Hardwood Floor Installation Cost: Solid vs Engineered (3 References)

Hardwood floor installation costs $6 to $25 per square foot installed, or $2,469 to $7,034 for a typical project.¹² The national average project runs $4,017 to $4,723 (Fixr, Angi — 10,984 projects).¹³ Prices below are national averages* for 2026.

*National averages, not local quotes. Your price depends on wood species, solid vs engineered, room size and layout, subfloor condition ($900 to $3,000 if repairs are needed, Angi), and finishing ($2 to $7 per sq ft, Angi).¹

$4,723

average project, Angi

$9 – $25

per sq ft installed, HomeGuide

$6 – $15

materials per sq ft, HomeGuide

$4,017

average 200-sq-ft job, Fixr

Quick math: 500 sq ft at HomeGuide’s $9 to $25 per square foot = $4,500 to $12,500, matching its size table, our arithmetic.² The per-foot bands disagree ($6 to $12 typical at Angi, $9 to $25 at HomeGuide, $14 to $32 at Fixr) because Fixr’s average job is a small 200-sq-ft room with no volume discount while Angi blends whole-floor projects, our reading.¹²³

Solid vs engineered

Type	Installed per sq ft	Materials per sq ft	Source
Solid hardwood	$11 – $25	$5 – $28	HomeGuide / Angi
Engineered hardwood	$9 – $20	$4.50 – $16	HomeGuide / Angi
Prefinished hardwood	—	$6 – $12	Angi
True parquet	$13 – $40	$20 – $45	HomeGuide / Angi
Prefab parquet tiles	$10 – $16	$7 – $15 (faux)	HomeGuide / Angi

Engineered costs less per foot and handles moisture better; solid can be refinished more times over its life (HomeGuide), its trade-off.²

Cost by species (Angi, materials per sq ft)

Species	Materials	Character
Maple	$4 – $15	Subtle grain, highly durable
Red oak	$5 – $11	Warm tones, long lifespan
White oak	$5 – $12	Straight grain, versatile
Hickory	$6 – $14	Rustic variation, high-traffic tough
White ash	$6 – $14	Light color, sound-absorbing
Brazilian walnut (ipe)	$9 – $15	Dense, dent- and insect-resistant

Oak and maple dominate mid-budget projects; ipe is the premium outlier that still undercuts true parquet (Angi).¹

Cost by room size

Size (sq ft)	Angi	HomeGuide
150	$1,100 – $3,800	$1,350 – $3,750
250	$1,800 – $6,300	$2,250 – $6,250
500	$3,400 – $13,000	$4,500 – $12,500
1,000	$6,000 – $24,000	$9,000 – $25,000
2,000	$12,000 – $48,000	$18,000 – $50,000

The two tables bracket each other nicely at every size — one of the tighter cross-source agreements in this series, our note.¹²

Worked examples

Example 1 — 200-sq-ft bedroom, prefinished oak. $2,800 to $6,400 (Fixr’s band); Fixr’s $4,017 average job is exactly this size.³

Example 2 — 500-sq-ft living area, engineered. 500 x $9 to $20 = $4,500 to $10,000 (HomeGuide’s engineered rate), our arithmetic.²

Example 3 — 2,000-sq-ft whole home, solid oak. $18,000 to $50,000 (HomeGuide), plus $900 to $3,000 if the subfloor needs work (Angi).¹²

FAQ

Solid or engineered? Engineered for basements, slabs, and budgets ($9 to $20 per sq ft); solid for longevity and refinishing headroom ($11 to $25) (HomeGuide).²

What’s the cheapest real hardwood? Maple or red oak at $4 to $11 per sq ft for materials (Angi).¹

Is refinishing my old floor cheaper? Usually much — refinishing skips material cost entirely. See our hardwood floor refinishing cost guide, our judgment.

What surprises people? The subfloor: repairs add $900 to $3,000 before a single plank goes down (Angi).¹

DIY or pro? Click-lock engineered planks are the realistic DIY route; nail-down solid and site finishing belong to pros, our judgment.

DIY shopping: engineered hardwood flooring (plain link, no affiliate relationship) — click-lock planks in the $4.50-$16 per sq ft band are the DIY-friendly option.

Sources

Angi, How Much Does Hardwood Flooring Installation Cost? (2026 data, 10,984 projects).
HomeGuide, How Much Does Hardwood Flooring Cost? (2026).
Fixr, Cost to Install Hardwood Flooring