Bathtub Refinishing Cost Calculator
A worn tub doesn't need a $5,000 bathroom gut job to look new again — a professional reglaze runs about a tenth of replacement. The pricing is labor-dominated: the coating itself is cheap, the prep, masking and spray work are not. This calculator weighs reglazing against an inlay insert and a full acrylic liner, adds chip repair and anti-slip where they apply, and adjusts labor and materials for your state.
Published Cost data last reviewed Re-checked quarterly
Material sets the prep work: cast iron and porcelain need etching; fiberglass needs flex-safe coatings.
Reglaze renews the surface; an insert covers a failed floor; a liner shells the whole tub.
Light chip repair is normally folded into a pro reglaze; structural damage is billed separately.
Carried as a small allowance; many crews include slip-resistant grit on request.
DIY applies to reglazing kits; liners and inserts are fabricated and installed by a pro.
Costs are adjusted for labor and material rates in your state.
Low
$320
Typical
$400
High
$540
Prices adjusted for Texaslabor & material costs.
| Cost item | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | ||
| Reglaze materials — primer, topcoat & solvents (porcelain enamel) | $120 | $200 |
| Labor | ||
| Reglaze labor — prep, masking, spray application & ventilation | $200 | $340 |
| Estimated total | $320 | $540 |
What this estimate assumes
- Range is 80%–135% of the computed typical — sharp competitive bids on the low end, high-cost metros or hidden damage on the high end.
- Light chip and scratch repair is normally included in a professional reglaze quote; only heavier damage is billed separately.
- Labor dollars scale with your state's labor rates and material dollars with its material prices (see the regional note under the results).
Typical cost ranges
| Project | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| fiberglass / acrylic tub (per tub) | $340 | $420 | $570 |
| porcelain enamel tub (per tub) | $350 | $440 | $590 |
| enameled steel tub (per tub) | $370 | $460 | $620 |
| cast iron tub (per tub) | $400 | $500 | $680 |
| Project | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional reglaze / resurface (per tub) | $350 | $440 | $590 |
| Inlay insert over the tub floor (per tub) | $210 | $260 | $350 |
| Custom acrylic liner (full shell) (per tub) | $1,920 | $2,400 | $3,240 |
| Full bathtub replacement (context) (for reference) | $5,000 | $6,000 | $7,000 |
| Project | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY refinishing kit (materials only) | $90 | $110 | $150 |
| Professional reglaze (turnkey) | $350 | $440 | $590 |
| Project | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-slip floor texturizing (allowance) | $40 | $50 | $70 |
| Standalone chip repair — first three chips (per visit) | $200 | $250 | $300 |
| Extensive damage — cracks, holes, ten-plus chips (allowance) | $340 | $430 | $570 |
| Tub + surrounding tile wall reglaze (per project) | $800 | $1,000 | $1,200 |
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to reglaze a bathtub?
About $440 for a standard porcelain tub in sound condition, with a national working range of roughly $250–$600 (HomeGuide), $350–$650 (Fixr) and $337–$631 (HomeAdvisor). Fiberglass tubs sit at the low end, cast iron at the high end, and heavy chip or crack repair adds on top.
Is reglazing worth it, or should I just replace the tub?
If the tub is structurally sound — no soft floor, no rust-through — reglazing at about $440 renews it for roughly a tenth of the $5,000–$7,000 a replacement runs (Fixr), with no plumbing work and the tub usable again in 24–48 hours. Replace when the structure is failing or you're remodeling the bathroom anyway.
Is chip repair included in a reglazing quote?
Usually yes for light damage: HomeGuide notes most pros fold minor chip repair into the refinishing price. Standalone repairs run $195–$300 for the first three quarter-sized chips and $25 per chip after that. Cracks, holes or a soft floor are different — those get custom-quoted, and our model carries a $425 allowance.
How long does a refinished bathtub last?
A professional reglaze lasts 10–15 years with normal care, per HomeGuide and Fixr — spread across the $440 job, that is roughly $29–$44 per year of service. A DIY kit coating may only hold up about two years, so the $110 kit works out to about $55 per year — potentially no cheaper per year than hiring a pro. If a tub was reglazed badly before, stripping the old coating matters more than the new spray — a second coating applied over a failing one fails early too.
Are DIY bathtub refinishing kits worth the savings?
Fixr puts the typical saving at $200–$300 against a pro job, and a kit costs $30–$200 (HomeGuide) to $40–$150 (Fixr) — our model budgets $110. You're trading that saving for roll-on finish quality, harsh fumes that demand a respirator and open windows, multi-day cure discipline, and a coating that may last only a couple of years.
What's the difference between a tub liner and an inlay insert?
A liner is a custom-molded acrylic or PVC shell fitted over the entire tub — $1,600–$3,200 installed, with the molded shell itself $850–$1,400 (HomeGuide). An inlay is a panel bonded over just the tub floor to fix a cracked or leaky bottom; retail kits run about $90–$150 and HomeGuide notes one installs in roughly half an hour. Our model prices a pro-installed insert near $258 versus $2,400 for a liner.
How soon can I use the tub after reglazing?
The crew is on site 2–5 hours and the tub is back in service within 24–48 hours (Fixr) — one reason reglazing beats the $5,000–$7,000 replacement, which idles the bathroom for days on top of the price. During cure, keep shampoo bottles off the rim, skip abrasive cleaners and bath mats with suction cups for the first couple of weeks, and let the coating reach full hardness before heavy use; a DIY kit stretches the same no-use window across several days of ventilation and cure.
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Open calculatorHow this estimate is calculated
These notes are written for this tool alone: where its base prices come from, how the low–high window is derived, and what the figure deliberately leaves out.
- Five inputs drive the model: tub material (fiberglass, porcelain enamel, enameled steel, cast iron), renewal method (reglaze, inlay insert, acrylic liner), surface damage, anti-slip treatment, and pro vs DIY.
- Base reglaze rates are 2025–2026 national data with labor included: $250–$600 averaging $440 (HomeGuide), $350–$650 averaging $480 with material-by-material ranges of $250–$700 (Fixr), corroborated by HomeAdvisor's $337–$631 averaging $484. Material typicals are set inside those published spreads.
- Reglazing is modeled as 65% labor / 35% coating materials because prep, masking and spray application dominate the quote. The acrylic liner uses HomeGuide's $1,600–$3,200 installed range with the $850–$1,400 molded shell as materials and the remainder as labor.
- The inlay insert carries a $115 FixTally midpoint allowance for the retail floor-panel kit — that kit class (e.g. the NuTub inlay listing at Home Depot in sources) retails roughly $90–$150 — plus half a reglaze's install labor, since the panel bonds over the tub floor only.
- Damage economics come from HomeGuide: $195–$300 for the first three quarter-sized chips, $25 per chip after. Light chip repair is treated as included in a pro reglaze; the extensive-damage allowance is the first-three price carried to ten chips ($425). Anti-slip texturizing has no published national price, so it is carried as a clearly-labeled $50 allowance — many crews include grit on request.
- Estimates show low/typical/high at 80% / 100% / 135% of the computed typical. Labor lines scale with your state's labor multiplier (reglaze application, repair, insert and liner install), material lines with its materials multiplier (coatings, kits, shells, anti-slip grit).
- Excludes reglazing the surround or wall tile ($800–$1,200 per HomeGuide — see the tile calculators), plumbing or drain work, full replacement ($5,000–$7,000 per Fixr, shown only for context), and travel minimums. Refinishing is surface restoration and needs no building permit.
Sources
Every cost constant above traces to the publishers listed here — the editorial gate requires at least two independent sources per calculator, each with the month we accessed it. FixTally is not affiliated with any of them.
- HomeGuide — 2025 Bathtub Refinishing Costs | Tub Reglazing & Resurfacing ($250–$600 avg $440; liner $1,600–$3,200; DIY kits $30–$200; chips $195–$300 + $25/chip) — accessed 2026-09
- Fixr — How Much Does It Cost to Refinish a Bathtub? (avg $480, $350–$650; material ranges $250–$700; DIY $40–$150 saving $200–$300) — accessed 2026-09
- HomeAdvisor — How Much Does It Cost to Refinish a Bathtub? ($337–$631, averaging ~$484) — accessed 2026-09
- The Home Depot — NuTub 22 in. × 40 in. Shower Floor Repair Inlay Kit, White (Model # INLAY-WT-2240-1) — retail listing for the tub/shower-floor inlay kit class; the $115 kit constant is a FixTally midpoint allowance within its ~$90–$150 retail band — accessed 2026-09
Maintained by the FixTally Editorial Team — each quarter we re-check the cited prices, re-run every calculator’s math, and refresh the review dates shown on these pages.
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