How much should an AC cost?

As a homeowner, you don’t have a lot of experience replacing HVAC equipment.  Why would you?  This isn’t something you shop for very often.  But one unfortunate day, you find yourself thrust into the HVAC arena.  You want to make a good choice at a fair price, but you don’t have the knowledge to do that.  The internet can be a wealth of information and also misinformation.  Some of the information you come across is not relevant for your area and some info is just flat out wrong.  For example, I searched for AC pricing in Houston and got some ridiculously low prices – and those are just the sites that put any pricing out there.  Most sites want a phone number and an email to schedule someone to come out.  Why do they make this so difficult?  Believe me, I understand your frustration.  We’ve streamlined the purchase of just about everything else in our daily lives – why can’t this be the same?  The simple answer is that there are a number of variables in the HVAC world.  Sizing, ductwork, space requirements and homeowner expectations are just a few of the items an HVAC company has to take into consideration.  We really have to come out and put eyes on something before we can give an estimate.  Regardless of what you do, this will be an expensive repair/upgrade and you deserve to get what you pay for.  Be leery of someone who will give you pricing over the phone or over the internet, sight unseen.

Ok – but you still haven’t answered the question.  How much does an AC cost?

There are a lot of variables but at this very moment in time (12/31/2023), a 5 ton complete single stage system (Condenser/Coil/Furnace) is about 10k installed.  You will most definitely get a different answer a year from now.  The best way to know you’re getting a good price is to research good companies on the internet (google reviews and BBB) and schedule appointments for them to come out and give you a quote.  I don’t think you need more than 3 but knock yourself out if you’re a masochist.  Look for an outlier – someone drastically more expensive or less expensive than the others.  Your more expensive bid is usually from a nationwide or Private Equity company with a lot of overhead.  The drastically cheaper quote might be from a one man operation with no overhead.   You should be concerned with both. Why? Because AC companies go out of business at a rate on par with restaurants.  20% of all AC companies go out of business every year and 70% of AC’s companies go out of business in their first year per the US Department of Energy   So while the homeowner doesn’t really know what an AC should cost, neither do a lot of HVAC companies.  Companies that have been in business for a long time have proven they have mastered the art of pricing.  Not too high so they can be competitive in the market but not so low that they can’t meet their obligations to homeowners and have to shutter the business.