The quick answer#
Most homeowners pay $10 to $35 per linear foot for a French drain in a yard in 2026. A deep drain dug down to the foundation footings runs $30 to $90 per foot, and an interior drain cut into a basement floor runs $40 to $85.
Yard or curtain drain
$10–$35per linear ftDeep foundation drain
$30–$90per linear ftInterior, basement
$40–$85per linear ftInterior, crawl space
$20–$40per linear ftThose are HomeGuide's figures. HomeAdvisor's survey spreads wider, $10 to $100 per linear foot with an average of about $45, because it averages yard drains and basement systems together. The yard drain is the common job: a trench, a perforated pipe in washed stone wrapped in fabric, sloped to somewhere the water can go. The French drain calculator works out the stone for your trench, less what the pipe displaces, and the fabric width to wrap it.
Before you price anything
Find out how much stone and fabric your trench takes
Enter the trench length, width, depth and pipe size to get cubic yards and tons of stone and the fabric width to buy.
Cost by drain type#
Depth is what separates the types. A shallow drain in a lawn is a day's digging; a foundation drain means excavating to the footings, and a basement drain means cutting and replacing the concrete floor.
| Type | Per linear ft | Typical total | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surface-level yard drain | $10–$30 | $500–$5,300 | Drains a soggy patch of lawn. Under 2 feet deep. |
| Curtain drain | $10–$35 | $1,500–$8,800 | Intercepts water running downhill toward the house. 2 feet deep or more. |
| Foundation drain, outside | $30–$90 | $1,200–$4,500 per side | Weeping tile at the footings. Deep excavation along the house. |
| Interior, crawl space | $20–$40 | $2,000–$8,000 | Dug in the dirt floor and sloped to a sump. |
| Interior, basement | $40–$85 | $4,000–$17,000 | Floor cut around the perimeter, drain laid, concrete replaced, sump added. |
HomeGuide's figures. HomeAdvisor's run close: curtain drains $10 to $25 per foot, exterior perimeter drains $10 to $50, deep drains $30 to $70 and interior drains $40 to $100.
Cost by length#
Cost scales straight with length, since each foot is the same trench, stone, pipe and fabric. The outlet at the end is a fixed cost on top, and on a short drain it can be most of the bill.
| Length | Yard drain | Basement drain |
|---|---|---|
| 25 ft | $250–$900 | $1,000–$2,100 |
| 50 ft | $500–$1,800 | $2,000–$4,300 |
| 100 ft | $1,000–$3,500 | $4,000–$8,500 |
| 150 ft | $1,500–$5,300 | $6,000–$12,800 |
| 200 ft | $2,000–$7,000 | $8,000–$17,000 |
HomeGuide's figures by length, at $10 to $35 per foot for a yard drain and $40 to $85 for a basement drain. Neither includes a sump pump or dry well at the outlet.
What moves the price#
Where the water goes#
A French drain only works if it has somewhere lower to empty. Daylighting it to a slope or the street is the cheapest outlet. Where there is no fall, the end of the drain needs a dry well, which HomeGuide prices at $50 to $250 for a gravel pit, $200 to $700 for a plastic tank and $500 to $3,000 or more for concrete, or a sump pump at $500 to $1,800. Fixr puts a connection to an existing storm basin at $100 to $200 where one is allowed.
Depth and soil#
A deeper trench is more digging and more stone per foot. HomeGuide puts trench digging at $5 to $12 per linear foot. Rocky ground and heavy clay both slow it down, and HomeAdvisor notes that clay-heavy soil makes the trench take longer to dig.
What is in the way#
Fixr prices the same drain by where it runs: $20 to $30 per foot in an open yard, $30 to $50 under a sidewalk, $35 to $45 under a deck and $45 to $55 across a driveway, where concrete has to be cut out and replaced. Trees, fences and buried utilities all add hand digging.
Grading#
If the yard slopes toward the house, a drain treats the symptom. HomeGuide puts yard regrading at $500 to $5,000, and on some lots that is the fix and the drain is the backup. Water coming off the roof is the other common source: a gutter that overflows or a downspout that empties at the foundation puts water exactly where a drain is then asked to remove it. The gutter cost guide prices that side.
Permits and repair#
HomeGuide says most areas require a permit, at $100 to $375, more when the drain ties into a public storm drain; HomeAdvisor puts it at $50 to $200 and an inspection at $100 to $300. HomeAdvisor notes that contractors do not include landscape repair in their quotes, and puts it at $100 to $200.
Materials by component#
Here is the DIY material list for a 50 foot yard drain, 12 inches wide and 18 inches deep with a 4 inch perforated pipe. The stone volume is the French drain calculator's: 75 cubic feet of trench, less 4.36 cubic feet of pipe, leaves 2.62 cubic yards, or 3.66 to 3.92 tons.
| Component | Quantity | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Perforated drain pipe, 4 in | 50 ft | $50–$250 |
| Drainage fabric | 50 ft, 5 ft wide | $20–$90 |
| Washed drainage stone | 2.62 yd³ | $50–$150 |
| Trencher rental | 1 day | $100–$200 |
| Total | 50 linear ft | $220–$690 |
HomeGuide's per foot material prices: pipe $1 to $5, fabric $0.40 to $1.80 and drainage rock $1 to $3, each applied to 50 feet of drain, plus its $100 to $200 a day for a trencher. HomeGuide's stone figure assumes 2 to 3 inches under the pipe and 3 to 4 over it; a trench filled to the top with stone, as the calculator figures it, takes more. Fixr's pipe prices run lower, $1 to $1.50 per foot for 4 inch.
The materials are cheap. What costs money on a French drain is the digging, which is why the installed price runs two to three times the material list. The stone is where a DIY order goes wrong in both directions, so work it out from the trench rather than buying by the bag. The gravel calculator converts any volume of stone to tons at the same 1.4 to 1.5 tons per cubic yard the French drain calculator uses.
Ordering stone in bulk
Tons of gravel for a volume or an area
Enter the dimensions and depth to get cubic yards and tons of washed stone to order from the yard.
DIY versus contractor#
Labor is most of a French drain's price. Fixr's example breakdown for an interior drain puts labor at $35 to $40 of about $50 per foot, and HomeAdvisor says most of the cost is labor because pipe and stone are cheap.
| Approach | Cost | Time |
|---|---|---|
| DIY, materials and trencher | $220–$690 | A weekend |
| Contractor, installed | $500–$1,800 | A day |
| What you keep | $280–$1,110 | — |
Installed is HomeGuide's figure for 50 feet of yard drain. What you keep is the difference at each end of the two ranges. HomeGuide says a shallow drain in an accessible yard takes a contractor up to a day.
A shallow yard drain is fair DIY work for anyone who can run a trencher. The skill is in the slope: the trench bottom has to fall the whole way to the outlet, and a string line and a level are the tools for it. Foundation and basement drains are not DIY jobs; they mean excavating next to the footings or breaking out a concrete floor, and getting either wrong costs far more than the drain.
Call 811 before you dig
A French drain trench is long and often runs exactly where utilities do, along the house and across the yard to the street. HomeGuide and HomeAdvisor both say to call 811 to have lines marked before any digging starts. It is free.
Hauling the spoil?
Cubic yards of soil out of the trench
Enter the trench length, width and depth to get yards in the ground, yards loose in the truck, and how many loads.
Checking a quote in two minutes#
Measure the run, decide which type of drain it is, then hold the quote against the per foot range.
Take a 100 foot yard drain. At $10 to $35 per foot that is $1,000 to $3,500. A quote of $2,500 is mid-range. A quote of $6,000 is $60 per foot, a foundation drain price, so ask what is in it: a dry well or sump at the outlet, a deeper trench than you need, or concrete cut and replaced along the way would each explain part of it. The excavation calculator gives you the dig volume to compare against any haul-away line.
The same test runs the other way. A quote well under the range usually means a shallow trench, no fabric, or pipe laid flat with no fall to the outlet, and that drain clogs or holds water within a few seasons. Ask every bidder for the trench depth, the stone, whether the trench is fabric-wrapped, and where the water goes at the end, and the cheap quotes tend to explain themselves. A drain behind a retaining wall is a different job, priced with the wall in the retaining wall cost guide.
Save the French drain cost chart#
Installed cost for five drain lengths, in a yard and inside a basement. Save it and you can hold a drainage quote against your own run.
Save to PinterestOpens Pinterest with the chart and link ready to go.
Common questions#
How much does a 100 foot French drain cost?#
A 100 foot French drain in a yard costs $1,000 to $3,500 installed on HomeGuide's figures. The same length as an interior basement drain costs $4,000 to $8,500, because the floor has to be cut out and replaced. A dry well or sump pump at the outlet is extra.
How much does a French drain cost per foot?#
$10 to $35 per linear foot for a yard or curtain drain, $30 to $90 for a deep foundation drain outside the house, and $40 to $85 for an interior basement drain, on HomeGuide's figures. HomeAdvisor's survey spans $10 to $100 per foot with an average near $45 across all types.
Can I install a French drain myself?#
A shallow yard drain, yes. Pipe, fabric and drainage rock run about $2.40 to $9.80 per linear foot together, and a trencher rents for $100 to $200 a day. Getting a steady fall to the outlet is the part that matters. Foundation and basement drains are contractor work.
Do I need a permit for a French drain?#
Often. HomeGuide says most areas require one, at $100 to $375, and more if the drain connects to a public storm drain. HomeAdvisor puts permits at $50 to $200 and an inspection at $100 to $300. Call 811 to have utilities marked before digging either way.