Skip to content
ListoTrades

Flooring cost calculator

Enter the room size or the square feet and choose the type of flooring. The calculator shows how much flooring to buy with waste included, your costs for materials, labor, removal and baseboards, and a suggested price with your profit.

Floor area

Changing the type fills in typical prices. You can change any of them after.

Materials
Labor and extras

Suggested price

—

— per sq ft installed

Floor area
— sq ft
Flooring to buy
— sq ft
Flooring
—
Underlayment and setting materials
—
Installation labor
—
Removal and subfloor prep
—
Baseboards and transitions
—
Your costs
—
Profit
—
Turn it into an estimate

Default values are typical starting points, not quotes. Change them to match your suppliers, your crew and your area.

How the calculator works

  1. Area. Length × width × the number of rooms of that size, or the square feet you already measured.
  2. Flooring to buy. Area + the waste percentage, rounded up. Use about 10% for straight plank layouts and 15% or more for tile, diagonal patterns or rooms with many corners.
  3. Materials. Flooring to buy × price per sq ft, plus the underlayment, carpet pad or thinset and grout.
  4. Labor. Real floor area (without waste) × your installation price per sq ft.
  5. Removal and prep. If you remove the old floor, area × your removal price. Add a price per sq ft for leveling or subfloor repairs if the job needs it.
  6. Baseboards and transitions. Linear feet × your installed price per foot.
  7. Price. Everything above = your costs. Your profit percentage is added on top.

How much does new flooring cost?

Public cost guides give wide ranges per square foot, installed: roughly $2 to $8 for carpet, $2 to $13 for laminate, $4 to $12 for luxury vinyl plank, $9 to $18 or more for hardwood, and $6 to $30 for tile. The type of product, the room shape and the condition of the subfloor make most of the difference. Use those numbers only as a check: your price should come from your own costs.

Tips for an accurate flooring price

  • Check the subfloor before you quote. Uneven or damaged subfloors are the most common surprise. Write in your estimate how you charge for leveling and repairs.
  • Buy by the box. Flooring comes in boxes that cover a fixed number of square feet. Round up to full boxes and keep one extra for future repairs.
  • Price the extras. Moving furniture, stairs, cutting door jambs and new transitions take time. Charge for them as separate lines or include them in your labor price.
  • Let the floor acclimate. Hardwood and some laminates need to sit in the room for a few days before installation. Plan it in your schedule.
  • Put it in writing. Turn the result into a clear estimate with the product, the scope and a deposit.

Frequently asked questions

How much flooring do I need for a 12 × 12 room?

The room is 144 sq ft. With 10% waste you buy about 159 sq ft. If a box covers 20 sq ft, that is 8 boxes. For tile or a diagonal layout, use 15% waste: about 166 sq ft.

How much should I charge to install 500 sq ft of vinyl plank?

With the default prices (vinyl plank at $3.50 per sq ft, $2.50 labor, $1.50 removal, 10% waste and 20% profit), the calculator gives about $4,900, or about $9.80 per square foot. Without removing the old floor it drops to about $4,000.

Should I charge by the square foot or by the job?

Flooring installers usually quote labor by the square foot, but the client wants one total price. Calculate it per square foot as this tool does, then give the client the total. Use the square footage calculator for rooms with odd shapes.

More free tools