What Gutter Work Actually Costs in 2026 (and where the numbers come from)

Why most "average cost" numbers are useless

A national average is one number covering a 90-foot ranch in Ohio and a three-story Victorian in Seattle. It is arithmetic, not an estimate. A price is only meaningful once you know the linear footage, the number of stories, the roof pitch, the material and gauge, the downspout count, and whether the quote includes tear-off, tax and clean-up.

That is why our estimator asks those questions first and then shows you a range with the line items exposed. Use it before you take a single sales call.

Gutters - replacement, 2026

• Seamless 5" K-style aluminum, installed - retail list is about $22-$24 per linear foot in 2026. Competitively bid work from a licensed, bonded and insured local company typically lands at $15-$20 per foot. A 180-foot home is roughly $2,700-$3,600 at negotiated pricing.
• Seamless 6" oversized aluminum with 3x4 downspouts - about 15-25% above 5", so $18-$28 per foot.
• Steel - $20-$34 per foot.
• Half-round copper - $30-$50 per foot.

A legitimate per-foot price includes material, hidden hangers, standard downspouts (roughly one per 35 feet), removal and disposal of the old gutter, labor and tax. If any of that shows up as a line item added later, you are not comparing the same bid.

Gutter protection, 2026

• Branded lifetime micro-mesh (LeafFilter-class) - $35-$40 per foot, all-in: installation, taxes, gutter clean-out and re-pitch, clean-up, and a lifetime transferable no-clog warranty with a money-back guarantee. That premium buys the warranty structure, not a better screen.
• Local contractor micro-mesh or reverse curve - $12-$25 per foot for a comparable stainless mesh product, usually with a 5-25 year product warranty instead of a transferable lifetime one.
• Screens and foam inserts - $2-$8 per foot. They are cheap and you will still be cleaning them.

The honest comparison: divide the branded quote by the local quote and ask whether the difference is worth the transferable warranty over the years you actually plan to own the house.

Service work

• Cleaning - $150-$275 single story, $250-$450 two story or steep.
• Reseal seams / re-hang sagging runs - $200-$650.
• Rotted fascia replacement - $8-$25 per foot, discovered only after the old gutter comes off. Get the unit price in writing before the crew starts.
• Extra downspout - $60-$150 each.

What moves your number

Two stories adds 10-25%. Three or more adds 30-55%. A non-walkable roof adds 10-20%. Tight access adds 5-15%. Booking off-season or staying flexible on the date is the one discount that reliably shows up, worth up to about 12%.

Where these numbers come from

We do not scrape a lead-generation site and call it research. Every range in our estimator carries its source on the row, and admins update it as the market moves:

• Homeowner-reported invoices collected through this platform - the actual amount paid, the linear footage, the brand and the month. Highest-weight source, and it is local.
• Published installer pricing from the national one-day protection brands.
• Regional contractor list pricing for the material class and gauge.
• RSMeans-style residential unit cost data for labor and carpentry line items.
• Manufacturer material pricing for aluminum coil, steel and copper, which tracks commodity movement.

Every range shows the month it was last verified. If a range is stale, treat it as a starting point and let the three quotes you collect override it.

Help the next homeowner

If you have already had the work done, report what you actually paid on the estimator page. Reports are reviewed before they affect any published range, and nothing identifying you is ever shown.