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Home Inspection Cost Calculator
The inspector's own fee is the easy part: $300–$500 for a single-family house, on a $400 national average. What catches buyers is everything the general inspection does not cover — the sewer camera, the radon canister, the mould lab — each of which is a separate booking with a separate bill. Price the whole stack below, not just the visit.
Educational calculators — always consult a licensed professional before making financial decisions.
Finished floor area in square feet — the figure on the listing.
This is a cross-check on the figure above, not a surcharge on it.
$300–$500 published, on a $400 national average. The default case for every figure on this page.
Select all that apply. These are separately invoiced, so they genuinely add on.
This changes nothing in the price. It changes which tests are worth buying.
Past lead, but the lateral, furnace and panel are all at or past design life. Polybutylene supply pipe is worth naming to your inspector.
Total inspection budget
$360 – $500
Single-family house · 2,000 sq ft · built 1978–1999
A typical closing-cost estimate — including our own — carries home inspection as a flat $400 line. Yours comes to $360–$500, which is up to $100 more. That gap is the money buyers actually get caught by, and it is the only figure on this page no source publishes — it is your stack minus that $400 assumption.
Built 1978–1999: you have not selected sewer scope ($200–$1,000) or radon test ($125–$400). That is a recommendation about what is worth testing at this age, not a price change — nothing here has been added to your total. Past the lead paint ban, but old enough that the sewer lateral, the original furnace and the electrical panel are all at or past their design life. Polybutylene supply pipe was installed widely until the mid-1990s and is worth asking the inspector to look for by name.
Where the money goes
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The $400 everyone budgets is the base fee, not the bill
Almost every closing-cost estimate on the internet carries home inspection as one flat line of about $400. Ours does too, and that figure is not wrong: it is Fixr's national average for a general inspection and it is the same $400 NerdWallet attributes to the National Association of Realtors. It is just not the whole thing.
A general inspection is visual and non-invasive. The inspector looks at what is accessible — structure, roof, exterior, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, insulation, interiors — and writes it up. Anything requiring a lab, a camera, or a different licence is out of scope by definition, and that is where the money goes: a sewer scope at $200–$1,000, a radon test at $125–$400, mould sampling at $450–$800, a structural engineer at $300–$1,000.
Order two or three of those and the tests cost more than the inspection. On a 2,000 sq ft house with radon and a sewer scope the real number is $685–$1,900 against a budgeted $400 — and unlike most closing costs, this one is paid to the inspector at the time of service, out of pocket, weeks before you get to the closing table. The calculator above prints that gap because it is the part that actually catches people.
What a general inspection costs, by floor area
Floor area sets the fee because it sets how long the inspector is in the building. Fixr publishes the rate as $0.18–$0.25 per square foot, and multiplying it out reproduces their published size table row for row — the table below is theirs, not a derivation of ours.
| Home size | General inspection | With radon + sewer scope |
|---|---|---|
| 800 sq ft | $145–$200 | $470–$1,600 |
| 1,000 sq ft | $180–$250 | $505–$1,650 |
| 1,200 sq ft | $215–$300 | $540–$1,700 |
| 1,400 sq ft | $250–$350 | $575–$1,750 |
| 1,600 sq ft | $290–$400 | $615–$1,800 |
| 1,800 sq ft | $325–$450 | $650–$1,850 |
| 2,000 sq ft | $360–$500 | $685–$1,900 |
| 2,200 sq ft | $395–$550 | $720–$1,950 |
The middle column is Fixr's, verbatim. The right-hand column is the only derived figure here — the same row plus the two most commonly ordered add-ons at their published prices ($125–$400 and $200–$1,000), which is $325 at the bottom and $1,400 at the top. Above 2,200 sq ft, the largest row Fixr prints, the calculator extends their stated per-square-foot rate rather than a published row, and it says so on screen when you go past it.
Property type is a second view of the same fee, not a surcharge
Fixr publishes cost by home type as well as by size: a condo is $200–$400, a townhouse $300–$500, a single-family house $300–$500, a mobile or manufactured home $250–$400, and a multi-family $400–$800. Reading those as additive to the size figure is the easiest way to over-budget this page by a few hundred dollars, so this calculator never does it.
The size table is the finer instrument, so it does the arithmetic. The type band is used as a cross-check: when the area-derived fee lands entirely outside the published band for that property type, the calculator says so and leaves the number alone. That case is real rather than theoretical — a 1,200 sq ft duplex prices at $216–$300 by area, while the published multi-family band starts at $400, because a duplex has two furnaces, two panels and two sets of everything to inspect regardless of its footprint.
The specialty tests, and which are worth buying
| Test | Cost | What it looks for |
|---|---|---|
| Radon test | $125–$400 | A 48-hour canister or continuous monitor measuring radon gas in the lowest lived-in level. Mitigation, if it fails, is a separate four-figure job. |
| Sewer scope | $200–$1,000 | A camera run down the lateral from the house to the main, looking for root intrusion, bellies and collapsed clay. The single add-on most likely to find a five-figure problem. |
| Termite / WDO inspection | $150–$350 | Wood-destroying organism report. Required by VA loans in most states and by many lenders in the South. NerdWallet's 2026 page puts a termite inspection at around $100 — well under Fixr's band. |
| Mould inspection and air sampling | $450–$800 | Surface and air samples sent to a lab. Ordered when there is visible growth, a musty smell, or a known water intrusion. NerdWallet's 2026 page puts mould inspection at $200 to over $600, scaling with home size. |
| Pool and spa inspection | $150–$300 | Shell, liner, pump, heater, filtration and the safety barrier. General inspectors almost always exclude the pool from the base fee. |
| Septic inspection | $150–$300 | Tank, baffles and whether the drain field is still accepting water. Not optional on a property with no municipal sewer connection. |
| Well and water quality test | $300–$500 | Flow rate plus a lab panel for bacteria, nitrates and local contaminants. Goes with the septic test on a rural property. |
| Structural / foundation inspection | $300–$1,000 | A structural engineer's opinion, ordered when the general inspector flags movement. This is the one add-on you usually order after the inspection, not before. NerdWallet's 2026 page puts a foundation inspection at generally about $500. |
If you buy exactly one of these, buy the sewer scope. The lateral running from the house to the municipal main is yours, it is not examined during a general inspection at all, and replacing one is a five-figure job. Everything else on the list is conditional: radon is a geology question, the pool and septic and well tests only apply if you have those things, and the structural opinion is normally ordered after a general inspection flags movement rather than before.
What this calculator assumes, stated plainly
- The arithmetic is Fixr's, and its page is dated January 2025. Every dollar figure computed here comes from Fixr's cost tables, read directly on 3 September 2026, and that page carries a last-updated date of 31 January 2025. So these are early-2025 tables, and this site says so rather than dressing them as fresh survey data. What gives some confidence they have not moved: NerdWallet's February 2026 pages put the standard inspection at the same $400 average, attributed to the National Association of Realtors.
- Where the two publishers disagree, both are shown. NerdWallet's 2026 figures are materially lower on three tests — termite around $100 against Fixr's $150–$350, mould $200 to over $600 against $450–$800, and foundation about $500 against $300–$1,000. Averaging two publishers into a third number nobody printed is not something this site does, so the arithmetic uses Fixr throughout — read it as the conservative end — and NerdWallet's figure is printed next to the item that carries it.
- Age steers, it does not multiply. Neither source prices an inspector's fee by year built, so no age multiplier exists here. The year-built question changes which tests the results recommend, and nothing else. That mapping — lead paint legal until 1978, asbestos common into the early 1980s, clay laterals the pre-1980 norm — is construction and regulatory history, not a Fixr table, and it is labelled as such rather than credited to them.
- No bundle discount is applied. Inspectors routinely discount a package of add-ons and no cited source publishes a rate for it. Add-ons are summed at their published single-booking prices, which makes the total the number a bundle should beat.
- Not modelled: regional pricing (both publishers quote national figures), re-inspection fees after repairs, new-construction phase inspections, 11-month warranty inspections, lead and asbestos testing (Fixr prices those at $350–$500 and $250–$750 but they are ordered from abatement specialists, not your home inspector), and the cost of anything the inspection actually finds. That last one is the real risk, and no calculator can price it in advance. If the finding is suspected asbestos, the asbestos removal cost calculator prices the test, removal by material and encapsulation separately.
Related calculators
The inspection is one line in a much longer list of things due before you get the keys — the closing costs calculator prices the rest of them, and carries inspection as the flat $400 line this page exists to correct. Once you own the place, the true cost of homeownership calculator takes over, because an inspection report is mostly a list of future maintenance with dates attached.
If the inspection turns something up, price the repair before you negotiate: the sewer line replacement cost calculator is the one to reach for when the scope comes back bad, and the septic system cost calculator covers the other half of a rural property's waste system.
Two findings are worth a document check before a price check. If the report flags foundation movement, read what a foundation repair estimate should cover before you accept the first bid — the scope matters as much as the price. If it flags mould, read whether homeowners insurance covers mold remediation before you assume it's a claim rather than an out-of-pocket repair.
Methodology & sources
The cost figures on this page are generated from a single, sourced cost-data file (A buyer's general home inspection in a US residential sale — the visual, non-invasive examination of structure, roof, exterior, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, insulation and interiors that an inspector performs before closing, priced as the inspector's own fee. Specialty tests (radon, sewer scope, termite/WDO, mould, pool, septic, well and foundation) are separately ordered and separately invoiced, so they are priced as named add-on line items rather than folded into the base fee. Figures are US national and reflect Fixr's cost tables as published 31 January 2025, corroborated against NerdWallet pages dated 2 February 2026.). Fixr puts the national average at $400 on a $300-$500 typical range for a single-family home, and NerdWallet's 2026 page reports the same $400 average attributed to the National Association of Realtors. The wider $200-$800 headline is the span across property types: a condo starts lower because there is less building to inspect, and a multi-family costs more because a duplex has two of everything. Fixr's size table and type table are two cuts of the same single fee and are never added together here. Add-on tests are additive because they are separately ordered and separately invoiced, but a bundle booked with one inspector should come in under the sum of the singles — no published bundle rate exists, so none is applied. Last verified September 2026.
- Fixr.com — Home Inspection Cost (page last updated 31 Jan 2025) — retrieved 2026-09-03
- NerdWallet — What to Expect From a Home Inspection (page updated 2 Feb 2026) — retrieved 2026-09-03
- NerdWallet — Types of Home Inspections Buyers Should Know (page updated 2 Feb 2026) — retrieved 2026-09-03
Frequently asked questions
How much does a home inspection cost?+
A general home inspection runs $200–$800 depending on the property, with a single-family house at $300–$500 and a national average of $400. Fixr publishes the underlying rate as $0.18 to $0.25 per square foot, so a 2,000 sq ft house works out at $360–$500 and a 1,200 sq ft one at $216–$300. A condo is $200–$400 because the association owns the roof and the envelope, and a multi-family is $400–$800 because each unit has its own mechanicals. NerdWallet's 2026 page reports the same $400 average, attributed to the National Association of Realtors.
What do radon, sewer scope and termite inspections cost on top?+
They are booked and invoiced separately from the general inspection, so they genuinely add on: a radon test is $125–$400, a sewer scope $200–$1,000, a termite or wood-destroying-organism report $150–$350, mould inspection with air sampling $450–$800, a pool and spa inspection $150–$300, a septic inspection $150–$300, a well and water quality test $300–$500, and a structural engineer's foundation opinion $300–$1,000. Order two or three of those and the specialty tests cost more than the inspection itself. Inspectors commonly discount a package, but no cited source publishes a bundle rate, so treat the sum of the singles as the number a bundle should beat.
Is a sewer scope worth it?+
It is the add-on with the best odds of paying for itself, and it is the one most buyers skip. A general inspection is visual and non-invasive, which means the lateral running from the house to the municipal main — the pipe you own and are about to inherit — is not examined at all. A $200–$1,000 camera run finds root intrusion, bellies and collapsed clay before you own them, and a replacement lateral is a five-figure job. On any house with a pre-1980 lateral, that trade is not close.
Does an older home cost more to inspect?+
Not for the general inspection: neither source cited on this page prices an inspector's fee by year built, and this calculator does not invent an age multiplier. What age changes is which specialty tests are worth buying, and that is where an older home genuinely costs more. Lead paint was legal in US homes until 1978 and asbestos stayed common in flooring, pipe lagging and textured ceilings into the early 1980s, so a pre-1978 house adds tests a 2015 house does not need. A fifty-year-old clay sewer lateral is the strongest case for a camera run there is. A newer build shifts the risk to workmanship — grading, flashing, whether the HVAC was ever commissioned — which the general inspection already covers.
Is the home inspection included in closing costs?+
It is normally listed there, but the buyer pays the inspector directly at the time of service rather than at the closing table, and almost every closing-cost estimate — including this site's own — carries it as a single flat line of about $400. That figure is the correct national average for a general inspection and it has no specialty tests in it. A buyer who orders a radon test and a sewer scope on a 2,000 sq ft house is looking at $685–$1,900 rather than $400, and the gap is money that has to be liquid before closing. That is the number this calculator exists to show.
Does a bigger house cost more to inspect?+
Yes, roughly in proportion to floor area, because area is what sets how long the inspector is in the building. Fixr's published rate of $0.18 to $0.25 per square foot reproduces their whole published size table: $145–$200 at 800 sq ft, $180–$250 at 1,000, $290–$400 at 1,600, $360–$500 at 2,000 and $395–$550 at 2,200. Above 2,200 sq ft that rate is being extended rather than read from a published row, so on a large house get the fee quoted before you book. Property type is a second published cut of the same fee, not a surcharge on top of it — a duplex is not the area figure plus a multi-family figure.
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Home Inspection Cost Calculator is built and maintained by the RealCostIQ editorial team. Cost ranges and rates are checked against published industry data and contractor quotes, and revised when the underlying figures move. Read our data methodology or more about who builds this. Every calculation runs in your browser — no account, and none of your inputs are stored.
Cost ranges and rates here are checked against contractor quotes and published industry data. If a number still looks off, email Support@RealCostIQ.com and we'll review and fix it.