Electrical
Circuit breaker replacement cost
Replacing a circuit breaker is about $242 — $12 of breaker, half an hour of work, and the electrician's $160 trip charge, which is most of it — and three on one visit are $406. An AFCI breaker is $290, a GFCI $305, a main breaker $1,310 with the utility pulling the meter. But a breaker that trips is usually doing its job: the circuit is the problem, and the replacement has to be one the panel is listed for.
Written and edited by Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Last reviewed 2026-09-27 · Nothing you type leaves your browser
Circuit breaker replacement cost calculator
Which breaker, and why
The breaker is cheap; the electrician’s visit is the bill. And a breaker that trips is usually doing its job.
The ordinary 120 V breaker for lights and outlets..
On one visit.
A licensed electrician.
It will not reset, is hot, or is worn.
Used only to pick a regional labour rate. It stays in your browser.
1 standard single-pole, 15 or 20 a breaker replaced
$242
$12 of parts · $160 trip
The visit is the bill
Any other breakers that need doing cost only their parts and half an hour each on the same visit.
The panel decides
Not any breaker that fits.
A replacement must be a breaker the panel is listed for — the label inside the door names them — or one tested and classified for it. A breaker that clips in but is not listed can loosen, arc and fail to trip.
Every kind of breaker
One of each, replaced by an electrician.
What the electrician charges for
- 1 × standard single-pole, 15 or 20 a
The ordinary 120 V breaker for lights and outlets.$12 - Trip charge
The electrician's call-out, once for the visit.$160 - Swapping it
About half an hour each: panel cover off, breaker out, wires torqued on the new one, tested.$70
What it costs
National average. 1 standard single-pole, 15 or 20 a breaker replaced like for like. Not included: repairing the wiring or device that makes it trip, or a new circuit.
A new panel, on the electrical panel page; GFCI outlets instead of breakers, on the GFCI page; a new circuit and outlet, on the outlet page.
Worth knowing
- 1 standard single-pole, 15 or 20 a breaker: $12 of parts and about half an hour each, inside a $160 trip charge — the visit is most of the bill, so any other breakers that need doing are best done together.
- A breaker that trips is usually doing its job: an overloaded circuit or a fault downstream. Replace it when it will not reset, trips with nothing on the circuit, is hot to the touch or smells burnt.
- The replacement has to be a breaker the panel is listed for — the label inside the door names them — or one classified for it. The brand of the panel decides, not the price at the store.
On this page — 4 sections
The visit is the bill
The short version
- Standard breaker: $242. Three on one visit: $406.
- AFCI $290, GFCI $305, dual-function $325.
- Main breaker: $1,310, with the utility.
- A tripping breaker is usually working.
A breaker costs ten to a hundred dollars and takes about half an hour to change: the panel cover off, the old breaker out, the wire torqued onto the new one, tested. What makes the bill is the electrician’s trip charge, about $160, which is why one breaker is $242 and three are $406. The price rises with the kind of protection in the breaker — arc-fault, ground-fault or both — and jumps for the main breaker, which cannot be worked on until the utility pulls the meter.
$242
Standard breaker
Installed
$305
GFCI breaker
Installed
$290
AFCI breaker
Installed
$1,310
Main breaker
With the utility
MaterialsEstimator, Circuit breaker replacement price survey · checked 2026-09-27
MaterialsEstimator, GFCI receptacle and breaker price survey · checked 2026-09-23
Tripping is usually the circuit
A breaker that trips is almost always doing what it is for: the circuit is overloaded — the space heater and the hair dryer on the same one — or there is a fault in an appliance, a device or the wiring. A new breaker in that situation trips just the same. The breaker itself is the problem when it will not reset, trips with nothing plugged in, is hot to the touch or smells burnt. An hour of diagnosis with a clamp meter and an insulation tester, about $95, tells which.
| The circuit | The breaker | |
|---|---|---|
| Trips when several things run | Overload | — |
| Trips when one appliance starts | Fault in that appliance | — |
| Trips with nothing on | Fault in the wiring | Possibly worn |
| Will not reset, hot, burnt smell | — | Replace it |
The panel decides the breaker
A breaker is part of the panel’s listing. The label inside the panel door names the breaker types it was tested with; a replacement must be one of them, or a breaker UL-classified for that panel. One that clips in without being listed can sit loose on the bus, arc and fail to trip. Panels from makers no longer in business — Federal Pacific, Zinsco — leave only reconditioned or third-party breakers, and many electricians and insurers recommend replacing those panels rather than repairing them.
UL Standards & Engagement, UL 489 — Molded-case circuit breakers, and panelboard listing · checked 2026-09-27
National Fire Protection Association, NEC 210.12 — Arc-fault circuit-interrupter protection; 406.12 — tamper-resistant receptacles; 406.4(D) — replacements (2023) · checked 2026-09-25
What goes wrong
Before the electrician comes
- The breaker's amperage and type noted.
- The panel's brand and label photographed.
- Why it failed: trips, will not reset, hot or burnt.
- Every other breaker that needs doing listed.
- For a main breaker, the utility called.
01Replacing a breaker that trips from overload
The new one trips the same.
Instead — Find the load or the fault.
02A bigger breaker to stop the tripping
The wire is sized to the breaker; a bigger one lets it overheat.
Instead — The same amperage, and fix the cause.
03Any breaker that fits the slot
Unlisted breakers can loosen and fail to trip.
Instead — One listed or classified for the panel.
04One breaker per visit
Each visit pays the trip charge.
Instead — Every breaker at once.
05Working in a live panel
The main off leaves the service side live.
Instead — An electrician.
- 01Note the breakerIts amperage, single or double pole, and whether it is AFCI, GFCI or dual-function.
- 02Read the panel labelThe brand and the breaker types the panel is listed for.
- 03Ask why it failedTripping under load is usually the circuit; not resetting, heat or a burnt smell is the breaker.
- 04Count the othersEvery breaker that needs doing, on one visit, since the trip charge is most of the bill.
- 05Check the panel's ageDiscontinued brands and 40-year-old panels are a reason to price a new panel.
- 06Main breaker: call the utilityThe meter has to be pulled, and the utility sets the date.
A discontinued brand, a full panel or a main breaker on an old one: a new panel, priced by amperage with the service upgrade if it needs one.
When it is the panel- Circuit breaker
- The switch in the panel that opens a circuit on overload or short circuit, and can be reset.
- Single-pole breaker
- A one-space breaker for a 120 V circuit, usually 15 or 20 A.
- Double-pole breaker
- A two-space breaker for a 240 V circuit — dryer, range, water heater, air conditioner.
- AFCI
- Arc-fault circuit interrupter: trips on the arcing that starts wiring fires.
- GFCI breaker
- Ground-fault protection for the whole circuit, built into the breaker.
- Dual-function breaker
- AFCI and GFCI protection in one breaker.
- Main breaker
- The large breaker at the top of the panel that shuts off the whole house.
- Listed breaker
- A breaker the panel's label names, or one UL-classified for that panel. The only kind that belongs in it.
- Nuisance tripping
- A breaker tripping with no apparent cause — usually an overload or a fault downstream, occasionally a worn breaker.
Common questions
- How much does it cost to replace a circuit breaker?
- About $242 for a standard 15 or 20 A breaker: the breaker is $8–$20, the swap about half an hour, and the electrician's trip charge — about $160 — is most of it. Three on the same visit are $406. A double-pole 240 V breaker is $258.
- How much does a GFCI breaker replacement cost?
- About $305 installed — $45–$130 for the breaker — and $325 for a dual-function AFCI/GFCI breaker. A GFCI outlet at the first receptacle protects the same circuit for less, and resets at the wall instead of the panel.
- How much does an AFCI breaker cost?
- About $45–$80 for the breaker, $290 installed. Code wants arc-fault protection added when a living-space circuit is modified or extended.
- How much does a main breaker replacement cost?
- About $1,310: a $150–$450 main breaker, the swap with the service conductors re-landed, the utility pulling the meter and a permit. On an old panel, a whole new 200 A panel at about $2,000 is often the better spend.
- How much does a circuit breaker cost?
- At the store, about $8–$20 for a standard single-pole breaker, $15–$50 for a double-pole, $45–$80 for AFCI, $45–$130 for GFCI and $60–$160 for dual-function. Only a breaker listed for your panel's brand belongs in it.
- How do I know if a breaker is bad?
- It will not reset, trips with nothing on the circuit, feels hot, smells burnt, or is visibly scorched. A breaker that trips when the space heater and the microwave run together is working; the circuit is overloaded.
- Why does my breaker keep tripping?
- Usually an overloaded circuit or a fault in a device or the wiring — the breaker doing its job. An hour of diagnosis, about $95 on top of the visit, finds which; replacing the breaker only helps if the breaker itself has worn out.
- Can I replace a circuit breaker myself?
- Many people do, for about $12 in parts. The main breaker off does not make the panel dead — the conductors feeding the main stay live — so it is work for someone who knows which parts of the panel still bite. Main breakers are always an electrician and the utility.
- Should I replace breakers in a Federal Pacific or Zinsco panel?
- Replacement breakers for those panels are reconditioned or third-party and scarce, about $350 installed each. Many electricians and insurers recommend replacing the panel instead, about $2,000 for a new 200 A panel.
Send this to whoever is paying
The link carries your measurements, so whoever opens it sees the same numbers you are looking at — and you can come back to it yourself tomorrow with the delivery note in front of you.
Plain links, no tracking scripts. Nothing here reports back that you shared it.
About the author
Pablo Ruiz Quintero — Editor
Editor of MaterialsEstimator. Decides which documents count as a source, what every default value is, and where the line sits between what the reader parses and what the engines compute.
More about how this site is edited