The short answer
Duct cleaning is priced by the vent. Pros charge $25–$50 for each supply vent and $40–$75 for each return. Sealing is priced by the job. Sealing by hand costs $400–$1,900 for a whole house. Aerosol sealing costs $1,300–$2,700.
In plain English: cleaning takes dust out of the ducts. Sealing stops air leaking out of them. They fix different problems. The EPA says cleaning has not been shown to prevent health problems. ENERGY STAR says a typical duct system loses 20 to 30 percent of its air to leaks.
A worked example, start to finish
Say you have a 2,000 square foot house with one furnace. It has 10 supply vents and 2 return vents. The ducts run through the attic. You want them cleaned and sealed by a pro. These are the calculator's default settings, so you can check every number.
- Cleaning, low end: 10 × $25 + 2 × $40 = $330.
- Cleaning, high end: 10 × $50 + 2 × $75 = $650.
- Sealing by hand: $400 to $1,900 for the whole house.
- Total: $730 to $2,550. The middle is $1,640. That middle figure is our own midpoint, not a number any publisher printed.
- Per vent, cleaning works out to $27.50 to $54.17. Per square foot of home, the whole job is $0.37 to $1.28.
A very small job, such as cleaning two or three vents, is lifted to the minimum service fee: $75–$200, which Angi and PickHVAC both print.
Cleaning, sealing or replacing?
| Job | What it fixes | What it does not fix | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleaning | Dust, debris, pests or mold inside the ducts | Stop air leaking out of the ducts | $25–$50 per supply vent |
| Sealing | Air leaking out of gaps and loose joints | Remove dust, or fix crushed or torn ducts | $400–$1,900 by hand, $1,300–$2,700 aerosol |
| Replacing | Ducts that are crushed, torn, disconnected or worn out | Make sense when the ducts are sound and only leaky | Thousands; see the ductwork replacement calculator |
If the ducts are damaged, price new ones on the ductwork replacement cost calculator. A house with no ducts at all is priced on the ductwork installation cost calculator.
When cleaning helps, and when it does not
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says duct cleaning “has never been shown to actually prevent health problems.” It does not recommend cleaning ducts on a routine schedule. It suggests cleaning in three cases:
- You can see mold growing inside hard metal ducts.
- Mice, insects or other pests have got into the ducts.
- The ducts are clogged with too much dust and debris.
The EPA also warns against cleaners who push routine cleaning. The National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA), the cleaners' trade group, warns against cheap “whole house specials.” On its homeowner site it says a proper job puts the system under negative pressure with a strong vacuum. It warns that cheap offers may leave out the air handler, blower fans, coils and registers.
When sealing helps
ENERGY STAR says about 20 to 30 percent of the air moving through a typical duct system is lost to leaks, holes and poorly connected ducts. That air was heated or cooled before it leaked.
ENERGY STAR recommends sealing with mastic (a thick paste painted over the joints) or metal foil tape. It says never to use cloth duct tape, because it does not last. A leakage test ($200–$450) uses a fan and a gauge to measure how much air leaks out, before you pay to seal.
Hand sealing or aerosol sealing?
Hand sealing means a tech crawls to the ducts and seals each joint they can reach. It is cheaper, at $400–$1,900, but it only works on the ducts a tech can get to.
Aerosol sealing (Aeroseal is one brand) blows a sticky mist through the closed-off ducts. The mist builds up at the leaks from the inside, including ones you cannot reach. HomeAdvisor prices it at $1,300–$2,700. HomeGuide says it cannot seal gaps wider than 5/8 inch, so big gaps are still done by hand.
Insulating ducts
ENERGY STAR suggests insulating the ducts you can reach in attics, crawl spaces, unfinished basements and garages. Angi puts wrapping them at $1,000–$2,700. HomeGuide prints a wider $1,000 to $4,500.
Questions to ask a duct contractor
- Is the price per vent or for the whole house? Are the returns extra?
- Will you clean the furnace fan, coil and grilles too, or only the ducts?
- Will you show me photos or video of the ducts before and after?
- Do you seal with mastic or UL 181 foil tape? (Never cloth duct tape.)
- Will you test for leaks before and after sealing?
- Did you find any crushed, torn or disconnected ducts?
Be wary of anyone who says you need cleaning every year, or who quotes a very low “whole house” price. The EPA and NADCA both warn about these.
Where the publishers disagree
- Whole-house cleaning: Angi prints $271–$509 for a whole house. Thumbtack prints $225–$619. Fixr prints $300–$700. HomeGuide, the EPA and NADCA print $450 to $1,000 (NADCA on its homeowner site). The calculator prices each vent instead, because three publishers print the same $25 to $50 per supply vent.
- Aerosol vs hand sealing: HomeAdvisor, HomeGuide and PickHVAC price aerosol sealing above hand sealing. Angi's averages put it below ($1,300 against $2,250). The calculator uses HomeAdvisor's two bands, which come from one page and so compare like with like.
- Aerosol sealing range: HomeAdvisor $1,300–$2,700, PickHVAC $800 to $3,800, HomeGuide $1,500 to $6,900.
Methodology
- All cost figures are US national and come from the sources below, each read on 17 October 2026. The cost guides are secondary sources. Their pages are dated from October 2025 (HomeGuide) to October 2026 (Angi).
- Cleaning is the number of supply vents times $25–$50, plus the number of return vents times $40–$75. Sealing, the leak test and insulation are whole-house prices. “Typical” is the midpoint of low and high and is our own figure.
- Home size does not change the price. Publishers do print sealing per square foot: Angi $0.50 to $1.50 and HomeGuide $1 to $2, for any method, and PickHVAC $0.50 to $2.00 for aerosol sealing. None splits hand sealing out, so the calculator uses HomeAdvisor's two whole-house bands, which come from one page. Home size gives the cost per square foot only.
- Duct location does not change the price either. Fixr, HomeGuide and Angi say hard-to-reach ducts take longer, but none prints a number. Location changes the advice.
- A job that comes out below the minimum service fee is lifted to $75–$200 (Angi and PickHVAC).
- Not priced, because only one publisher prints a figure: an extra charge per furnace, a per-linear-foot rate for hand sealing (PickHVAC), and a per-linear-foot rate for insulation (PickComfort).
- The metro option uses federal wage data for HVAC technicians (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025). It moves the labor part of each price only. Angi says labor is about 90% of a sealing job; we use that share for every line. The site's HVAC repair calculator also moves labor only.
- Seal-it-yourself material prices are not shown: the product pages could not be re-read and linked on the day.
- No federal tax credit is shown. Rebates from states and utilities vary, so none is included.
Sources
- Fixr — How Much Does Air Duct Cleaning Cost in 2026? (updated 29 Jan 2026; secondary cost guide). https://www.fixr.com/costs/air-duct-cleaning Read 2026-10-17.
- HomeGuide — How Much Does Air Duct Cleaning Cost? (2026) (dated 24 Oct 2025; secondary cost guide). https://homeguide.com/costs/air-duct-cleaning-cost Read 2026-10-17.
- Angi — How Much Does Air Duct Cleaning Cost? [2026 Data] (updated 9 Oct 2026; secondary). https://www.angi.com/articles/how-much-does-air-duct-cleaning-cost.htm Read 2026-10-17.
- This Old House — Air Duct Cleaning Cost (updated 9 Apr 2026; shares Angi's data; secondary). https://www.thisoldhouse.com/heating-cooling/reviews/air-duct-cleaning-cost Read 2026-10-17.
- Thumbtack — 2026 Air Duct Cleaning Cost (updated 10 Jul 2026; secondary). https://www.thumbtack.com/p/air-duct-cleaning-cost Read 2026-10-17.
- HomeAdvisor — Install Ducts and Vents cost guide: manual sealing, Aeroseal and insulation (updated 20 Jun 2026; same company as Angi; secondary). https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/heating-and-cooling/install-ducts-and-vents/ Read 2026-10-17.
- HomeGuide — How Much Does Air Duct Sealing Cost? (2026) (dated 21 Oct 2025; secondary). https://homeguide.com/costs/air-duct-sealing-cost Read 2026-10-17.
- Angi — How Much Does Air Duct Sealing Cost? [2026 Data] (updated 9 Jul 2026; secondary). https://www.angi.com/articles/duct-sealing-cost.htm Read 2026-10-17.
- PickHVAC — Air Duct Sealing and Aeroseal Cost 2026 (26 May 2026; secondary). https://www.pickhvac.com/air-duct-sealing-aeroseal-cost-u-s-homes/ Read 2026-10-17.
- Angi — How Much Does It Cost to Check Air Ducts for Leaks? [2026 Data] (updated 3 Aug 2026; secondary). https://www.angi.com/articles/cost-to-check-air-ducts-for-leaks.htm Read 2026-10-17.
- HomeGuide — How Much Does Ductwork Insulation Cost? (2026) (dated 21 Oct 2025; secondary). https://homeguide.com/costs/ductwork-insulation-cost Read 2026-10-17.
- Angi — How Much Does Ductwork Insulation Cost? [2026 Data] (updated 9 Jul 2026; secondary). https://www.angi.com/articles/how-much-fair-price-wrap-ductwork-crawlspace-under-home.htm Read 2026-10-17.
- U.S. EPA — Should You Have the Air Ducts in Your Home Cleaned? (last updated 19 Feb 2026). https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/should-you-have-air-ducts-your-home-cleaned Read 2026-10-17.
- ENERGY STAR — Duct Sealing (no date shown). https://www.energystar.gov/saveathome/heating-cooling/duct-sealing Read 2026-10-17.
- NADCA (National Air Duct Cleaners Association) homeowner site — Cost and Time Estimates. https://breathingclean.com/cost-time-estimates Read 2026-10-17.
- NADCA homeowner site — FAQs (source removal under negative pressure). https://breathingclean.com/faqs Read 2026-10-17.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (HVAC mechanics and installers), as stored in the site's metro wage table. https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm
Related calculators
Ducts past saving? Use the ductwork replacement cost calculator, or the ductwork installation cost calculator for a house without ducts. Replacing the furnace or air conditioner as well? Price the whole system on the HVAC installation cost calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How much does air duct cleaning cost?
Most pros charge by the vent: $25–$50 for each supply vent and $40–$75 for each return. A home with 10 supply vents and 2 returns comes to $330–$650. Whole-house prices vary a lot by publisher, so this calculator counts your vents instead of using one flat figure.
How much does duct sealing cost?
Sealing reachable ducts by hand with mastic and foil tape costs $400–$1,900 for a whole house, according to HomeAdvisor. Aerosol sealing, where a sealant mist is blown through the ducts from the inside, costs $1,300–$2,700 on the same page. A leakage test before you seal costs $200–$450.
What does cleaning and sealing a typical home cost together?
Take a 2,000 square foot home with one system, 10 supply vents and 2 returns. Cleaning is $330–$650 and hand sealing is $400–$1,900, so the total is $730 to $2,550. The middle of that range is $1,640. That middle figure is this calculator's own midpoint, not a published number.
Is air duct cleaning worth it?
Only in some cases. The EPA says duct cleaning has never been shown to actually prevent health problems, and it does not recommend cleaning on a routine schedule. It suggests cleaning when there is visible mold inside hard ducts, when pests have got into the ducts, or when they are clogged with dust and debris.
Is sealing ducts worth it?
Often, if your ducts run through an attic, crawl space or unheated basement. ENERGY STAR says about 20 to 30 percent of the air moving through a typical duct system is lost to leaks, holes and poorly connected ducts. It recommends sealing with mastic or metal foil tape, and insulating the ducts you can reach in attics, crawl spaces, unfinished basements and garages.
What is the difference between duct cleaning and duct sealing?
Cleaning takes dust and debris out of the inside of the ducts. Sealing closes the gaps and loose joints that let air leak out. They fix different problems: cleaning does not stop leaks, and sealing does not remove dust.
Can I seal my own ducts?
ENERGY STAR recommends sealing the ducts you can reach with mastic sealant or metal foil tape, and says never to use cloth duct tape because it does not last. It also recommends working with a professional contractor. This calculator prices sealing as a pro job only.
How much does it cost to insulate ducts?
Angi puts wrapping ducts in a crawl space or attic at $1,000–$2,700. HomeGuide prints a wider $1,000 to $4,500. ENERGY STAR suggests insulating ducts you can reach in attics, crawl spaces, unfinished basements and garages.