Cost reference
What appliance repair actually costs
Typical national ranges for 96 named repair jobs across 12appliance types, what a diagnostic fee buys you, how the bill splits between parts and labour, and the point at which replacing beats repairing. Nothing here is a quote — a written estimate for your appliance is the only real number.
- Jobs priced
- 96
- Appliance types
- 12
- Typical repair
- $85–$600
- Diagnostic fee
- $40–$130
The short answer
Three numbers decide almost every appliance repair conversation. Everything further down this page is detail on one of them.
Number one
$40–$130
The diagnostic fee
Charged for the visit and the diagnosis, whether the news is good or bad. Frequently credited against the repair if you approve the work the same day — but only if the shop says so, and only if you asked before booking.
Number two
$85–$600
The typical repair
Parts and labour together, for the ordinary failures that make up most calls: fans, pumps, valves, switches, elements, seals and boards. Outside that band sit sealed refrigeration systems, compressors and full replacements.
Number three
50%
The replace threshold
If the repair quote is more than half the price of an equivalent new unit, replacement is usually the better spend. Below half, repair almost always wins on cost per remaining year of service. The threshold drops as the appliance ages, because an old machine has fewer years left to earn the repair back.
Every figure on this page is our own editorial estimate of a typical national range — not a quote, not an offer, and not a guarantee. Labour rates vary enormously between markets, between a one-van shop and a franchise, and between a scheduled weekday slot and a Sunday emergency. Use these ranges to judge whether a quote is in the right neighbourhood, then get that quote in writing.
Repair cost by appliance
Every appliance type on the site, with its diagnostic fee, the band most repairs land in, the full span of priced jobs, and what a new one costs against how long it should last. Sorted commonest first.
| Appliance | Diagnostic | Typical repair | Priced jobs span | New unit | Lifespan | Pros listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator | $50–$120 | $200–$400 | $80–$1,100 | $1,200 | 14 yr | 676 |
| Washer | $50–$100 | $150–$350 | $80–$700 | $800 | 11 yr | 673 |
| Dryer | $50–$100 | $100–$350 | $100–$400 | $750 | 12 yr | 674 |
| Dishwasher | $50–$100 | $150–$300 | $80–$500 | $700 | 10 yr | 664 |
| Oven & Range | $50–$120 | $150–$450 | $80–$600 | $1,000 | 14 yr | 672 |
| Microwave | $40–$80 | $100–$250 | $80–$900 | $250 | 9 yr | 209 |
| Garbage Disposal | $40–$90 | $85–$250 | $70–$450 | $200 | 10 yr | 110 |
| Ice Maker | $50–$100 | $150–$400 | $60–$800 | $400 | 8 yr | 147 |
| Freezer | $50–$120 | $150–$400 | $80–$900 | $600 | 15 yr | 402 |
| Wine Cooler | $60–$130 | $200–$600 | $150–$900 | $500 | 10 yr | 56 |
| Range Hood | $50–$100 | $150–$400 | $60–$900 | $350 | 14 yr | 24 |
| Trash Compactor | $50–$110 | $150–$450 | $80–$650 | $800 | 10 yr | 14 |
Diagnostic and repair ranges are our own estimates for a typical job. New unit prices and lifespans are our estimates for a mainstream model — a budget brand runs below them and a luxury or built-in brand well above, which is exactly why the repair-or-replace answer differs between two households with the same broken appliance. “Pros listed” counts businesses in this directory that list the appliance type, and is recounted from the listing files every time this page is built.
What the diagnostic fee actually buys
Also called a call-out charge, a service call fee, or a trip charge. It is the part of appliance repair billing people feel worst about, usually because nobody explained it before the van arrived.
It pays for the visit, not the answer
The diagnostic fee covers the technician driving to you, carrying insurance and a stocked van, and spending the time to find the fault. It is charged whether the news is good or bad, and it is charged even when the verdict is that the appliance is not worth repairing. That verdict is worth paying for — it is the cheapest possible outcome of a call where the alternative was authorising a repair on a machine that was finished.
Ask whether it is credited before you book
Many shops waive or credit the diagnostic fee against the repair if you go ahead on the same visit. Many do not. This is the single most common misunderstanding in appliance repair billing, and it is settled by one question on the phone: if I approve the repair today, does the call-out charge come off the bill? Get the answer before the van is dispatched, not after.
A second opinion costs a second fee
Comparison shopping on a diagnosis is expensive, because each shop charges to look. It is usually worth it only when the first quote is large — sealed-system work, a compressor, a control board, or anything that lands near half the price of a new unit. Below that, the second diagnostic fee often eats the saving.
Written estimate, then authorise
Nothing on this site is a quote. The only number that binds anyone is a written estimate for your appliance, in your home, from the person who will do the work. Ask for the parts cost and the labour cost as separate lines — a shop that will not separate them is asking you to trust a total you cannot check.
Parts versus labour
The part is rarely the expensive half. These are the 8faults on this site where the gap between doing it yourself and paying someone is widest — and the gap is almost entirely the visit, not the component.
| Fault | Appliance | DIY parts | Quoted professionally |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freezer Won't Turn On | Freezer | $0–$140 | $150–$900 |
| Refrigerator Not Cooling | Refrigerator | $0–$150 | $150–$900 |
| Refrigerator Running Constantly | Refrigerator | $0–$150 | $150–$900 |
| Refrigerator Making Noise | Refrigerator | $0–$150 | $150–$900 |
| Freezer Not Freezing | Freezer | $0–$150 | $150–$900 |
| Freezer Making Noise | Freezer | $0–$150 | $150–$900 |
| Downdraft Vent Won't Rise or Lower | Range Hood | $0–$80 | $200–$600 |
| Electric Burner Stays On High | Oven & Range | $8–$100 | $150–$600 |
Why the two columns are not the same product
The DIY column is the part, assuming you diagnosed the fault correctly. The professional column includes the trip, the diagnosis, the hour, the insurance, the stocked van and a warranty on the work. The honest comparison is not “part versus quote” but “my time and my diagnosis versus theirs” — and the expensive DIY failure mode is replacing three parts hoping one of them was the fault.
How to use the split when you get a quote
Ask for parts and labour as separate lines. You are not looking for a cheap part — you are checking that the part named matches the symptom described, and that the labour is proportionate to the access the job actually needs. A quote that names a control board before anything cheaper has been tested is the one worth a second opinion. A quote with the part on the van and a year’s warranty is often the better buy even when it is not the lowest number.
Why two quotes for the same job differ
A spread between quotes is normal and usually explainable. These are the six variables that account for most of it, in rough order of how much money each one moves.
- Whether the part is on the van
- A technician who carries the part fixes it on the first visit and bills one trip. One who has to order it bills a diagnosis, a return visit, and sometimes a restocking margin on the part. This single difference moves more money than any other on the list, and it is why the first question worth asking is whether the shop stocks parts for your brand.
- Flat rate versus time and materials
- Flat-rate shops price the job from a national book: the same fault costs the same regardless of how long it actually takes. Time-and-materials shops bill an hourly rate plus parts. Flat rate protects you on a job that goes badly and costs you on one that goes quickly. Neither is dishonest — but comparing an hourly number against a flat number tells you nothing until you ask which you are being given.
- Brand and where the part comes from
- Parts for built-in and luxury cabinets are frequently sold only through authorised channels, at authorised prices, and sometimes only to authorised servicers. That is a real constraint on the shop, not a markup they chose. Mainstream brands have deep aftermarket supply and far more price competition behind the quote.
- Access, not difficulty
- The identical part costs more to fit when it is behind a full freezer, under a built-in cabinet, or above a cooktop. Technicians price the hour they will spend getting to it, and a built-in or stacked installation adds hours before any repair starts. Say on the phone whether the appliance is freestanding, stacked, or built in.
- When you call
- Evening, weekend and same-day emergency call-outs carry a premium at most shops, and a genuine 24/7 operation prices the overnight availability into everything. If the appliance is not a food-safety emergency, a scheduled weekday visit is the cheapest version of the same repair.
- What the warranty covers afterwards
- A quote with 90 days on parts and labour is not the same product as a quote with a year, and the cheaper number is often the shorter one. Ask what is warranted, for how long, and whether a return visit for the same fault is chargeable.
Get two or three quotes on anything expensive, and give each shop the identical information: brand, model number, symptom, how long it has been happening, and whether the appliance is freestanding, stacked or built in. A spread that survives that is a real difference in what is being offered, and usually the difference is the warranty or whether the part is on the van.
Repair or replace
The rule of thumb, and the arithmetic behind it. Half the price of a new unit is the threshold; cost per year of remaining service is what the threshold is really measuring.
| Appliance | New unit | Replace above | Expected life | Cost per year new |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator | $1,200 | $600 | 14 yr | $86 |
| Washer | $800 | $400 | 11 yr | $73 |
| Dryer | $750 | $375 | 12 yr | $63 |
| Dishwasher | $700 | $350 | 10 yr | $70 |
| Oven & Range | $1,000 | $500 | 14 yr | $71 |
| Microwave | $250 | $125 | 9 yr | $28 |
| Garbage Disposal | $200 | $100 | 10 yr | $20 |
| Ice Maker | $400 | $200 | 8 yr | $50 |
| Freezer | $600 | $300 | 15 yr | $40 |
| Wine Cooler | $500 | $250 | 10 yr | $50 |
| Range Hood | $350 | $175 | 14 yr | $25 |
| Trash Compactor | $800 | $400 | 10 yr | $80 |
Reading the table
“Replace above” is simply half the average new price — the classic fifty-percent rule. “Cost per year new” is that new price spread over the appliance’s expected life, and it is the more useful number: if a repair buys you three more years for less than three times that figure, the repair is winning. Both columns assume a mainstream brand. A luxury or built-in unit costs far more to replace, which pushes its threshold up and makes repair the right answer for longer.
Where the rule breaks down
Then check the age against expected lifespan. An appliance past roughly three-quarters of its expected life has little runway left to earn back a large repair, so the threshold drops as the machine gets older — on an old unit, a repair at a third of new price can still be the wrong call.Three other things override the arithmetic: a repair that is the second on the same circuit inside a year, a fault where the part is discontinued, and any situation where the appliance is unsafe. Safety is not a cost decision — a dryer venting into a wall cavity, a range with a gas leak, or a compactor that runs with the drawer open comes out of service regardless of what a repair would cost.
Appliance Blue Book
Run the numbers on your actual unit
The table above is the average case. The value estimator takes your appliance’s type, brand tier, age and condition and returns what it is still worth, what proportion of its life is left, and whether a repair at your quoted price is a sensible spend or money after a machine that is finished.
Cost pages by appliance
Job-by-job pricing, part costs, DIY-versus-pro comparison, and the replacement maths for one appliance at a time.
Appliance repair cost questions
How much does appliance repair cost?
Is the diagnostic fee credited toward the repair?
Should I repair or replace my appliance?
Why did two companies quote different prices for the same repair?
How much of an appliance repair bill is parts, and how much is labour?
Is it cheaper to fix an appliance yourself?
Do appliance repair companies give quotes over the phone?
Which appliance is cheapest to repair, and which is most expensive?
Next steps
Ready to get a real number for your repair?
Everything above is a typical range. The only figure that means anything is a written estimate from someone who has looked at your appliance. This directory lists 873 repair businesses across the United States with their own phone numbers, free to browse and free to contact.