Price Overview by Category

The table below aggregates pricing from every product in the Substrata database. "Avg price" is the midpoint of each product's min–max range, averaged across all products in that category. Median is more useful when a few high-end products skew the average.

High-Cost Categories: Doors, HVAC, Windows

Doors ($35 – $30,000)

The widest price range in the database. An interior hollow-core door can run $35–$150. A commercial steel fire door is $400–$1,200. High-end wood and aluminum entry systems — custom sizes, thermal breaks, multi-point locks — reach $5,000–$30,000. The $30K ceiling is commercial curtain-wall entry units, not residential replacement doors.

The median of $1,313 reflects what most residential and light commercial projects actually spend. If you're estimating new construction, budget $400–$800 per exterior door and $100–$300 per interior door as a starting range. See all door products or browse by door price index.

HVAC ($8 – $8,500)

HVAC has the flattest distribution: the average ($2,337) and median ($2,350) are nearly identical, which means no single outlier is distorting the dataset. Most HVAC equipment — heat pumps, packaged units, mini-splits — clusters in the $1,500–$4,000 range. The $8 floor is components (filters, capacitors, fittings); the $8,500 ceiling is large commercial tonnage units.

For residential new construction, plan on $2,000–$4,500 per zone for equipment alone, before ductwork, refrigerant, and labor. See all HVAC products.

Windows ($180 – $7,000)

A vinyl double-hung from Milgard or Pella's entry series starts around $180–$300 per unit. Mid-range fiberglass casements run $500–$1,000. High-performance wood/aluminum triple-pane units from Andersen, Marvin, or Loewen top out at $1,200–$2,400. The $7,000 ceiling is a Marvin Ultimate bi-fold wall — closer to an architectural element than a window.

The $675 median is the most useful benchmark for residential replacement windows. See all window products, energy rating comparisons, or the window price index.

Mid-Range: Plumbing, Electrical, Paint, Lumber

Plumbing ($18 – $2,500)

The $270 median masks a bimodal distribution: fixtures (toilets, faucets) cluster at $100–$600, while water heaters, boilers, and pressure tanks push the upper tail. Budget $150–$400 for standard fixtures. See all plumbing products.

Electrical ($1 – $1,600)

The highest product count in the database (62 items). The $48 median reflects what most line items actually cost — breakers, outlets, wire by the foot, junction boxes. The $1,600 ceiling is panels and subpanels. Wide range, low median: most electrical BOM line items are cheap; the high-ticket items are few. See all electrical products.

Lumber ($3 – $950)

The $13 median for lumber reflects dimensional framing lumber (2×4, 2×6 studs). The $950 ceiling is engineered wood products — LVL beams, glulam, long-span joists. Standard framing lumber runs $3–$18 per board depending on species, grade, and length. Engineered products jump to $80–$950 depending on span and load rating. See all lumber products.

Paint ($22 – $120 per gallon)

The tightest spread of any category. Exterior latex from a major brand (Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore) runs $50–$80/gallon. Premium products — epoxy floor coatings, specialty primers — reach $80–$120. Budget-tier interior paint starts at $22. The $53 median is a reliable planning number for mid-grade residential paint. See all paint products.

Per-Square-Foot Categories: Flooring, Insulation, Roofing

Flooring ($1.75 – $11/sq ft)

The most consistent category in the database — $5 average and $5 median, nearly no skew. Vinyl plank (LVP) runs $2–$5/sq ft. Hardwood and engineered wood $4–$9/sq ft. High-end luxury materials top out around $11/sq ft for material cost alone, before installation. See all flooring products.

Insulation ($0.25 – $380)

The wide range comes from unit inconsistency: batt insulation is priced per sq ft ($0.65–$2.50), while rigid board products are priced per sq ft at installed thickness ($15–$68). The $2 median is fiberglass batts. For a deeper breakdown by R-value and material type, see our insulation R-value comparison.

Roofing ($0.08 – $680)

The $0.08 floor is asphalt shingles priced per sq ft in bulk. Architectural shingles run $0.80–$2.50/sq ft. Standing seam metal roofing $3–$8/sq ft. The $680 ceiling is a commercial membrane roofing system priced per installed sq ft with underlayment. The $8 median is the residential benchmark. See all roofing products or the roofing price index.

Access This Data via API

Every price shown in this article is queryable via the Substrata API. Filter by category, set price bounds, or pull the full catalog for your estimating tool.

Example query — all products in a category with price data:

GET /v1/products?category=windows&limit=50
Authorization: Bearer sk_sub_your_key

// Response includes price_min_usd, price_max_usd, price_unit,
// plus u_value, shgc, energy_star for every window product

See the full API documentation for filter parameters including min_price, max_price, energy_star, and performance fields like max_u_value.

Related Data

For performance-specific pricing breakdowns:

• Insulation R-Value Comparison — R-values vs. cost per sq ft across 29 products
• Window Energy Ratings Explained — SHGC, U-factor, and VT data for 32 window products
• Construction Price Index — live price index across all categories
• Build a Cost Estimator — Node.js tutorial using this pricing data