How to Price Home Inspection Jobs for Profit

Home inspection pricing is more standardized than a lot of trades because it's largely driven by square footage and add-on services, but that doesn't mean it's simple — pricing too low to win volume from agents is a fast track to burnout.

Base pricing by home size

Most markets see something like this for a standard general inspection:

Under 1,500 sq ft: $300-$400
1,500-2,500 sq ft: $400-$550
2,500-3,500 sq ft: $500-$700
Over 3,500 sq ft: $700-$1,000+

Age and foundation type matter too — an older home with a crawlspace or basement takes meaningfully longer to inspect thoroughly than a newer slab-foundation home of the same size, and your pricing should reflect the added time, not just square footage.

Price your add-ons as real line items, not afterthoughts

Add-on services are where a lot of the margin lives:

Radon testing: $125-$175 (usually a 48-hour continuous monitor, low labor once it's placed)
Termite/WDI (wood-destroying insect) inspection: $75-$100
Sewer scope inspection: $150-$300
Mold testing/air quality sampling: $150-$400 depending on lab fees
Pool and spa inspection: $75-$150
Well water testing: $100-$200

Bundling two or three of these with the general inspection (radon + termite is a common pairing) as a package deal increases average ticket size without much extra time on-site.

Don't underprice to win agent volume

New inspectors sometimes drop prices to build a referral pipeline with agents fast. This works short-term and backfires long-term — agents who get used to your rock-bottom price will push back hard when you try to raise it, and low pricing signals lower quality to buyers who are already anxious about the transaction.

Price rush and weekend requests separately

Real estate closings run on tight, inflexible timelines, and same-day or next-day scheduling requests are common. A $50-$100 rush fee for inspections booked with less than 48 hours' notice is standard and rarely questioned given how time-sensitive closings are.

Don't forget new construction and warranty inspections

11th-month warranty inspections (done just before a new home's builder warranty expires) are a growing niche — priced similarly to a standard inspection but often faster since the home is new, making them solid margin.

Track your actual time per job type

If your radon add-on genuinely takes 5 extra minutes of labor but you're pricing it at $150, that's excellent margin. If your mold testing add-on is eating an extra hour and you're pricing it too close to cost, you'll find out fast once you track time against price by job type — something that's much easier to do with proper job records in a tool like ServiQ than by guessing from memory.