The quick answer#
Vinyl siding costs $400 to $1,200 per square installed in 2026, or $4 to $12 per square foot of wall. Fiber cement runs $600 to $1,500 per square, engineered wood $700 to $1,200, and cedar $600 to $1,600.
Vinyl, installed
$400–$1,200per squareFiber cement, installed
$600–$1,500per squareEngineered wood, installed
$700–$1,200per squareCedar, installed
$600–$1,600per squareA square is 100 square feet of wall, so a per square price is the per square foot price times 100. What matters is your wall area, not your floor area: a long single-story ranch has more wall per square foot of floor than a compact two-story, and gables add triangles of wall that are easy to forget. The siding calculator takes up to four walls plus gables, takes out the windows and doors, and gives you squares, pieces and boxes.
Before you price anything
Find out how many squares of wall your house has
Enter each wall, the gables and the openings to get squares, pieces at your exposure, boxes, starter strip and J-channel.
Cost by siding material#
Materials make up 50 to 55 percent of a siding job on HomeGuide's figures, so the material sets most of the price directly, and the heavier materials add labor on top.
| Material | Per sq ft | Per square | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vinyl | $4–$12 | $400–$1,200 | 30 to 40 years |
| Aluminum | $6–$10 | $600–$1,000 | 25 to 40 years |
| Fiber cement | $6–$15 | $600–$1,500 | 50 to 75 years |
| Engineered wood | $7–$12 | $700–$1,200 | 30 to 50 years |
| Cedar | $6–$16 | $600–$1,600 | 20 to 40 years |
| Steel | $7–$16 | $700–$1,600 | 40 to 70 years |
| Stucco | $7–$17 | $700–$1,700 | 50 to 80 years |
| Brick | $8–$18 | $800–$1,800 | 100 years and up for full brick |
Per square foot prices and lifespans are HomeGuide's. Per square is the same figure times 100. HomeGuide notes that James Hardie fiber cement specifically runs $16 to $40 per square foot installed, well above the generic range.
Vinyl grade, in one line
Fixr prices vinyl by thickness: builder's grade at 0.040 inch runs $2 to $6 per square foot, standard 0.042 inch $4 to $7, premium 0.046 inch $6 to $10, and insulated vinyl $7 to $12. Two vinyl quotes that differ by half are often quoting different grades. Ask for the panel thickness in writing.
Cost by wall area#
Siding totals scale with wall area, measured in squares. The table applies each material's installed range to five wall areas. HomeGuide's own whole-house figures use floor area as a stand-in, $8,000 to $26,000 for a 2,000 square foot house, which works for a simple two-story but runs low on a long ranch with big gables.
| Wall area | Vinyl | Fiber cement | Engineered wood |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 squares | $4,000–$12,000 | $6,000–$15,000 | $7,000–$12,000 |
| 15 squares | $6,000–$18,000 | $9,000–$22,500 | $10,500–$18,000 |
| 20 squares | $8,000–$24,000 | $12,000–$30,000 | $14,000–$24,000 |
| 25 squares | $10,000–$30,000 | $15,000–$37,500 | $17,500–$30,000 |
| 30 squares | $12,000–$36,000 | $18,000–$45,000 | $21,000–$36,000 |
Ranges multiply the per square figures above by the wall area, so they carry the same spread. Old siding removal is extra, at $0.70 to $2.00 per square foot.
What moves the price#
Stories and shape#
A second story means scaffolding or lifts, and every corner, dormer and gable is more cutting and more trim. HomeGuide singles out the number of stories, the shape of the house and its architectural features as the main cost factors after material: a rectangular ranch is the cheapest house to side per square, and a house with turrets and dormers is the most expensive.
Tearing off the old siding#
Removal and disposal run $0.70 to $2.00 per square foot on HomeGuide's figures, and Fixr puts it at $1,000 to $2,500 for a typical house, with stucco at the top of that range. On 15 squares, that is $1,050 to $3,000 before any new siding goes up.
What is behind it#
Once the old siding is off, rotten sheathing, water damage and insect damage are all visible, and none of it can be priced until it is. Fixr puts repairs at anything from under $100 to thousands. Damaged sheathing is replaced by the sheet, and the plywood calculator counts sheets for an area so you can price a repair allowance before the job starts.
Insulation under the new siding#
Siding off is the cheapest moment to add insulation to an exterior wall. ENERGY STAR's guidance for a wood-frame wall when the siding comes off is to blow insulation into empty cavities and add R5 to R10 of insulative sheathing beneath the new siding in climate zones 4 through 8. Fixr puts rigid foam under siding at $500 to $4,000. The insulation cost guide covers the rest.
Season and permits#
HomeGuide notes that contractors charge a premium in their busiest stretch, late spring to mid fall, so a winter booking can be cheaper where the weather allows the work. Permits run $30 to $200 on HomeGuide's figures and $150 to $1,500 on Fixr's, depending on the town and the scope.
Materials by component#
Here is what goes into vinyl siding on a 30 by 40 foot house with 9 foot walls and eight 3 by 4 foot openings, no gables. That is 1,260 square feet gross and 1,164 square feet of net wall. The quantities are the siding calculator's at 10 percent waste and a 6 inch exposure on 12 foot pieces.
| Component | Quantity | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Siding panels, 12 ft | 214 pieces, 7 boxes | in total |
| Starter strip | 140 ft | in total |
| J-channel around openings | 112 ft | in total |
| Corner posts, trim, wrap, nails | by the house | in total |
| Total materials | 12.8 squares | $2,328–$8,148 |
The total is HomeGuide's materials and supplies figure, $2 to $7 per square foot, applied to 1,164 square feet of net wall. The 12.8 squares includes 10 percent for waste, which is what you order. HomeGuide notes that thicker premium siding costs up to twice as much as builder's grade, which is most of the spread.
Panels are the bulk of the order, but the accessories are what get left off a DIY list. Every window and door takes J-channel around it, every outside corner takes a corner post, and the eaves need soffit and fascia trim the calculator does not count. Trim boards around openings are bought by the linear foot, the same way the trim calculator counts baseboard inside, so measure each run and buy whole sticks.
Pricing a sheathing repair?
Sheets of plywood or OSB for an area
Enter the area to cover to get 4x8 sheets with the right waste for wall sheathing, and what that coverage costs.
DIY versus contractor#
Labor runs $2 to $6 per square foot on HomeGuide's figures, 45 to 50 percent of the job. Fixr's vinyl labor figure is close at $2 to $5. That share is what you are deciding about.
| Approach | Cost | Time |
|---|---|---|
| DIY, materials only | $2,328–$8,148 | Several weekends |
| Contractor, installed | $4,656–$13,968 | A week or so for a crew |
| What you keep | $2,328–$6,984 | — |
Installed is 1,164 square feet at vinyl's $4 to $12. What you keep is HomeGuide's $2 to $6 per square foot labor figure on the same area. Removal of the old siding, if it is coming off, is extra either way.
Vinyl on a one-story wall is reasonable DIY work: it hangs loose on its nails so it can move with temperature, and getting that right matters more than speed. Fiber cement is heavy, needs dust control when it is cut, and is usually a two-person job with specialty blades. Anything above one story is scaffolding work, and that is where most homeowners hand it over.
Hang the gutters after the siding, not before
Gutters fasten through the fascia, and new siding and trim go behind them. Doing the siding first means the gutters only come down once. The gutter calculator sizes the run and the downspouts if they are being replaced at the same time, and the gutter cost guide prices it.
Build the order
Squares, pieces and accessories for your house
Enter each wall and gable to get squares, pieces at your exposure, boxes, starter strip and J-channel.
Checking a quote in two minutes#
Work out your wall area in squares, then hold the quote against the per square range for the material.
Take the 30 by 40 house, 11.6 squares of net wall. In vinyl at $400 to $1,200 per square, that is $4,656 to $13,968. A quote of $9,000 is mid-range. A quote of $20,000 for vinyl on that house is over $1,700 per square, so ask for it itemized: removal at up to $2.00 a foot, sheathing repair, insulated vinyl, or new soffit and fascia would each explain part of it.
The same test runs the other way. A quote near or below the material cost usually means builder's grade panels, siding over the old siding without checking what is underneath, or no house wrap. Ask every bidder for the panel brand and thickness, whether the old siding comes off, and what happens if they find rot, and the cheap quotes tend to explain themselves.
Save the siding cost chart#
Installed cost for five wall areas in vinyl and fiber cement. Save it and you can hold a siding bid against your own squares.
Save to PinterestOpens Pinterest with the chart and link ready to go.
Common questions#
How much does it cost to side a 2,000 square foot house?#
HomeGuide puts a 2,000 square foot house at $8,000 to $26,000 installed, using floor area as a stand-in for wall area. The more accurate way is to measure the walls: a house with 20 squares of wall runs $8,000 to $24,000 in vinyl and $12,000 to $30,000 in fiber cement, plus removal of the old siding.
What does a square of siding cost?#
A square is 100 square feet of wall. Vinyl costs $400 to $1,200 per square installed, fiber cement $600 to $1,500, engineered wood $700 to $1,200 and cedar $600 to $1,600. A vinyl box usually holds two squares.
Is vinyl or fiber cement siding cheaper?#
Vinyl is cheaper up front, at $4 to $12 per square foot installed against $6 to $15 for fiber cement. Fiber cement lasts longer, 50 to 75 years against 30 to 40 for vinyl on HomeGuide's figures, and it is heavier and slower to install, which is part of why it costs more.
How much does it cost to remove old siding?#
Removal and disposal run $0.70 to $2.00 per square foot on HomeGuide's figures, and Fixr puts it at $1,000 to $2,500 for a typical house. Stucco and other heavy materials sit at the top of that range. It is usually worth it, because it is the only way to see the sheathing underneath.