Doors and windows
Plantation shutters cost
Plantation shutters are about $480 a window installed — $3,840 for eight 32 × 60 in windows in composite — because each is made to its opening and priced by its square feet: $30 a foot in composite, $24 in vinyl, $52 in hardwood, with a minimum that makes small windows dearer per foot. The window's depth decides whether they sit inside the frame or on a frame over the casing, and arches are made to a template. Outside, shutters are bought by the pair — $155 in stock vinyl, $375 made to size — and look right only when each is half the window's width. This prices both, from the window's own measurements.
Written and edited by Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Last reviewed 2026-09-24 · Nothing you type leaves your browser
Plantation shutters cost calculator
The windows, and which side of them
Plantation shutters are made to each opening and priced by its square feet; exterior shutters are sized to the window and priced by the pair.
Plantation shutters, made to the opening.
Of this size.
Inside the opening, the smallest of three.
Inside the opening.
An MDF or foam core with a polymer skin. Looks like painted wood, shrugs off humidity, and is what most houses get.
The common choice: a clear view through, and it suits most windows.
Inside mount: needs 2.25 in.
Extra windows, made to a template.
The classic centre rod.
A dealer measures, makes and hangs.
Used only to pick a regional labour rate. It stays in your browser.
8 plantation shutter windows, composite or faux wood, installed
$3,840
$480 a window · $36 per sq ft of window · 2 panels each · inside mount
By the square foot of window
Each 32 × 60 in window is 13.3 sq ft, made to measure at $30 a foot in composite or faux wood. The same windows in vinyl are $3,200; in hardwood $6,187.
Measured three times
The measurement is the product.
Width at the top, middle and bottom; height at the left, middle and right; the smallest of each, to the eighth of an inch. A plantation shutter is built to that number and is not returned when it is wrong, which is most of what a dealer's install fee buys.
The same windows, each material
Same sizes, same mount, same installer; only the material changes.
What the quote covers
- 8 × 32 × 60 in, composite or faux wood
13.3 sq ft billed each, 2 panels, 3½ in louvers, inside mount.$3,200 - Installing
Per window: the frame set plumb and square in the opening, the panels hung and adjusted, the gaps even.$640
What it costs
National average. 8 windows of 32 × 60 in, composite or faux wood plantation shutters, 3½ in louvers, inside mount. Not included: sliding-door or French-door shutters, motorisation, or repairs to window trim.
The window behind them is priced on the window replacement page; the house the exterior shutters hang on, on the exterior painting page.
Worth knowing
- A 32 × 60 in window is 13.3 sq ft. At $30 a square foot in composite or faux wood, that is $400 a window made to measure, before it is hung.
- 3½ in louvers need about 2.25 in of window depth to open clear of the glass, the locks and the crank; this window has 3 in, so the shutters mount inside the frame and the casing stays visible.
- At 32 in wide the window takes 2 panels — nobody makes a panel much over 30 in that stays square — hinged in pairs. Each extra panel is a hinge line, a divider rail and a little more installing.
On this page — 5 sections
By the square foot of window
The short version
- About $480 a window installed — eight 32 × 60 in windows in composite, $3,840.
- Priced by the square foot of opening, with a minimum per window: small windows cost more per foot.
- The window’s depth decides the mount. Too shallow for the louvers and it goes outside on a frame, about 12% more.
- Exterior shutters: $155 a pair in stock vinyl, half the window’s width each if they are to look right.
A plantation shutter is built for one window. The dealer measures the opening, the factory makes a frame and panels to that measurement, and the price follows the area: about $30 a square foot for composite, which is most of what is sold. A 32 by 60 inch window is 13.3 square feet, $400 of shutter and $80 of installing for its two panels. Below about 8 square feet the price stops falling — a shutter has a frame, hinges and a tilt rod whatever its size — which is why a small bathroom window costs more per foot than a living-room one.
$480
A 32 × 60 in window
Composite, installed
$305
A 24 × 36 in window
Billed at 8 sq ft
$995
A 72 in wide window
3 panels
$1,000
An arched window
Made to a template
MaterialsEstimator, Plantation and exterior shutter price survey · checked 2026-09-24
Inside or outside the frame
The louvers have to open without hitting the glass, the sash lock or the casement crank, and a louver opens to about half its width. So a 3½ in louvers shutter needs about 2.25 inches of window depth to sit inside the opening, a 4½ in louvers one about 2.75. A window with that depth takes an inside mount: the shutter sits in the opening and the casing stays in view. A shallower one takes an outside mount on an L- or Z-frame that sits on the casing, covers it, and costs about 12% more. Before paying for the frame, smaller louvers are worth a look.
| Inside mount | Outside mount | |
|---|---|---|
| Depth needed, 3½ in louvers | About 2.25 in | Any |
| Eight windows, composite | $3,840 | $4,224 |
| Casing | Stays in view | Covered by the frame |
| Light gaps | A hairline at the frame | Fewer — the frame overlaps |
| Out of square openings | The frame is shimmed to it | Hides it |
Norman / Hunter Douglas, Plantation shutter measuring, mounting and installation guides · checked 2026-09-24
Vinyl, composite, basswood, hardwood
The installer charges the same to hang any of them, so the material is the whole spread. Vinyl is heavy, white, and does not care about steam. Composite — an engineered core in a polymer skin — looks like painted wood and is the default. Basswood is real wood, lighter, straighter and stainable, and moves with the seasons. Premium hardwood is chosen for its grain and priced for it.
| Eight 32 × 60 in windows | Per sq ft | Installed | Per window | Online, hung yourself |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vinyl (polymer) | $24 | $3,200 | $400 | $1,997 |
| Composite or faux wood | $30 | $3,840 | $480 | $2,496 |
| Basswood | $38 | $4,693 | $587 | $3,162 |
| Premium hardwood | $52 | $6,187 | $773 | $4,326 |
3½ in louvers, inside mount, centre tilt rod. Hidden tilt: $4,096 in composite.
Exterior shutters, sized so they could close
Outside, shutters are bought by the pair, and the thing that makes them look right costs nothing: each one half the width of the window and its full height, so that the pair would cover the window if it closed. A 32 inch window takes 16 inch shutters, and stock vinyl — which comes 12, 14.5, 15 inches wide — is close enough. A 44 inch window wants 22 inch shutters, stock stops at 15, and what goes up reads as trim. Made-to-size composite looks like painted wood and does not rot; cedar is the real thing and wants paint every few years; operable wood shutters hang on hinges and actually close.
| Eight pairs, 16 × 60 in each | Installed | Per pair | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vinyl, stock louvered or panel | $1,240 | $155 | 20 yr |
| Composite, made to size | $3,000 | $375 | 30 yr |
| Cedar or wood, made to size | $4,707 | $588 | 25 yr |
| Operable wood, hinged, with hardware | $7,795 | $974 | 25 yr |
First storey. On a 44 in window stock vinyl is still $1,240 — and 7 in too narrow each side.
Timberlane / Historic shutter conventions, Exterior shutter sizing, mounting and hardware · checked 2026-09-24
What goes wrong
Before ordering
- Every opening measured three ways each, the smallest kept, to the eighth.
- The depth measured to the nearest crank or lock, not just the glass.
- Louver size chosen against that depth, before the mount is decided.
- Vinyl or composite in every room that steams.
- Panels counted for the wide windows, and where the hinges will fall.
- Exterior: each shutter half the window's width and its full height.
01Measuring once
Openings are rarely square; a shutter built to the widest point does not go in.
Instead — Three measurements each way, the smallest kept.
02Wide louvers in a shallow window
4½ in louvers need about 2.75 in to open inside the frame. Short of it they hit the glass or force an outside mount.
Instead — Smaller louvers, or the outside-mount frame on the quote from the start.
03Wood in the bathroom
Basswood swells and the panels stop closing square.
Instead — Vinyl or composite where it steams.
04Pricing the small windows at the big ones' rate
Below 8 sq ft a window is billed at the minimum.
Instead — Group them and price them on their own line.
05Stock exterior shutters on wide windows
Half-width shutters that could not close the window look pasted on.
Instead — Made to size, half the window each.
06Painting shutters on the wall
The backs and the siding behind them stay the old colour, and it shows when they come down.
Instead — Down, both sides, rehung.
- 01Measure every opening three timesWidth at the top, middle and bottom, height at the left, middle and right, inside the opening. The smallest of each, to the eighth.
- 02Measure the depthFrom the face of the casing to the glass or the nearest crank or lock. That decides whether the louvers you want can open inside the frame.
- 03Group the windows by sizeEqual windows go on one line; small ones pay the minimum per window, so they cost more per foot.
- 04Pick the material for each roomVinyl or composite where it steams; wood where it will be seen and does not.
- 05Count the archesShaped windows are made to a template at about two and a half times the price.
- 06Compare dealer and onlineOnline is cheaper and the measuring is yours; a dealer's price includes the measurement being right.
Replacing a window changes the opening the shutter is built to. Windows first, shutters measured after; the window page prices the replacement.
If the window is going too- Plantation shutter
- An interior shutter with wide adjustable louvers, made to fit one window opening and hinged in panels. Priced by the square foot of opening.
- Louver
- The slat. 2½, 3½ or 4½ in wide; the wider it is, the more view and the more window depth it needs to open.
- Inside mount
- The shutter frame fitted inside the window opening, so the casing stays visible. Needs enough depth for the louvers to open clear of the glass and locks.
- Outside mount
- The shutter on an L- or Z-frame that sits on the casing, for windows too shallow to take it inside. Covers the trim.
- Panel
- One hinged leaf. Windows over about 30 in wide take two or more, hinged in pairs or bi-folding.
- Divider rail
- A horizontal rail across a tall panel, so the top and bottom louvers tilt separately. Light up top, privacy below.
- Hidden tilt
- A tilt mechanism in the side of the panel instead of a rod down the front. A clear view, for about 8% more.
- Billed square feet
- The area a shutter is charged at: the opening, or the minimum per window if the opening is smaller.
- Faux wood / composite
- An MDF or foam core with a polymer skin. Looks painted, does not warp, and is most of what is sold.
- Exterior shutter sizing
- Each shutter half the window's width and its full height, so the pair would close over it. The rule that separates shutters from trim.
- Operable shutter
- An exterior shutter on hinges that actually closes, with holdbacks on the wall. The kind decorative shutters imitate.
- Shutter fastener
- The plastic screw-pin that holds a decorative vinyl shutter flat against the siding.
Common questions
- How much do plantation shutters cost?
- About $480 a window installed for a 32 × 60 in window in composite — $3,840 for eight — made to measure at about $30 a square foot of opening and hung by a dealer at about $65 a window. In vinyl it is $400 a window, in basswood $587, in premium hardwood $773. One window on its own is $650, because the installer's minimum does not shrink.
- How much are plantation shutters per window?
- $480 for an average 32 × 60 in window in composite, installed. A small 24 × 36 in window is $305 — billed at the 8 sq ft minimum, so more per foot — and a 72 in wide one takes 3 panels and is $995. An arched window is made to a template at about 2.5 times the square-foot price.
- How much do plantation shutters cost per square foot?
- $24 in vinyl, $30 in composite, $38 in basswood and $52 in premium hardwood, for the shutter; about $36 a square foot installed for composite. Hidden tilt adds about 8%, an outside-mount frame about 12%.
- Vinyl, composite or wood?
- Vinyl ($3,200 for eight windows) is heavy, will not warp and comes in white; it is the one for bathrooms and over the kitchen sink. Composite ($3,840) looks like painted wood and shrugs off humidity, and is most of what is sold. Basswood ($4,693) is lighter, spans wider panels and takes stain, and moves with the seasons. Hardwood ($6,187) is furniture on a window. The installer charges the same for all four.
- Will they fit inside my window frame?
- If the window is deep enough for the louvers to open: about half the louver width plus a margin for the locks and cranks — 1.75 in for 2½ in louvers, 2.25 in for 3½ in, 2.75 in for 4½ in. Shallower than that and the shutter mounts outside on an L- or Z-frame over the casing, about 12% more: 4½ in louvers on a 2 in deep window make the eight windows $4,224 instead of $3,840. Smaller louvers often fit where large ones do not.
- Are plantation shutters cheaper online?
- About 22% cheaper for the shutters and all of the installing: $2,496 for the eight windows against $3,840 from a dealer, and about 9.6 hours of hanging. The catch is the measuring: a shutter is built to the number you send, to the eighth of an inch, and is not returned when that number is wrong.
- How much do exterior shutters cost?
- About $155 a pair installed in stock vinyl — $1,240 for eight windows — $375 a pair in composite made to size, $588 in cedar, and $974 for operable wood shutters on hinges with holdbacks. Second-storey windows cost about 60% more to hang.
- What size should exterior shutters be?
- Each shutter half the width of the window inside the trim and its full height, so the pair would cover the window if closed. A 32 × 60 in window takes two 16 × 60 in shutters. Stock vinyl comes 12, 14.5, 15 in wide, which suits windows up to about 33 in; on a 44 in window each shutter should be 22 in, stock stops at 15, and the result looks like trim. Made to size is the fix.
- How much does it cost to paint shutters?
- About $70 a pair — $560 for eight — to take them down, clean them, prime where bare, paint both sides and rehang them; $896 on the second storey. Taking them down is the point: painted on the wall, the backs and the siding behind them stay the old colour. Vinyl takes a paint made for vinyl, in a colour no darker than the original, or it warps in the sun.
- Do plantation shutters add value?
- They are one of the few window treatments that stay with the house: they are fixed to the window frame, made to it, and listed as a feature. They also insulate a little and outlast blinds by decades — the 25 to 30 year life is the argument, more than resale.
- How long does it take to get them?
- Six to ten weeks from measuring to installing for custom shutters from a dealer, two to four weeks for the online made-to-measure route. Installing is a few hours for a house: the frames set square in each opening, the panels hung and adjusted until the gaps are even.
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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.
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