What Does a Furnace Service Call Actually Cost?
Straight answers, with the honest caveat up front: prices swing by region, season, and time of day. Ranges below are typical, not promises — the point is to know the shape of the bill before the truck arrives.
Safety first, every page: smell gas? Skip this page — leave the house and call your gas company from outside. That call is free.
The diagnostic fee: roughly $75–$200
Most shops charge a flat fee to come out and diagnose — commonly $75–$150 in normal hours, more after hours, on weekends, and during the first cold snap when every truck is booked. Many shops credit some or all of it toward the repair if you say yes. Ask exactly that question when booking: "Is the diagnostic fee applied to the repair?"
Typical ranges for the common repairs
- Flame sensor cleaning — often $80–$200. Minutes of labor; you're paying for the visit.
- Ignitor replacement — commonly $150–$350.
- Capacitor (blower) — commonly $150–$350.
- Thermostat replacement — $150–$450+ depending on the unit.
- Blower motor — several hundred to $1,500+ depending on motor type.
- Control board — commonly $400–$1,000+.
- Pressure switch — commonly $150–$400.
The pattern: the part is often cheap; the visit, the diagnosis, and the warranty on the work are what you're buying.
Why two quotes can be $400 apart
Flat-rate pricing books, different overhead, different warranty terms, and different guesses at the same symptom. A second opinion on any repair over ~$500 is normal and no contractor worth keeping is offended by it. For a repair-vs-replace fork, see Should you repair or replace the furnace?
The part nobody tells you: half these calls aren't repairs
A meaningful share of "broken furnace" visits end with a flipped switch, a clogged filter, dead thermostat batteries, or a tripped breaker — a full diagnostic fee for something that took the tech ninety seconds. That's the expensive version of not checking first.
Ten free minutes rules those out and, if the furnace still needs a pro, hands you a summary that makes the diagnosis faster — and the quote tighter, because you sound like someone who'd notice padding.
Related symptoms
Start the free troubleshooter → Free. No sign-up. Don't pay $150 to flip a switch.
Start the free troubleshooter →Free · no sign-up · no personal info · about ten minutes