Home Inspection Cost Estimator

Home inspection is quoted locally, moves year to year, and is one of the few line items in a purchase where ringing a second inspector genuinely changes the number. So this page does not guess a fee at you. It works out the scope: which size band you fall in, whether the house is old enough to attract a premium, and how many separate bookings the inspections you have ticked actually require. Put your quotes in the price fields and it prices that list.

Total = (Quoted base fee × Age premium) + Specialty add-ons

Size bands, not a per-foot rate. Inspectors rarely quote per square foot. They quote a flat fee for a band and step it up as the house gets bigger, and above about 3,000 sq ft the bands stop and they start charging for the extra hours instead. Knowing which band you are in is what lets you tell whether a quote is fair.

The age premium is the part buyers do not expect: roughly 10% on a house over 25 years old, 20% over 50. Older houses take longer, have more to photograph, and carry systems the inspector has to identify before they can assess them. That premium applies to the base fee only. A radon canister costs the same in a 1920 house as in a new one.

Four separate bookings, not one. This is the other thing the scope tells you. A general inspector does not test for radon, does not open walls for mould, does not put a camera down the sewer lateral, and in most states cannot write a termite letter. Each is a different person on a different day, and each wants scheduling before your contingency period runs out.

Reference ranges, approximate 2025 US national figures, for checking a quote rather than replacing one:

• Base fee: $200–$350 covering the first 1,000–1,500 sq ft
• Per additional 500 sq ft: $25–$50

Average inspection costs by home size:

Specialty inspection add-ons:

Worked example: A 2,200 sq ft home, 35 years old. The buyer wants radon and a sewer scope, and has been quoted $450 for the general inspection, $150 for radon and $200 for the scope.

Leave those three price fields empty and the page still tells you the useful half: 2,000 to 2,500 sq ft band, 10% age loading, three inspections to book.

Is it worth it? The arithmetic is not close. A single failed HVAC system runs $6,000 to $12,000 to replace, a roof $8,000 to $25,000, and structural or foundation work regularly passes $30,000. Against numbers like those, an $845 inspection is a rounding error, and the report is also the document that lets you reopen the price or walk away with your deposit intact.

The one case where skipping it is defensible is a competitive bidding situation where waiving the contingency is what wins the house. Even then, pay for the inspection anyway and do it for information, not for leverage. Knowing what you have bought is worth something on the day you own it.