The two published ranges
| Source | Range | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Vila, November 2023 | $1,700 to $6,170 | $3,831 |
| Fixr, January 2025 | $2,000 to $6,000 | $4,000 |
$169 between the averages, our subtraction, from guides fifteen months apart. Fixr adds a low end of $500 and a high end of $10,000, and says its headline figure describes hydronic heating in a 500 square foot area.
That last clause is the whole problem with this topic. Radiant heating is priced by area, so a national average is an average of jobs of different sizes, and nobody tells you which size.
The table both publishers print
| Floor size | Bob Vila | Fixr |
|---|---|---|
| 50 sq ft | $300 to $1,250 | $300 to $1,250 |
| 100 sq ft | $600 to $2,500 | $600 to $2,500 |
| 200 sq ft | $1,200 to $5,000 | $1,200 to $5,000 |
| 500 sq ft | $3,000 to $12,500 | $3,000 to $12,500 |
| 1,000 sq ft | $6,000 to $25,000 | $6,000 to $25,000 |
| 2,000 sq ft | $12,000 to $50,000 | $12,000 to $50,000 |
| 2,500 sq ft | $15,000 to $62,500 | $15,000 to $62,500 |
Seven rows, two publishers, fifteen months apart, not a dollar of difference.
And here is what that table actually is
Our arithmetic, marked as ours. Divide any row by its own area:
- 50 sq ft: $300 is $6 a foot, $1,250 is $25 a foot
- 500 sq ft: $3,000 is $6 a foot, $12,500 is $25 a foot
- 2,500 sq ft: $15,000 is $6 a foot, $62,500 is $25 a foot
Every row is $6 to $25 per square foot, multiplied out. The table contains exactly one piece of information, repeated seven times with the multiplication already done for you.
Worse, look at where those two endpoints come from. Fixr's own system-type table reads:
| System | Cost per sq ft installed |
|---|---|
| Hydronic | $6 to $20 |
| Electric | $8 to $15 |
| Solar | $18 to $25 |
$6 is the bottom of hydronic. $25 is the top of solar. The size table's band is the envelope of every system type at once, which means it cannot tell you anything about the system you are actually buying. For an electric floor at $8 to $15, a 200 square foot bathroom is $1,600 to $3,000, our arithmetic, not the $1,200 to $5,000 the shared table gives.
This is the third time we have caught a shared sizing table that is really a multiplication. Our furnace page found the same pattern, and our evaporator coil page found two publishers printing identical figures from one upstream source. Our reading: when two guides agree perfectly on a table, check whether the table is arithmetic before treating it as evidence.
The figures that do differ
Within hydronic, Fixr splits by heat source:
| Hydronic type | Cost per sq ft installed |
|---|---|
| Propane | $6 to $17 |
| Geothermal | $7 to $20 |
Hydronic systems need a boiler to heat the water. That is a cost this page does not include and our boiler replacement page does. Geothermal uses the ground instead, which our geothermal page prices separately, and it is the more expensive of the two by a wide margin.
Our note, marked as ours: that is the number most comparisons of radiant heating miss. The floor is the cheap half of a hydronic system. Fixr says as much, stating that its area costs do not include the boiler.
Bob Vila gives one flooring figure directly: radiant heating under laminate and hardwood averages $17.50 per square foot installed, which it calls the least expensive option.
A contradiction on the Bob Vila page
The same guide that leads with $1,700 to $6,170 also prints this:
| System | Bob Vila's cost |
|---|---|
| Propane | $2,400 to $2,900 |
| Solar | $8,000 to $19,500 |
| Geothermal | $9,500 to $27,000 |
| Electric | $19,000 to $36,000 |
| Hydronic | $19,000 to $48,000 |
Four of those five rows start above the top of the page's own headline range, our comparison. An electric system at $19,000 to $36,000 cannot sit inside a typical range that ends at $6,170.
We think these are whole-house installations and the headline is a single room, but the page does not say so, and we will not guess on your behalf. Our conclusion: use Bob Vila for the labor and flooring detail, and use the per-square-foot figures for the price, because those are the only ones on either page that survive a sanity check.
Labor, from Bob Vila, is $550 to $2,500 in total and is described as the biggest share of the cost.
What to ask for instead of a national average
- The price per square foot, for your system type. $6 to $20 hydronic, $8 to $15 electric, $18 to $25 solar.
- The heated area, not the room area. Fixtures and cabinets are not heated, and the quote should say which is which.
- Whether a boiler is included. On a hydronic job it usually is not, and our boiler replacement page has what that adds.
- Whether the existing floor has to come up. Bob Vila lists removal, digging, foam and compacting as separate prep costs.
- Whether this is the only heat in the room. Bob Vila notes electric systems are often supplemental rather than a room's sole heat source, which changes what else you still need.
Sources
- Bob Vila, Radiant Floor Heating Cost, updated November 1, 2023 (the $1,700 to $6,170 range, the $3,831 average, the table by floor area, the table by system type, labor, the per square foot figure for laminate and hardwood)
- Fixr, Radiant Floor Heating Cost, updated January 31, 2025 (the $2,000 to $6,000 range, the $4,000 average, the low and high ends, the table by floor area, and the per square foot cost of each system type)
Price figures are national US ranges from the sources above as of the date shown. Your local price depends on labor rates, permits and site conditions. Read how we get our numbers.