How Much Does It Cost to Replace an Electrical Panel? (2026)
Updated September 2026
Panel replacement, panel + installation per project: $800–$1,500 (100A) · $1,300–$3,000 (200A) · $1,800–$3,500 (300A) · $2,000–$4,000 (400A). A like-for-like breaker-box swap runs $500–$1,800 (typ $1,300); a 100A→200A service upgrade records $1,300–$3,000 — same band, bigger job (the difference is labeled below, never averaged). Sub-panels run $400–$2,000. What makes these bands usable: three live publishers agree to the dollar on most tiers, and the page shows that convergence instead of asking you to trust a single average.
Panel replacement cost by amperage
Panel + installation, per project. No standalone 150A tier exists in any publisher's table — the ladder is honestly partial at 100A, 200A, 300A, 400A (a 150A panel typically prices near the 200A row's low end — a recorded note, not a cited figure).
| Amperage | Cost installed | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 100 amps | $800–$1,500 | The common small-home tier; panel alone $100–$200 |
| 200 amps | $1,300–$3,000 | The standard modern service; panel alone $250–$350 |
| 300 amps | $1,800–$3,500 | Larger homes / heavy loads; panel alone $350–$500 |
| 400 amps | $2,000–$4,000 | Big residential or light-commercial; panel alone $500+ |
Convergence check: This Old House (live, updated 03/31/2026), PanelUpgradeGuide, and Vetcon Electricians publish these same tiers — exact agreement on most, with Vetcon's small deviations recorded per tier, not smoothed. Vetcon is contractor-sourced and labeled as such.
Breaker box replacement vs full panel upgrade
The decision most readers are actually making — and the dataset's scope-ambiguity flag exists precisely because these get confused:
| Job | Band | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Breaker-box swap (like-for-like) | $500–$1,800 (typ $1,300) | Same amperage; service, meter, and mast untouched. Fresh installs with no existing panel price higher ($1,200–$1,600 for 100A, $1,800–$2,500 for 200A). |
| 100A → 200A service upgrade | $1,300–$3,000 | Adds the meter, mast, trenching, and utility coordination a swap skips — full-service cases $2,000–$4,000(Rewiring America), regional contractor cases $2,200–$3,800, complex upgrades from 4,500. |
The honest trap, stated plainly: the upgrade's recorded band matches the 200A replacement row — different jobs, same numbers. A quote that says “panel replacement” may be pricing either; make yours name the scope before you compare it to anything on this page. The two rows are kept side-by-side, never averaged. This is also where the electrical panel upgrade cost searches land: the upgrade, not the swap.
Sub-panel installation cost
A sub-panel — the garage, ADU, or shop circuit hub fed from the main panel — records $400–$2,000 installed (This Old House cites $400–$1,750 by size and complexity; the contractor guide's top corroborates the upper end). It is the cheapest way to add circuits without a service upgrade — and the highest-CPC-per-volume term in this family, which tells you how many people are pricing exactly this job.
Fuse box to breaker panel conversion
Converting a legacy fuse box records $1,500–$4,000; a contractor worked example — a 1970s home, complete conversion including updates — totals $2,400 (1970s home, complete fuse-box-to-breaker conversion incl. updates (vetcon case study)). No neutral publisher publishes a standalone fuse-conversion band, so this row cites the contractor guide plus the worked example — search-served, single-source, flagged, and re-verified at page-build.
Electrician hourly rates
Licensed electrician rates run $50–$150 per hour (contractor-sourced; industry guides are consistent at the overlap). Complexity, not just hours, drives the bill — a panel job prices as the project above, with the hourly rate underneath it.
Permits and inspection
Panel upgrades typically require permits at $50–$300 depending on your location — two sources agree exactly. Jurisdiction-specific requirements (which permits, which inspections, who pulls them) vary by city and county; this page states the recorded cost and leaves the specifics to your local building department.
When to replace (not repair)
Held open, honestly: the dataset carries cost rows, not symptom or lifespan facts. Popular guides repeat a 25–40-year panel-age figure — it appears in search snippets, not in this dataset, so this page does not claim it. Whether your panel should be replaced is an electrician's on-site judgment; what this page can do is price both outcomes once that call is made.
What moves the number
- Amperage tier — the #1 driver (the ladder above).
- Scope — swap $500–$1,800 (typ $1,300) vs upgrade $1,300–$3,000 with the meter/mast/utility delta; the labeled difference.
- Sub-panel and fuse conversions — $400–$2,000 and $1,500–$4,000 respectively.
- Permits and inspection — $50–$300, jurisdiction-specific.
- Metro labor rates — the $50–$150/hr licensed band underneath every quote.
The panel is also what a standby generator's transfer switch connects to — if the upgrade is motivated by backup power, the standby generator cost guide prices the other half of that project. Electric HVAC loads (heat pumps especially) are the other common upgrade driver: HVAC replacement costs. Service-mast and meter work sometimes overlaps a re-roof: roof replacement costs. Pools and other electrified outdoor works carry their own panel loads: pool costs.
FAQ
How much does it cost to replace an electrical panel?
Panel + installation, per project: 100A $800–$1,500, 200A $1,300–$3,000, 300A $1,800–$3,500, 400A $2,000–$4,000. Three publishers agree to the dollar on most tiers.
How much is a 200-amp panel?
$1,300–$3,000 installed (TOH + PanelUpgradeGuide match). Careful: a 100→200A service upgrade shares this band but is a different job.
What does a 100A to 200A upgrade cost?
$1,300–$3,000 — and it is not a like-for-like swap: the upgrade adds meter, mast, trenching, and utility coordination. Ask a quote to name which job it is.
How much does a sub-panel cost?
$400–$2,000 installed (TOH $400–$1,750 · Vetcon $400–$2,000; per-source bands carried, not blended). Typical cases: a garage, ADU, or shop.
Should I replace a fuse box?
A fuse-box conversion runs $1,500–$4,000 — a conversion, not a swap, because the hardware class changes (search-served band, re-verified at page-build; Vetcon's worked example totals $2,400). Whether/when to replace — the symptom/lifespan framing — is not in the dataset, so this page doesn't claim it.
How much do electricians charge per hour?
$50–$150/hour licensed (Vetcon live; search-served guides $75–$150+). Most panel jobs quote per project, not hourly — the hourly band matters when a job adds inspection, troubleshooting, or a sub-panel circuit run.
Do I need a permit to replace an electrical panel?
Panel permits run $50–$300 per project (TOH + Vetcon agree exactly); specifics are jurisdiction-dependent — check your local building department.
Sources
Every figure comes from the electrical-panel cost dataset (10 products / 66 price points / 4 sources / 6 flags). A provenance point unique to this category: no Fixr guide exists — eight URL variants were tried and the category simply isn't covered — making this the first Fixr-less category this engine prices. The bands rest on three live publishers (one neutral, labeled contractor, and a specialized guide), with search-served figures flagged for re-verification rather than quoted cold.
Estimate only — get local written quotes. Bands are per-source, never averaged: the swap-vs-upgrade scope difference is labeled, the no-150A and no-Fixr absences are stated, and Vetcon's figures are labeled contractor-sourced wherever they appear. Whether-to-replace judgments (age, symptoms, safety) are outside this dataset. Figures were last checked September 2026. Hub: electrical panel costs · calculator: panel cost calculator.