Sonotube Concrete Calculator
Enter the tube diameter, depth and number of tubes and get the concrete in cubic yards and the bags of 40, 50, 60, 80 or 90 lb mix to buy.
Use the inside diameter of the form. The result updates as you type.
Concrete for your tubes
0.53 cubic yards · 24 bags of 80 lb
14.4 ft³ (0.408 m³) for 6 tubes, including your 10% allowance
| One tube | 2.182 ft³ |
| Bags for one tube (with allowance) | 8 × 40 lb · 7 × 50 lb · 6 × 60 lb · 4 × 80 lb · 4 × 90 lb |
| Bag size | Yield per bag | Bags for all tubes |
|---|---|---|
| 40 lb | 0.3 ft³ | 48 |
| 50 lb | 0.375 ft³ | 39 |
| 60 lb | 0.45 ft³ | 32 |
| 80 lb | 0.6 ft³ | 24 |
| 90 lb | 0.675 ft³ | 22 |
What this page cannot tell you
Whether your piers or footings are the right size and depth — that depends on the load, the soil and the frost depth where you build, and is set by your building code or engineer. Bag counts are for QUIKRETE Concrete Mix yields; other products and high-strength mixes yield differently, so check your bag.
How to calculate concrete for tube forms
- Enter the tube diameter. The inside diameter of the form, e.g. 8, 10 or 12 in.
- Enter the depth. How deep the concrete will be in the tube, in inches.
- Enter the number of tubes. And an allowance for spillage and uneven hole bottoms.
- Add a footing if you have one. A flared or poured footing under the tube, as a diameter and thickness.
- Read yards and bags. Cubic yards for a ready-mix order, or bags by size.
10 situations where a Sonotube calculator helps
Deck footings
Count the bags for a row of 10 or 12 in piers before the store run.
Bags or ready-mix
When the yards add up past a few, compare a short-load delivery with dozens of bags.
Porch and stair landings
A handful of tubes for a small landing.
Pergolas and carports
Four to six deep piers add up quickly in 80 lb bags.
Fence and gate posts set in tubes
Size the concrete per post when a tube is used above grade.
Sheds on piers
Price a pier foundation against a slab.
Flared footings
Add the footing volume under each tube so the order isn't short.
Choosing a bag size
See 60 lb versus 80 lb counts — lighter bags, more trips.
Mixer loads
Bags per tube helps plan batches in a small mixer.
Metric check
The volume is also given in cubic metres.
Where the bag yields come from
Volume is a cylinder: π × (diameter ÷ 2)² × depth, times the number of tubes, plus any footing, plus your allowance. 27 cubic feet make a cubic yard.
Bag yields are from the QUIKRETE Concrete Mix (No. 1101) data sheet: a 40 lb bag yields approximately 0.30 ft³, 50 lb 0.375 ft³, 60 lb 0.45 ft³, 80 lb 0.60 ft³ and 90 lb 0.675 ft³ (90 lb where regionally available). Bags = volume ÷ yield, rounded up.
As a check, this method reproduces every cell of the bag table on QUIKRETE's own QUIK-Tube data sheet — 6, 8, 10 and 12 in tubes at 1 to 4 ft deep, for 60 lb and 80 lb bags — exactly.
Limits: other products (fast-setting, high-strength, other brands) yield differently; check your bag. The page does not size piers or footings — diameter, depth below frost and footing size depend on loads and soil and are set by your building code or an engineer. Everything runs in your browser.
Sources
- QUIKRETE Concrete Mix (No. 1101) data sheet — Yield per bag size
- QUIKRETE QUIK-Tube data sheet — Bags per tube table used as a cross-check
Frequently asked questions
How many bags of concrete for a 12 inch Sonotube?
Per foot of depth a 12 in tube holds 0.785 ft³: 2 bags of 80 lb or 2 bags of 60 lb for 1 ft, and 6 × 80 lb or 7 × 60 lb for 4 ft — matching QUIKRETE's QUIK-Tube table.
How much concrete in a 10 inch tube 4 feet deep?
2.18 ft³ — 4 bags of 80 lb or 5 bags of 60 lb.
How do I convert to cubic yards?
Divide cubic feet by 27. The page shows yards for a ready-mix order.
Should I add extra?
Most people add a little for spills and uneven holes; the allowance is your choice and is applied before rounding.
Does it work for other brands?
The volume does. Bag counts use QUIKRETE Concrete Mix yields; check the yield printed on another brand's bag.
How deep should my piers be?
That's set by your building code (frost depth, footing size) and your loads, not by this page.
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