, getting equipment and a crew to your curb, has to amortize over fewer square feet. A 300 sq ft pad might quote at $12 a square foot while the same crew does the neighbor's 1,200 sq ft drive at $7.
Asphalt wins on day one by a comfortable margin. Concrete wins by year 20 and it's not close by year 30. The numbers for a 600 sq ft drive at national midpoints:
| Asphalt | Concrete (plain) | |
|---|---|---|
| Installed cost | $6,000 ($4,200–$7,800) | $7,200 ($4,800–$10,800) |
| Sealing | $210 every 4 yrs ($0.35/sq ft) | None routine |
| Lifespan | 15–20 yrs | 25–30 yrs |
| Cost per year over 20 | $342 | $360 |
| Cost per year over 30 | $428 (one replacement) | $240 |
Read the last two rows twice. Over 20 years the two surfaces cost nearly the same per year, which is why the "asphalt is cheaper" advice feels true to anyone who paves and moves within a decade. Stretch to 30 years and concrete costs $240 a year against asphalt's $428, because the asphalt drive has been paved twice plus sealed four times while the concrete drive got one crack patch.
New asphalt should be sealed 6 to 12 months after paving, then every 3 to 5 years. Contractor sealcoating runs $0.20 to $0.50 per square foot nationally, so $120 to $300 per treatment on 600 square feet. Sealing slows oxidation and water intrusion, which is what actually kills asphalt; skipping it can halve the driveway's life. Skipping it entirely, then replacing the surface 8 years early, is the most expensive form of thrift available in home maintenance.
Enter your dimensions and rates; get installed cost, sealing totals, and cost per year for both surfaces over any horizon.
Driveway Paving Cost Calculator →Gravel at $1.50 to $3 per square foot paves a 600 sq ft drive for under $2,000, and on a long rural lane that's the sensible answer. The costs arrive later: top-ups every few years, ruts after wet seasons, and plowing that removes stone along with snow. Chip seal, asphalt's thin cousin at $3 to $7, suits low-speed residential lanes and holds 7 to 15 years. Concrete pavers cost the most up front, $10 to $30 per square foot, but individual units can be lifted and relayed, so a 40-year paver drive survives tree roots and utility cuts that ruin monolithic surfaces.
Ask every bidder the same three questions. What's the compacted thickness of surface and base? What base material goes under it? And what's included for drainage? Quotes that only say "pave driveway, 600 sq ft" are comparing nothing. Two inches of asphalt over four inches of base and three inches over eight are different products wearing the same price tag, and the thin one is the one that cracks first. Then verify the base yourself before they lay surface: you should not be able to sink a boot heel into it.
Gravel, at $1.50 to $3 per square foot. Chip seal follows at $3 to $7, then asphalt at $7 to $13, plain concrete at $8 to $18, and stamped concrete at $12 to $25. Priciest per square foot are pavers at $10 to $30, though they can outlast everything else on the list.
A functional, well-built driveway supports value more than it adds a fixed dollar amount. Appraisers treat curb appeal as a package, and a cracked or mud-track approach can drag an offer down more than paving ever adds. In practical terms, expect to recoup value through salability and speed of sale rather than a line-item return.
Asphalt overlays on sound asphalt or concrete run $3 to $7 per square foot and skip most excavation, but they inherit the old surface's cracks within a few years unless the base is solid and cracks are sealed first. Overlaying concrete with asphalt hides but doesn't fix slab movement. If the existing base drains and holds weight, an overlay buys 8 to 15 years cheaply.
Asphalt: 2 to 3 inches compacted over 4 to 8 inches of compacted base, with the thicker end for trucks or poor soil. Concrete: 4 inches plain, 5 to 6 inches if you park an RV or run a loaded pickup. Thickness of the base matters as much as the surface; thin pavement over soft ground is the number one cause of early driveway failure.