Skip to content
AsphaltPavingIndex

Asphalt vs concrete driveway cost

Both surfaces priced over the years you will actually own them, sealing included. Where the two published bands overlap, this says so rather than picking a winner it cannot defend.

Last updated: By The Pavement Desk

$3–$7

per sq ft, asphalt driveway, Ontario

$8–$19

per sq ft, plain concrete driveway, Ontario

Size of the surface
Which comparison
How long you are pricing over

Asphalt is priced with a seal coat every 2 to 3 years at $0.15–$0.45 per sq ft; concrete every 5 to 10 years at $1.00–$2.00. Whole coats only, and the longer published interval is used for each.

Over 12 years, HST included

Asphalt
$2,441 to $5,966
Concrete
$6,102 to $14,238

Concrete comes out $3,661 to $8,272 higher over 12 years on 600 sq ft, about 2.5× asphalt at the low end. Nothing here models replacing either surface.

Asphalt, laid
$1,800–$4,200
Asphalt sealing, 4 coats at 3-year intervals
$360–$1,080
Concrete, laid
$4,800–$11,400
Concrete sealing, 1 coat at 10-year intervals
$600–$1,200

Asphalt rate from Green Building Canada, Eastern Ontario Paving and Country Contracting, three Ontario sources publishing the same band

Concrete rate from Green Building Canada, Nice Guy Concrete and HAFI Group, three Ontario ranges widened

Published lifespans, not used in the arithmetic: asphalt 15–30 years, concrete 25–50 or more. They disagree by a factor of two, so no replacement is modelled.

What this comparison can and cannot settle

The commercial pair is the strongest evidence on this page, and it is worth reading first. Empire Paving, a Toronto and GTA commercial contractor, prices both materials in one sentence on its own site: asphalt at $3 to $6 per square foot and concrete at roughly $5 to $7. One estimator, one scope, both materials. Everything else here is assembled from separate firms with separate assumptions about excavation depth, base preparation and finish, so the gaps it shows are real but noisier.

On residential work the published gap is much larger. Three Ontario sources agree that a new asphalt driveway is $3 to $7 per square foot. Three put plain concrete at $8 to $19, and Green Building Canada puts concrete inside the GTA specifically at $12 to $20, which it attributes to higher labour costs and demand. So concrete is two to three times the upfront cost on a house driveway and about a fifth to a half more on a commercial lot. The reason is hand-work: a driveway is small, has edges, and needs forming, and none of that scales the way a large flat pour does.

Maintenance runs the other way and does not close the gap. Asphalt wants a seal coat every 2 to 3 years at $0.15 to $0.45 per square foot. Concrete wants one every 5 to 10 years at $1 to $2 professionally applied, or $0.50 to $0.75 in DIY materials. Over twelve years a 600 square foot asphalt driveway takes four coats and a concrete one takes a single coat, which moves a few hundred dollars against an upfront difference of several thousand.

This page does not model replacing either surface, and that omission is the most important thing on it. Green Building Canada states asphalt lasts 15 to 30 years and concrete 50 or more. Nice Guy Concrete states asphalt 15 to 20 and concrete 25 to 30 or more. Those bands differ by a factor of two, and any replacement model has to choose a point inside them, a choice that would silently decide the whole comparison. Both figures are printed so you can apply your own horizon; the arithmetic stays with numbers that can be checked.

One published figure was checked and thrown out before it reached this page. Green Building Canada’s asphalt guide lists “Shorter lifespan (7–10 years)” in a pros-and-cons block that reads, at a glance, like an asphalt lifespan. It is not: it belongs to a section about bitumen, or tar-and-chip, which is a different surface entirely. Carrying it across would have been the exact kind of misattribution this site’s sourcing rule exists to catch.

On the questions that are not about money at all, meaning freeze-thaw behaviour, repairability and how each surface fails, there is a comparison on this site that deals with them for a commercial lot: asphalt vs concrete for a parking lot.

Sources for both sides

Canadian dollars, August 2026. Where the concrete sources disagreed the band was widened across all three rather than averaged, and every source behind a band is named in the row that carries it.

Frequently asked questions

Is asphalt or concrete cheaper for a driveway in Ontario?

Asphalt, clearly, on upfront cost. Three Ontario sources put a new asphalt driveway at $3 to $7 per square foot. Three put plain concrete at $8 to $19, and Green Building Canada puts concrete inside the GTA specifically at $12 to $20. On a 600 square foot two-car driveway that is roughly $1,800 to $4,200 for asphalt against $4,800 to $11,400 for concrete before tax. The gap narrows over time because asphalt needs sealing far more often, but it does not close.

Why is the gap so much smaller on a commercial lot?

Because a large flat commercial pour plays to concrete's strengths and away from the hand-work that makes a residential concrete driveway expensive. Empire Paving, a Toronto commercial contractor, prices both in one sentence: asphalt $3 to $6 per square foot and concrete roughly $5 to $7. That is a fifth to about a half more for concrete, against two to three times more on a house driveway. It is also the only genuinely like-for-like comparison on this page, because it comes from one estimator rather than from several.

How much does sealing add over the years?

Less than most people expect, and less than the upfront gap. Asphalt is resealed every 2 to 3 years at $0.15 to $0.45 per square foot in Ontario. Concrete is resealed every 5 to 10 years at $1 to $2 per square foot professionally, or $0.50 to $0.75 in DIY materials. On 600 square feet over twelve years that is four asphalt seal coats at $360 to $1,080 against one concrete seal at $600 to $1,200. Sealing is a real cost and a real chore, but it is not what decides this.

Does this calculator account for replacing the driveway?

No, on purpose. The published lifespans disagree too much to model honestly. Green Building Canada states asphalt lasts 15 to 30 years and concrete 50 or more; Nice Guy Concrete states asphalt 15 to 20 and concrete 25 to 30 or more. Choosing a number inside those bands would decide the answer by assumption. Both figures are printed on the page so you can apply your own horizon to them, and the arithmetic sticks to costs that are checkable.

Which handles Ontario freeze-thaw better?

Green Building Canada's own comparison says asphalt's flexibility lets it expand and contract more easily through freeze-thaw cycles, which it calls a real advantage in cities with severe temperature swings, while concrete is more rigid and can crack if drainage or base preparation is inadequate. It also says properly air-entrained and sealed concrete resists salt damage and outperforms asphalt long-term, with the emphasis on 'properly'. The same source's conclusion is that the contractor and their process matter as much as the material.

What about stamped or decorative concrete?

It moves concrete further from asphalt rather than closer. Two Ontario sources put stamped concrete at $12 to $50 per square foot, against $8 to $19 for plain. Green Building Canada frames the same thing as an add-on, stating that stamping adds $7 to $10 per square foot over a broom finish, exposed aggregate about $5, and colour or staining $3 to $6. If the decision is being made on cost, a decorative finish is not the variable to be optimising.

Price it both ways, from the same firms

The single most useful thing you can do with the numbers above is take them to contractors who quote both materials, and ask each to price the identical scope twice. AsphaltPavingIndex tracks 92 parking lot paving contractors across the Greater Toronto Area, ranked by the published score.

See all 92 ranked parking lot paving contractors