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A common misconception is that compact, commercial-class pavers (basically anything 16,000 pounds or less) are simply smaller versions of larger, mainline-class pavers. But aside from both being used to lay down hot, black asphalt, the two machine classes are completely different in design, capabilities, and quality expectations.

That's why so few manufacturers offer both commercial- and mainline-class pavers. It's also why the price of a commercial paver averages between $25,000 to $100,000, whereas mainline pavers range from $200,000 to $500,000. The game is basically the same, but the factors that make a good player are not.

Gravity or conveyor fed

Commercial pavers can be separated into gravity fed or conveyor fed — depending upon how they deliver asphalt from the hopper to the screed. Given a contractor's preferences and workload, each machine type has its advantages and disadvantages.

Gravity-fed units are the least expensive, typically priced between $25,000 and $50,000. Usually weighing less than 10,000 pounds, gravity-fed pavers offer 50 horsepower or less and provide maximum paving widths of 13 feet. As the name suggests, these pavers rely solely on gravity to feed asphalt from the hopper to the screed assembly. As asphalt is dumped into the hopper by feeder trucks, the paver's bed is hydraulically raised until gravity takes effect and draws the asphalt toward the screed, out of the paver, and onto the work surface.

Gravity-fed pavers aren't considered high-capacity or high-production machines. Though some contractors will pull 500 to 600 tons of material through them in a day, 200 tons-per-day is more common. So gravity-fed pavers are commonly used for driveway, small parking lot, and general road maintenance applications, but not for more demanding paving jobs.