How much does appliance installation cost in 2026?

The whole spread in appliance installation pricing comes down to one question: does the connection already exist? A washer and dryer going into a laundry room that already has a drain, a hot and cold supply and the right outlet is $100 to $300 of labour. The same pair going somewhere that has none of those is $650 to $2,000, because that job is plumbing and electrical work with an appliance at the end of it. Before you get quotes, look at what is actually on the wall.

Replacing a dishwasher in an existing slot is $200 to $500 in labour, or $600 to $1,700 including the machine. The job is straightforward when the old one is coming out of the same opening: disconnect supply, drain and power, slide out, slide in, reconnect and check for leaks. It stops being straightforward when the cabinet opening is a different size, the supply valve under the sink is seized, or the new unit needs a drain air gap the old one did not have.

Gas dryer installation runs $150 to $350 and is not the same job as an electric one. It involves a gas connection, a leak test, and correct venting, and in many places it is regulated work. If you are switching a home from electric to gas, or the reverse, you are paying for a new connection rather than an installation — price that as its own project.

Retailer "free installation" is normally free for the standard case only: existing hookups, matching dimensions, no modifications. Anything else — a new shut-off valve, a different vent route, a cabinet trim, an old appliance to remove — is charged, often at rates you did not compare. Removal and disposal of the old unit alone runs $25 to $150. Ask what the surcharges are before delivery day, when your kitchen is already in pieces and your negotiating position is poor.

If the water lines have to move, be replaced or be teed off somewhere new, that is plumbing at $45 to $150 per hour rather than appliance installation at a flat fee. The tell is usually the shut-off valve: a seized or missing isolation valve turns a fifteen-minute swap into a job that needs the main off, and no installer will proceed without one that works.