Is this HVAC quote fair? Decode it before you sign.
Type in the line items from your replacement quote. Each one gets compared against national 2025-26 cost guides — and you get the exact questions to ask your contractor. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
Your quote, line by line
Rough conditioned square footage — it sets which benchmark applies.
The bottom line on the quote. Works alone if nothing is itemized.
Condenser, coil, furnace, air handler — the hardware lines.
Only if the quote shows labor as its own line.
More line items (permit, ducts, thermostat…)
Sum of anything else itemized — surge protector, UV light, warranty upgrade.
Your quote, decoded
—
Enter your quote above — the decode updates live, and nothing you type leaves your browser.
Ask your contractor
Get a second opinion before you sign
Replacement quotes for the same house routinely differ by thousands of dollars. Two cheap moves before you commit:
- Take the questions above to a second contractor. A competing quote with the same line items is the fastest honesty check there is — and it's free.
- Compare quotes from local pros. A compare-quotes service link is coming here — for now, search your city + "HVAC replacement quotes" and get at least two more numbers.
We publish a new homeowner money tool most weeks. Want the next one in your inbox?
Updated
June 2026
Sourced from
National cost guides, each citedPrivate
Your numbers never leave your browser
No signup required
Email is optional, above
Where these ranges come from
Every benchmark the decoder uses is a published national range from sources like Angi, This Old House, HomeGuide, HomeAdvisor, and EnergySage, dated 2025-26 — never our own invention. When a line item has no citeable national range (bundled add-ons, maintenance plans), the decoder says so and gives you a question instead of a made-up number.
The full table — every range, every source, every caveat — is on the about-the-data page. Ranges are national: a dense coastal metro runs high, a lower-cost region runs low. This is a planning tool, not a quote.
Read more from this series
Line by line
How to read an HVAC replacement quote
The anatomy of a fair quote — what should be itemized, the five red flags, and what "equipment and labor" should actually cover.
The bigger decision
Repair or replace? How to decide without regret
Age bands, the $5,000 rule of thumb, and how the 2025 refrigerant change quietly rewrote the math on older systems.