Typically, tiling a floor costs $750-1,500, depending the type of tile you select, size and complexity of the project, as well as local labor rates.
Tile floors are ideal for busy kitchens, bathrooms, mud and laundry rooms, and any space in the house where there is a lot of moisture. Tile is a highly durable flooring material that is also very easy to clean.
If you are ready to install new tile, contact your local flooring pros for FREE ESTIMATES!
How Much Is Tile Flooring?
The average cost to tile a floor is $5-11 per square foot, depending on the type of tile you select, complexity of the project and local tile installation costs.
There is such a wide range of tile products, that you can find anything from low-end, budget-friendly options to high-end unique tiles that will be the focus of the room.
Ceramic Floor tile is the cheapest, with tile prices running as low as $0.70-1.50 per square foot for plain color, standard size tile.
Porcelain Tile is more expensive, because it’s often better quality than ceramic tile, and also comes in a greater variety of colors, sizes and styles. The average price for Porcelain Tile is $1.30-3 per square foot. However, prices for high-end porcelain tile can go as high as $4-8+ per square foot.
Natural Stone Tile (granite, marble, travertine, soapstone) is a high-end tile that is best suited for a luxury kitchen or bathroom remodel. Depending on the stone, prices for stone tile start at $4-5.5 per square foot and can go up to $10-14 per square foot.
Mosaic Tile is another unique luxury flooring option that can either be used as an accent or as a complete floor. Mosaic tile itself is expensive, costing $8-20+ per square foot, depending on the color and design of the mosaic.
Find out how to pick the best tile for every room.
Tile Cost Per Square Foot
The table below provides price estimates per square foot for the most popular types of tile used on floors.
| MATERIAL | AVERAGE COST PER SQ.FT. ( low to high) |
|---|---|
| Ceramic | $4.60 / Sq. Ft. |
| Porcelain | $5.05 / Sq. Ft. |
| Marble | $6.20 / Sq. Ft. |
| Limestone | $6.20 / Sq. Ft. |
| Slate | $6.45 / Sq. Ft. |
| Pebble (set on 12 x 12 mesh sheet) | $6.55 / Sq. Ft. |
| Granite | $6.70 / Sq. Ft. |
| Sandstone | $6.70 / Sq. Ft. |
| Travertine | $6.90 / Sq. Ft. |
| Onyx | $7.15 / Sq. Ft. |
| Glass (not mosaic) | $7.55 / Sq. Ft. |
| Mosaic (set on the mesh) | $9.50 + / Sq. Ft. |
| Loose pebble (or standing) | $17.0 / Sq. Ft. |
See costs in your area
Start Here - Enter Your Zip Code
Cost To Install Tile Flooring
Compared to other flooring options, tile is actually one of the most expensive and complex to install. This is why professional flooring pros charge 60-70% for labor on a tile flooring project.
Typically, installing ceramic or porcelain tile costs $3-5.5 per square foot, depending on local labor rates and size of the project.
Stone tile installation costs are $5-8 per square foot.
Installing mosaic tile can cost as much as $9-20+ per square foot, depending on the complexity of design you are looking for.
Keep in mind that if your space has many corners or has an irregular shape, the price for the install can increase by as much as 30-40%
Additionally, you should budget for the following extra labor charges that may come up if there is any issue with your existing floors:
Removal of old flooring: $1-$4/sq. ft.
Leveling the floor before new tile installation: $.25-$1.00/sq. ft.
You can use our Flooring Calculator to estimate the cost of installing tile flooring.
To get a fair price, be sure to get at least 3-4 estimates from local flooring pros. Make sure that the installer has experience working the particular tile you want to install.
Home Depot Tile Installation Cost
Home Depot is a very popular place for homeowners looking for good prices on ceramic and porcelain floor tile. The great benefit of shopping at Home Depot for tile is that they can also do the installation for you.
Home Depot estimates that the average cost to tile a floor will cost $1,000-1,500 including all materials and labor by a Home Depot certified pro.
Here is the break down of their price estimate:
Tile Material: $2.00/SQ. FT.
Setting Materials: $1.37/SQ. FT.
Installation: $6.50/SQ.FT.
You can also request a free-in house estimate from a Home Depot specialist, who will come to your home and measure the space to give you an accurate price for the installation.
See costs in your area
Start Here - Enter Your Zip Code
9 Factors That Impact Tile Flooring Installation Cost
Aside from the obvious, such as size and quality of tile, there are 9 factors that actually make a big difference on how your final tiles price will be.
Understanding these and carefully researching your options can help you get the best deal and save you thousands of dollars.
1. Your Geographic Location
Contractor labor charges to install flooring tile vary greatly based on the region of the US. You can expect to pay up to 20% more than the average price if you live on either the East or West coast, as compared to the rest of the states.
Similarly, you will pay more if you reside in a city with a high cost of living, such as New York, Boston, Washington D.C. San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc.
2. Flooring Pro You Hire
There will be no shortage of tile installers for your project. If you are looking to save money, you can hire a handy man. The downside of this may be lack of license and insurance, as well as questionable labor quality.
You can also find local contractors that specialize in tile installation, have proper licensing, tools and experience to preform a high quality job.
While they will charge more for their services, you will have peace of mind that you are dealing with real professionals, who will get the job done to your satisfaction.
See costs in your area
Start Here - Enter Your Zip Code
Another option is to go with an installer from one of the big box home improvement stores (Home Depot or Lowe’s). The up side is that these stores have already vetted the contractors they work with, and can guarantee their quality.
Another benefit is that you may be able to get financing for your project. On the downside, you have to also purchase the materials for your remodel from the store.
3. Room Accessibility
Ease of access to the work site will impact your total price. If you live in a single family home with easy access, you will not incur any additional fees.
However, if you live in a condo or apartment building, or if the building has an elevator, any special association requirements for remodels, etc. your contractor will charge extra.
4. Size Of Your Floor
In general, tile installation prices per square foot are calculated based on the minimum project size of 200 sq. ft. Smaller projects are typically billed at a higher rate because the installer has to include his prep and clean up time, as well as overhead.
For example, if you want porcelain tile in a small hallway (45 sq. ft), your price to install tile will be $11.25 – 12.30 per sq. ft. Thus, the total flooring cost will be $450 to $550.
On the other hand, if you want the same porcelain tile installed in an area that totals 700 sq.ft, (ex. basement), you will be charged at the rate of $4.0 – 4.4 per sq. ft.. That is almost three times less than the small project! Your total cost will be $2,800 – 3,100.
5. Your Existing Floor
The type of floor over which you plan to install tile can have a great impact on the final price. For example, if you have cement or concrete flooring there will be an additional charge for the contractor to smooth, level and prime the floors, using special tools and materials.
By comparison, installing tile over a wood surface will be cheaper. However, when it comes to wood sub – flooring, you should know that this is not an ideal surface for tile application, especially in areas with high moisture such as bathrooms. Wood tends to warp when exposed to high levels of moisture and tile sitting on top can either pop or break as a result.
If you have wood sub-flooring you may want to consider installing special backer boards on top of the wood floor, which will provide a level, moisture resistant surface for the tile.
6. Type Of Tile
Installing natural stone tile, such as marble, granite and slate will be 40-50% more expensive than ceramic or porcelain tile. This is because natural stone is more difficult to work with, requires special tools, more precision and expertise.
Also, unlike porcelain and ceramic tile, stone requires sealing after installation. All of these factors increase the overall complexity and length of time necessary to complete the project, and thus you get a higher price quote.
The average cost to install ceramic tile floor is $1,350 – 2,500 for a 120 sq.ft. space.
By contrast, installing stone tile flooring runs about $1,950-3,000 for a 120 sq.ft space.
7. Tile Size
It costs less to install large than small size tile. This is because wider and longer tile covers a larger floor area at a time, which means that the entire project can be finished faster.
Also, it takes less time to apply grout to large vs. small pieces. These factors help reduce the cost of labor on large installs.
8. Room Layout
The cheapest floor tile installation will be in a room that has a straight layout with a minimal number of corners. The more cutting an installer has to do to custom fit the tile in to an unusual room layout, the higher the price will be.
9. Custom Work
Any custom work and special tile pattern, such as installation of borders, medallions, mosaics, tiling over built-in shower shelves, etc, will significantly increase the overall cost. You can expect to pay double or even triple the average price for a custom install.
See costs in your area
Start Here - Enter Your Zip Code
If you want good work be prepared to pay. I’ve been a tile setter in Chicago for 20 years. I by no means am cheap but I do the job right. There’s been way too many times to count when people don’t want to pay cause someone else says they can do It cheaper. Usually I get a call a few weeks or a month or two later asking if I can fix what the other person did and no 90% of the time there is no fixing or making it look better. Also I’ve gone to homes and businesses and had to tell owners that they have major problems usually with anywhere there is going too be water, bathrooms, kitchens, entry ways, cause allot of installers don’t know how to properly prep the substrate(underlaying surface) either walls, floors, shower pans, ect and they end up with mold and rotten studs, joists, leaks in lower floors, and so on. I’ve never had a client unhappy after I complete the job and they see the outcome. Don’t be surprised with the end results if you want to be cheap.
What about supper large tile like 2’x4’ or larger that require double the amount of labor and setting materials?
George,
Interesting question. These large tiles are rare, but you should probably figure $1-2 extra per square foot of large tile installation costs, depending on where you live, and other factors, such as amount of detail work, etc.
Good luck.
It’s nice to have knowledge of pricing per sq ft. I have information to help with my bid.
Sounds like another one with a champagne taste & a coca-cola pocket book crying over pennies. Obviously someone has been watching to much flipping vegas. Lol. I’m not backing home depot, but yes it does make perfect sense. Coming from a tiler perspective. I have been tiling for 18 years. You have consider most tiler’s work off a 12″ x 12″ sliding cutting tray. To cut a few inches overhang isn’t to bad. But, when you have to straight cut with a 12″ overhang with no support on bottom of tile, it can be very difficult to cut without cracking, breaking or losing the tile entirely. The problem with a lot of people is they don’t understand the difficulty a tiler has to goes through. to achieve perfection the client wants. If you want perfection, but don’t want pay the price. Try it yourself. Once you screw it up. Then you can call a pro and pay double to correct what you messed up. Signed: Respect for tiler’s.
Local businesses are the only way to go.
Excellent advice! Thanks for sharing that here. Some people just don’t know how things really work so it seems easier & smarter to them to just go to the nearest chain store. That’s why everywhere you go everything is starting to look the same across the entire country these days, because all of the smaller (yet extremely important) local businesses are disappearing to make room for the big franchise stores, such as Walmart, Home Depot, Publix, ect.. Local contractors are always the only way to go for everything in my opinion.
what about that 36″ X 5″ tile in a lapped 65/35% layout. is this considered a custom tile job? in a 1500 Sq ft house with bath, 3 brs and 550 Sq ft LR with a diagonal wall. I calculate over 1000 tiles+.
what should the cost be with people living there and obstructions albeit not many but some.?
price/sq ft? time & materials? how to figure?
Simple really, get 4 quotes (note, not 3 but 4. This is very important) on an entirely different job. Pick the most expensive guy and refer him to a friend with a completely different project requiring a different trade (ex. plumbing or electrical work). Next, pick the cheapest guy and invite him out fishing on your parents’ 23′ scooner. Last and least important is take the middle two and have them battle to the death with only the tools in their truck. The winner wins the bid and gets to deal with your nightmare job instead of the cakewalk to bid out. It’ll be about $12-13 per square foot just for the labor on that disaster.
Home Depot wants to charge me .70 per sq ft more to install 12×24 than to install 12×12 tile. Does this make sense? D
Dale,
That’s complete bs … don’t hire home depot – they charge much more than independent contractors, and hire subs to do the work (subs that can’t get their own work). These subs get paid per sq. ft. and want to finish the job as soon as possible, to get paid. And if there are issues, you will have to deal with corporate bureaucracy instead of your local guy, who values his reputation.
On top of that, your money will go to CEO salary, instead of your community.
And back to your question – 12×24 should cost LESS than 12×12 tile … or the same… there actually isn’t much difference in extra work. However if you compare 6×6 to 12×12 tile – labor is much more intensive for 6×6 or smaller.
Bottom line – find a local guy. Go to some small(er) tile supplier, pick good tile and ask for few local contractors.
Good luck.
12×12 go down the fastest. If 12×24 are staggered as opposed to stacked/grid. They can take much longer depending on the floor flatness. 12×24 will require more mortar for a thicker bed. 12×12 are the sweet spot. Bigger or smaller will take more time. I am a tile contractor of 32 years.