How much to charge for HVAC service calls and tune-ups (2026)

In the US, HVAC service calls usually cost the customer $75 to $200, tune-ups $70 to $200, and labour $75 to $150 an hour. In Canada, a furnace tune-up runs about CA$70 to $250. Here's how to price a tune-up so it doesn't lose money.

How HVAC businesses price it

• A diagnostic or service-call fee: often credited against the repair if the customer goes ahead.
• Flat-rate repairs: a set price per repair from your price book.
• A fixed tune-up price: for spring AC and fall furnace checks.
• Maintenance plans: about $120 to $360 a year in the US, with priority service and 5% to 15% off repairs. In Canada, about CA$150 to $500 a year.
• Emergencies: often 2 to 3 times the normal rate, or $40 to $80 an hour more.

Tune-up prices vary widely: one large site puts a central AC tune-up at $170 to $752. Check what businesses near you charge.

Work out your own price

Here's one technician, employed full time, with a van.

• Labour: HVAC technicians earn a median of $29.33 an hour in the US. Payroll taxes and benefits add about 45%, so call it $42.50. If 70% of paid hours are billed, each billable hour carries $60.70 of pay.
• Running costs: van, tools, refrigerant equipment, stock, insurance and the office. Say $55,000 a year over 1,400 billable hours: about $39.30 an hour.
• That's $100 a billable hour before profit.
• A tune-up: an hour on site and 30 minutes' drive is $150, plus a $25 filter at cost: $175 to break even. Add 12% profit: about $195.

So a $99 tune-up loses about $75 every time, unless it leads to repairs or a maintenance plan. That's why many shops sell tune-ups mostly inside a plan. Put in your own numbers with our hourly rate calculator.

What pushes the price up or down

• The system: oil furnaces cost the most to service. Older systems and a second furnace (about $100 to $200 more) take longer.
• Refrigerant, after hours, and how far you drive. In rural Canada, call fees run about CA$80 to $130.

Add-ons worth offering

• Coil cleaning: $100 to $400. Refrigerant top-up: $100 to $320. A new capacitor: $100 to $250.
• A maintenance plan, offered on every tune-up invoice.

In Canada

• HVAC mechanics earn a median of CA$37.50 an hour (Alberta and BC $40, Ontario $37).
• Add CPP, EI, vacation pay and workers' compensation to the wage before you do the sum.
• Furnace cleaning runs about CA$100 to $300, and labour about CA$75 to $150 an hour.
• Profit margins are thin: - Canadian plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors averaged 11.2% net profit in 2024. - A 2025 US study by the contractors' association ACCA found about 9% for contractors spending at least 12% of revenue on marketing, and 5% for those spending less.

Put it on a quote

Offer options on the same quote:

• Good: the repair.
• Better: the repair and a tune-up.
• Best: the repair, plus a maintenance plan with 2 tune-ups a year and member pricing.

In MightyCrews, a membership renews itself and books the tune-ups. Start from the free HVAC quote template.

Sources (checked November 2026)

• US prices: HomeGuide (Jul 2025; plans Sep 2023), Thumbtack (Nov 2026).
• Canadian prices: HomeStars (Aug 2026).
• Pay: US Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025 pay; June 2026 employer costs) and Canada's Job Bank.
• Profit: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (2024 data) and ACCA (2025 study).