Electrical Panel Upgrade Cost
The panel is the cheap part. A 100 A to 200 A upgrade is $1,300 to $3,000 for the box and the labor - and then the service mast, the meter base and the circuits arrive, and this guide shows you which of them your job actually needs.
By the Calculate My Reno Team / Published
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Most of what you read about this job prices the box. The box is the cheap part. A 200 A panel installed is $1,300 to $3,000, and the reason two quotes for it can be $2,000 apart is almost never the panel - it is how much of the service entrance the electrician has priced in behind it.
What the panel costs, installed
Panel work is quoted by amperage tier - the box, the breakers and the electrician’s time together. Amperage is not a unit that converts, incidentally: 200 A is 200 A on both sides of the border.
| Service size | Installed |
|---|---|
| 100 A | $800 - $1,500 |
| 150 A | $1,300 - $1,600 |
| 200 A | $1,300 - $3,000 |
| 400 A | $2,000 - $4,000 |
| Each circuit added, run and breakered | $250 - $900 |
Bands are indicative 2026 US contractor ranges from published cost guides. They are not a quote. The common job - 100 A to 200 A - is $1,300 to $3,000, and the outer envelope across all of it is $800 to $4,000.
Notice how flat that table is. Four tiers, spanning a factor of four in amperage, span barely a factor of three in price - because you are mostly buying an electrician’s day either way, and his day does not care what is stamped on the box.
The extras are where the money hides
| The line | Cost |
|---|---|
| Service mast / riser | $500 - $1,700 |
| Meter base | $200 - $800 |
| Sub-panel | $400 - $1,750 |
| Permit + inspection | $150 - $550 |
| Utility disconnect / reconnect | your utility sets this |
Add the mast and the meter base to a 200 A panel and the quote roughly doubles. That is the whole reason a $1,300 quote and a $3,500 quote can name the same amperage.
And this is not padding. The panel is the last link in a chain. The utility’s conductors come down a mast, through a meter base, and only then into your panel. Fit a 200 A panel behind a 100 A mast and meter and you have not bought a 200 A service - you have bought a 200 A box fed by a 100 A service. Whether those upstream parts already suit the new amperage is the single question that decides your total, and it is answerable only by someone standing in front of your house.
How the price is built
electrical panel upgrade cost = panel installed (by amperage tier)
+ service mast / riser, if the entrance is being upsized
+ meter base, if the old one is not rated for it
+ sub-panel, if one is needed
+ circuits added (each run and breakered)
+ permit and inspection
+ the utility's disconnect / reconnect charge
Run yours through the electrical panel upgrade cost calculator to get a low-typical-high band rather than a single fake-precise number, then price the lines locally.
Worked example: the 100 A to 200 A job, twice
Same house, same target, two different services behind it.
House A - the service entrance is already 200 A rated and only the panel is tired.
- 200 A panel, installed - $1,300 - $3,000.
- Permit and inspection - $150 - $550.
- Realistic total: roughly $1,450 - $3,550, and with nothing upstream to touch it sits in the low half.
House B - a 100 A vintage service, all of it.
- 200 A panel, installed - $1,300 - $3,000.
- Service mast - $500 - $1,700. Meter base - $200 - $800.
- Two circuits for the new range and the car charger - $500 - $1,800.
- Permit and inspection, plus whatever the utility charges to disconnect and reconnect.
- Realistic total: roughly $2,650 - $7,850 before the utility’s line.
Both houses bought “a 200 amp panel.” One of them bought a service upgrade. That is the distinction the quotes will not draw for you.
Why people actually do this job
The trigger is almost always a specific new load rather than the age of the box:
- A heat pump. The most common reason of all now, and the one that turns a 100 A house into a 200 A house.
- An induction range.
- An EV charger.
- A finished basement or an addition that needs more circuits than there are spaces.
100 A is the NEC’s minimum service for a one-family dwelling - a floor, not a target. A house on 100 A is legal and may be perfectly adequate right up until one of the above goes in. If nothing new is going in and nothing is tripping, an upgrade is a project looking for a reason.
Canada is worth a paragraph of its own here, because the rule is a different shape. The Canadian Electrical Code ties the minimum service to the size of the house rather than setting one flat figure: 100 A once the floor area excluding the basement reaches 80 m², and 60 A is permitted below that. So a small older Canadian house can be legally on 60 A - and that is precisely the house that cannot take a heat pump without this job.
Where panel quotes go wrong
- Comparing two quotes on the amperage alone. The mast and the meter base are $700 to $2,500 of daylight between two quotes that both say “200 A”.
- Buying the panel before pricing the service entrance. The box was never the expensive part.
- Upgrading because the panel is old. Age is not a load calculation. A new load is a reason; a birthday is not.
- Forgetting the utility. They have to disconnect you and reconnect you, they charge for it, and nobody publishes what they charge. Call them.
- Skipping the permit. The utility generally will not reconnect an unpermitted, uninspected service, so this one tends to enforce itself the expensive way.
- Counting on a tax credit without checking it still exists. The US federal 25C credit was repealed for anything placed in service after 31 December 2025 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act, P.L. 119-21), and Canada’s Greener Homes Grant is closed. What is left is state and provincial. Check before you count on it.
If the panel is being upgraded for a heat pump, price the two together before you commit to either - see HVAC replacement cost.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an electrical panel upgrade cost?
Going from 100 A to 200 A - by far the most common job - is about $1,300 to $3,000, with the outer envelope running $800 to $4,000. By tier, a 100 A panel is roughly $800 to $1,500 installed, 150 A is $1,300 to $1,600, 200 A is $1,300 to $3,000 and 400 A is $2,000 to $4,000. Watch for the extras, because they are where the money hides: a new service mast is $500 to $1,700, a meter base $200 to $800, a sub-panel $400 to $1,750, a permit and inspection $150 to $550, and each new circuit $250 to $900. Your utility also charges to disconnect and reconnect you, and only they can tell you what that costs.
How much does it cost to upgrade to a 200 amp service?
About $1,300 to $3,000 for the panel installed, and then the question is how much of the service entrance comes with it. If the mast, the meter base and the conductors from the utility are already rated for 200 A and only the panel is undersized, you are at the low end of that band and close to done. If the whole service entrance is 100 A vintage, add a service mast ($500 to $1,700) and a meter base ($200 to $800) and you are into the top of the $800 to $4,000 envelope. The spread is not the panel. It is how much of the service comes with it.
Do I need a 200 amp panel?
The reason most people do this job is a specific new load rather than a general sense that the panel is old: a heat pump, an induction range, or an EV charger. 100 A is the NEC minimum service for a one-family dwelling - a floor, not a target - so a house on 100 A is legal and may be entirely adequate until you try to add one of those. The honest test is a load calculation, not the age of the box. If nothing new is going in and nothing is tripping, an upgrade is a project looking for a reason.
What is a service mast and why is it on my quote?
It is the conduit and riser that carries the utility's conductors from their drop down to your meter, and it is on your quote because the panel is only the last link in the chain. Upgrading the panel to 200 A while leaving a 100 A mast and meter base in place does not give you a 200 A service - it gives you a 200 A box fed by a 100 A service. When a quote is $1,300 and another is $3,500 for the same amperage, the mast ($500 to $1,700) and the meter base ($200 to $800) are usually the difference, and the cheaper quote may simply not include them.
Does a panel upgrade need a permit?
Yes, and it is $150 to $550 including the inspection. It is also not optional in a practical sense, quite apart from the legal one: the utility has to disconnect you to do this work and reconnect you afterwards, and they generally will not reconnect an unpermitted, uninspected service. An electrician who offers to skip the permit on a service upgrade is telling you something about the rest of his work.
How much does the utility charge to disconnect and reconnect?
Nobody publishes it, and that is not an evasion - it is genuinely set by your utility, and it varies from nothing to several hundred dollars depending on the company and whether your service is overhead or underground. Every other line on this page has a published band behind it. This one has your utility's phone number behind it. Call them before you finalize the budget, because it is the one number your electrician cannot quote you either.