Pergola Cost Calculator

A cedar prefab kit bolted to an existing patio runs about $3,885 with permit; the same kit on new frost-depth footings is about $4,505. HomeGuide's 2025 tables put a 12×12 kit at $1,450–$5,750 installed and a custom build at $4,300–$9,350 — footings, power and shade tops are what push a quote past those numbers.

On a 12×12 cedar frame this model prices the installed kit at $4,505 vs $7,745 for a custom stick-built — about 1.7× the price, in line with HomeGuide's $10–$40/sq ft kit band against its $30–$65/sq ft custom band. Buy the kit unassembled and assemble it yourself and HomeGuide's DIY kit pricing drops to $700–$4,000.

Attached. Bolting a ledger to the house deletes two posts and one beam — about $3,637 vs $4,505 freestanding on this 12×12 (≈$868 saved), inside Fixr's published attached $1,700–$5,000 vs freestanding $2,500–$6,500 ranges. The catch: the ledger has to be flashed correctly or you own a roof leak, and some jurisdictions require a permit to attach anything structural to the house.

Only if you want rain-tight, adjustable shade on demand — they are the single biggest line on the quote. This model adds about $12,240 for a 12×12 motorized louvered roof (HomeGuide prices motorized roofs at $55–$125/sq ft installed), taking the whole project to roughly $16,745; Fixr's guide puts typical motorized installs at $8,000–$14,000. A retractable fabric canopy ($4–$10/sq ft per HomeGuide) delivers most of the shade for a tenth of the cost, minus the rain protection.

Frequently yes — expect a permit whenever the structure attaches to the house, exceeds roughly 200 sq ft, or carries power, and freestanding builds usually have to sit on footings below the frost line. The model budgets $105, about 2% of the $4,505 reference build (HomeGuide's 2025 range: $60–$150) — the smallest line on the quote and the one skipped at your peril, because unpermitted attached structures are the ones that come back to bite at resale.

Below your local frost line — 12 inches minimum in warm states, 36–48 inches across the northern US — so the post can't heave. This model prices $200 per footing installed (auger, concrete, anchor); a 12×12 freestanding build needs 4, an attached build 2, and long spans add a post roughly every 16 ft. Deck blocks or surface anchors are fine only for light, temporary shade structures.

The model's labor dollars line up with the crew durations: about $900 of assembly labor on a 12×12 cedar kit — the middle of HomeGuide's $600–$1,500 assembly band — is a two-person crew's 1–2 days including footings, while the $2,736 of framing labor on a custom stick-built (HomeGuide: $2,000–$7,000) is the 3–5 day job. Either way, allow 2–3 days of concrete cure before the frame takes full load if footings were poured, and another half electrician day for the lighting/fan circuit — HomeGuide rates electricians at $50–$130 per hour.

The surface it stands on — a new concrete slab runs $5–$10/sq ft and a deck far more (HomeGuide pegs a new deck or patio foundation at $600–$4,300). Also excluded: solid pavilion-style roofs ($35–$60/sq ft per HomeGuide), post-build finishing ($2–$6/sq ft to paint, $4–$6 to stain, per HomeGuide), gas lines for a fire table, and furniture.