AC replacement cost
Updated 2026-11-07 · By the HVAC Service Estimator team
Replacing just the air conditioning side of a split system - outdoor condenser, indoor evaporator coil, line set work and a new pad - typically runs about $3,900 to $7,900 installed according to 2026 cost guides. If the furnace or air handler is going at the same time, you are buying a full system, and Angi's 2026 guide puts that national average at about $7,500 with a full range of $5,000 to $22,000.
What an AC replacement costs
A central air conditioning changeout is two line items wearing one price tag. The equipment is a material cost - a condenser, a matched evaporator coil, a pad, a line set or a flush of the existing one, a filter drier. The installation is labor: recovering the old refrigerant, cutting and brazing, pulling a deep vacuum, wiring, and commissioning the system so it actually delivers its rated capacity. A quote that does not separate those two things is hiding something.
| Scope | Typical installed cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Central AC only, condenser plus coil | $3,900-$7,900 | 2026 cost guide figure for the cooling side alone |
| Full system, AC plus furnace - average | About $7,500 | Angi 2026 national average |
| Full system, common band | $7,000-$15,000 | Where most 2026 quotes land |
| Full system, full published range | $5,000-$22,000 | Angi 2026; top end is large or multi-system homes |
| Gas furnace portion, if replaced with it | $3,800-$10,000 | Angi 2026, excluding ductwork, gas line and thermostat |
| Gas furnace, 80% single-stage, as a reference | $5,093-$5,481 | Trane's own published pricing guide |
Those ranges come from Angi's 2026 replacement guide, Trane's manufacturer pricing guide and 2026 aggregated cost guides. Note what Angi's furnace range explicitly excludes: ductwork, gas line work and a thermostat. Those are separate line items on a real quote, and on an older house they are often the items that move the total.
What you are actually paying for
Equipment - a material line
Tonnage and efficiency drive the equipment price. A 2-ton single-stage unit and a 5-ton variable-speed unit are not in the same price class, and neither are their matched coils. Variable-speed and two-stage equipment costs more up front and runs longer at lower capacity, which is what makes it quieter and better at removing humidity.
Refrigerant type
New equipment ships on R-454B, the lower-GWP refrigerant that has replaced R-410A in new residential systems. R-410A systems are still everywhere and still serviceable, but they are no longer what a new condenser arrives charged with. This matters for your quote in two ways: a new R-454B condenser cannot be mated to an R-410A indoor coil, and if your existing system is R-22, like-for-like repair is not a real option any more.
Installation labor
The install is where a good contractor earns the difference. Refrigerant has to be recovered legally, not vented. Joints get brazed under nitrogen so the inside of the tubing does not oxidize. The system is then evacuated to roughly 500 microns and held there to prove it is dry and tight, and the charge is weighed in rather than guessed at. Skipping the vacuum is the single most common corner cut, and it shows up as a compressor failure years later.
Permits and inspection
A changeout is permitted work in most jurisdictions. The permit is real, the inspection is real, and a contractor who proposes skipping it is proposing to leave you with unpermitted mechanical work on your house. Expect it as a line item.
What else has to be rebuilt
- Sheet metal transition between the furnace or air handler and the new coil
- Condensate drain, trap and often a new secondary pan or float switch
- Electrical: disconnect, whip, and sometimes a breaker change for a different MCA
- A new pad, and on some sites a hurricane or seismic strap
- Line set flush or replacement, plus a new filter drier
Sizing: insist on a Manual J
The most expensive mistake in this whole process is buying the wrong size. An oversized AC short-cycles, never runs long enough to pull humidity out of the air, and leaves you with a cold clammy house and a shorter compressor life. Undersized equipment runs constantly and never catches up on design days.
The correct answer is a Manual J load calculation based on your house - square footage, orientation, window area and type, insulation, infiltration, duct location. Not a rule of thumb per square foot, and never a size quoted off a photograph of the old nameplate. "Same as what's there" is an assumption, not a calculation: the old unit may have been wrong for thirty years. A contractor who will not confirm the load calculation is the one to drop from your list.
Commissioning: the part that separates quotes
Ask every bidder what they do after the system starts. The answer should include measuring superheat and subcooling to verify the charge, checking total external static pressure to confirm the duct system can move the required airflow, verifying the actual blower CFM, and documenting it. On a gas furnace replaced at the same time, add a combustion analysis. These numbers should be written on a startup sheet and handed to you. If nobody measures, nobody knows whether you got the capacity you paid for.
Repair or replace?
Fixr's 2026 data puts the average central AC repair at about $375, with most repairs between $250 and $700 - see AC repair cost. Against a $3,900 to $7,900 replacement, a lot of repairs are obviously worth doing. The calculation changes when:
- The compressor has failed. Angi puts compressor replacement at $800 to $3,000 and Homeyou's 2026 data at $1,679 to $3,687, averaging $2,487. On a system over about 12 years old, that is a large fraction of a new system. See AC compressor replacement cost.
- The system runs R-22. Repair is impractical regardless of the dollar figure, because the refrigerant supply is the constraint.
- There is a leak in the evaporator coil or the line set. Fixr puts refrigerant leak repair at $200 to $1,600, averaging about $800, and Homeyou at $837. A coil replacement on an old system usually points at a changeout instead - see refrigerant leak repair cost.
How to get a quote you can compare
Get three quotes and make them comparable. Ask each contractor for the tonnage and the model numbers of both the condenser and the coil, the Manual J result, whether a permit is included, what they do about the line set and the drier, and what commissioning measurements they will document. With HVAC Service Estimator HVAC+ you can itemize equipment, installation labor, permit and accessory lines separately at local rates before you pick up the phone, so you can see which bidder has left something out. Any app estimate is informational - the quote that counts is the one from the contractor who has walked your mechanical room and run the load.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to replace just the outdoor AC unit?
Changing only the condenser is cheaper in parts but it is rarely the right call. The outdoor unit and the indoor evaporator coil are a matched pair, rated together, and on a modern refrigerant they usually have to be replaced together to hold a warranty and to perform as rated. A full AC-only changeout - condenser plus coil plus install - is the $3,900 to $7,900 job that 2026 guides describe; a condenser-only swap onto an old coil is a compromise your contractor should explain in writing before you accept it.
Why is the range from $5,000 to $22,000 so wide?
Angi's 2026 range covers everything from a straightforward single-zone changeout in an accessible basement to a large home with multiple systems, high-efficiency variable-speed equipment, new ductwork, electrical upgrades and difficult access. Tonnage, efficiency, how much of the old install has to be rebuilt, and local labor rates all move the number. The average of about $7,500 is a far better planning figure than either end of that range.
Should I replace the AC and furnace at the same time?
Often yes, if both are near the end of their life. The indoor coil sits on top of the furnace or inside the air handler, so the technician is already in there, the sheet metal transition gets built once, and you pay one trip charge and one permit. Angi's 2026 figures put a gas furnace alone at $3,800 to $10,000, so the overlap with the $7,500 full-system average is real. If the furnace is young and healthy, there is no reason to throw it away.
Is my old R-22 system worth repairing instead?
Usually not. R-22 is no longer produced, the remaining stock is expensive, and a leak repair on an R-22 system means paying premium refrigerant prices into a system that is already past its design life. Any R-22 unit that needs a compressor or a serious leak repair is a replacement candidate, not a repair candidate, because the money goes into equipment that cannot be recharged affordably for the rest of its life.
Sources
- Angi - Insider's price guide to a new heating and cooling system (2026)
- Trane - Pricing guide
- Fixr - Central air conditioner repair cost (2026)
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