Flooring Cost Calculator
A flooring cost calculator multiplies room area by an installed price per square foot, then adds removal, subfloor repair and doorway transitions. A 12 by 15 foot room in luxury vinyl plank with removal, 25 percent subfloor repair and two doorways costs $965 to $2,950, or $5.36 to $16.39 per square foot.
This tool prices the job. To find how many boxes to buy, use the flooring calculator. Prices are national bands, not a quote.
- Updated October 2026
- Sources Cited
- No Login Required
- Free to Use
Your estimate
Installed cost range
$965 to $2,950
Midpoint $1,958, or $5.36 to $16.39 per sq ft. The midpoint is the average of the low and high, not a market median.
- Flooring (luxury vinyl plank)
- $720 to $2,160
- Removal and haul-away
- $180 to $540
- Subfloor repair
- $45 to $180
- Doorway transitions
- $20 to $70
Material to order
About 198 sq ft: 180 sq ft plus 10 percent waste. Waste changes how much you order. It does not change the installed price bands above.
Estimate only. Prices vary by region and by contractor. Get written quotes before you buy.
Three job conditions
Price a bare floor, removal, or removal with subfloor repair.
Doorway transitions
Each doorway adds a cited installed range.
Quote check
See whether a contractor total sits below, inside or above the range.
This range comes from published 2026 price bands. Your contractor quote can sit outside it. Ask for the quote to list removal, subfloor and transitions as separate lines.
How much does flooring cost per square foot?
Installed flooring runs about $3 to $20 per square foot, depending on type. Laminate and carpet with pad sit at $3 to $8. Luxury vinyl plank is $4 to $12, engineered hardwood $6 to $15, solid hardwood $8 to $20 and tile $7 to $20. These QuoteIQ bands cover materials and labor for the new floor only.
| Flooring type | Low, per sq ft | High, per sq ft | Midpoint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laminate | $3 | $8 | $5.50 |
| Luxury vinyl plank | $4 | $12 | $8.00 |
| Engineered hardwood | $6 | $15 | $10.50 |
| Solid hardwood | $8 | $20 | $14.00 |
| Tile (ceramic or porcelain) | $7 | $20 | $13.50 |
| Carpet with pad | $3 | $8 | $5.50 |
The midpoint is the average of the low and the high. It is not a market median. Sources differ: Homewyse lists laminate at $6.91 to $11.81 per square foot installed (May 2026), above the QuoteIQ band. Omni Calculator lists material-only prices of $1 to $4 for vinyl, $2 to $6 for laminate and $3 to $7 for hardwood. Treat every band as a range to test against local quotes.
How to calculate flooring cost
Multiply the floor area by the installed price per square foot for the type. Add removal at $1 to $3 per square foot and subfloor repair at $1 to $4 per square foot on the share that needs it. Add $10 to $35 for each doorway. Run the sum once with the low prices and once with the high.
Flooring = area x type price x f
Removal = area x $1 to $3
Subfloor = area x repair share x $1 to $4
Transitions = doorways x $10 to $35
Total = sum of the lines, low and high. Midpoint = (low + high) / 2
f = 0.85 when area is 1,000 sq ft or more, else 1
- Measure each room in feet. Multiply length by width and add the rooms.
- Pick the flooring type to set the low and high price per square foot.
- Choose the job condition: bare floor, removal, or removal with subfloor repair.
- Count the doorways that need a transition strip.
- Add the lines for the low total and the high total, then average them for the midpoint.
To measure an odd-shaped floor first, use the square footage calculator.
Worked example: a 12 by 15 foot room
A 12 by 15 foot room is 180 square feet. In luxury vinyl plank, with removal, subfloor repair on 25 percent of the floor and two doorways, the low total is $965 and the high total is $2,950. The midpoint is $1,958.
| Line | Working | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luxury vinyl plank | 180 x $4 to $12 | $720 | $2,160 |
| Removal | 180 x $1 to $3 | $180 | $540 |
| Subfloor repair | 180 x 25% x $1 to $4 | $45 | $180 |
| Transitions | 2 x $10 to $35 | $20 | $70 |
| Total | Sum of the lines | $965 | $2,950 |
| Per square foot | Total / 180 | $5.36 | $16.39 |
The midpoint is $1,958, or $10.88 per square foot. The flooring line is the largest part, but the add-ons make up the rest of the gap between the low and the high.
How much does 1,000 square feet of flooring cost?
For 1,000 square feet, installed flooring costs $2,550 to $6,800 in laminate, $3,400 to $10,200 in luxury vinyl plank and $5,950 to $17,000 in tile. QuoteIQ prices jobs of 1,000 square feet or more about 15 percent lower per square foot, and the calculator applies that to the flooring line only.
| Flooring type | 200 sq ft | 1,000 sq ft | 1,500 sq ft | 2,000 sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laminate | $600 to $1,600 | $2,550 to $6,800 | $3,825 to $10,200 | $5,100 to $13,600 |
| Luxury vinyl plank | $800 to $2,400 | $3,400 to $10,200 | $5,100 to $15,300 | $6,800 to $20,400 |
| Engineered hardwood | $1,200 to $3,000 | $5,100 to $12,750 | $7,650 to $19,125 | $10,200 to $25,500 |
| Solid hardwood | $1,600 to $4,000 | $6,800 to $17,000 | $10,200 to $25,500 | $13,600 to $34,000 |
| Tile (ceramic or porcelain) | $1,400 to $4,000 | $5,950 to $17,000 | $8,925 to $25,500 | $11,900 to $34,000 |
| Carpet with pad | $600 to $1,600 | $2,550 to $6,800 | $3,825 to $10,200 | $5,100 to $13,600 |
These figures are flooring only. The 1,000, 1,500 and 2,000 square foot columns use the 15 percent lower rule, so a 1,000 square foot job can cost less per square foot than a 900 square foot one. Removal, subfloor repair and transitions are added on top. This is one source's rule of thumb, so test it against your own quotes.
What adds to flooring cost beyond the price per square foot?
Three lines are often missing from a per-square-foot headline: removal and haul-away at $1 to $3 per square foot, subfloor repair and leveling at $1 to $4 per square foot, and transitions at $10 to $35 per doorway. They can move a total more than a change of flooring type does.
- Removal and haul-away: $1 to $3 per square foot (QuoteIQ).
- Subfloor repair and leveling: $1 to $4 per square foot of repaired area (QuoteIQ).
- Doorway transition strips: $10 to $35 each, installed (Flooring Clarity, June 2025).
- Not in this calculator: permits, sales tax, moving furniture, baseboard and trim, and general contractor markup. Homewyse notes 13 to 22 percent when a general contractor supervises the work.
For a whole-project budget that includes these items, see the construction cost calculator.
How installation difficulty changes the price
The calculator treats difficulty as the condition of the job. A bare, level floor adds nothing. Removing the old floor adds $1 to $3 per square foot. Repairing the subfloor adds a further $1 to $4 per square foot on the share of the floor you choose: 25, 50 or 100 percent.
| Job condition | Added per sq ft | 180 sq ft LVP, total |
|---|---|---|
| Standard: bare, level floor | None | $720 to $2,160 |
| Remove the old floor | $1 to $3 | $900 to $2,700 |
| Remove the old floor and repair the subfloor | $1 to $3, plus $1 to $4 on the repaired share | $945 to $2,880 |
The third row assumes 25 percent of the floor needs repair. Only a floor inspection shows the real share. The calculator does not rate stairs, patterns or tight rooms because no source gave a price for them.
How much do floor transitions cost?
Flooring Clarity lists a doorway transition strip at $10 to $35 installed. A full 10-foot strip runs $14 to $60. The calculator adds one transition for each doorway you enter, so two doorways add $20 to $70.
Count a transition wherever the new floor meets a different floor type or height: room-to-room doorways, a hallway change, or a threshold to a patio door. Only one source was read for this range, so ask your installer for the strip they plan to use.
How much waste to add when ordering flooring
Order 10 to 15 percent more flooring than the room area. Waste changes how much you buy, not the installed price bands above, because installed prices already include normal overage. The calculator shows the order area as its own line.
| Flooring type | Waste | Order for 180 sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| Laminate | 10 percent | 198 sq ft |
| Luxury vinyl plank | 10 percent | 198 sq ft |
| Engineered hardwood | 12 percent | 202 sq ft |
| Solid hardwood | 12 percent | 202 sq ft |
| Tile (ceramic or porcelain) | 15 percent | 207 sq ft |
| Carpet with pad | 10 percent | 198 sq ft |
These percentages are the straight-lay values from our flooring calculator. Omni Calculator suggests 5 to 10 percent. Diagonal or herringbone layouts need more, and the flooring calculator covers them.
How to check a flooring quote
Enter the quote total in the calculator under More options. It says whether the quote sits below, inside or above your range. A quote below the range may leave out removal, subfloor repair or transitions. A quote above it deserves a request for line items.
- Run the calculator with the same area, flooring type and job condition as the quote.
- Enter the quote total and read the check.
- Ask the contractor to list materials, labor, removal, subfloor repair and transitions as separate lines.
- Compare each line to the bands in this page. Ask about any line that sits far outside.
A quote outside the range is not wrong by itself. Region, floor access and brand all move prices, and the bands here are national.
What this calculator does not cover
This page prices residential floors in US dollars. It has no regional multiplier because no source was read for one, so metro prices can sit outside the bands. It does not price permits, sales tax, baseboard, stairs or labor by trade, and it does not cover carpet-only layout.
To find how many boxes to buy and how much waste a pattern adds, use the flooring calculator. For tile setting needs, use the tile calculator. Browse more project calculators or area calculators.
Methodology and sources
Published October 2026. Last updated October 2026. Next review April 2027. Each price band comes from a single source, so confirm it with local quotes.
Reviews: cost calculators · 24 calculators reviewed
Sarah Kim is a Certified Professional Estimator (CPE) with 15 years of construction cost estimation experience. She holds CPE certification from ASPE (member #20-4891). At Turner Construction, she managed material cost analysis on commercial projects ranging from $2M to $45M. At CalcSummit, she writes and verifies all cost estimation and interior finish calculators, updating regional cost benchmarks quarterly using RS Means-informed data.
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