Last updated October 31, 2026

How much to charge for window and door work in 2026

The hourly rate a one-truck installer needs to charge, built from what window and door installers actually earn, a price list for 14 common jobs with the arithmetic shown, what moves the number, and the mistakes that cost the most.

Short answer: a one-truck window and door business that pays its owner what the median glazier earns, carries normal overhead, and keeps a 20 percent margin needs about $75 an hour. To pay yourself like the top quarter of window and door installers, charge about $85. Top ten percent, $100. Below $70 you are subsidizing the customer with your own wages. Every number on this page is built from published wage data and a model you can see, and the price list further down uses the $85 rate.

Window and door replacement is priced per opening, and the product is most of the price: a vinyl replacement window is a few hundred dollars and a fiberglass entry door with sidelights is a few thousand, and the labor to install either is a few hours. The one-truck installer makes money on the install labor per opening, on a fair markup on product they supply, and on the trim, flashing and repair work that the window-company salesman does not do.

The trade splits between insert replacements, where the new window goes into the old frame in an hour or two, and full-frame replacements, where the old frame comes out, the opening is flashed and the interior and exterior are trimmed. They are different jobs at different prices and the bid has to name which. The BLS tracks glaziers for the window side and carpenters for the door and trim side, and a good installer is both.

What window and door installers earn, and what that means for your rate

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 58,480 people working as glaziers in its May 2025 survey and published what they are paid. That is the wage an employer pays an employee, which is the floor for what an owner-operator should pay themselves. A rate is built on top of it: the hidden cost of an hour of labor, the overhead of running a truck, the hours you cannot bill, and a margin. The model here uses a 22% labor load for payroll taxes, workers comp and the liability share, $30,000 a year of overhead for the truck, insurance, phone, software, tools and licenses, 1,100 billable hours a year, and a 20% margin. Change any input and the rate moves; the hourly rate calculator runs it with your numbers.

If you pay yourself like the	BLS wage	Loaded	Overhead per hour	Rate to charge
Bottom quarter	$22	$27	$27	$70
Median	$27	$33	$27	$75
Top quarter	$32	$39	$27	$85
Top ten percent	$43	$53	$27	$100

Rate = (wage × 1.22 + $30,000 ÷ 1,100) ÷ (1 − 0.2), rounded to $5. Wages: BLS OEWS May 2025, glaziers, national.

The $30,000 overhead covers a van, a trailer for product, saws and nailers, flashing and sealant inventory, and insurance. Product is quoted per opening from the manufacturer or supplier, and lead times of four to ten weeks on ordered windows are stated on the bid. The rate is per installer; windows are usually a crew of two.

A window and door price list, with the math

Flat prices for the jobs window and door installers quote most, built the same way every time: hours at the $85 rate, plus materials at cost with a 30 percent markup, rounded to $5. The hours and material costs are example inputs for a typical job in a typical market, stated so you can swap in your own. A job with a crew of two doubles the labor line. Per-opening prices are installation labor and installer materials, with the window or door as a separate product line at cost plus markup or customer-supplied. Standard sizes, one story, normal access.

Job	Labor	Materials at cost	Price	What it assumes
Insert replacement window, per opening, labor	2 h	$35	$215	Into existing frame, foam, caulk, interior stop
Full-frame replacement window, per opening, labor	4.5 h	$110	$525	Frame out, flash, trim inside and out
Vinyl double-hung window, standard, product	0 h	$380	$495	Mid-grade, double pane, low-E
Fiberglass or composite window, product	0 h	$820	$1,065	Mid-grade
Second-story surcharge, per opening	0.6 h	none	$50	Ladders, two people
Exterior entry door, prehung, labor	5 h	$90	$540	Remove, set, shim, flash, seal, lockset
Fiberglass entry door, 36 in., product	0 h	$1,100	$1,430	Mid-grade, prehung
Entry door with two sidelights, product	0 h	$2,600	$3,380	Mid-grade unit
Sliding patio door, 6 ft, labor	6 h	$120	$665	Remove, set, flash, trim
Sliding patio door, vinyl, product	0 h	$1,300	$1,690	Mid-grade
Interior door, prehung, labor and casing	2.5 h	$40	$265	Door separate
Storm door, labor	2.5 h	$20	$240	Door separate
Rot repair at a sill or frame, per opening	2.5 h	$60	$290	Found at removal, priced per opening on the bid
Haul-away, per opening	0.15 h	$8	$25	Dump fee in material

Price = hours × $85 + materials × 1.3. Trip or diagnostic fees, permits and disposal are extra lines.

This is a sample. The free price book builder prices the full window and door book, 31 jobs, with your own wage, overhead and margin, and gives you the PDF for the truck and the spreadsheet that keeps the formulas.

What moves the price

Insert versus full-frame. An insert is two hours; a full-frame is twice that plus trim and paint by others. Say which on every opening.
Product. Vinyl, fiberglass, wood-clad; builder grade to premium; the product line moves by thousands on a whole-house job. Quote the one the customer chose and show the next grade as an option.
Lead time. Ordered windows are four to ten weeks. The deposit places the order and the bid says the clock starts when it clears.
What you find. Rot at sills and frames is found at removal. A per-opening rot line, with the count set on the day, prevents the dispute.
Stories and access. Second-story windows mean ladders or a lift and two people. Per-opening surcharge.

Hourly, flat rate, or by the unit

Per opening for labor by type, with product as its own line per opening at cost plus 20 to 30 percent, or customer-supplied with a measurement responsibility line. Surcharges per opening for second story and rot. Haul-away per opening. The customer sees a per-window price they can compare to the window company's, which bundles everything and hides the install.

Never hourly on windows and doors; the customer wants a per-opening number. A deposit that covers the product order, usually half on ordered product, and the balance when the last window is sealed and the screens are in.

A worked window and door bid

Twelve insert replacement windows, vinyl double-hung, one story, two on the second floor, old windows hauled. Labor: 12 at 2 hours and $35. Second story: 2 at 0.6 hours. Product: 12 at $380, marked up 25 percent. Haul-away: 12 at 0.15 hours and $8. About 28 person-hours at the top-quarter rate from the table, a crew of two for two days. A rot line at $250 per opening with the count set at removal. Half down to order, balance at completion, six to eight weeks lead time stated.

Most markets see $800 to $1,400 per vinyl insert window installed, and the itemized bid lands there with the install visible instead of buried in a window company's bundled price. The sample window replacement estimate shows the finished bid.

The pricing mistakes that cost the most

Measuring once. Measure every opening twice, write it on the bid, and order from the bid.
No rot line, and four rotten sills on removal day.
Quoting a full-frame job at the insert price because the customer said "just replace the windows."
Ordering before the deposit clears.

Writing the price into a bid that gets signed

The number is half the job. The other half is a bid the customer can say yes to from their phone: the scope in lines, one price, the deposit and payment terms, the warranty, a date it expires, and a signature. The free window and door estimate template is laid out that way in PDF, Word and Excel, and How to bid window and door jobs covers the scope lines that keep you out of arguments. If you want the typing done for you, BidWriter Pro turns your notes into a clean bid your customer signs on their phone, with the deposit paid by card. $29 a month, 30 days free.

Sources and method

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Glaziers, national percentile hourly wages and employment.
Also: Carpenters, median $29 an hour, 670,090 employed.
Rate model: labor load 1.22, overhead $30,000 a year, 1,100 billable hours, 20% margin. Hours and material costs in the price list are example inputs, not survey data. Prices are examples, not advice for your market.

Questions contractors ask

How much do window installers charge per window in 2026?

For labor on an insert replacement, about two hours plus materials, commonly $250 to $450 per opening; full-frame $500 to $900. With a mid-grade vinyl window the installed price lands $800 to $1,400. Built from BLS wages, a one-truck installer needs about $75 an hour per person at the median wage and $85 to earn like the top quarter.

How much should I charge to install an entry door?

About five hours of labor plus flashing and a lockset, commonly $500 to $900 for labor, plus the door at cost with markup. A door with sidelights is more hours and a much bigger product line.

Should I supply the windows or let the customer?

Supplying them at cost plus 20 to 30 percent earns the markup and keeps the measurement responsibility clear. If the customer supplies, the bid says you install what arrives and the measurements are theirs.

How much deposit should a window installer take?

Half on ordered product, paid at signing, with the lead time on the bid and the clock starting when the deposit clears.

How do I handle rot found during installation?

A per-opening rot repair line on the bid before you start, with the count set on the day. The customer agrees to the price before the surprise, not after.

Write a windows and doors bid from your notes

Type the job the way you would text it. It comes back as a finished estimate in about five seconds, in your words. No account.

Type a job the way you would text it

Only what you type goes on the estimate. Nothing gets added.

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Free, no account: estimate checker, job price calculator, markup vs margin, hourly rate, and 84 sample estimates.