Formwork is one of the most important factors in determining the success of a construction project in terms of speed, quality, cost and safety of work as it ranges from 35 to 60% of the total cost of the concrete structure. Surface texture and alignment of concrete structure mainly depend on the quality of formwork materials and workmanship. Many concrete related problems such as discoloration, stains, and dusting are attributed to concrete formwork. Forms must be built to the correct dimensions. Formwork must be rigid enough under construction loads to maintain the designed shape and alignment of the concrete element and if the forms deflect excessively, bulges in the concrete surface may require expensive chipping and grinding. In Ethiopia, particularly in Bahir Dar, Contractors use chiseling as standard practice to remove the unwanted part of concrete, for providing a uniform appearance of concrete finish and for preparing the surface for another coating to repair damaged concrete. This is economically inefficient in addition to affecting the strength and quality of concrete as well as health of the workers. The main objective of this thesis is to compare different formwork systems with respect to cost and quality; and to identify suitable least cost and quality formwork type for different story and areas of buildings. It attempts to describe concrete formwork, requirements of quality formwork, materials used for concrete formwork, its construction method and effects of using defective formwork. Interviews were conducted among contractors in Bahir Dar to get relevant data which helps to achieve the objectives of this thesis. This thesis presents the existing formwork types in Bahir Dar and doing analysis on comparison of costs and quality of constructions when using different types of formworks with their merits and demerits. As well as tries to identify the reason why modern formwork is not practiced and its merits on cost and quality of the concrete. The finding of the research shows that as the area of the building increases; using modern steel formwork with steel scaffolding will reduce the cost of the building, but using timber formwork, reworked old metal barrel formwork and wooden scaffolding will increase the cost of the building. In addition to cost, using modern steel formwork with steel scaffolding improves quality of concrete and it can eliminate chiseling and often costly applied finishing work like plastering