Heating & Cooling
Heating and cooling is the priciest mechanical work in a house, and 2026 quotes carry it twice: the refrigerant transition to R-454B/R-32 pushed equipment prices up, while licensed HVAC labor kept outpacing other trades. What a job really costs turns on four levers — system type, the size your climate demands, the efficiency tier, and the state of your ducts and electrical. Each calculator below prices those levers separately, itemizes permits and disposal, and adjusts the result to your state's labor and material rates.
Cost data reviewed September 2026 · Maintained by the FixTally Editorial Team
| Calculator | Typical | Low – high | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| AC Installation Cost Calculator | $6,720 | $5,380 – $9,070 | Cooling is the problem and the heating side is fine — a condenser swap, matched coil, or brand-new AC. |
| Ductwork Cost Calculator | $10,480 | $8,380 – $14,150 | The ducts themselves are the job — new runs, a full tear-out and replacement, sealing and insulation. |
| Furnace Replacement Cost Calculator | $4,370 | $3,500 – $5,900 | Heat is the problem and the AC stays — a gas, electric, or oil-to-gas furnace change-out. |
| Heat Pump Cost Calculator | $6,800 | $5,440 – $9,170 | One unit should handle both heating and cooling — ducted whole-home or ductless zone by zone. |
| HVAC Replacement Cost Calculator | $11,100 | $8,880 – $14,990 | The whole system is going in — condenser plus furnace or air handler replaced together. |
Related decision tools & categories
Not sure where a project fits? Browse all 82 cost calculators.
Heating & cooling cost questions
Which heating & cooling calculator should I use?▾
Match the tool to the scope of the job. Replacing the entire system — condenser plus furnace or air handler — starts with the HVAC Replacement calculator. If only one side failed, the AC Installation or Furnace Replacement calculator prices that component on its own. A heat pump is its own decision because one unit does both jobs, and if the quote is mostly about the ducts, the Ductwork calculator breaks that line item out where the others treat it as an input.
How much does a full HVAC system cost in 2026?▾
On the replacement calculator's default inputs — a mixed-climate home at federal-minimum efficiency with reusable ducts — the estimate lands at $11,100 typical, with most bids for the same written scope falling between $8,880 and $14,990. Sizing, efficiency tier and duct condition move that range more than anything else, which is why the tool itemizes each add-on instead of printing one number.
Why do HVAC quotes for the same house vary so much?▾
Most spread hides in scope, not mark-up: one bidder prices a like-for-like change-out while another quietly includes duct modifications, a new line set, or a code-driven electrical fix. Ducts alone are big enough to be their own project — the Ductwork calculator's default job runs $8,380–$14,150 before a single piece of HVAC equipment is touched. The 2025–2026 refrigerant transition to R-454B/R-32 also raised equipment pricing across every brand, so quotes written months apart are not always comparable.
Do these estimates include permits and disposal?▾
Where a job normally needs them, yes — each calculator shows an itemized breakdown with the mechanical permit and old-equipment haul-away as their own lines, so a bid that lumps them in or drops them entirely is easy to spot. Regional differences matter here too: every tool re-prices labor-scaled items like permits against your state's rates once you set it, and the assumptions under each result list what the estimate deliberately leaves out.