Cost per Square Foot Calculator: Compare Quotes Fairly
A total price on its own tells you almost nothing. One contractor quotes $9,800 for a bathroom, another quotes $13,500, and until you divide each figure by the same area you cannot tell whether the second firm is dearer, or simply measuring and including more. Cost per square foot is the only honest way to compare quotes and materials, because it strips away the size of the job and leaves the rate you are actually paying. This calculator works in both directions: enter a total cost and an area to get the rate per square foot and per square metre, or enter an area and a rate to build the total a quote should come to.
Use it before you sign anything. Run every quote you collect through the same calculation, on the same area, with the same things included, and the cheapest-looking bid often turns out to be the one that left the most out. If a rate looks unusually low against the ranges below, that is not automatically a bargain — it is a question to ask before the work starts, not after the invoice arrives.
How this calculator works
Mode A is for finished quotes. Enter the total project cost and the area, in square feet or square metres, and the tool divides cost by area and converts the answer both ways, so you can compare a quote priced in square feet with one priced in square metres without doing the conversion on paper. The conversion it uses is exact: one square foot is 0.092903 square metres, so a rate per square metre is the rate per square foot divided by 0.092903 — about 10.764 times larger, because a square metre contains 10.764 square feet.
Mode B runs the sum backwards. Enter the area and a rate per square foot — a rate from the table below, or one a contractor has quoted you — and the tool multiplies them into a total project cost and shows the equivalent rate per square metre alongside it. That makes it easy to test a quote: if the area is 250 square feet and the rate you were given is $45, the total should be near $11,250 before anything extra is added.
Cost per Square Foot Calculator
Pick a mode, enter your numbers, and the results update as you type — or press Calculate. Mode A turns a total cost into a rate; Mode B turns a rate into a total.
Enter your numbers, then press Calculate.
Formulas: cost per square foot = total cost ÷ area in square feet; total cost = area in square feet × rate per square foot. Conversion: 1 sq ft = 0.092903 m², so a rate per m² = the rate per sq ft ÷ 0.092903.
Typical 2026 cost ranges
The figures in this table are rough US ballparks for 2026, not promises. They vary by region, by the grade of finish, and by how much preparation the existing room needs before the new work can start, so treat them as a sense-check rather than a price list. A quote far below the bottom of a range usually means something is missing; a quote above the top should come with a clear explanation of what the extra money buys.
| Job | Typical cost per sq ft |
|---|---|
| Flooring, supplied and fitted | $4–14 per sq ft |
| Tile installation | $10–30 per sq ft |
| Kitchen remodel | $75–250 per sq ft of floor area |
| Bathroom remodel | $150–400 per sq ft of floor area |
| New house build | $150–300 per sq ft |
Notice how wide the remodel ranges are compared with flooring. Covering a floor is a single trade with a measurable material; remodelling a kitchen bundles cabinets, plumbing, wiring, tiling and finishing into one blended rate, so the grade of cabinets alone can move the figure by tens of dollars per square foot. That is also why remodel rates are quoted per square foot of floor area — it is the only denominator every quote shares.
What to include
A cost-per-square-foot figure is only fair when everything is in it. The total you enter should include materials, labour, permits, disposal and tax — every line the job will actually charge you for. Materials means not just the headline product but the extras it needs: underlay, adhesive, grout, trims and fixings. Labour means preparation as well as fitting, including removing the old surface, which is real work with real disposal fees attached.
This is where comparisons usually go wrong. A quote that leaves things out looks cheaper per square foot and is not: it has simply moved costs outside the number you are comparing. If one bid includes permits, waste disposal and tax and another quietly excludes all three, their rates per square foot are not measuring the same job. Before you compare, list what each quote covers, add a fair allowance for anything missing, and only then divide by the area.
What to calculate next
A rate per square foot is a comparison tool, not an order list. Once you know the rate you are willing to pay, these tools turn the same area into materials, budgets and totals:
- Square Footage Calculator — measure any room or shape and get its area in sq ft, sq yd and m².
- Remodel Budget Calculator — build a room-by-room budget with a contingency for surprises.
- Flooring Calculator — turn an area into boards, packs and underlay.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate cost per square foot?
Divide the total cost of the project by its area. A $15,000 job covering 500 sq ft costs $15,000 ÷ 500 = $30.00 per sq ft. Include everything in the total — materials, labour, permits, disposal and tax — and use the same area measurement for every quote you compare.
What is a good cost per square foot for flooring?
About $4–14 per sq ft supplied and fitted for most homes. Laminate and vinyl sit at the lower end, engineered wood in the middle, and solid hardwood or natural stone at the top. The material itself is only part of the figure; fitting, underlay and trims make up the rest.
Should cost per square foot include labour?
Yes. Compare like with like and put everything in — materials, labour, permits, disposal and tax. A materials-only rate will always look cheaper than a supplied-and-fitted rate for the same floor, and the difference is not a saving, it is a cost that will appear later.
Why do two quotes for the same job differ so much?
Usually because they are not quite the same job. One may use a higher grade of material, include preparation work such as levelling or removing the old surface, or cover permits and disposal that the other quote excludes. Put both on a cost-per-square-foot basis with the same items included and the real difference is usually much smaller — and explainable.
Estimates only — ranges are ballparks; your quotes are the real numbers.