Window Installation Cost | Prices On Replacement Windows

Window Installation Cost

Discover window installation cost, which ranges from $50 for inserts to $250 per opening for full frame replacement. Find pricing on the various types of new construction and replacement window installs. When you call a window company and they schedule an estimate, they will come out and measure each opening and also look at the opening to make sure there is no wood or sill rot that has to be fixed before the new window can go in. Window prices are based on sizes so the installer or person providing the bid will jot dot each window measurement and then bid the project out based on the product and installation needs. The following are different types of installs and the window installation costs associated with each. Our replacement window calculator can also provide pricing based on your specific project needs.

Click to read our window installation cost Q & A.

Insert Or Pocket Installation

This is the least expensive installation option for those projects where the existing window can be removed and a replacement is simply inserted back in. The new window must be measured properly, must be shimmed and leveled correctly so the windows sits square and plumb. It is then sealed and caulked to look like a brand new window.

More on Insert And Pocket Install Prices

Price Range: $50 to $100 per opening

Standard Installation

Standard installation involves all of the steps for inserts, but usually also includes taking out the sills and then replacing them if needed. It may or may not involve some prep work to some of the frames or jambs if there is any wood rot and other aesthetic blemishes. It also may or may not involve exterior capping which is adding an aluminum cap to the exterior trim to prevent future water damage.

More on Standard Replacement Pricing

Price Range: $100 to $150 per opening

Full Frame Installation

Full frame installation means getting down to the rough opening. This option involves all of the steps mentioned above, plus the installers will probably place a Flex Wrap or other sill pan to keep water from entering the walls should any get in in the future. They may also add exterior flashing for further moisture prevention.

More on Full Frame Replacement Cost

Price Range: $150 to $250 per opening

New Construction Installation

New construction is sometimes used interchangeably with full frame replacement, although there are some important differences. New construction windows comes with a nailing flange which insures that the window is secure strongly inside the rough opening. New construction should include exterior flashing over the housewrap placed around the head and sides of the frame to insure that no water or moisture gets underneath.

More on New Construction Replacement Costs

Price Range: $250 to $450 per opening

Vinyl Replacement Windows Installation Questions

Hi Steven, On your site, you mention the importance of the installation. Do you have a checklist of what an installer must do when installing a vinyl replacement window? I'm getting quotes of approx. $500/window for the Okna 500 Series. I'm not sure I know how to compare installers because I don't know what to ask with regard to the detailed installation process. Are there ways for installers to cut corners? I also am not dealing with the dealer of the window because the installers are sourcing the windows.

Andrea - Homeowner - from 2019

[Site Editor's Answer]

Andrea, yes of course there is a list of what they should do, but that’s gets to be awkward for most people. How about these general rules of thumb...

Check their online reviews and make sure they are highly rated.

You can check BBB and make sure they have a clean business rating.

You can get one or two references from past customers. Getting a reference from a customer from quite a while ago helps you see if the work lasted.

Ask them to quickly explain how they install a window. You want a coherent up front answer — if they give you a bad feeling in your gut or they seem like they are lying, go elsewhere.

Ask them how they handle issues that might come up a few years down the road? Have they been around long enough to deal with these sorts of issues?

You want a company that likes the windows they install and you want them to have installed a lot of these same windows. Ask how they handle any issues that come up with the specific brand they install. Is the window company themselves responsive to their warranty claims?

There’s only so much you can do on the installers. Basically find a company that has been around for a while, gets great reviews, and seems like they know their stuff.

Steven - Site Editor - from 2019

Window Installation Methods And Costs

Dave, what is the difference between “Insert”, “Standard” and full frame replacement? You addressed “insert”, but it is the “Standard" that I am unsure about as well as what the right question is to make sure that I keep as much of my window view as possible. I searched a bit, but didn’t find a clear answer to this.

I ask this because of a comment made by the contractor. They had also talked to me about Pella windows because my wife wanted wood. Reading what your site says and listening to others, the added cost wasn’t justified since we would paint the windows. The contracted had quoted a price of more than $200 higher for each window to use Pella instead of Sunrise Verde.

As a result, I asked how a different company online could do an undiscounted offer the Pella for the same price as the Verde vinyl. His response was “On homes of your homes age you would typically do a total tear out to stud with Pella. That would add $125 per window,….”. This is what caused me to step back and ask the above question so I don’t end up with smaller windows! It sounds like I need to make sure I’ve been given a quote for a certain type of install.

Again, thanks for your detailed response and help. It is greatly appreciated.

Brad - June, 2017

Site Editor's Response

Brad, we use a few different install "generics" for the cost estimator for the purpose of getting consumers to a more accurate price point. For all practical purposes, there are two types of installs -- inserts and full replacement. One takes out the window without the fin and the other takes out the entire window down to the frame and inserts a new construction window.

Of course, this is why there are new constructions to begin with and then we get into a whole other set of definitions. I would consider paying the $125 per window if keeping as much glass as possible is high on your list, but I would stick with the Verde if I were you. You should ask the sunrise dealer to show you the interior laminate options, these mimc the look of wood, but are still vinyl. All the benefits of vinyl, but the basic look of wood.

There are pros and cons to the installs. The more bids you get, the better equipped you will be to make the decision of which approach better suits your long term needs and goals.

Steven - Site Editor - from 2017