Carpet & Rug Installation Cost Calculator

Installed carpet typically runs about $3.50–$11 per square foot ($30–$100 per square yard) including the carpet, padding and labor — mid-grade residential carpet lands around $5–$8 per sq ft installed. Enter your carpet, padding and installation prices and the calculator gives a materials-plus-labor total for your room. A 12 × 15 ft room (180 sq ft / 20 yd²) at $6 per sq ft is about $1,080 installed.

It is not just the room area — carpet comes in fixed-width rolls (most commonly 12 ft, also 15 ft), and the roll rarely matches the room, so you buy more than the floor area and cut off the waste. The calculator lays the roll the way that wastes least, works out the carpet to buy at the roll width, and adds a trim/pattern allowance. A 10 × 14 ft room off a 12 ft roll buys about 12 × 14 ft = 168 sq ft for 140 sq ft of floor.

Roll width. If your room is 10 ft wide and the carpet roll is 12 ft, that 2 ft strip down the side is offcut you still pay for. Rooms wider than the roll need two widths seamed, which wastes more again. That is why a carpet estimate always exceeds the floor area — the calculator shows both the floor area and the carpet to buy so you can see the difference.

Both — US carpet has traditionally been priced per square yard, though per square foot is now common; 1 square yard = 9 square feet, so $54/yd² is $6/sq ft. Enter your price in the unit the calculator shows (per sq ft in imperial, per m² in metric) — if you have a per-yard price, divide by 9 for the per-sq-ft figure.

Usually yes on a new carpet — padding is what makes carpet feel good and last, and most warranties require it. It is priced separately per square foot of floor (roughly $0.30–$0.80 per sq ft), so it is a distinct line in the estimate. Enter a padding price to include it, or leave it blank if you are reusing existing padding.

Add closets and alcoves to the room size (or use the extra-area field), and treat stairs separately — each standard step takes roughly 3–4 sq ft (0.3–0.4 m²) of carpet including the riser and a wrap allowance, and installers usually charge more per step for the labor. For a straight room this estimate is close; for a whole house with stairs, get an in-home measure.