Sure, everyone’s talking about how expensive homes are. Repairs, insurance, and property taxes all play a part in the pressures homeowners face these days.
But what seems to fly under the radar? Windows.
You’d think something this basic would be a relatively affordable task. A standard upgrade. A quick weekend job.
I’m here to tell you: it is not.
In fact, it’s quite the opposite. In my experience, replacing all the windows in either of my homes would be an expensive endeavor. And pray you don’t have a window without a 90-degree corner, because that one will cost the same as all the others combined.
Back in 2023, I had a simple idea. The house I own has a few windows where the Texas summer heat blazes through and creates hot spots. Glossing over the fact that the house was built in 2016 and the windows should have been designed to prevent that, I figured I’d replace six of them.
So I started doing research to understand what average window costs looked like.
Step 1: Look Online (Good Luck)
This is where the first challenge hits. There are a ton of window companies out there, but almost none of them discuss pricing in any meaningful way.
Sure, they offer financing. Sure, they’ll knock $1,000 off your total price. But you don’t know what that original price was to begin with. They could say “$10,000” and I wouldn’t know if I was being gifted or grifted.
The only meaningful pricing data I found? Reddit threads. If that doesn’t scream red flag, I don’t know what does.
Step 2: Hit the Contact Button
I gave in. I hit the “Contact Me” button on a few websites.
Cue the instant phone calls.
I told each one exactly what I wanted: approximate dimensions, quantities, and just a simple ballpark estimate. Something to give me context.
Most of them refused. All except one, insisted on a 90-minute in-home appointment so they could “properly measure” and present a quote. The unique proposal from that exception was they simply ask you to measure the windows that you want replaced and they’ll reply with a quote based on that measurement. If you agree to the measurement, then they would remeasure and adjust the price accordingly, which was a breath of fresh air honestly. Now back to the pitches.
The Window Sales Pitch Lifecycle
Almost every rep I spoke to followed the same evolutionary path:
- They interrogate, ahem, interview you.
- They disappear to measure.
- They return to tell you a story.
- Finally, they give you a price.
And this will take 90 to 120 minutes of your life. You won’t get the price until the very end.
Let’s take Window Steve, for example. He showed up with a tablet and a dream.
He wanted me to live with him in that dream. A place where I had the perfect windows and the most magical installation experience.
Five minutes of chit-chat. Then he was off to measure.
Fifteen minutes later, he came back and started the pitch. The company’s origin story. Their mission. The way they test the windows. How they frame them. The heat lamp demo. You put your hand on one side of a window pane while a heat lamp blazes the other.
“Feel how cool that is? Now imagine your whole house like that.”
Then comes the lifetime warranty pitch, but it’s not on the windows, it’s on the frames. If the window breaks? You’re likely SOL.
Finally, we arrive at the number. But even that is a process.
You discuss frame types, colors, tinting options, and more. All I wanted was a range. Something to know if I should even be having this conversation.
Eventually: $19,200 for six windows.
| Window Dimension | Shape | Qty | Est. Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23” x 34” | Rectangular | 2 | $1,200 |
| 70” x 34” | Rectangular | 2 | $4,000 |
| 70” (high) / 60” (low) x 34” | Arched at the top | 2 | $14,000 |
Yes, that’s right: $19,200 for six windows.
I chuckled out loud.
The house has 27 total windows. My grey matter twitched. I envisioned future me replacing 19 more windows at $2,000 a pop. That means it would cost me over $54,000 to replace all of them. That’s more than 15% of the home’s Zestimate (which I don’t think my home is worth honestly.. much much less… I mean I wouldn’t by my house at that price and I live here, and love it).
So yeah, I decided to keep my current windows and installed more ceiling fans instead.
But I would tell my younger self, all that natural light has a dark side.
