Guides
Home inspection rates that pay the bills and then some
Home inspection rates that hold a margin start with the fee schedule, the true cost of an inspector hour, and the packages buyers actually choose.
What to take away
- Most U.S. metros price a standard single-family inspection at $300 to $500; homes at 3,000 sq ft and up run $500 to $800.
- Condos and townhomes commonly list at $250 to $350, and add-ons such as radon at $125 to $200 and sewer scope at $150 to $300 carry their own prices.
- Price the package, not the housea base tier plus named add-ons beats one flat number for every property.
- The number that decides your margin is contribution per inspector hour, not revenue per invoice.
- Inspector wages are the largest line in the cost of a job, so the local OEWS estimate is your starting point.
- Write the fee schedule down, review it twice a year, and let one person own the exceptions.
This article covers pricing and operations generally. Licensing, scope of practice and standards of care are set by your state board and by InterNACHI or ASHI, so confirm current requirements there. For tax and recordkeeping questions, ask the IRS or a CPA.
What a home inspection actually sells
A buyer pays for a written report on the condition of a house, delivered inside a contingency window that is usually days, not weeks. The fee buys an inspector's time on site, a report reviewer's time afterward, scheduling, and the software that ties it together.
That is why the fee schedule is a labor schedule.
The roles in this trade:
What a home inspection sells
- licensed inspectors
- report reviewers
- schedulers
- ancillary specialists for radon, mold, sewer scope and thermal work
- administrators
- the owner
Four tools carry most of the office work in U.S. inspection companies. Spectora handles report writing, agreement signing and online payment. HomeGauge pairs desktop reporting with its Companion mobile app. Home Inspector Pro runs desktop and cloud reporting with a mobile companion. Inspection Support Network, known as ISN, runs scheduling, CRM and invoicing for multi-inspector offices.
Each one adds a monthly line, typically $50 to $200 per month for a small firm as of 2026. That line belongs in your loaded cost per hour, not in a separate software budget nobody reads.
The rates to start from
No national body publishes a home inspection fee schedule. The figures below are the ranges inspectors report in public pricing surveys and posted company menus; treat them as a starting bracket, not a quote.
Typical Home Inspection Service Prices
Service
- Condo or townhome
- $250–$350
- Standard single-family
- $300–$500
- Larger or older home
- $500–$800
- Radon test
- $125–$200
- Sewer scope
- $150–$300
- Thermal imaging add-on
- $100–$200
Typical price
- Condo or townhome
- Fewer systems, shorter site time
- Standard single-family
- Square footage, age, foundation type
- Larger or older home
- Site hours, crawlspace, multiple HVAC
- Radon test
- Lab fee plus placement and pickup
- Sewer scope
- Camera time, access
- Thermal imaging add-on
- Inspector certification, report time
What drives the number
- Condo or townhome
- Standard single-family
- Larger or older home
- Radon test
- Sewer scope
- Thermal imaging add-on
| Service | Typical price | What drives the number |
|---|---|---|
| Condo or townhome inspection | $250 to $350 | Fewer systems, shorter site time |
| Standard single-family inspection | $300 to $500 | Square footage, age, foundation type |
| Larger or older home, 3,000 sq ft and up | $500 to $800 | Site hours, crawlspace, multiple HVAC units |
| Radon test | $125 to $200 | Lab fee plus placement and pickup |
| Mold or moisture sampling | $150 to $400 | Number of samples, lab turnaround |
| Sewer scope | $150 to $300 | Camera time, access |
| Thermal imaging add-on | $100 to $200 | Inspector certification, report time |
| Pool and spa inspection | $100 to $200 | Pump, heater, safety barriers |
| Septic system inspection | $300 to $600 | Tank access, drain field, pumping history |
| Well and water quality panel | $150 to $350 | Lab panel, pump time, travel |
| Termite and WDO report (NPMA-33) | $100 to $250 | State license, treatment history |
| New construction phase inspection | $300 to $500 per phase | Foundation, pre-drywall, final walk |
| 11-month warranty inspection | $250 to $400 | Builder punch list, systems check |
| Drone roof add-on | $100 to $200 | FAA Part 107 pilot, roof pitch |
| Detached garage or outbuilding | $75 to $150 | Size, electrical, slab |
High-cost metros push the top of each band up. Public menus in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Boston and New York often list a standard single-family inspection at $450 to $700. Phoenix, Atlanta, Dallas and Charlotte typically sit at $300 to $450. Rural routes add a trip fee, usually $25 to $75.
A $350 inspection in a market where a loaded inspector hour costs $60 leaves very little after the report is written. If site time runs 2.5 hours and review and admin run 1.5 hours, that job spends $240 on labor before software, insurance or vehicle.
Some independents price per square foot instead: $0.10 to $0.20 per sq ft, with a $300 minimum.
Price the package, not the house
The home inspection services and packages guide lays out the tiers buyers compare. Three is enough: a base inspection, a base plus one ancillary service, and a full package with radon, sewer and thermal.
Give each tier a single published price. Quoting per house invites the buyer to negotiate square footage, and it makes your own revenue unpredictable month to month. The buyer wants a number they can compare against the next company's number.
National franchises run on the same tier logic. Pillar To Post, AmeriSpec (part of Neighborly), WIN Home Inspection, HouseMaster and HomeTeam Inspection Service let local franchisees set prices inside a package menu.
A base plus radon bundle typically lists at $450 to $600 in those networks. A full package with sewer and thermal runs $700 to $1,000.
The margin math
Work it in your own figures:
Margin Math Example
- $450Price charged
- $150Total labor cost
- $300Contribution per job
- $75Contribution per labor hour
- Inspector hours on site = H
- Report review and admin hours = R
- Fully loaded inspector cost per hour = W (wage plus payroll taxes, insurance, vehicle, software, continuing education)
- Loaded admin cost per hour = A
- Price charged = P
Contribution per job = P minus (H times W) minus (R times A). Divide that by H plus R and you have contribution per labor hour, the only number worth comparing across packages.
Illustrative example: H is 2.5, W is $45, R is 1.5, A is $25, and P is $450. Labor cost is $112.50 plus $37.50, or $150. Contribution is $300, and labor hours total 4, so contribution per labor hour is $75.
If a sewer scope adds 1.5 hours of specialist time at $60 and $40 in lab fees, its price has to clear $130 before it adds anything. A $250 sewer scope leaves $120, or $80 per specialist hour.
Many companies sell add-ons that lose money on this arithmetic and never notice, because the invoice total went up.
Where the wage figure comes from
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage estimates by occupation, state and metro area in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics tables. Look up the estimate for your metro, add your own burden rate for taxes, insurance and vehicle, and you have W.
The occupation is Construction and Building Inspectors, SOC 47-4011. Recent OEWS releases put the national median in the $60,000s a year, and metro medians range from the $40,000s to more than $90,000.
Do not use a national average for a local decision. The spread between metros is wide enough to flip a package from profitable to break-even.
Reviewing rates without guessing
Before you change a price, compare these seven factors:
- cost
- capacity
- conversion
- sales mix
- schedule pressure
- complaints
- outcomes
Raising every line by the same percentage is the lazy version, and it usually lands hardest on the service buyers shop on price.
One named person owns the review and the records behind it. Check the decision in an ordinary week and again in a heavy one. Follow it from inquiry through scheduling, site work, payment and follow-up.
Rate Review Checklist
- Every package has a published price and owner
- Contribution per labor hour calculated for each add-on
- Discounts logged with reason and approver
- Wage figure refreshed from current OEWS release
- Fee schedule reviewed twice a year
Discounts, credits and the agent who asks
For every discount, credit, refund or waived charge:
Discounts, credits and the agent
- Write down the reason.
- Write down who can approve it.
- Write down the limit.
- Write down how it is recorded.
Untracked discounts are a poor cure for a service problem, and they hide inside the invoice total where nobody sees them. A $50 courtesy credit on a $400 inspection is 12.5% of revenue. Ten a month costs $6,000 a year.
Adjustments reviewed monthly by reason and approver show whether a change improved the operation or just moved work around. If a real estate office such as a Keller Williams or RE/MAX branch sends steady referral volume, a standing rate is a business decision. Make it one deliberately, and put the terms in writing.
Records and claims
A recordkeeping system has to clearly show income and expenses and keep the documents behind purchases, sales, payroll and assets, per the IRS guidance on records. Your fee schedule, discount log and package mix all live inside that system.
Anything you publish about turnaround time, certifications or credentials is an advertising claim, and the FTC advertising guide explains the support and disclosure rules that apply. "Same-day reports" is a claim you have to be able to back on your worst week, not your best.
The home inspection business plan is where the fee schedule, the package definitions and the margin math belong, so a new hire can read them.
Common questions
Why not just match the cheapest company in town?
Because their price may not cover a loaded inspector hour, and you cannot tell from the outside. Match on what the buyer gets, keep your contribution per labor hour positive, and let the cheapest quote go.
How often should rates change?
Twice a year is workable for most companies, plus an off-cycle look when wages, insurance or software costs move. A price that has not been reviewed in two years is a price you chose by accident.
Should add-ons be priced separately or bundled?
Separately, unless the bundle is what most buyers pick. Separate prices let you see which ancillary services pay for themselves, and bundling hides the ones that do not.
What if a job runs long?
Track it. If overruns cluster on a property type or a package, the price for that work is wrong, not the inspector. Fix the schedule, then fix the number.
