This is the first decision on every pumping quote, and the wrong one either wastes money or wastes a pour day. Here is how operators actually make the call.
Is any part of the pour elevated or over a structure? Boom. Hose does not go up and over well, and elevated work is what the arm is for.
Is the farthest point more than a few hundred feet from where a truck can park, with obstacles between? Boom, most likely. Long hose runs exist, but at some distance the boom is cheaper than the labor of running and handling that much line.
Is the pour behind a fence, through a gate, or inside a building? Line. This is its home turf and the quote will be the lower of the two options.
Is the yardage big and the finish crew expensive? Boom. Placement speed is labor money on large slabs. The pump premium can be smaller than the crew overtime it prevents.
Is the job small, flat, and close to the street? Line, and it is not close. Paying boom minimums to place a patio is how budgets leak.
The operator looks at your location, pour type, and details, asks about the four things above if anything is missing, and quotes the equipment that fits. You see the rate structure and the minimum before you book. If both could work, a good operator tells you both numbers and lets you pick.
A line pump, in almost every case where both can do the job. Lower hourly rate, lower minimum. The boom earns its higher rate when the pour is out of hose range, elevated, or big enough that placement speed saves real labor money.
No. Line pumps place on the ground through hose. Elevated pours, long reaches over structures, and high volume placements are boom work. The reverse is also true: a boom cannot thread a backyard gate the way hose can.
Where the truck can park, how far the farthest point of the pour is from there, what is overhead, and what is in the way on the ground. Four answers and the decision makes itself.
Nothing bad. The job type and details in your request are a starting point. The operator reviews the site description, picks the right equipment, and quotes that. Saying you are not sure is a perfectly good answer.
Still torn? Describe the site in the details box. The operator makes the equipment call and quotes the right truck the first time.