Most inspectors publish a price table by square footage. That table should come from your hours: time on site, time writing the report, and the calls and scheduling around it. Older homes, crawl spaces and add-on tests change the hours, so they change the price.
- Count report time as part of the job. It is often as long as the walk-through.
- Fixr puts home inspections at $300 to $500, about $400 on average.
- Fixr lists $0.18 to $0.25 a square foot, or $360 to $500 for a 2,000 square foot home.
- A 4-point inspection is about $125 in Fixr's guide.
- Take the fee at booking. Buyers on a contract deadline will pay up front.
Setting your hourly cost
Start with the wage. The closest group the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes is construction and building inspectors, the closest group BLS publishes. In its May 2025 wage survey, that group's national mean wage was $37.37 an hour and the median was $35.91 (BLS OEWS 47-4011).
Add your labor burden on top: payroll taxes, workers' comp and any paid time off. If burden in your state comes to 20% of wages, a $37 an hour tech costs you $44.40 an hour. That loaded number is what goes into the job cost.
Published home inspection prices
| Inspection | Published price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Home inspection, typical | $300 to $500 | Fixr |
| Average full inspection | About $400 | Fixr |
| Per square foot | $0.18 to $0.25 | Fixr |
| 1,000 sq ft home | $180 to $250 | Fixr |
| 2,000 sq ft home | $360 to $500 | Fixr |
| 2,200 sq ft home | $395 to $550 | Fixr |
| 4-point inspection | About $125 | Fixr |
A worked example: a 2,200 square foot home built in 1985
Every input is an assumption for the example.
- Time: three hours on site, two hours on the report and half an hour on scheduling and calls, at $44.40 an hour.
- Costs per inspection: $15 for report software, $25 toward errors and omissions insurance, $10 for tool wear.
- Driving at 76 cents a mile, the IRS business rate for the second half of 2026 (IRS standard mileage rates).
- Overhead 20% of the price and profit 15%.
- On site, report and scheduling: 5.5 hours x $44.40 = $244.20
- Report software, per inspection: $15
- Errors and omissions insurance, per inspection: $25
- Tools and camera wear: $10
- Drive: 30 miles x $0.76 = $22.80
- Direct cost: $244.20 + $15 + $25 + $10 + $22.80 = $317
- Overhead plus profit: 20% + 15% = 35% of the price
- Price: $317 / (1 - 0.35) = $317 / 0.65 = $488
Check it: 35% of $488 is about $171, and $488 minus $171 is about $317, the direct cost of $317. The profit and overhead are inside the price, not added on top of a cost you guessed.
Fixr lists $395 to $550 for a 2,200 square foot home, so $488 lands in range.
Build your price table
- Base fee for homes up to a set size, from the example above.
- Size steps every 500 or 1,000 square feet, priced from the extra time.
- Age adds time for older wiring, plumbing and framing.
- Crawl spaces and detached buildings priced by the visit.
- Add-ons such as radon, sewer scope or mold sampling, each from its own cost.
Take the fee when they book: set Koira's deposit to the full fee and the buyer signs and pays on one page. Booking by text gets the agent a time in one reply, and the reviews engine asks for a review after.
Common home inspection pricing mistakes
- Report time unpriced. Two hours at the desk is part of every job.
- One price for every age. A 1920s house takes longer than a 2015 one.
- Re-inspections free. A return trip is a trip.
- Paid at the closing table. Some deals fall through. Take the fee at booking.
Sources
Every published figure on this page was read on the source page itself on the date shown. Worked example inputs are assumptions, labeled as such.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025, Construction and Building Inspectors (47-4011), checked October 9, 2026
- Fixr: Home inspection cost, checked October 9, 2026
- IRS: Standard mileage rates, checked October 9, 2026
Questions contractors ask
How much should I charge for a home inspection?
Build a base fee from your hours on site and on the report, then add size and age steps. Fixr lists $300 to $500, about $400 on average.
What does a home inspection cost per square foot?
Fixr lists $0.18 to $0.25 a square foot.
What does a 4-point inspection cost?
Fixr puts it at about $125.
Should I charge more for older homes?
Yes, if they take you longer. Price the extra hours.
