Asphalt and concrete are the two main types of pavements you can install for your residential driveway. Asphalt is made of a mixture of gravel and bitumen, a sticky, black, petroleum byproduct, and concrete is made of a mix of gravel, water, and cement, a limestone mix. Is onebetter than the other? Let’s take a look at asphalt vs. concrete driveway installation.

Asphalt Driveway Installation

Costs Less

Asphalt driveways cost significantly less than concrete driveways. You may be able to save thousands of dollars by going with asphalt over concrete. Even with the maintenance costs of filling cracks and sealing the driveway, which both may need, asphalt could still help you save.

Is Quick to Install

Asphalt takes a relatively quick time to install. An asphalt contracting team can tear up an old asphalt driveway, prepare the foundation, and install the asphalt layer within a working day. While it’s a job with multiple steps, it takes relatively little time.

Dries in 48-72 Hours

Asphalt driveways need a few days to dry before you can walk on it and at least a week before you can park your car on it. It can take months for the asphalt tofully cure, gaining its maximum strength.

Lasts 15-20+ Years

Asphalt lasts about twenty or so years with proper care. Various conditions, such as the climate and traffic level, can affect how long your asphalt driveway will last. Sealing the asphalt every few years will help it last its longest.

Unique Benefits

If your driveway gets full sunlight exposure, ice and snow will melt more quickly in winter on an asphalt driveway compared to a plain concrete one. You can also opt fordecorative asphalt, which is colored and stamped asphalt.

Concrete Driveway Installation

Costs More

Concrete driveways typically cost more than an asphalt driveway, whether its a poured, stamped, or paver driveway. For an accurate estimated cost, ask your top local contractors for free quotes.

Takes Longer to Install, Depending

A concrete driveway could take longer to install than an asphalt one. For a concrete driveway installation, the team must break up and remove the old driveway, prepare the foundation, and lay the top layer, whether it is poured concrete or concrete pavers. The process can take several days.

Dries in 24-48 Hours

If you install a poured concrete driveway, it will generally dry enough to walk on in a day or two, which is faster than an asphalt driveway’s drying time.

Lasts 25-30+ Years

Concrete driveways also last longer than asphalt driveways by five to ten years or more. Even so, cleaning, crack filling, and sealing are necessary for making a concrete driveway last as long as possible.

Unique Benefits

Concrete driveways have many customization options, including colored dyes and stamped-on borders or patterns. Concrete pavers offer driveways a high-end look.

Receive Asphalt Paving Services with Tri-State Paving

Call Tri-State Paving. We’re a seasoned asphalt pavement company based in Maryland and have the experience and knowledge to help you with asphalt, concrete, and hardscaping projects.

We refuse to sell hot air to our customers, and that’s why we have been around for over four decades. We listen, inform, educate then decide what is best for our customers project and budget. If any problems arise during construction we keep our customers updated and respond to make the imperfect perfect.

Our area numbers are:

West Chester: 610.563.9456

Oxford: 610.932.3566

Delaware: 302.757.4100

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Tags: asphalt paving, concrete paving, driveways

This entry was posted on Friday, September 5th, 2025 at 3:55 pm and is filed under Asphalt Paving. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.