PEB vs RCC — cost, time, foundations, expandability
Enter area, span and building type. The calculator compares a pre-engineered steel building with an RCC frame on superstructure cost, construction programme, dead load on foundations and future expansion — with every rate and rule shown and editable.
Not sure? Look it up by city or PIN.
Edit assumptions (rates, programme, loads)
Auto-set from type, span, eave and wind — benchmarks. Override if you have a design.
Roof + wall sheeting, trims, gutters, skylights. Insulated panels ≈ 2,200–3,500.
150 mm slab 3.75 + beams 1.2 + finishes/waterproofing 1.0
Defaults are 2026 planning figures for central India, structure and envelope only. Land, flooring, drainage, services, cranes, approvals and GST are excluded from both options. Fire protection of steel, where required, should be added to the PEB side.
How the comparison is built
PEB cost = steel intensity (kg/m², from the MAXXINFRA benchmark matrix adjusted for span, eave and wind) × area × (fabrication + erection rate) + cladding + foundations. RCC cost = structure rate × area + walls/finishes + foundations, on a nominal 8 m column grid. Programme uses base weeks plus weeks per 1,000 m²; for PEB, fabrication runs in parallel with foundations. Foundation load compares superstructure dead load (steel + sheeting versus slab + beams + finishes) plus the same roof live load.
When PEB wins — and when it does not
- Clear spans above 12–15 m: RCC needs intermediate columns, prestressed elements or steel trusses; portal frames and arch trusses do it in one piece. Our curved-roof sheds at Chandrapur span 93.8 m.
- Programme-critical projects: fabrication in the factory while foundations cure on site; 48–72 hour detailing cycles; erection at several hundred square metres a day.
- Cranes and future expansion: crane beams, brackets and surge girders are part of the frame design; expandable end walls add bays later without touching the existing structure.
- Poor soils: 60–80 % lower gravity load to foundations reduces footing size and may avoid piling.
- Where RCC holds its own: small spans with heavy floor loads, multi-storey offices with fire-rating requirements, and sites with no crane access for erection.
Frequently asked questions
Is a PEB always cheaper than RCC?
For single-storey industrial buildings with clear spans above about 12–15 m, a pre-engineered steel building is usually cheaper on superstructure plus foundations and much faster. For small-span buildings with heavy floor loads, multi-storey office blocks or where fire rating without protection is mandatory, RCC can be competitive. The calculator shows the break-even for your inputs.
Why are PEB foundations smaller?
A PEB superstructure weighs about 0.4–0.8 kN/m² including sheeting, against roughly 5–6 kN/m² for an RCC roof slab with beams and finishes. Column loads to the foundation are therefore 60–80 % lower. PEB footings are sized for wind uplift and column base moments rather than bearing, which still leaves them 30–50 % smaller in most soils.
How much faster is PEB construction?
Steel fabrication runs in the factory while foundations are cast on site, and erection proceeds at several hundred square metres a day. A 5,000 m² shed is typically ready for cladding in 10–12 weeks from design release, against 20–26 weeks for an RCC frame with curing and shuttering cycles.
Can an RCC building span 30 m without columns?
Not economically. RCC beams and slabs become impractical beyond about 12–15 m; larger spans use prestressed elements or steel trusses on RCC columns, at which point most of the cost advantage of concrete disappears. The calculator assumes an RCC column grid of about 8 m for the concrete option and flags spans where that is unrealistic.
What is not included in the comparison?
Land, flooring, drainage, electricals, fire-fighting, HVAC, cranes themselves, approvals and GST are excluded from both options because they are broadly common. Fire protection of steel, if required by the occupancy, should be added to the PEB side.
More engineering tools
Wind & seismic lookup · Steel tonnage benchmarks · Site-readiness checklist · PEB foundation design guide · PEB buildings service
MAXXINFRA · maxxinfra.in/tools/peb-vs-rcc/ · planning information, not a design document · © 2026 MAXXINFRA