Typical prices for appliance repair
These are consumer-facing figures from 2026 cost guides, not rules. They show where the market sits so you can tell whether your price is far above or below it.
| What is priced | Published 2026 range |
|---|---|
| Service call and diagnosis (Housecall Pro / HomeGuide) | $70 – $130 |
| Service call, average (Thumbtack) | $60 – $95; some pros charge $40 – $60, others over $100 |
| Service fee by appliance (HomeAdvisor) | dishwasher $35 – $100, dryer $50 – $80, refrigerator $150 – $200 |
| Hourly labor (HomeAdvisor / HomeGuide) | $50 – $150 / $50 – $125 |
| Hourly labor, average (Thumbtack / Housecall Pro) | about $75 / about $54 |
| Typical repair (HomeAdvisor) | $108 – $252 |
| Garbage disposal (Thumbtack average) | $120 |
| Dryer (Thumbtack average / HomeAdvisor range) | $170 / $100 – $430 |
| Dishwasher, microwave (Thumbtack average) | $220 each |
| Washer (Thumbtack average) | $224 |
| Oven (Thumbtack average) | $241 |
| Refrigerator (Thumbtack average / Angi 2026) | $250 / $150 – $400 |
| Emergency call-out (HomeGuide, as reported by Zarla) | $140 – $400 |
The sources disagree, partly because they count different things. HomeAdvisor's refrigerator guide puts repairs at $300 – $1,000, while Angi's April 2026 guide says $150 – $400, because compressor and sealed-system jobs are a different kind of repair from a switch or a fan. Compare several sources and your local competitors before you set a rate.
Diagnostic fee, hourly rate, or flat price
- Service call or diagnostic fee. Covers the drive, the visit and finding the fault. Say up front whether it is credited toward the repair if the customer approves the work. Thumbtack's own advice to customers is to ask about this.
- Hourly labor plus parts. Fits jobs where the time is hard to predict. Show the part, its price and the hours as separate lines.
- Flat price per repair. Works for common fixes you have done many times, such as a dryer thermal fuse or a dishwasher pump. Quote it after diagnosis, before any work begins.
What moves the price
- The fault, not the appliance. A switch or thermal fuse and a sealed-system or control-board repair are very different jobs.
- Parts cost and availability. Premium brands and special-order parts raise the quote.
- Travel. Add a trip fee or a larger fee for distant customers.
- Gas or electrical work. Gas appliances usually need extra care and sometimes extra licensing. Check your local rules.
- Emergency and same-day visits. Charge a flat emergency fee on top of the normal rate.
- Repair or replace. If the quote is a large share of the cost of a new unit, say so honestly and let the customer decide.
Check the price against your costs
Add paid labor for the visit, drive time, the van, insurance, software, the unbillable hours and overhead, then divide by the hours you can really bill. See how to calculate labor cost and your overhead rate, and use the hourly rate calculator to find your floor.
A worked quote
A dishwasher repair using example rates (yours will differ). The diagnostic visit is $90. After diagnosis the fix is a replacement pump: 1.5 hours of labor at $90 per hour is $135.00. The pump costs you $60 and you mark it up 30%, so the customer pays $60 × 1.30 = $78.00. The customer approves the repair, so the $90 diagnostic fee is credited.
| Diagnostic visit | $90.00 |
| Labor, 1.5 hours × $90 | $135.00 |
| Replacement pump, $60 + 30% markup | $78.00 |
| Diagnostic fee credited | −$90.00 |
| Total | $213.00 |
|---|
Check it against the market: $90 for the visit sits inside the $70 to $130 range, $90 per hour is inside HomeAdvisor's $50 to $150 and HomeGuide's $50 to $125 labor ranges, a 30% part markup is inside the 20% to 50% range Housecall Pro suggests for materials, and $213 is near Thumbtack's $220 dishwasher average and inside HomeAdvisor's $108 to $252 typical repair. These figures are examples, not recommended prices.
Common mistakes
- Not saying whether the diagnostic fee is credited, which leads to arguments at the door.
- Quoting before you know the fault, then eating the cost of a bigger repair.
- Giving one lump sum without a parts line, so the customer cannot tell what they are paying for.
- Skipping a written estimate. Read how to write a contractor estimate for what to include.
Turn the numbers into a quote
Build the quote with the free estimate and invoice maker: list the diagnostic, labor and parts as separate lines and save a PDF. No sign-up.
Sources
- HomeAdvisor, appliance, dishwasher, dryer and refrigerator repair cost guides, 2026 (homeadvisor.com).
- Thumbtack, Appliance Repair Cost, updated March 2026, and its appliance repair FAQ (thumbtack.com).
- HomeGuide and Housecall Pro appliance repair pages, as summarized by Zarla (zarla.com) and Bella FSM (bellafsm.com); Angi, refrigerator repair cost, April 2026, as summarized by appliancenews.org.
Prices are published averages read in November 2026 and vary by region. Read from search excerpts and secondary summaries, not full pages. For planning only. This is not accounting, tax or legal advice.