What should an AC replacement estimate include?
A fair AC replacement estimate itemizes the equipment size in tons, the efficiency rating, the labor, the permit, any ductwork, and what the warranty covers.
Get three of them, on the same size and the same efficiency. HomeGuide's own guidance is to compare quotes from at least three certified installers and to compare same-size, same-efficiency units across them, and it warns that an extremely low quote often signals inferior quality or lack of experience.
Source: HomeGuide
This page is general information, not professional advice. Prices move with your equipment, your region and the season, and the only number that counts is a written quote from a licensed HVAC contractor who has looked at your system.
What an air conditioning replacement estimate should say
The point of itemizing is not paperwork. It is that two quotes for the same house can be a thousand dollars apart because one of them quietly left something out, and you cannot see which one until the lines are written down.
| Line | What to check | Published figure |
|---|---|---|
| System size | Tonnage, and how it was decided | One ton equals 12,000 BTU, per HomeGuide |
| Efficiency | The SEER or SEER2 rating, identical across all three quotes | $5,300 – $17,300 installed across the SEER range, per HomeGuide |
| Labor | Included or separate, and how many hours | $500 – $2,500 for AC replacement labor, per Angi |
| Permit | Who pulls it and whether it is in the price | $100 – $250, or $250 – $1,500 with ductwork, per HomeGuide |
| Ductwork | Whether the ducts were tested at all | $300 – $1,500 to seal and repair, per HomeGuide |
| Old unit removal | Named on the estimate rather than assumed | Not separately published |
The line that is almost always missing
The ducts. Every installed figure HomeGuide publishes is footnoted as excluding ductwork modifications or replacement, and ENERGY STAR says about 20 to 30 percent of the air moving through a typical duct system is lost to leaks, holes and poorly connected ducts. A new system feeding leaking ducts loses that air on day one.
Sources: HomeGuide, ENERGY STAR
So ask each of the three contractors the same question: did you test the ducts, and what did you find? The answers will sort the estimates faster than the prices will.
How the estimate should have been sized
By a load calculation, not by a walk-through. The Air Conditioning Contractors of America publishes Manual J, the ANSI-approved residential load calculation, Manual S for selecting equipment to match it and Manual D for designing the ducts. HomeGuide lists a professional load calculation as an upfront cost that ensures proper AC sizing, and says an oversized unit short-cycles and wastes energy while an undersized one runs constantly without cooling the home.
A tonnage arrived at by looking at the old unit's tonnage is not a load calculation. It is a copy of whatever the last installer guessed.
What the ranges look like, so you know when to flinch
HomeGuide publishes $5,000 to $8,300 installed for a standard-efficiency air conditioner in a 2,000 square foot home, $8,300 to $12,500 for mid-range and $12,500 to $14,000 or more at the high end. Angi's national average is $5,977 across all sizes, ranging from $1,400 to $12,500. A quote far under those bands is a question, not a bargain.
- Ask for the estimate in writing, with the timeline and any possible extra costs named — HomeGuide's own list of guidelines says exactly this.
- Check that all three quotes name the same tonnage and the same efficiency rating.
- Ask what the warranty covers, and whether labor is included in it.
- Ask whether the company is licensed, insured and bonded, and how long it has been trading.
- Never pay in full before the work starts. HomeGuide says so and so does every other guide on this page.
If you are still deciding whether to replace at all rather than repair: the HVAC replacement cost calculator.
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Questions people ask next
- Should an AC replacement estimate be free?
- Estimates for a replacement are commonly free, but a diagnostic visit on a broken system is a different thing. HomeGuide prices an HVAC service call to diagnose a problem at $75 to $200 and says some companies credit that fee against the repair.
- How many AC replacement quotes should I get?
- Three. HomeGuide says to compare quotes from at least three certified installers, on same-size and same-efficiency units, and warns that extremely low quotes often signal inferior quality or a lack of experience.
- Does an AC replacement estimate include the permit?
- Only if it says so. HomeGuide prices permits for an AC replacement at $100 to $250, and $250 to $1,500 for a new installation involving ductwork. Ask which of your three quotes has it in the number.
- Why is one estimate so much cheaper than the others?
- Usually because it is not the same job. Check the tonnage, the efficiency rating, whether the indoor coil is being replaced with the outdoor unit, and whether the ducts, the permit and the old unit's removal are in the price.
Written for homeowners by Most Recommended HVAC, which measures which HVAC companies AI assistants actually recommend in 26 U.S. metros. Nobody can pay to be on those lists. How we measure.