Short answer: budget ₱1,100–₱1,500 per cubic metre for washed concreting sand and the same for ¾" crushed gravel, delivered within a normal haul. AEDO estimates at ₱1,200/m³ for sand. But most suppliers don't sell by the cubic metre — they sell by the truckload, and until you know the truck's real capacity you cannot compare two quotes at all.
"How many cubic metres is that load, struck level?" Not "what truck". The same body style gets loaded to very different heights by different suppliers, and a heaped load measured as struck is where the margin quietly goes. Get the capacity in writing.
| Material | ₱ per m³ (2026) | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Washed concreting sand | 1,100–1,500 | Structural concrete. AEDO estimates at ₱1,200/m³. |
| Vibro / crushed sand | 1,200–1,600 | Where river sand is scarce; more angular, needs more water |
| S1 / fine sand | 900–1,300 | Plastering and masonry mortar, not structural concrete |
| Gravel ¾" (20 mm) | 1,100–1,500 | General structural concrete — the default coarse aggregate |
| Gravel ⅜" (10 mm) | 1,200–1,600 | Thin sections, congested reinforcement, topping slabs |
| G1 / base course | 900–1,400 | Sub-base under slabs on grade and pavements |
| Boulders / riprap stone | 800–1,300 | Slope protection, gabion fill, foundation fill |
| Cement (40 kg bag) | ₱270 / bag | The third ingredient — full detail in our cement price guide |
Distance from source beats everything else. Aggregates are heavy and low value, so haulage is a large share of the delivered price — a site an hour further from the quarry or river can pay 30–40% more for identical material. That is also why the "national average" price you find online is close to meaningless for your particular site.
| Truck | Typical capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mini dump | ~4 m³ | Tight access, small pours, barangay roads |
| 6-wheeler dump | 6–8 m³ | The common residential delivery |
| 10-wheeler dump | 10–12 m³ | Cheapest per m³ if access and space allow |
Turns a concrete volume into cement, sand and gravel quantities by mix class, prices them at your local rates, and converts the result into the number of truckloads you actually have to order.
The proportions that matter, from our concrete mix ratio guide. Note what stays constant:
| Class | Ratio (C:S:G) | 40 kg bags/m³ | Sand | Gravel | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA | 1 : 1.5 : 3 | 12.0 | 0.50 m³ | 1.00 m³ | Water tanks, cisterns, septic vaults, heavily loaded columns |
| A | 1 : 2 : 4 | 9.0 | 0.50 m³ | 1.00 m³ | General structural — footings, columns, beams, slabs |
| B | 1 : 2.5 : 5 | 7.5 | 0.50 m³ | 1.00 m³ | Non-structural — slab on grade, pathways, mass fill |
| C | 1 : 3 : 6 | 6.0 | 0.50 m³ | 1.00 m³ | Lean concrete — blinding, levelling, fill |
Sand and gravel stay at 0.50 and 1.00 m³ across every class; only the cement moves. That looks wrong until you picture it: the gravel sets the volume, the sand fills the gaps between the stones, and the cement paste fills what is left. Making a mix richer means more cement in the same skeleton of aggregate, not more aggregate.
The Jar Test — Five Minutes That Protects Every Pour
Silt coats aggregate particles and stops cement paste bonding to them. A silty sand quietly reduces the strength of every cubic metre it goes into, and nothing about it looks wrong on delivery.
Half fill a clear straight-sided jar with the sand. Top up with water. Shake hard for a minute. Leave it a few hours. The sand settles first; silt and clay form a distinct finer layer above it. Measure both. If the silt layer is more than about 5–6% of the sand depth, reject the load — or wash it, if the supplier will.
Never Beach Sand
Marine sand carries chlorides, and chloride is what starts corrosion of the reinforcing steel inside the concrete. Nothing goes wrong during construction. It shows up years later as rust staining, then cracking and spalling along the line of the bars as the corroding steel expands and splits the cover off.
It is one of the very few material substitutions that cannot be corrected once the concrete is cast — and it is common precisely because beach sand is free and close to hand in coastal provinces. Buy washed river or crushed sand from a source with a permit.
Using the prices above, a Class A site mix comes to roughly ₱4,100–₱4,600/m³ in materials. Ready-mix at 3,000 psi delivers for about ₱4,500–₱4,800/m³.
So site mixing wins on materials — and that comparison leaves out mixing labour, mixer hire and fuel, wastage, and the delay cost of mixing by the bag. It also leaves out consistency: a batching plant proportions by weight, a site crew proportions by shovel and bucket. For small pours, site mixing genuinely wins. For anything continuous, the arithmetic usually reverses — and a cold joint in a suspended slab costs more than the saving. Full comparison in our ready-mix price guide.
Prices are AEDO 2026 planning ranges, consistent with our cement, ready-mix and CHB price guides — market estimates for judgement, not quotations. Aggregate prices move with haul distance more than with anything else, so treat them as a starting point and edit the calculator to your local quotes. Mix proportions are the Philippine class ratios in our concrete mix ratio guide. Truck capacities are typical rather than regulated, which is exactly why the capacity should be confirmed in writing.
How much is sand and gravel per cubic metre in the Philippines in 2026?
As 2026 planning figures, washed concreting sand runs about 1,100 to 1,500 pesos per cubic metre and three-quarter inch crushed gravel about 1,100 to 1,500 pesos per cubic metre, delivered within a normal haul distance. AEDO uses 1,200 pesos per cubic metre for sand in its estimates. Prices vary more by distance from the quarry or river source than by anything else, so a site an hour further from the source can pay 30 to 40 percent more for identical material. Quoted prices also differ depending on whether they include delivery, which is why comparing two suppliers requires asking the same question twice.
How many cubic metres are in a truckload of sand or gravel?
A mini dump truck typically carries about 4 cubic metres, a six-wheeler dump truck about 6 to 8 cubic metres, and a ten-wheeler about 10 to 12 cubic metres. This matters because suppliers usually quote by the truckload rather than by the cubic metre, and the two prices are not directly comparable until you know the actual capacity. Ask for the cubic metre capacity in writing rather than the truck description, since the same body style is loaded to different heights by different suppliers, and pay attention to whether the load is struck level or heaped.
How much sand and gravel do I need per cubic metre of concrete?
For all the common Philippine mix classes, allow 0.50 cubic metres of sand and 1.00 cubic metres of gravel per cubic metre of concrete. What changes between classes is the cement: Class AA at a 1 to 1.5 to 3 ratio needs about 12 bags of 40 kilogram cement per cubic metre, Class A at 1 to 2 to 4 needs 9 bags, Class B at 1 to 2.5 to 5 needs 7.5 bags, and Class C at 1 to 3 to 6 needs 6 bags. The aggregate figures look surprisingly constant because the voids in the gravel are what the sand and paste fill, so the coarse aggregate volume dominates regardless of richness.
Can I use beach sand for concrete?
No. Beach and other marine sand carries chlorides, and chloride is what starts corrosion of the reinforcing steel inside concrete. The damage does not appear during construction; it appears years later as rust staining, then as cracking and spalling along the line of the bars as the corroding steel expands. It is one of the few material substitutions that cannot be corrected once the concrete is cast, and it is common precisely because beach sand is cheap and close to hand in coastal provinces. Use washed river or crushed sand from a legitimate source.
How do I test if sand is too silty?
Use the jar or bottle test. Half fill a clear straight-sided jar with the sand, top it up with water, shake it hard for a minute, and leave it to stand for a few hours. The sand settles first and the silt and clay form a distinct finer layer on top. Measure both layers: if the silt layer is more than about 5 to 6 percent of the sand depth, the material is too dirty for structural concrete. Silt coats the aggregate particles and stops cement paste bonding to them, so a silty sand quietly reduces the strength of every cubic metre it goes into.
Is site-mixed concrete cheaper than ready-mix in the Philippines?
On materials alone, usually yes. A Class A site mix works out to roughly 4,100 to 4,600 pesos per cubic metre in materials against about 4,500 to 4,800 pesos per cubic metre delivered for 3,000 psi ready-mix. That comparison leaves out mixing labour, the hire and fuel of the mixer, wastage, and the cost of the delays that come with mixing by the bag. It also leaves out consistency, since a batching plant proportions by weight while a site crew proportions by shovel and bucket, and strength varies with that. For small pours site mixing genuinely wins; for anything continuous the arithmetic usually reverses.
Per-cubic-metre factors are fine for checking a delivery. Ordering a whole house off them is how sites end up with four extra truckloads of gravel and no room to store it.