Siding Replacement Cost Calculator — Cost to Replace Siding

Inputs

Exterior wall area (sq ft)

Wall area is roughly 1.5× your home's footprint — default 1,500 sq ft suits a typical 2,000 sq ft two-story home.

Material

Tear off the old siding

Stories

State (optional)

Sets a low / average / high cost tier for your state. You can still change it below.

Region

Result

Adjust the inputs to see your result.

Recommended gear

Recommended for this job

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Prices and availability are set by the vendor.

House wrap (Tyvek)
A continuous weather-resistant barrier behind new siding — the cheapest insurance against wind-driven rain and rot.
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Exterior caulk
Paintable, flexible exterior sealant for trim, joints, and penetrations so water can't sneak behind the siding.
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Siding nail gun
A coil siding nailer makes a DIY vinyl or fiber-cement job dramatically faster and more consistent than hand-nailing.
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How the estimate works

Siding is priced per square foot of exterior wall — material and labor blended together. The calculator takes your wall area (roughly 1.5× your home's footprint, more with gables and extra stories), multiplies by the material's installed cost per square foot, then scales for the number of stories and your region. Tear-off of the old siding is added separately, at about $1–$3 per square foot.

Each material carries a national installed-cost range — from about $4–$12 per sq ft for vinyl up to $10–$25 for brick veneer. The result is an honest low-to-high range, because real siding bids vary that much depending on trim detail, material grade, and access.

The formula

The math behind each estimate is deliberately transparent:

cost = wall area × material $/sq ft × (stories factor × region factor)
+ (tear-off $/sq ft × wall area × same factor, if removing old siding)

The stories factor (1.0 / 1.1 / 1.2 for 1 / 2 / 3+ stories) covers the extra staging, ladders, and slower work at height. The region factor (0.85 lower-cost areas / 1.0 national average / 1.25 higher-cost metros) shifts the whole job for local labor and material prices. Tear-off ($1–$3 per sq ft) is scaled by the same factor because pulling siding off a tall house in an expensive metro costs more too. We then round the low, high, and midpoint to the nearest $50 — false precision ($11,847) would imply an accuracy these national ranges don't have.

Worked example

Say you have a two-story home with 1,500 sq ft of exterior wall, you're going with fiber-cement, you want a full tear-off, and you're in a national-average region:

Combined factor = 1.1 (two stories) × 1.0 (average region) = 1.1
Material + labor, low: 1,500 × $8 × 1.1 = $13,200
Material + labor, high: 1,500 × $20 × 1.1 = $33,000
Tear-off, low: 1,500 × $1 × 1.1 = $1,650
Tear-off, high: 1,500 × $3 × 1.1 = $4,950
Total low ≈ $13,200 + $1,650 = $14,850; total high ≈ $33,000 + $4,950 = $37,950
Midpoint ≈ $26,400 (rounded to the nearest $50)

Swap fiber-cement for vinyl ($4–$12) on the same house and the range drops to roughly $8,250–$23,800 — that single material choice is a five-figure decision.

Material comparison

The four materials most homeowners actually weigh, side by side. Lifespan and ROI are national-average figures; your mileage varies with climate and install quality.

Material	Installed $/sq ft	Lifespan	Maintenance	Resale ROI
Vinyl	$4–$12	20–30 yrs	Low — occasional rinse	Strong (~60–75%)
Fiber-cement (Hardie)	$8–$20	30–50 yrs	Repaint every 10–15 yrs	Top tier (~65–80%)
Engineered wood (LP SmartSide)	$6–$14	20–30 yrs	Repaint periodically	Good (~60–70%)
Brick veneer	$10–$25	50+ yrs	Very low — occasional tuckpointing	Solid; premium curb appeal

The pattern: vinyl wins on up-front cost and is the safe budget pick; fiber-cement wins on lifespan and resale and is the default "forever home" choice; engineered wood splits the difference with easier handling than fiber-cement; brick veneer is the most durable and lowest-maintenance but the priciest and heaviest to install.

What drives the price

Material is the biggest lever — brick veneer or fiber-cement can cost 2–3× a basic vinyl job.
Wall area grows with stories, gables, and dormers — a complex two-story has far more siding than its footprint suggests.
Tear-off and sheathing repair are the wildcards — rotten sheathing or failed house wrap hidden behind old siding is the most common budget-buster.
Region swings labor by 40% or more between rural areas and coastal metros.

Common mistakes

Estimating by footprint, not wall area. A 2,000 sq ft house can have 1,500–2,000+ sq ft of wall once height and gables are counted.
Skipping the weather barrier. New siding over old or missing house wrap traps moisture and shortens its life.
Forgetting tear-off and disposal. Stripping old siding and hauling it off is real labor and dumpster cost.
Taking one bid. Siding bids for the same job routinely vary 30–40%. Always get three.

The four big cost swings

Tear-off and disposal. Stripping old siding and hauling it to the dump adds $1–$3 per sq ft — roughly $1,500–$4,500 on a 1,500 sq ft house. It's almost always worth it: it's the only way to inspect the sheathing and replace the weather barrier. Whatever you budget, add a 10–15% contingency, because tear-off is when crews discover hidden rot.

Stories and access. A second story adds about 10% and a third adds 20% — not because there's that much more wall, but because the crew needs ladders, scaffolding, and fall protection, and work simply goes slower up high. Tight lot lines, steep grades, and overhanging trees push this higher.

Trim, fascia, and house wrap. The "boring" components quietly move the number. A fresh layer of house wrap (Tyvek-style weather-resistant barrier) is cheap insurance and should be standard on any tear-off. New corner boards, window and door trim, and fascia wrap (often aluminum coil stock) can add several thousand on a detailed exterior — and skipping them looks unfinished.

Material grade and color. Within a single material there's a wide range: builder-grade vinyl vs. insulated or premium vinyl, or standard vs. pre-finished ColorPlus fiber-cement. Dark and custom colors, factory finishes, and thicker profiles all sit at the top of each range.

Should you DIY it?

Vinyl siding is one of the more DIY-friendly exterior jobs for a confident homeowner — a coil siding nailer and a weekend or two can re-side a small, simple, single-story wall and save the labor portion of the cost. But be honest about the caveats. Fiber-cement is heavy, requires special blades and dust control (the silica dust is a respiratory hazard), and usually takes two people. Anything above one story brings real fall risk and the staging that pros price in. Cut corners on the weather barrier or window flashing and you can trap moisture that rots the wall behind brand-new siding — an expensive lesson. If there's any sign of rot, structural issues, or you're not comfortable on a ladder, hire it out and use this estimate to vet the bids.

When this calculator is the wrong tool

Use a pro inspection for: structural or sheathing repairs, full stucco re-application over lath, masonry restoration, insurance-claim scope, or homes with extensive rot. This tool estimates a standard residential re-side.

Sources & how we keep this current

The per-square-foot ranges in this calculator are national averages compiled from public 2024–2026 home-improvement cost data, cross-checked against several independent sources so no single outlier skews the numbers:

Remodeling magazine's "Cost vs. Value" report — the industry benchmark for what siding projects cost and how much homeowners recoup at resale. It's where the ROI figures and the fiber-cement-vs-vinyl resale gap come from.
James Hardie published guidance and contractor pricing — used to anchor the fiber-cement range and its painting/lifespan assumptions.
HomeAdvisor and Angi cost guides — large aggregations of real homeowner-reported project costs, used to set the low/high bands for each material and the tear-off range.

We re-check these ranges against the latest published guides periodically (data last verified June 2026). Material prices have been volatile in recent years, so treat the output as a current-as-of planning range and confirm with local bids — a written quote from a licensed contractor always beats any national average.

Related guides

FAQ

Questions, answered

How much does it cost to replace siding?

For a typical 2,000 sq ft, two-story home (about 1,500 sq ft of exterior wall) most homeowners pay roughly $6,000–$18,000 to re-side in vinyl, with the national midpoint around $12,000. Fiber-cement, wood, metal, brick, and stucco cost more — fiber-cement (Hardie) commonly runs $12,000–$30,000 on the same house. Your final price depends on wall area, material, tear-off, stories, and local labor rates.

How do I figure out my exterior wall square footage?

Wall area is roughly 1.5× your home's footprint — so a 2,000 sq ft floor plan has around 1,500–2,000 sq ft of siding, more if you have gables, dormers, or extra stories. For a tighter number, measure each wall (length × height), add them up, and subtract large windows and doors. This calculator takes wall area directly and defaults to 1,500 sq ft.

Is fiber-cement (Hardie) worth the extra cost?

In most climates, yes. Fiber-cement resists fire, rot, and pests and lasts 30–50 years, versus 20–30 for vinyl — and it consistently posts one of the best cost-recovery numbers in Remodeling's Cost vs Value report. It costs more up front and is heavier to install, but the longer life and resale bump make it the strongest ROI for a forever home.

Should I tear off the old siding?

Usually. Removing the old siding lets the crew inspect the sheathing and house wrap, find and fix hidden rot, and install a proper weather barrier. Tear-off adds roughly $1–$3 per square foot, but siding over damaged or uneven walls hides problems that get expensive later. Budget a 10–15% contingency in case the crew finds rot underneath.

Is this an exact quote?

No — it's a planning estimate built from national average cost ranges. Siding prices swing widely by region, material grade, trim detail, and crew. Always get 3 written bids from licensed local siding contractors before budgeting.

What's actually included in a per-square-foot siding price?

An installed price bundles the siding panels, fasteners, starter strips, J-channel and corner trim, a weather-resistant barrier (house wrap), flashing around windows and doors, labor, and the contractor's overhead and profit. It usually does NOT include tear-off and disposal of the old siding, sheathing repair, new trim or fascia, painting (for materials like fiber-cement that ship primed but unpainted), permits, or scaffolding for tall walls. This calculator adds tear-off separately and scales for stories so those big swing items aren't buried.

How much does vinyl vs. fiber-cement actually cost on a real house?

On a typical 1,500 sq ft of exterior wall, single story, national-average region: vinyl runs about $6,000 low to $18,000 high (midpoint near $12,000), while fiber-cement runs about $12,000 to $30,000 (midpoint near $21,000). The gap is roughly 1.7–2× — fiber-cement's panels cost more, it's heavier and slower to hang, and it often needs painting after install. You're paying up front for a 30–50 year lifespan and top-tier resale value.

Does new siding actually pay you back when you sell?

More than almost any other exterior project. Remodeling magazine's annual Cost vs Value report consistently ranks both fiber-cement and vinyl re-siding among the highest cost-recovery remodels, frequently recouping 60–80% of the spend at resale — and curb appeal helps a house sell faster, which the percentage doesn't capture. Fiber-cement typically edges out vinyl on recovery. Re-siding is a defensive project too: buyers and inspectors flag failing siding, so fixing it removes a negotiation lever.

How long does each siding material last, and what upkeep does it need?

Vinyl lasts 20–30 years and basically just needs an occasional hose-down. Fiber-cement (Hardie) lasts 30–50 years and needs repainting roughly every 10–15 years. Engineered wood (LP SmartSide) lasts 20–30 years with periodic repainting. Real wood lasts 20–40 years but demands repaint or restain every 3–7 years — the highest maintenance of the group. Aluminum and steel last 30–40+ years; steel resists dents better than aluminum. Brick veneer lasts 50+ years with almost no maintenance beyond occasional mortar tuckpointing.

Can I side over my old siding instead of tearing it off?

Sometimes, but it's usually a false economy. Siding over the old layer (common with vinyl) saves $1–$3 per sq ft in tear-off and disposal, but it hides whatever is failing underneath — rotten sheathing, missing or torn house wrap, insect damage — and that moisture stays trapped against your structure. It also adds thickness that complicates trim, windows, and doors. Most pros recommend a full tear-off so they can inspect the sheathing and install a fresh continuous weather barrier. Tear off when in doubt.