Plumbing
Sump pump installation cost
Replacing a sump pump in its existing pit is about $588 — a 1/3 hp submersible, a new check valve, an hour and a half and the trip charge. A new pit is a day's work and about $1,450: the slab broken out, a basin set in gravel, the pump and a discharge line taken out through the wall. A battery backup adds about $300 for the unit, and it is what keeps the pump running in the storm that cuts the power. The pump is sized against the lift, not the horsepower on the box, and costs about $20 a year to run.
Written and edited by Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Last reviewed 2026-09-25 · Nothing you type leaves your browser
Sump pump installation cost calculator
The pit, the pump and the lift
A pump is sized against how high and how far it pushes the water, not by the horsepower on the box.
The old pump out, a new one on the same discharge, a new check valve, tested.
Cycles through every rain and a wet spring.
Sized for you: 27 gpm against 20.
Usually the basement height plus a foot.
12 ft of total head.
If the power goes out in a storm, so does the pump..
The pump connects to the line that is there..
No alarm.
A plumber.
Used only to pick a regional labour rate. It stays in your browser.
submersible, 1/3 hp
$588
27 gpm at 12 ft · $20 a year to run · $1,379 over 10 years
No backup
The storm that floods a basement often cuts the power too. A battery backup, about $300 for the unit, keeps it pumping.
Where it goes
Outside, and away from the house.
Most places forbid pumping groundwater into the sewer. The discharge goes out through the wall and at least ten feet from the foundation — or it soaks back in and the pump runs the same water again.
Swap, new pit, backup or repair
By a plumber, with the pump sized above.
What the plumber charges for
- Submersible, 1/3 hp
The whole pump sits in the water, quiet and out of the way. The standard pump for an ordinary basement. About 27 gpm at 12 ft of head.$220 - Check valve and fittings
The old pump out, a new one on the same discharge, a new check valve, tested. An hour and a half.$35 - The plumber
1.5 hours or so.$173 - Trip charge
Once for the visit.$160
What it costs
National average. Replace the pump in the existing pit: submersible, 1/3 hp, existing discharge line. Not included: interior drain tile along the walls, or waterproofing the foundation.
Drain tile along the walls feeding the pit, on the French drain page; the outlet by the pit, on the GFCI outlet page; the basement window that lets water in, on the egress window page.
Worth knowing
- Lifting the water 9 ft and carrying it 10 ft is about 12 ft of head. The smallest pump that moves the 20 gpm a moderate inflow needs at that head is a submersible, 1/3 hp — 27 gpm.
- A replacement in the existing pit: $220 of pump and a new check valve, fitted in about 1.5 hours.
- The storm that floods a basement is often the one that cuts the power. A battery backup — about $300 for the unit — takes over when it does; a high-water alarm (about $40) says when the pit is rising.
- Running it: about 120 kWh a year — $20 — for 150 hours of pumping. A submersible lasts about 8 years, so ten years usually means one more pump — counted in the ten-year figure.
On this page — 4 sections
The pump is the cheap part
The short version
- Replace the pump: $588. An hour and a half and the trip.
- New pit and pump: $1,450. A day with the slab broken.
- Add a battery backup: about $300 for the unit.
- Size against the lift, not the horsepower.
A sump pump job is priced by what has to be done around the pump. Swapping a failed pump in an existing pit is an hour and a half with a new check valve, and most of the bill is the pump and the trip charge. A new pit is a day: the slab broken out at the low corner, a hole dug, a perforated basin set in gravel, the discharge taken out through the rim joist and away from the house, and the concrete patched. The pump itself is a couple of hundred dollars in either case.
$588
Replace the pump
Existing pit
$1,450
New pit and pump
Discharge outside
$1,905
With battery backup
And an alarm
$320
Float switch
The usual repair
MaterialsEstimator, Sump pump price survey · checked 2026-09-25
Sized against the lift
A pump’s flow falls with every foot it has to lift the water. What matters is the total head — the lift from the bottom of the pit to where the pipe leaves the house, plus about a foot for every ten feet of horizontal pipe and a couple for the fittings — against how much water comes in. For a typical basement, about 12 ft of head and water that comes in with every rain, a 1/3 hp submersible moves about 27 gallons a minute and is enough. A high water table wants a 1/2 hp. A pump much bigger than needed empties the pit in seconds, cycles on and off, and wears out sooner.
| Submersible, 1/3 hp | Pedestal, 1/3 hp | |
|---|---|---|
| Installed, existing pit | $588 | $518 |
| At 12 ft of head | 27 gpm | 18 gpm |
| Lasts | About 8 years | About 20 years |
| Noise | Quiet, under water | Motor above the pit |
Sump pump manufacturers, Sump pump performance curves and installation instructions · checked 2026-09-25
The storm that cuts the power
The rain that fills a sump is often the storm that knocks the power out, and a pump that stops then floods the basement it was installed to protect. A battery backup is a second pump on a deep-cycle battery that takes over when the power fails or the main pump jams; its battery is replaced every 5 years or so. On city water, a water-powered backup uses the mains pressure instead, with no battery to wear out but a backflow preventer and a gallon or two of water used for each gallon removed — and it is no use on a well, whose pump stops with the power.
| Battery backup | Water-powered backup | |
|---|---|---|
| New pit with it | $1,905 (and an alarm) | $2,048 |
| Runs in a power cut | Until the battery is flat | As long as the city water flows |
| Upkeep | A battery every 5 years | An annual test |
| Works on a well | Yes | No |
International Code Council, IRC P3303 — Sumps and ejectors (2021) · checked 2026-09-25
What goes wrong
Before the plumber comes
- The pump's age: a submersible past seven or eight years is replaced, not repaired.
- The lift and the pipe run measured.
- Where the discharge goes — outside, ten feet out, not into the sewer.
- A GFCI outlet by the pit, not shared with anything that trips.
- A backup and an alarm decided.
01No check valve
The water in the pipe falls back and the pump runs it again.
Instead — A check valve on every discharge.
02Discharge dumped by the foundation
It soaks back in and the pump runs the same water all day.
Instead — Ten feet out, or buried to an emitter.
03Into the sewer
Forbidden almost everywhere, and it overloads the system.
Instead — Outside.
04A bigger pump than needed
It short-cycles and wears out.
Instead — Sized against the head.
05No backup
The storm that fills the pit often cuts the power.
Instead — A battery backup and an alarm.
06Never testing it
A stuck float is found when the basement floods.
Instead — A bucket of water in the pit each spring.
- 01Decide the jobA pump that runs but fails is replaced in its pit; no pit means breaking the slab for a new one.
- 02Measure the liftFrom the bottom of the pit to where the pipe leaves the house — usually the basement height plus a foot.
- 03Judge the waterRuns only in big storms, every rain, or for days after rain: that sets how much it must move.
- 04Size the pumpAgainst the total head, not the horsepower; oversizing short-cycles it.
- 05Add a backupBattery, or water-powered on city water; and an alarm.
- 06Take the water awayOut through the wall and ten feet from the foundation, never into the sewer.
A sump only collects what reaches it: interior drain tile along the walls brings the water to the pit, and is priced by the foot on the French drain page.
Drain tile to the pit- Sump pit
- The basin at the low point of the basement floor that groundwater drains into. At least 18 in across and 24 in deep, with a lid.
- Submersible pump
- A pump that sits in the water in the pit. Quiet, and the standard choice.
- Pedestal pump
- A pump whose motor stands on a column above the pit. Noisier, cheaper and longer-lived.
- Head
- The height the pump has to lift the water, plus an allowance for the pipe and fittings. Flow falls as it rises.
- Float switch
- The switch that starts the pump when the water rises. The part that fails most often.
- Check valve
- A one-way valve on the discharge that stops the water in the pipe falling back into the pit.
- Battery backup
- A second pump on a deep-cycle battery that runs when the power or the main pump fails.
- Water-powered backup
- A backup driven by city water pressure, with no battery; needs municipal water and a backflow preventer.
- Pop-up emitter
- A buried outlet in the lawn that lifts when water comes and closes when it stops.
Common questions
- How much does sump pump installation cost?
- About $588 to replace a pump in an existing pit — a 1/3 hp submersible, a new check valve, an hour and a half and the trip charge — and $1,450 for a new pit: the slab broken out, a basin set in gravel, the pump, a discharge line through the wall and the concrete patched. With a battery backup and a high-water alarm, $1,905.
- How much does it cost to replace a sump pump?
- About $588 with a plumber, or $255 for the pump and check valve if you swap it yourself. A pedestal pump is $518 installed; a 1/2 hp for a high water table, $648.
- How much does a sump pump repair cost?
- A new float switch — the part that fails most — is about $320 with the trip charge, and a check valve $276. On a submersible seven or eight years old, a new pump at $588 is usually the better spend.
- What size sump pump do I need?
- One that moves the water coming in against the total head: the lift from the pit bottom to the outlet, a foot for every ten feet of horizontal pipe, and a couple of feet for fittings. For a typical basement — about 12 ft of head and a moderate inflow — a 1/3 hp submersible moves about 27 gpm and is enough; a high water table needs a 1/2 hp. Bigger is not better: an oversized pump short-cycles and wears out.
- How much does a battery backup sump pump cost?
- About $300 for the unit and an hour to fit, so $1,003 for a new primary pump and a backup together in an existing pit. The battery is replaced every 5 years or so, about $180. A water-powered backup avoids the battery but needs city water and a backflow preventer: a new pit with one is $2,048.
- How long does a sump pump last?
- A submersible about 8 years; a pedestal pump, with its motor out of the water, about 20. Ten years with a submersible means one more pump, which the ten-year figure here counts: $1,379 including the electricity.
- How much does it cost to run a sump pump?
- Very little: a 1/3 hp pump pumping 150 hours a year uses about 120 kWh, roughly $20. On a high water table where it runs 500 hours, about $85.
- Where should a sump pump discharge?
- Outside, and at least ten feet from the foundation — through the wall with an extension, or buried to a pop-up emitter in the lawn (a new pit with a buried line and a new outlet is $2,060). Most places forbid discharging groundwater into the sanitary sewer.
- Why is a new sump pit cheaper with a French drain?
- Because the slab is already open and the crew is there: installed as the outlet of interior drain tile, the basin and pump are about $1,000 on the French drain page, against $1,450 for a standalone pit that breaks its own hole and runs its own discharge.
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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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