Material prices

Building material prices in Malaysia

Look up the current price of cement, steel reinforcement, ready-mixed concrete and other building materials for the state you are building in. Each price comes with its history, the same item in other states, and a watchlist that keeps it up to date for you.

Look up a price free How Analyse works

50 free credits every month · No credit card needed

Why a material price is hard to pin down

A price for cement or steel bar is only useful if you know three things about it: which month it is for, which state it applies to, and what unit it is quoted in. A figure from a supplier's old quotation, a forum post or last year's tender answers none of those reliably, and materials move from one month to the next.

Caprix keeps the period, the location and the unit attached to every price, so the number you carry into an estimate or a Bill of Quantities is one you can explain.

How to look up a building material price

Open the Chat Workspace and type your question in plain language, for example price of ready-mixed concrete grade 30 in Selangor.
Caprix recognises it as a rate question, opens the Analyse form and fills in what it understood: the price type, category, state and item.
Check the fields, choose the year and month if you want an earlier period, and select Analyse. Nothing is charged until you do.

Leave the item on Scan the whole category to list every rate in that category at once, then select any row to open its history.

What comes with every price

The current rate and its unit

The latest published price for the item in your state, with the unit it is measured in.

Price history

A chart of how the price has moved, with selectable ranges, so one month's figure is never read on its own.

12 month movement

How far the price has moved over the last year, with the high and the low over the period.

The same item in other states

See where your state sits against the rest of the country before you price a job somewhere new.

Compare, watch and forecast prices

Compare prices across states and over time

Compare rates charts two to four unit rates over the same years. Use it for one material across states, or for different items side by side, such as two grades of concrete. It shows the change in each over the range and the main reasons for any difference.

Watch the prices your margin depends on

Track turns up to 10 items into a watchlist. Each one shows the current price, the movement in ringgit and percent, and a six-period trendline, and updates itself when a newer period is published. Set a price alert on any item, or switch on the Price Watch email to hear about new prices without opening the app.

Forecast a single material price

A rate forecast gives low, base and high scenarios for the month you choose, built from the item's own price history and current market signals, with observed prices kept apart from assumptions.

Understand why prices are moving

Research reads official statistics from the Department of Statistics Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Ministry of Finance, including building material prices (PPI), inflation and fuel prices, alongside Caprix indices and rates, and cites every source. For the wider market picture, see the Tender Price Index and cost indices.

Labour and machinery rates too

Materials are one of three price types. Caprix also covers labour rates by trade and machinery rates, looked up the same way. Materials are published monthly; labour and machinery are published twice a year, in January and July. Labour is shown as a minimum to maximum band. More on labour and machinery rates →

Once you have the rates, you can save one to your rate library and use it in a rate build-up or a priced bill. See how cost estimating works in Caprix →

What it costs

Skill	What it does	Cost	Plans
Analyse	A price with its history and other states	2 credits	Free, Pro, Max
Compare rates	Two to four rates charted together	5 credits	Pro, Max
Track	Watchlist of up to 10 items	5 credits per item, and per update	Pro, Max
Rate forecast	Low, base and high scenarios	5 credits	Pro, Max
Research	Official statistics, sources cited	4 credits	Pro, Max

Free gives 50 credits every month. Pro is RM99 a month with 2,000 credits, and Max is RM149 a month with 4,000. See the full plan comparison →

Questions about building material prices

How often are building material prices updated?

Material prices are published monthly. Labour and machinery rates are published twice a year, in January and July, so they compare against the previous half-year. Every answer names the period it is for, and defaults to the latest one published.

Can I see cement, steel or concrete prices for my state?

Yes. In Analyse you choose the price type, the category, the state and, where a state has more than one, the city. You can pick one item for its full analysis or scan the whole category to list every rate in it. The free plan reaches 8 categories in each price type and 5 locations; the rest stays visible in the pickers, marked Pro.

Can I compare a material price between states?

Yes. Every single-item answer shows the same item in other states, so you can see where yours sits. For a proper side-by-side view, Compare rates charts two to four rates over the same years, for example cement in Selangor against Johor and Sabah. A comparison costs 5 credits however many rates it holds, on Pro and Max.

Can I be told when a material price changes?

Yes. Track pins up to 10 items to a watchlist that updates itself when a newer period is published. You can set a price alert on any tracked item at no charge, and switch on Price Watch to get an email when a tracked rate has a new price. Track costs 5 credits per item, and per update, on Pro and Max.

Can Caprix forecast where a material price is heading?

Yes. A rate forecast analyses the item's own price history in the Caprix database, researches current market signals, and gives low, base and high scenarios for the month you choose, keeping observed prices, outside evidence and assumptions separate. It costs 5 credits on Pro and Max and takes about 30 to 60 seconds. It is a forecast to plan with, not a guaranteed price.

Is it free to look up a material price?

You can start free. The free plan gives you 50 credits that reset every month, with no credit card. An Analyse query costs 2 credits, so that is about 25 lookups a month. See plans →

Get the price before you price the job

Start free with 50 credits every month. No credit card needed.

Get started free Tender Price Index →