Laminate Flooring Cost Calculator

Price a laminate job with this laminate flooring cost calculator: AC grade, thickness, underlayment, subfloor prep, tear-out, trim, stairs and the DIY saving.

By CalcBuilt Editorial TeamUpdated September 9, 2026Formulas checked against manufacturer specs, see how we calculate.

Quick answer: To price a laminate floor, add the planks at their AC grade to underlayment, install labor, subfloor prep, tear-out, trim and stairs. A 400 sq ft room in AC4 10 mm over foam with a vapor barrier, installed with the carpet pulled and 90 ft of quarter round, runs about $2,225 to $4,500, or $5.56 to $11.25 per sq ft.

Your measurements

Plan view from above: area is length times width.

Floor areasq ftEverything the planks cover, closets included. Laminate is sold by the box of 18 to 24 sq ft, so the order rounds up and you keep the remainder as repair stock.Laminate gradeAC is the wear rating and it is the number that decides how long the floor lasts. Typical 2026 US retail per sq ft: AC3 8 mm $1.20 to $2.50, AC3 10 mm $1.70 to $3, AC4 10 mm $2.20 to $3.80, AC4 12 mm $2.80 to $4.50, AC5 12 mm $3.50 to $6.UnderlaymentTypically $0.25 to $0.50 per sq ft for plain foam, $0.40 to $0.85 with a vapor barrier film and $0.75 to $1.50 for cork. Never stack a roll under planks that already carry a pad.Who installs itContractor labor for a floating laminate floor typically runs $2 to $4 per sq ft in 2026. Do it yourself drops that to zero and cuts prep, tear-out and trim to material, but adds tools and a dumpster.Subfloor preparationLaminate click joints need the subfloor flat to 3/16 in over 10 ft. Run a straightedge across the room before ordering; a dip you can rock a level in will pop the joints inside a year.Existing floor to removePriced per square foot, not per hour. Carpet and pad come up in minutes; glued vinyl and ceramic tile can cost more to remove than the new laminate costs to lay.Quarter round and transitionsftLinear feet around the room plus the doorway transitions. A floating floor stops 1/4 in short of every wall, and something has to cover that gap.Stair steps to coverCount treads. Each one needs a stair nose cut and scribed, which is why installers bill stairs separately instead of by the square foot.

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Results

Total range: $2,225 to $4,500; 400 sq ft of AC4 10 mm over foam with a vapor barrier, installed, plus tearing out carpet and pad, 90 ft of trim
Cost per square foot: $5.56 to $11.25 per sq ft; Planks, underlayment, labor, prep, tear-out and trim divided by the floor area. Planks alone are $2.20 to $3.80 per sq ft
Do it yourself saving: $900 to $1,975; Installed $2,225 to $4,500 against $1,325 to $2,525 on your own, roughly 44% of the job. The do it yourself figure already carries $100 to $250 of tools and a dumpster where there is a floor to pull up
Underlayment subtotal: $160 to $340; $0.40 to $0.85 per sq ft over 400 sq ft. The film replaces separate 6 mil poly over a slab
Same job in luxury vinyl plank: $2,375 to $5,650; Against $2,225 to $4,500 for this laminate, with the same prep, tear-out and trim. Vinyl plank is waterproof through the core and usually ships with its pad attached; laminate's melamine surface takes scratches better

Laminate Flooring Cost formula

Planks = Area x $1.20 to $6.00 per sq ft, set by the AC rating and thickness
Underlayment = Area x $0 to $1.50 per sq ft, and $0 where the plank carries a pad
Labor = Area x $2.00 to $4.00 per sq ft installed, or $0 laid yourself
Extras = Prep + Tear-out + Trim length x rate + Steps x rate
Total = Planks + Underlayment + Labor + Extras

Worked example

A 750 sq ft floor in AC5 12 mm laminate over 3 mm cork, laid by the homeowner, with self-leveling compound first, old glued sheet vinyl coming out and 140 ft of quarter round. Planks are 750 x $3.50 to $6 = $2,625 to $4,500, and cork is 750 x $0.75 to $1.50 = $563 to $1,125.

Doing the work removes the $1,500 to $3,000 labor line. Self-leveler drops to material at 750 x $0.90 to $2.25 = $675 to $1,688, tear-out becomes a dumpster at 750 x $0.25 to $0.60 = $188 to $450, and quarter round is 140 x $1 to $2 = $140 to $280. Add $100 to $250 of tools. The job lands at $4,300 to $8,300, against $7,600 to $15,700 installed, so the saving is $3,300 to $7,400.

Quick reference

Typical 2026 US cost for 400 sq ft over foam with a vapor barrier, old carpet removed and 90 ft of trim
Grade	Planks per sq ft	Planks and pad	Installed total	Expected life
AC3, 8 mm	$1.20 to $2.50	$640 to $1,340	$1,825 to $4,000	10 to 15 years
AC3, 10 mm	$1.70 to $3.00	$840 to $1,540	$2,025 to $4,200	10 to 15 years
AC4, 10 mm	$2.20 to $3.80	$1,040 to $1,860	$2,225 to $4,500	15 to 25 years
AC4, 12 mm	$2.80 to $4.50	$1,280 to $2,140	$2,450 to $4,800	15 to 25 years
AC5, 12 mm	$3.50 to $6.00	$1,560 to $2,740	$2,750 to $5,400	20 to 30 years
Luxury vinyl plank	$3.00 to $7.00	$1,200 to $2,800	$2,375 to $5,650	15 to 25 years

AC rating first, millimeters second

Two numbers sit on every laminate box and shoppers usually read the wrong one. Thickness, 7 to 12 mm, is the core. It changes how solid the floor feels, how much it muffles a footstep and how well it bridges a small dip, and almost nothing else. The AC rating is the surface. It runs AC1 to AC5 and it is the one that separates a floor that looks tired in ten years from one that still looks new in twenty-five. A 12 mm AC3 plank feels better underfoot and wears out sooner than an 8 mm AC4.

Match the rating to the room, not to the budget. AC3 is the floor for bedrooms, a home office and a formal living room. A kitchen, an entry, a hallway or a house with dogs needs AC4. That upgrade is typically $0.50 to $1 more per square foot, so $200 to $400 on 400 square feet against a floor that lasts a decade longer. AC5 is a commercial wear layer and it is worth buying for a rental or a mudroom. NALFA certification is a separate mark. Its scratch test rubs the surface with 80 grit paper on a Martindale device for 50 cycles and scores it 0 to 3. A certified plank has been tested, not just labeled.

The slab, the pad and the do it yourself line

Over concrete, laminate has one hard requirement and one warranty condition. The requirement is a 6 mil polyethylene barrier, overlapped at least 8 inches, taped, and run a few inches up the wall behind the base. The condition is the slab itself. Pergo caps it at 5 pounds per 1,000 square feet in 24 hours on an ASTM F1869 calcium chloride test, or 80 percent relative humidity on an in-slab probe. A wood subfloor has to read 12 percent or less. A pad with the film built in replaces the poly. Plain foam, cork and a pre-attached pad do not, so they need the sheet underneath. Cork is the quiet one and the one that hides a slightly rough subfloor, at $0.75 to $1.50 per square foot. Laminate is not waterproof at any price. The wear layer sheds a spill wiped up in a minute, but the fiberboard core swells at the seam once water sits in it.

Laying it yourself removes the $2 to $4 per square foot labor line, which on a bare flat subfloor is roughly 40 to 45 percent of the job. It does not remove everything. Budget $100 to $250 for a jamb saw, a pull bar, a tapping block, 1/4 inch spacers, a fresh blade and knee pads. Add a dumpster or bagged haul-away for the old floor. Leave the 1/4 inch gap at every wall, cabinet, pipe and jamb, and undercut the casings instead of scribing around them. Break any continuous run past about 40 feet with a T-molding. Doorways get a transition whether the run is long or not. A first-time installer moves about 150 to 250 square feet a day once the first three rows are square, and those first three rows take the longest.

What this calculator leaves out

The 6 mil polyethylene over a slab, roughly $0.10 to $0.20 per square foot, and a slab moisture test at $150 to $300. Also outside it: moving furniture, pulling and resetting a toilet, disconnecting a gas range, trimming doors that no longer clear the floor, and new thresholds at exterior doors. Boxes round up, so the order is 5 to 10 percent more square feet than the room, and the spare box you keep for repairs is not counted. Transitions are priced by the piece, typically $30 to $60 for a 72 or 94 inch T-molding or reducer. Stair nose is sold by the linear foot and costs more than the plank. Asbestos testing on sheet vinyl in a house built before 1980 is a separate $300 to $600 before any tear-out starts.

Mistakes that cost money

AC3 laminate in a kitchen or entry wears through the decor layer in 5 to 10 years; the AC4 upgrade is typically $0.50 to $1 more per sq ft.
Water resistant is a surface claim. The core is still high density fiberboard, and most warranties exclude standing water, steam mops and wet mopping.
A do it yourself budget with no jamb saw, pull bar, tapping block or dumpster is $200 to $500 short before the first plank goes down.
Plain foam over a slab lets the plank cores take on vapor; 6 mil poly overlapped 8 in goes down first unless the pad has the film built in.
Stair nose costs more per linear foot than the plank, and installers bill per step, so 13 stairs can cost as much as a small bedroom.
Tear-out is quoted per square foot, not per hour; glued vinyl at $1.50 to $3.50 and ceramic tile at $2.50 to $6 can beat the new floor's labor line.

Key facts

AC ratings run AC1 to AC5: AC3 is the minimum for a full-time home floor, AC4 covers kitchens and entries, and AC5 is a light commercial wear layer.
NALFA certification scores laminate scratch resistance by rubbing the surface with 80 grit paper on a Martindale device for 50 cycles and rating the result 0 to 3.
Pergo requires a 6 mil polyethylene barrier over concrete, overlapped at least 8 in and taped, on a slab under 5 lb per 1,000 sq ft in 24 hours.
Laminate install labor typically runs $2 to $4 per sq ft in 2026 US, roughly 40 to 45 percent of a contractor-installed job on a bare, flat subfloor.
Laminate planks are 7 to 12 mm thick, and thickness buys stiffness and a quieter step while the AC rating decides how long the surface lasts.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to install laminate flooring?

A 400 sq ft room in AC4 10 mm laminate over foam with a vapor barrier, installed with the old carpet pulled and 90 ft of quarter round, typically runs $2,225 to $4,500, or $5.56 to $11.25 per square foot. Planks are only $880 to $1,520 of that.

How much do you save installing laminate yourself?

On that same 400 sq ft job, roughly $900 to $1,975, or about 40 percent. The saving is the $2 to $4 per square foot labor plus most of the tear-out and trim labor, less $100 to $250 of tools and a dumpster.

Is laminate waterproof?

No. Water resistant describes the surface, not the high density fiberboard core, which swells at the seams once water sits on it. Most warranties exclude standing water, steam mops and wet mopping. For a bathroom, a laundry or a basement, luxury vinyl plank is waterproof through the core.

Is laminate cheaper than luxury vinyl plank?

Usually, but not by much once the pad is counted. The same 400 sq ft job is $2,225 to $4,500 in AC4 laminate and $2,375 to $5,650 in LVP, because most vinyl plank ships with an attached pad and costs $3 to $7 per square foot for the material.

Sources and references

NALFA product certification standards and surface test methods (North American Laminate Flooring Association)
Install it yourself: subfloor moisture limits, 6 mil barrier and 1/4 in spacers (Pergo)
ASTM F1869, moisture vapor emission rate of a concrete subfloor using anhydrous calcium chloride (ASTM International)

Next steps for this project

The usual order for a flooring & tile project. See all flooring & tile calculators.

Results are estimates based on standard formulas and typical product specifications. Confirm quantities with your supplier and local code before ordering.