How Much Does Siding Cost in 2026?

Here's the number first: in 2026, new siding costs about $3–$17 per square foot installed, depending on the material you pick. For the typical 2,000 sq ft two-story house — roughly 2,800 square feet of actual wall to cover — a full re-side lands at about $19,600 in vinyl, $25,200 in fiber cement, $28,000 in engineered wood, or $33,600 in wood at mid-range prices, before tear-off and permits. Two things drive that spread: which material you choose, and how much wall you actually have.

Price per square foot — and per "square"

Siding is quoted two ways: per square foot installed (material plus labor) and per "square," where one square equals 100 square feet of wall. Contractors order and price by the square, so knowing both units keeps you fluent in a bid. These are the 2026 ranges we use in our siding cost calculator:

Material	Per sq ft installed	Per square (100 sq ft)	Typical 2,000 sq ft house (~2,800 sq ft wall)
Vinyl	$3–$12 (typ $7)	$300–$1,200 (typ $700)	~$19,600
Fiber cement	$5–$14 (typ $9)	$500–$1,400 (typ $900)	~$25,200
Engineered wood	$6–$15 (typ $10)	$600–$1,500 (typ $1,000)	~$28,000
Wood	$7–$17 (typ $12)	$700–$1,700 (typ $1,200)	~$33,600

The last column is the useful one: the same house costs $19,600 in vinyl and $33,600 in wood. Material choice alone swings the project by about $14,000. Those ranges line up with the broader market — Angi puts a 2026 re-side at roughly $5,500–$17,700 for most projects (about $11,600 on average), HomeGuide quotes $4–$30+ per square foot across all materials, and This Old House pegs fiber cement at $5–$14 per square foot installed, matching ours exactly.

A quick read on each material:

• Vinyl is the budget default — cheapest, maintenance-free, and installed on the most U.S. homes. See vinyl siding cost for grades and per-square pricing.
• Fiber cement (Hardie-style board) is the premium mainstream pick: fire- and rot-resistant, holds paint, 30–50 year life. We compare it to vinyl head-to-head in vinyl vs. fiber cement siding.
• Engineered wood (LP SmartSide and similar) gives a real-wood look with less weight and cost than fiber cement, and installs faster.
• Natural wood — cedar, redwood, pine — is the most expensive and the most maintenance-hungry, needing stain or paint every few years.

Why siding is measured by wall area, not floor area

The single biggest source of sticker shock: a "2,000 sq ft house" is a floor-area number, but siding covers walls. The two rarely match. For our typical two-story home — a 45×30 ft footprint, so a 150-foot perimeter, with 19-foot walls and a gable roof — the wall math runs like this:

• 150 ft perimeter × 19 ft walls ≈ 2,850 sq ft of gross wall
• Two gable-end triangles ≈ +225 sq ft
• Subtract 12 windows, 2 doors, and a garage door ≈ −330 sq ft
• Net ≈ 2,745 sq ft, which a crew rounds up with waste to about 2,800 sq ft (28 squares)

So the house you'd call "2,000 square feet" actually needs closer to 2,800 square feet of siding. A single-story ranch of the same floor area needs less wall; a boxy two-story with tall gables needs more. If you want to measure your own, we walk through it in how to measure siding squares.

What a quote is actually made of

Roughly half the installed price is labor — hanging, cutting, flashing, and trimming around every opening. That's why the same siding prices differently on two houses. The main multipliers:

• Stories and access. A two-story house needs staging or lifts; upper walls are slower and pricier than a ranch's.
• Wall complexity. Gables, dormers, bump-outs, and lots of corners all add cut time and waste.
• Openings. Every window and door is trimmed and flashed by hand — 12 windows cost more labor than 6.
• Material grade. Fiber cement and wood are heavier and slower to install than vinyl, raising their labor share.
• Region. The same job prices below the national average across the South and Midwest and 25–35% above it in coastal California or the Northeast.

The quiet extras: tear-off and permits

Two line items thin bids love to omit:

• Tear-off of the old siding: $0.75–$2 per square foot to remove, haul, and dispose. On 2,800 sq ft, that's about $2,100–$5,600 (roughly $3,500 typical). This Old House quotes the same $0.70–$2 range.
• Permit: most municipalities require one for a full re-side — budget $100–$400 (typically ~$250).

When comparing quotes, confirm each includes tear-off, disposal, house wrap, trim, and the permit. A bid that's a few thousand cheaper often just left those out.

A worked example: re-siding the typical house in fiber cement

Here's the full math for our 2,000 sq ft two-story home at mid-range national prices:

• 2,800 sq ft (28 squares) of fiber cement at $9/sq ft: $25,200
• Tear-off of old siding at $1.25/sq ft: **$3,500**
• Permit allowance: ~$250
• Total: ~$28,950 on a straightforward two-story with existing siding to remove

Swap fiber cement for vinyl and the siding field drops to $19,600, bringing the all-in project to about $23,350. Go the other way to wood and the field climbs to $33,600, pushing the total past $37,000. Same house, same 2,800 square feet of wall — the material choice moves the bottom line by roughly $14,000. That's the honest spread for one ordinary home.

How to keep the price down

• Match material to how long you'll stay. If you'll sell in a few years, vinyl's lower upfront cost usually wins; fiber cement pays back over a long hold.
• Re-side, don't over-side. Insulated or premium vinyl closes much of the gap to fiber cement's looks for less money.
• Bundle the tear-off. Removing old siding is unskilled labor; some homeowners handle it to shave $0.75–$2 per square foot.
• Get bids apples-to-apples. Insist every quote lists square footage, tear-off, wrap, trim, and permit so you're comparing the same scope.

Get your number

National ranges are a starting point. Your total depends on your exact wall area, material, openings, stories, tear-off, and region — each a field in our calculator. Enter your home's dimensions for the full low/mid/high estimate with the math shown, or start at the siding hub if you're still weighing materials.

Open the siding cost calculator →