Construction Material Cost Estimator
Building a house costs roughly its floor area times the storeys times a cost per square metre. Enter your house’s size and a contractor’s rate, or start from the PSA’s latest average and see what it could cost. Then switch to the detailed list to check what your contractor says you need to buy.
How much does it cost to build a house?
A first figure is floor area × storeys × cost per square metre. A two-storey house with 60 m² on each floor has 120 m² to build. At the PSA’s August 2026 average of ₱14,357.01 per square metre PSA via BusinessMirror August 2026, that is ₱1,722,841.20.
Treat that average as a floor, not a price. It is the cost owners declared on their building permits, for every kind of new building, not homes alone, and what owners declare is not necessarily what they spend. A written quote from a contractor in your area, for your plans and your finishes, is the figure to budget with.
What makes one house cost more than another
- Size: every extra square metre adds to the bill, and a second storey adds stairs, a stronger frame and a suspended floor.
- Finishes: tiles, windows, doors, kitchen and bathroom fittings can move the cost more than the structure does.
- The lot: soft or sloping ground needs bigger footings or retaining walls; a lot far from the road costs more to deliver to.
- The design: corners, cantilevers, high ceilings and big spans take more material and labour than a plain box.
- Where you build and when: prices of materials and wages differ by province and change through the year.
Floor area is not lot area
Enter the area of each floor you will build, measured on the plan: a floor 6 m wide and 10 m deep is 60 m². It has nothing to do with the size of the lot. If the upper floor is smaller than the ground floor, enter the average of the two, or run the estimate once per floor. Ask your contractor how they count a carport, a balcony or a roof deck, because quotes differ on it.
What a cost per square metre usually leaves out
A contractor’s rate per square metre covers building the house. Ask, in writing, whether it also covers each of these, because not every quote does:
- The lot itself, and its transfer taxes and fees.
- Plans signed by a licensed engineer or architect, the building permit and other local permits.
- Electricity and water connections up to the house.
- The fence, gate, driveway and landscaping.
- Furniture, appliances, curtains and air-conditioning units.
Building while you work abroad
- Choose one person you trust to be on site, and agree who decides what when you cannot be reached.
- Sign a contract that ties every payment to a stage of finished work, such as foundations, walls, roof and finishes, not to calendar dates. Do not pay most of the price up front.
- Ask for photos and receipts at every stage before you send the next payment.
- Keep the build money in its own account, so you always know what has been spent and what is left.
- Keep a reserve on top of the estimate for price rises and changes; the calculator adds it under “Extra for surprises”.
Worked examples
Each example below is run through the same calculator at the top of this page. The figures are its output, not typed in by hand.
An OFW in Dubai plans a two-storey house
Say you work in Dubai and want a two-storey house with 60 m² on each floor. A contractor back home quotes ₱30,000 per square metre for materials and labour, you add 5% for surprises. The quote is made up for the example.
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| 60 m² × 2 storeys = 120 m² of floor, at the cost per m² you entered, which covers materials and labour. | ₱3,600,000.00 |
| Contingency | ₱180,000.00 |
Estimated cost: ₱3,780,000.00, or ₱31,500.00 per m². An illustration with made-up sizes and rates, not a design.
A family adds a second floor of 45 m²
Say your family wants to add a 45 m² upper floor and has no quote yet. You start from the PSA average and add 10% for surprises. A real quote for an added floor may differ, because the existing house may need strengthening first.
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| 45 m² × 1 storey = 45 m² of floor, at the cost per m² you entered, which covers materials and labour. | ₱646,065.45 |
| Contingency | ₱64,606.55 |
Estimated cost: ₱710,672.00, or ₱15,792.71 per m². An illustration with made-up sizes and rates, not a design.
Four ground-floor rental units, item by item
Say you are building four studio units in a row on one slab, 12 × 8 m, with eight 1.0 × 1.0 m footings, eight 250 × 250 mm columns 3 m tall, 4″ CHB walls 60 m long and 3 m high with 20 m² of doors and windows, plaster on both faces, and a 10 mm mesh in the slab at 300 mm. Every size here is made up for the example; yours come from your plans. The table is what to buy before prices.
| Material | To buy |
|---|---|
| Portland cement, 40 kg bag | 198 bag |
| Sand | 13.09 m³ |
| Gravel (coarse aggregate) | 13.58 m³ |
| Deformed bar 12 mm × 6 m | 32 pc |
| Deformed bar 10 mm × 6 m | 116 pc |
| Concrete hollow block 4″ | 2,000 pc |
Add your supplier’s price for each line and the estimator prices the list. An illustration with made-up sizes and rates, not a design.
For your contractor: the detailed materials list
Switch to “Detailed materials list” to count what a house needs: concrete for the footings, columns, beams and slabs; steel bars; hollow blocks and mortar for the walls; plaster, tiles, paint, formwork, roofing and digging; and any other material. Add each supplier’s price and you get a priced list to compare with a contractor’s quote.
Cement, sand and gravel per cubic metre follow the figures Philippine estimators use Estimating practice concrete, and mortar likewise Estimating practice mortar; they are practice, not a government figure, and you can change them. Steel bars weigh their diameter squared ÷ 162 kg per metre PNS 49:2020 unit mass, and cement comes in 40 kg bags DTI MC 20-56 Clauses 1.1.11 and 1.2.13. Hollow blocks are 12.5 per square metre of wall.
What this calculator is not
It is not a quotation, a design or a permit. It does not check whether your house is safe or what size its footings and columns should be. Have your plans prepared and signed by a licensed civil engineer or architect, get the building permit before work starts, and budget with written quotes.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to build a house in the Philippines in 2026?
It depends on the size, the finishes and where you build. As a starting point, the PSA’s average cost of new buildings declared on permits was ₱14,357.01 per square metre in August 2026 PSA via BusinessMirror August 2026. A real build can cost more, so budget with a contractor’s written quote.
How much is a two-storey house with 100 m² of floor in all?
At the PSA’s August 2026 average, 100 m² × ₱14,357.01 is ₱1,435,701 PSA via BusinessMirror August 2026. Enter your own contractor’s rate in the calculator for a figure closer to what you will pay.
Is floor area the same as lot area?
No. Floor area is the inside of each floor you build; lot area is the land. A 150 m² lot can hold a house with 60 m² on each of two floors.
What is not included in the cost per square metre?
Usually the lot, the plans and permits, utility connections, the fence and gate, furniture and appliances. Ask your contractor to list in writing what the rate includes.
How should I pay my contractor while I am abroad?
In stages tied to finished work, such as foundations, walls, roof and finishes, written into the contract. Ask for photos and receipts before each payment, and keep a trusted person on site.
How much extra should I set aside?
The calculator does not choose for you. Enter a reserve under “Extra for surprises”; the less final your plans and prices are, the bigger it should be.
Do I need a building permit?
Yes. Get it from your city or municipal building official before work starts. Your engineer or architect prepares and signs the plans that go with the application.
Can my contractor use this too?
Yes. The detailed materials list counts cement, sand, gravel, steel bars, hollow blocks, plaster, tiles, paint, formwork, roofing and digging, with the working for every line, and downloads as a spreadsheet.
Can I save my estimate or send it to my family?
Yes, without signing up. Download a PDF, print it, save it on this device, or share a link that opens the calculator with your figures. Your figures stay on your device unless you share them.
Sources and references
Where each figure on this page comes from. The cost per square metre is the PSA’s, as a newspaper reported it. In the detailed list, the steel bar weight and the cement bag come from Philippine standards and the DTI, and the cement, sand and gravel per cubic metre are estimating practice, not a government figure.
PNS 49:2020, steel bars for concrete reinforcement
- unit mass: Mass per metre = 0.00785 g/mm³ × nominal area (π/4 × d²), which is d² ÷ 162 kg/m with d in mm; the full standard is sold by the BPS, so the formula was read in a quoted extract
DTI Memorandum Circular No. 20-56, s. 2020, on product certification marks for cement
- Clauses 1.1.11 and 1.2.13: Portland (PNS 07) and blended (PNS 63) cement are sold in 40 kg bags
PSA Construction Statistics from Approved Building Permits, August 2026, as reported by BusinessMirror (“Drop in approved building permits worries experts”)
- August 2026: Average cost of new buildings, excluding additions, alterations and repairs: ₱14,357.01 per m², up 21.9% from ₱11,778.22 in August 2025. It is the cost declared on approved permits, for every kind of new building
Max B. Fajardo Jr., Simplified Construction Estimate (Philippine estimating textbook)
- concrete: Per m³ of concrete with 40 kg bags: Class AA (1:1.5:3) 12 bags, Class A (1:2:4) 9 bags, Class B (1:2.5:5) 7.5 bags, Class C (1:3:6) 6 bags, each with 0.5 m³ sand and 1.0 m³ gravel
- mortar: Per m³ of mortar: 1:2 18 bags, 1:3 12 bags, 1:4 9 bags, each with 1.0 m³ sand
This calculator gives an estimate for planning and saving. It is not a quotation, a design or a building permit. Get written quotes from contractors and have a licensed engineer or architect prepare your plans.
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