How much does it cost to install an interior door?

Reviewed by Joe Roberts remodeling expert. Written by Fixr.com.

Average costs to replace an interior door

Do you have a creaky old bedroom door that’s begging to be replaced? Alternatively, are you hoping to add a closet door somewhere in your home? Or are you working on new construction and need to add interior doors to the whole building? Whatever the case, you should expect to pay between $374 and $697 per new door.

These prices include all the labor and material rates most homeowners pay to install new doors in existing entryways. However, the total costs for this home improvement project can vary depending on several factors, such as door material, how much of an old door’s framing can be reused, and what type of door you buy. This means the actual price you pay for your interior door installation could fall outside our price range.

Keep reading to estimate a more precise price range for your interior door installation. We’ll break down the various pricing factors, walk you through your options, and help you find qualified installers in your area. 

Factors that can affect interior door installation costs

Door style

Interior doors come in various styles, and they each function a little differently. They can bring a unique aesthetic to a home and come at different average prices.

Door prices by style

Because door prices vary so greatly depending on the type of door you get, you can save significant money on this project by simply opting for a more basic door style. For example, Lauan doors are the simplest of interior doors—even simpler than bifold doors, which are cheaper on average—so they won’t do much to elevate your home’s decor. However, they’ll do the job and are significantly more affordable than options like French doors.

Additionally, many interior door styles—such as pocket doors, French doors, and bifold doors—are available in single or double-door options. As you can imagine, getting a double door is more expensive than getting a single door of the same style. So if you want a door in an elegant style, opt for a single-door configuration to keep it affordable. 

Door material

Unlike patio doors, storm doors, and front doors, interior doors don’t come in a huge variety of materials. In some cases, you can purchase custom aluminum doors and fiberglass doors to use inside your home, most bedroom, closet, and bathroom doors only come in these three materials:

• Hollow core wood. Hollow-core doors are usually your most affordable option, but they can also be pretty flimsy. They’re typically constructed from fiberboard panels and MDF framing. The reason they’re so cheap and frail is that the center of a hollow-core door’s slab is completely empty, though some feature cardboard honeycombs inside to maintain their shape. 
• Solid wood. Solid wood doors, or solid-core doors, are much more durable because their slabs are made from solid pieces of wood instead of spaced fiberboard panels. Since these doors aren’t hollow, they’re much more heavy and durable than hollow-core doors, but they’re also significantly more expensive.
• Glass. Doors with glass panels, such as French doors, can create an airy and inviting atmosphere, but this elegant look comes with a high price tag. Glass doors are generally more expensive than the other two options, though you can sometimes find affordable ones. As you may guess, glass doors are typically more brittle than wooden doors. 

Labor

Most professional door installers charge between $44 and $83 per hour to install or replace an interior door. Depending on the complexity and weight of the door you’re getting, this project can take between 1 and 3 hours, though specialty jobs can sometimes take longer.

This means you could pay as little as $44 in labor costs to install a simple door if you hire an affordable contractor. Alternatively, if you hire a high-end pro for a moderately complex installation job, you could pay $249 or more just for labor. 

Door size

The standard size for an interior door is 3’ wide by 6’8 tall, though doors come in all shapes and sizes. And, since smaller doors have less material, they’re generally cheaper. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, though, and the other factors we’ve listed will still affect your pricing. For example, a small French door can still be more expensive than a large, hollow-core, lauan door. In most cases, though, a small door will be cheaper than a large door of the same type. 

How much you have to replace

Interior door replacement costs depend on how much of the old door you can reuse and if the opening needs to be resized to accommodate a new door.

If you just need to swap out an old door’s slab, but you can reuse the old frame, door jambs, and doorknobs, you’ll pay significantly less than average to replace your door. If, however, you need to replace the frame as well, you should expect to pay slightly more than average in added costs for demolition and disposal.

If you want (or need) to replace an old door with a new one of a different style or size, you could pay hundreds of dollars more than average. Not only will your installers need to remove and dispose of the old door, but they’ll also need to restructure the frame and modify the drywall around the door. Needless to say, this will add considerable labor and material costs.

Similarly, if you want to install a door in a wall that doesn’t already have an entryway, you’ll pay additional costs for your installers to open up the drywall and structure a new rough opening. 

Interior door installation pricing tiers

The budget option

When installing a new door in an empty opening, your cheapest option is usually to get a hollow-core lauan model or a single bifold door of a standard size. Neither of these low-cost doors will provide much in the way of durability, security, or style, but both can affordably offer privacy and help partition rooms off from each other.

If you’re replacing an existing door, then your best bet is to try and reuse the frame, and this usually means getting a new door of the exact same type and size as the old door. If you do have to replace the frame as well, though, then your best bet is to get a hollow core prehung door of a comparable size to the old door. That way, your installers don’t have to resize the opening.

No matter how much money you have to save, though, we highly advise against attempting DIY installation. Hanging a door is fairly difficult, even for experienced handymen, and getting it wrong can have disastrous results for the door, the frame, and the surrounding walls. For these reasons, interior door installation and replacement are best left to the pros.

The mid-range option

If you can afford to prioritize style or quality over budget, then we recommend getting solid wood lauan doors for your bedrooms and bathrooms, french doors for your sunroom and kitchen, and sliding doors for your closets. Each of these options will cost on the high end of average—and some may cost even more—but they’ll enhance the style of your home for years to come. We still recommend sticking to standard door sizes, though. 

The high-end option

If you want the most durable and stylish door available, then we recommend working with your installers to get a custom door. This might end up costing you hundreds—if not thousands—of dollars more than average, especially if you need to install or replace multiple doors at the same time. 

However, it will guarantee that your new door is perfectly suited to your home’s interior and your vision for it. As an added bonus, getting high-end interior doors can also increase your home’s value. 

How to pay for your entry door installation

The costs to install or replace an interior door usually aren’t as high as those of exterior door installation. However, they can still be pretty steep, especially if you’re installing multiple doors at once. Luckily, there are a few ways you can pay for this project, even if you don’t have the cash you need to cover the costs.

• Finance through your installers. This is typically your best option if you can’t afford to pay for the project upfront. Installer financing generally comes with a low interest rate and a flexible payback period, though this will depend on which company you hire. Additionally, this isn’t always an option for cheap installation projects.
• Take out a loan. If your installer doesn’t offer financing or you don’t like their terms, you can always take out a personal loan or a home equity loan to pay for this project instead. Personal loans usually have higher interest rates, but if you default on a home equity loan, you can lose your house. You should only take out a home equity loan if you’re absolutely certain you can pay it off in time.
• Open a HELOC. A home equity line of credit (HELOC) is a revolving credit line that allows you to repeatedly borrow money for home improvement projects. HELOCs typically have competitive interest rates, but like home equity loans, they’re secured by your home. 
• Pay with a credit card. Your last (and often worst) option is to pay with a credit card. Of all the payment methods we’ve listed, this one will likely have the steepest interest rate, so we don’t recommend it except for small-scale projects with minimal costs.

Other factors to consider

Painting

Luckily, since they aren’t exposed to the elements, interior doors don’t need to be painted as often as your garage door or your front door. Still, if your bedroom or bathroom door is a couple of decades old and it’s starting to look a little worn, a simple paint job might be all it needs. As long as the door is in good condition, a fresh coat of paint can give it the appearance of a brand-new door for a fraction of the price. 

Door care

They may not get exposed to rain and sunlight, but your interior doors do get their fair share of common household dust and grime buildup. Keep them clean to prevent them from acquiring a dingy look. All that you usually need to keep a door clean is some mild, soapy water, a washcloth, and a little elbow grease. For especially stubborn grunge, you may want to consider hiring deep cleaners. 

Additionally, you should avoid slamming your interior doors as this can cause significant damage to their frames, hinges, and other hardware.

The last care tip is to take care of damage to your interior doors as soon as you notice it. Small cracks and missing screws can quickly snowball into much larger issues, so you can nip more costly repairs in the bud by being proactive with small-scale maintenance. 

Getting your interior doors

Few things harm a home’s style and functionality more than a missing or malfunctioning door. So while getting a new interior door installed isn’t cheap, the benefits of keeping your home outfitted with elegant, serviceable doors are well worth the costs.