Deck cost calculator

Enter the deck size, pick the boards, and add railings, stairs and the permit. See the low, typical and high price for your state, with materials and labor priced separately so you can see where the money goes.

$29.50Typical per sq ft, pressure-treated, installed

$36.75Typical per sq ft, composite, installed

4 guidesCombined into one range

Deck cost

$7,398 to $15,970

Typical $11,684 (US average)

$36.51Per sq ft, all in, typical

$7,398Low

$15,970High

Free. Your numbers become an estimate you can send from your phone.

How we got this

Pressure-treated pine, materials$3.00 to $6.00 a sq ft (typical $4.50)Fixr $3 to $8, HomeAdvisor $2 to $5, Modernize $3 to $6. Low = middle of the lows, high = middle of the highs, typical = middle of the midpoints.
Build labor$15.00 to $35.00 a sq ft (typical $25.00)HomeAdvisor, Modernize and Bob Vila all put deck labor at $15 to $35 a sq ft.
Installed, before extras$18.00 to $41.00 a sq ft (typical $29.50)Materials plus labor. Bob Vila's all-in range is $30 to $60 a sq ft and Fixr's is $15 to $55, depending on the material.
Wood railing40 ft × $35 to $55 a foot (typical $45)Fixr's installed prices and Bob Vila's prices averaged.
Stairs3 steps × $25.00 to $50.00 a step (typical $37.50)Bob Vila and HomeAdvisor give $25 to $50 a step, Fixr $75 to $200 installed. The middle of the three. Custom stringers and landings cost more.
Permit$163 to $500 (typical $331)Fixr, HomeAdvisor, Modernize and Bob Vila: $100 to $500 depending on the town. Not scaled by ZIP; call your building department for the exact fee.
RegionUS average prices (no ZIP entered)Enter a ZIP to scale the labor part of the price to your state's wages.
Total$7,398 to $15,970, typical $11,684

Item	Qty	Low	Typical	High
Decking and framing materials, pressure-treated pine	320 sq ft	$960	$1,440	$1,920
Deck build labor	320 sq ft	$4,800	$8,000	$11,200
Wood railing	40 ft	$1,400	$1,800	$2,200
Deck stairs	3 steps	$75	$113	$150
Building permit	1	$163	$331	$500
Total		$7,398	$11,684	$15,970

Sources: Fixr, cost to build a deck; HomeAdvisor, cost to build a deck; Modernize, deck cost; Bob Vila, how much does it cost to build a deck; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (state and national files); US Census Bureau, 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area to county relationship file. Checked 2026-10-08.

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Key takeaways

Labor is most of a deck. Three guides put it at $15 to $35 a square foot, whatever the boards.
Pressure-treated pine is the cheapest board at about $3 to $6 a sq ft. Composite runs about $7 to $16.50.
A typical 16 × 20 ft pressure-treated deck with a wood railing, a few steps and a permit costs about $7,400 to $16,000.
Railings, stairs, a raised frame and tearing out an old deck are each priced on top. Ask for them as lines.

How much does it cost to build a deck per square foot

A deck price has two parts: the materials, which change a lot with the board you choose, and the labor to dig footings, frame it and lay the boards, which changes much less. We priced them separately, because that is how a builder thinks about it and because only the labor part changes with local wages.

Material prices come from four cost guides (Fixr, HomeAdvisor, Modernize and Bob Vila). For each board, the low is the middle of the guides' lows, the high is the middle of their highs, and the typical price is the middle of their midpoints. Labor is $15 to $35 a sq ft in HomeAdvisor, Modernize and Bob Vila alike.

Boards	Materials per sq ft	Installed per sq ft	320 sq ft, typical
Pressure-treated pine	$3 to $6	$18 to $41	$9,440
Cedar	$4 to $9	$19 to $44	$10,080
Redwood	$4.50 to $10.50	$19.50 to $45.50	$10,560
PVC or vinyl	$6 to $14	$21 to $49	$11,200
Composite	$7 to $16.50	$22 to $51.50	$11,760
Ipe or tropical hardwood	$9 to $20	$24 to $55	$12,400

The 320 sq ft column is the deck alone, before railings, stairs or a permit. For comparison, Fixr puts a typical deck at $9,000 to $20,000, about $14,000 for 320 sq ft, and HomeAdvisor's average is $8,320, with most owners spending $4,339 to $12,653. Bob Vila's all-in rule of thumb is $30 to $60 a sq ft.

Deck cost by size

Here is what common deck sizes come to at the typical installed rates above, for the platform only. Railings, stairs and a permit come on top.

Size	Area	Pressure-treated, typical	Composite, typical
8 × 10 ft	80 sq ft	$2,360	$2,940
10 × 10 ft	100 sq ft	$2,950	$3,675
12 × 12 ft	144 sq ft	$4,248	$5,292
12 × 16 ft	192 sq ft	$5,664	$7,056
16 × 20 ft	320 sq ft	$9,440	$11,760
20 × 20 ft	400 sq ft	$11,800	$14,700

The guides' own size tables land in the same places. Modernize lists a 10 × 10 ft deck at $3,000 to $6,000, 12 × 16 ft at $5,500 to $10,000 and 16 × 20 ft at $8,000 to $14,000. Bob Vila puts an 8 × 10 ft deck at $2,400 to $4,800 and a 10 × 16 ft deck at $4,800 to $9,600. Fixr's 12 × 12 ft range is wider, $2,160 to $7,920, because it spans every material from pine to tropical hardwood.

Stairs, the ledger, the permit and the time to set up cost about the same on any deck, so add them to the per-foot price rather than assuming they scale with the area. Shape matters too: an L-shaped or multi-level deck has more corners, more railing and more cuts than a plain rectangle of the same area, and it takes longer to frame.

Before settling on a size, think about what goes on it. Set the table and chairs you plan to use out on the lawn, pull the chairs back as if people were sitting, and measure around them with a tape before you settle on a size. A grill needs its own corner, clear of the house siding. A hot tub needs a frame designed for its weight, which Fixr lists as a separate $4,000 to $8,500 installation.

Wood vs composite decking cost

Pressure-treated pine. The cheapest and the most common. It needs cleaning and a stain or sealer every couple of years, and it can check and warp as it weathers.
Cedar and redwood. Naturally resist rot and insects, look warmer and cost a little more. They still need a finish to keep their color. Redwood prices vary most, from $4 to $35 a sq ft depending on the grade, so the typical figure matters more than the range.
Composite. Made of wood fiber and plastic. It costs about two to three times as much as pine for the boards, but it does not need staining and does not splinter. HomeAdvisor gives $25 to $54 a sq ft installed. Trex boards alone run about $5 to $10 a sq ft according to both HomeAdvisor and Bob Vila.
PVC or vinyl. All plastic, light, and resistant to moisture, which suits pools and docks. Prices sit close to composite.
Ipe and tropical hardwoods. Very hard, very long-lasting and heavy to work. Cutting and fastening them takes longer, which is why labor runs high too.

The frame under almost every deck is pressure-treated lumber, whatever the boards on top. A composite deck on a cheap or poorly built frame is still only as good as the frame.

Railings, stairs, height and the other costs

The square-foot price covers the platform. These are on top, and they are where two quotes for the same size deck pull apart.

Item	Typical price	Sources
Wood railing	$35 to $55 a foot	Fixr, Bob Vila
Metal railing	$50 to $85 a foot	Fixr, Bob Vila
Composite railing	$80 to $165 a foot	Fixr, Bob Vila
Stairs	$25 to $50 a step	Bob Vila, HomeAdvisor, Fixr
Raised deck framing	$9 to $12 a sq ft more	HomeAdvisor
Tear out an old deck	$5 to $15 a sq ft	Fixr, HomeAdvisor, Bob Vila
Permit	$100 to $500	Fixr, HomeAdvisor, Modernize, Bob Vila

Height is the big one. Bob Vila puts a ground-level deck at about $10 to $20 a sq ft and a second-story deck at $40 to $50. A raised deck needs deeper footings, longer posts, beams and bracing, a railing all the way round, and stairs. Glass and cable railings cost more than any of the above: Bob Vila lists cable at $115 to $175 a foot and glass at $140 to $210.

A worked example: a 16 × 20 ft pressure-treated deck

A homeowner wants a 320 sq ft deck off the back door in pressure-treated pine, low to the ground, with 40 ft of wood railing, three steps down to the yard and a permit.

Materials. 320 sq ft × $3 / $4.50 / $6 = $960 / $1,440 / $1,920.
Labor. 320 sq ft × $15 / $25 / $35 = $4,800 / $8,000 / $11,200.
Railing. 40 ft × $35 / $45 / $55 = $1,400 / $1,800 / $2,200.
Stairs. 3 steps × $25 / $37.50 / $50 = $75 / $113 / $150.
Permit. $163 / $331 / $500.
Total. $7,398 to $15,970, with about $11,684 typical at the US average.

That lands inside Fixr's $9,000 to $20,000 for a typical deck and a little under its $14,000 example for the same size. Switch the boards to composite and the materials line alone rises by about $2,320 typical. Enter a ZIP in the calculator to scale the labor to your state.

Permits, footings and safety

Most towns want a permit for a deck attached to the house or more than a short step off the ground. The inspector checks the things that make decks fail: the footings, the ledger board that ties the deck to the house and the flashing over it, the size and spacing of the joists and beams, the railing height and strength, and the stairs.

Footings have to go below the frost line where the ground freezes, and be sized for the soil.
The ledger should be bolted through to the house framing, not nailed to the siding, and flashed so water does not rot the rim of the house.
Railings are usually required once the deck is about 30 in off the ground. Check your local code for the height and the gap between balusters.
Call 811 before digging footings, so buried gas, power and water lines are marked.

A deck built without a permit can hold up a home sale later, when the buyer's inspector or the town spots it. Pulling the permit is cheap by comparison.

How deck builders should price a job

If you build decks, the ranges above are what homeowners read before they call. Price from your own numbers.

Take off the materials. Count joists, beams, posts, footings, boards, fasteners, hangers and flashing from the plan, and price them from your supplier. Add waste for cuts.
Price labor in crew-days. Footings, framing, decking, railings and stairs each take a known number of crew-days for a deck of that size and height. Multiply by your loaded cost per day.
Put each part on its own line. Boards, framing, railing, stairs, tear-out and permit as separate lines let the customer trade up or down without asking for a new quote.
Show the board options side by side. Pine, cedar and composite on one estimate is the easiest upsell there is.
Mind the margin. Our profit margin calculator and markup calculator show the price that keeps it.

The "Save as an estimate" button above turns the result into lines. Send it from Koira, and the customer can sign and pay the deposit on their phone.

Last checked October 8, 2026. More for your trade: how remodelers run on Koira.

FAQ

How much does it cost to build a 12 × 12 deck?

A 144 sq ft pressure-treated deck runs about $2,600 to $5,900 for the platform at $18 to $41 a sq ft installed, about $4,250 typical, before railings, stairs or a permit.

How much does a 16 × 20 deck cost?

About $5,760 to $13,120 for the platform in pressure-treated pine, or $7,400 to $16,000 with 40 ft of wood railing, a few steps and a permit.

Is composite decking more expensive than wood?

Yes, for the boards. Composite materials run about $7 to $16.50 a sq ft against $3 to $6 for pressure-treated pine. Labor is similar, so the installed gap is smaller, about $7 a sq ft typical.

What is the labor cost to build a deck per square foot?

HomeAdvisor, Modernize and Bob Vila all put it at $15 to $35 a square foot. Raised decks add about $9 to $12 a sq ft in framing labor.

How much does it cost to tear out an old deck?

About $5 to $15 a square foot including disposal, according to Fixr, HomeAdvisor and Bob Vila.

Do I need a permit to build a deck?

Usually, for a deck attached to the house or raised off the ground. Permits cost about $100 to $500. Check with your building department.

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