Laminate Floor Installation Cost in 2026
Installed laminate flooring costs $3.39 to $7.39 per sq ft: planks at $0.99 to $3.99 on Floor & Decor and Home Depot shelves plus Home Depot's published labour of $2.00 to $3.00, checked 13 Oct 2026. Other guides quote more; here is why.
A 12x12 bedroom runs $488 to $1,064 installed and a 1,000 sqft floor $3,389 to $7,389, at Home Depot's published labour rate and shelf prices checked 13 Oct 2026. How we priced this.
Plank-by-Plank Cost Calculator
Enter your room dimensions, pick a quality tier, choose a region. The calculator outputs the installed cost range, materials, labour, waste-adjusted square footage, and how many cartons of laminate to order.
Need a brand-by-brand price? See Materials and Brands. Want the room-by-room reference table? Jump to Cost by Room.
Why Published Laminate Prices Disagree, and What You Will Actually Be Quoted
Search for the cost of laminate installation and you will see anything from $3 to $14 per sq ft. We read the six guides that rank for it on 14 October 2026. Here is what each says, when it was last updated and what the number rests on.
Four reasons the numbers differ
- Labour. Fixr, Bob Vila and This Old House put installation labour at $4 to $8 per sq ft. Home Depot publishes $2.00 to $3.00 per sq ft to install laminate, and $2.49 for basic click-lock installation. Most of the gap between a $6 to $14 range and ours is that labour line.
- The job they priced. Fixr and Bob Vila build their averages on one 200 sq ft room with 12mm planks and a sound-reducing underlayment. Homewyse prices 8mm planks at full retail plus supplies and equipment. HomeAdvisor reports what its surveyed customers paid, so its range reflects whole jobs as they were bought, with no project size stated.
- Age. Bob Vila's page was last updated in July 2022 and Fixr's in January 2025. Both still rank beside pages updated this year.
- Repetition. This Old House says its figures come from HomeAdvisor and Fixr, so it is the same data twice, not a third opinion.
What you will actually be quoted
For planks and installation alone, expect a quote near $3.39 to $7.39 per sq ft, depending mostly on the plank. A quote well above that is paying for something else: removing the old floor (Home Depot averages $1.95 per sq ft), subfloor levelling, trim and transitions, stairs, or a minimum charge on a small room. Ask for those as separate lines, then check each one in the laminate flooring cost calculator.
What a Quote Covers, and What It Does Not
Most quotes look like a single number. The actual scope is a list of line items. Knowing what is bundled and what is billed extra is the fastest way to compare three contractors fairly.
- Click-lock laminate planks (specified brand & thickness)
- Foam underlayment, basic
- Layout, cutting, plank-by-plank install
- Quarter-round or shoe moulding at room perimeter
- Standard transition strip per doorway
- Final clean-up of installer debris
- Subfloor levelling (compound, sanding, panel repair)
- Old flooring removal and disposal
- Furniture moving, in & out
- Door frame undercutting
- Stair nosing fitting
- Vapour barrier underlay over concrete
- Premium underlay (cork, sound-dampening)
Cost by Room Size, 2026
Typical room sizes and total installed cost across budget, mid-range, and premium tiers. All figures include labour and standard underlayment.
Whole-House Cost by Floor Plan
All-in installed range at national labour rates, from the same model as the calculator. No volume discount is applied: we found no published source for one, so ask installers for a multi-room price.
The Catalog: Brands at a Glance
Shelf prices we read at Home Depot and Floor & Decor on 13 and 14 October 2026, and Shaw's own published estimate. Where we could not read a brand's price, the card says so instead of guessing. Installed adds 10% waste, Home Depot's published labour and underlayment where the plank has no pad.
Five products read; underlayment required, sold separately.
Floor & Decor's own budget lines; no attached pad.
Sold as waterproof laminate; the 10mm plank has an attached XPS pad.
Home Depot's own brand; Vanderbilt Oak has a pre-attached pad.
One Pergo plank read at Home Depot. Pergo's own site lists no prices.
Sold as waterproof laminate; attached IXPE foam pad.
10mm plank with a 2mm pre-attached pad.
Shaw's own manufacturer's estimate, materials only; dealers set the price you pay.
No Mohawk laminate price we could read on 14 Oct 2026.
No Lifeproof laminate price we could read on 14 Oct 2026.
Prices vary by store and change often; check the carton. Every plank, its AC rating where the product page prints one, and the grade ranges are on Materials and Brands; what AC classes mean is on Laminate AC ratings.
AC Rating: The One Spec That Matters
AC classes come from the European standard EN 13329 and measure wear only: how many turns of a Taber abrasion test the surface survives. The US standard, NALFA LF-01, does not use them, but US product pages print them. Scratch, fade and water resistance are separate questions.
Thresholds from Swiss Krono and Kronospan technical pages, read 14 Oct 2026. AC1, AC2 and AC6 have no primary source we could read. Full explainer: laminate AC ratings.
DIY or Hire It Out?
Click-lock laminate is one of the most DIY-friendly floors. Honest read on what you save, what you need, and what to leave to a pro.
- Planks plus 10% waste, and underlayment where the plank has no pad
- Saves $2.00 to $3.00 per sqft in labour at Home Depot's published rate
- Tools not included
- Home Depot basic click-lock install: $2.49/sqft, extra services priced separately
- Old-floor removal averages $1.95/sqft; furniture moving $35 (Home Depot)
- Worth it for stairs, glue-down, irregular rooms
Full skill-by-skill breakdown, contractor checklist, and tool list: DIY vs Professional »
Laminate vs Hardwood vs LVP
The three flooring types most homeowners weigh against laminate. Cost, lifespan, and where each one wins.
Waterproof wording sources, accessed 13 Oct 2026: Pergo TimberCraft product page and Pergo TimberCraft warranty (0794_2023) (WetProtect lifetime waterproof surface and subfloor guarantee; complete coverage requires a perimeter seal; flooding, plumbing accidents and leaking appliances are excluded); Mohawk WetProtect and Mohawk RevWood Plus (waterproof surface, water-tight joints, lifetime surface and subfloor warranty); COREtec and Armstrong Flooring rigid-core LVP (vinyl planks marketed as waterproof, subject to warranty terms). "Many LVP lines" is our editorial reading of manufacturer pages, not a market count.
Cost by Specific Square Footage
Already know your room size? Jump straight to the cost breakdown for that footprint. Each page covers material, labour, DIY-vs-pro, and regional pricing.
Common Cost Questions
How much does laminate flooring installation cost per square foot in 2026?
Installed laminate flooring runs $3.39 to $7.39 per square foot on shelf prices checked on 13 October 2026. Planks cost $0.99 to $3.99 per sq ft at Floor & Decor and Home Depot, and you buy 10% extra for waste. Professional labour is $2.00 to $3.00 per sq ft as published by Home Depot, whose basic click-lock rate is $2.49. Budget 7mm planks also need underlayment ($0.30 to $0.40 per sq ft). Home Depot puts its average total project at $3.80 to $4.80 per sq ft.
How much does it cost to install laminate flooring in a 12x12 bedroom?
A 12x12 bedroom is 144 sqft. Add 10% waste and you buy about 159 sqft of planks. Installed at national labour rates: $488 to $710 budget, $587 to $906 mid-range, or $762 to $1,064 premium.
Is it cheaper to install laminate flooring yourself?
DIY saves the labour, which Home Depot prices at $2.00 to $3.00 per sqft. A 400 sqft room costs about $556 to $1,756 in planks and underlayment if you lay it yourself, versus $1,356 to $2,956 installed. Click-lock systems are realistic for a confident DIYer. Stairs with overhanging treads, open sides or turns, and glue-down systems, are better left to a pro.
What is the difference between cheap and expensive laminate flooring?
On 13 October 2026 the cheapest laminate on Floor & Decor's shelves (FairOaks Carey Lane, $0.99 per sq ft) was 7mm, AC3, with no attached pad and a 30-year residential warranty. The highest regular price in its range (AquaGuard Performance Suncrest, $3.99) bought a 12mm, AC5 plank with an attached IXPE pad and a lifetime residential warranty. Thickness, AC rating, an attached pad and water resistance are what the extra money pays for.
Do I need underlayment for laminate flooring?
Yes, unless the plank has a pad attached. Home Depot prices basic underlayment at $0.30 per sqft. Foam with a built-in vapour barrier was $0.40 to $0.60 per sqft at Floor & Decor, and acoustic foams $0.60 to $0.79. Over concrete, the Home Decorators Collection instructions call for 6 mil polyethylene film under a floating floor. Every plank that sets our mid-range and premium prices (Home Decorators Collection Vanderbilt Oak and Pergo Outlast+ XL at Home Depot, AquaGuard Performance at Floor & Decor) lists a pre-attached pad on its product page, so those tiers include no separate underlayment. Check the plank's instructions before adding a second layer.
How much does it cost to install laminate flooring on stairs?
About $74 to $122 per step installed, or $965 to $1,590 for a 13-step staircase, depending on the plank. For a code-minimum step (36 in wide, 10 in tread, 7.75 in riser) the planks cost $4.84 to $19.49 and half of a 94 in laminate stair nose $20.50 to $22.50, so materials for 13 steps come to $329 to $546 before adhesive. Labour is our estimate of about $41 to $61 a step: no retailer, manufacturer or government source publishes a per-step price, so we work it from the BLS floor-layer wage, what flooring contractors bill per dollar of wages (2022 Economic Census) and one flooring guide's install time. The stairs cost guide shows the working.
Is laminate flooring cheaper than hardwood?
Laminate runs $3.39 to $7.39 per sqft installed on our 13 October 2026 prices. We have not re-checked hardwood prices in this update, so compare against a current hardwood quote; our laminate vs hardwood guide covers the trade-offs. Hardwood can be refinished; laminate cannot.
How long does laminate flooring last?
The clearest guide is the maker's warranty. The budget FairOaks plank we priced carries a 30-year residential warranty; the HydroShield Plus and AquaGuard Performance planks carry lifetime residential warranties (15 and 20 years commercial). Warranties come with conditions, so read them. Laminate cannot be refinished, so a worn floor is replaced rather than sanded.