AC compressor replacement cost
A compressor costs $1,500 to $3,500 out of warranty and $600 to $1,400 if the part is still covered. It is the most expensive component in the system, and past twelve years the money usually belongs in a replacement.
National average
$2,400
per each
On this page
- What it costs
- Check the warranty before anything else
- Why a failed compressor often ends the system
- When replacing the compressor is right
- When to replace the system instead
- Frequently asked questions
- How do I know the compressor has actually failed?
- Can a compressor be repaired rather than replaced?
- How long does the work take?
- Will a new compressor make the system as good as new?
- Is a home warranty going to pay for this?
Replacing a compressor costs $1,500 to $3,500 on an air conditioner and $1,800 to $4,000 on a heat pump. It is the most expensive single component in the system, and on anything past about twelve years old the honest answer is usually to put the money toward a replacement instead.
If the compressor is still under the manufacturer's parts warranty, the picture changes completely: you pay labour and refrigerant, $600 to $1,400, and the repair makes obvious sense.
What it costs
| Situation | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Labour and refrigerant only, part under warranty | $600 to $1,400 |
| Compressor, 2 to 3 ton, out of warranty | $1,500 to $2,600 |
| Compressor, 4 to 5 ton, out of warranty | $2,000 to $3,500 |
| Heat pump compressor, out of warranty | $1,800 to $4,000 |
| Scroll compressor, high efficiency or variable speed | $2,500 to $4,500 |
| Replacing the whole outdoor unit instead | $2,500 to $5,000 |
| Full system changeout | $6,500 to $22,000 |
Note the fourth row from the bottom. Swapping the entire condensing unit is often only a few hundred more than the compressor alone, and it replaces the fan, the coil and the contactor at the same time.
Check the warranty before anything else
Most manufacturers warrant the compressor for five to ten years, and several offer ten or twelve to the original owner if the system was registered within 60 to 90 days of installation. Registration is the part people miss.
You need the model and serial numbers from the nameplate on the outdoor unit. The manufacturer's website will look up the warranty status from the serial alone. Do this yourself before you accept a quote, because a contractor quoting a full-price compressor on a unit that is still covered is either not checking or hoping you will not.
Labour is almost never covered. A warranty compressor still costs you $600 to $1,400 to fit.
Why a failed compressor often ends the system
A compressor rarely fails on its own. It fails because something else was wrong for a long time: a slow refrigerant leak starving it of oil, a failed capacitor making it work too hard to start, restricted airflow from a dirty coil, or years of short cycling from an oversized system.
That matters because fitting a new compressor into the same system without finding the cause reproduces the failure. A proper job includes a leak test, a new filter drier, and a look at the airflow. If a compressor "burned out", the loop is contaminated with acid and needs flushing or the new one dies too.
By the time you have paid for the compressor, the labour, the refrigerant, the drier and the diagnosis of the underlying cause, you are frequently past half the price of a new system with a fresh warranty and better efficiency.
When replacing the compressor is right
- The part is under warranty. Almost always do it.
- The system is under about eight years old and otherwise sound.
- The rest of the system was recently replaced and only the outdoor unit is old.
- You are selling the house within a year or two and a working system is what you need.
When to replace the system instead
- The system uses R-22. New R-22 compressors are scarce, the gas is expensive, and you are investing in obsolete equipment.
- The system is past twelve years and out of warranty.
- The evaporator coil is also failing.
- The compressor burned out and the loop is contaminated.
- You have had two significant repairs in two seasons.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know the compressor has actually failed?
Common evidence: the outdoor fan runs but the unit does not cool, the compressor hums and trips the breaker, or it draws locked-rotor amps on a meter. Before accepting the diagnosis, ask whether the run capacitor and the hard-start components were tested. A dead $200 capacitor produces symptoms that look exactly like a dead compressor, and it is the more common failure by a wide margin.
Can a compressor be repaired rather than replaced?
No. It is a sealed unit. It gets replaced.
How long does the work take?
Most of a day. The refrigerant is recovered, the old compressor unbrazed, the new one fitted with a new filter drier, the system pressure tested with nitrogen, evacuated under vacuum and recharged by weight. Anyone doing it in two hours is skipping the vacuum, and moisture left in the loop kills the new compressor.
Will a new compressor make the system as good as new?
Mechanically, close. Efficiency, no. A twelve year old unit with a new compressor is still a twelve year old unit with a dirty coil, and a system installed today would use meaningfully less electricity for the same cooling.
Is a home warranty going to pay for this?
Read the cap. Many policies cap HVAC payouts at $1,500 to $3,000, exclude systems above a certain age, and pay depreciated value. They can cover a chunk of it. They frequently do not cover all of it.
Read next
Repair or replace your HVAC system$6,500 to $22,000per projectThe $5,000 rule says multiply the repair by the age of the system and replace above $5,000. It is memorable and it is wrong often enough to cost money. Here is the arithmetic that works, and the cases where it is not close.
AC refrigerant recharge cost$250 to $2,000per projectA recharge costs $250 to $750 on R-410A and $600 to $2,000 on older R-22. But an air conditioner does not consume refrigerant. If yours is low, it is leaking, and refilling it is buying the same gas twice.
Evaporator coil replacement cost$900 to $2,800per eachAn evaporator coil costs $900 to $2,800, or $600 to $1,300 if the part is under warranty. Coils built between about 2005 and 2015 fail from formicary corrosion more often than they should, and many fail inside the warranty.
Air conditioner replacement cost$3,800 to $14,000per projectReplacing a central air conditioner costs $4,800 to $9,500 for the most common size, typically around $6,800 for a 3 ton system on existing ductwork.
How long does an HVAC system last$6,500 to $22,000per projectA gas furnace lasts 15 to 25 years and an air conditioner 15 to 20. Those ranges are wide on purpose: two identical systems on the same street routinely differ by a decade, and almost none of it is brand.