*All cost estimates on this page are planning estimates, not quotes. Actual costs vary by location, project scope, materials, site conditions, and contractor. See methodology and sources.
Material sets the tier. These move you within it, and two can move you out of it.
An itemized quote separates the unit from the work: material, prehung or slab, glass and factory finish; frame material and sill type; weatherstripping and sweep; hardware, stating which pieces are included and which are prep only; labor with flashing and a sill pan called out rather than assumed; and warranty terms for the unit and the labor separately.
Commonly excluded: painting a field-finished door, hardware upgrades, storm door removal, repairing rotted framing, patching siding around a widened opening, and a permit where required. The door replacement cost guide flags disposal of the old door as a line worth asking about. A lifetime warranty on a door installed badly covers the wrong part.
Three to five hours for a steel or fiberglass swap into an existing frame, and half a day to a full day for a custom wood door with glass, per the scopes on the door replacement cost guide.
Manufacturing sets the calendar. Our door replacement timeline guide puts standard prehung steel and fiberglass doors in common sizes at four to six weeks, and custom sizes, specialty glass or fully custom wood at eight to ten. Settling size and glass early is a scheduling decision as much as a cost one.
| Material | Cost Range | What You Get | What to Keep in Mind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steel | $1,100–$2,300 | The value tier: strong and holds its shape. | Dents more easily than fiberglass; edges can rust if the finish breaks. |
| Fiberglass | $1,600–$3,800 | Wood-grain looks, better insulation and dent resistance than steel, no rot or rust. | The mid-tier default. Most of the choice is glass and finish, not the slab. |
| Wood | $3,900–$6,600 | Richest look, stainable to match anything, custom sizes normal. | Needs periodic refinishing. Exposure matters more than price. |
Three price tiers, not three verdicts. For how manufacturers differ on warranty, glass and construction inside each tier, see our entry door brand comparison and the door materials guide.
Replace when the door has failed structurally: the slab is rotted, the unit has racked so it will not latch without a shove, daylight shows at the edges when it is shut, or the sill is soft underfoot.
The entry point of the range: an insulated core in a steel skin, good structural strength, a three-to-five hour swap. A dent stays dented, and a breached finish at an edge can rust. Where a porch shelters the door and you want secure and sound rather than distinctive, this is the value.
The middle of the range and the widest span within it, because this is where the options live. A smooth paint-grade slab with no glass sits near the bottom; deep wood-grain texture with a factory stain and decorative glass near the top. See energy-efficient entry doors for the performance side.
The top tier, priced by species and construction as much as size. You buy real grain and a door that can be planed and refit rather than replaced. You take on refinishing on a schedule set by sun and rain, not by a warranty. An unsheltered opening with no overhang is the hardest place to keep one looking new.
Renewal by Andersen is consistently reviewed as a premium replacement door provider, offering Ensemble® Entry Doors and Andersen® Patio Doors. The door-specific reviews echo the window ones almost exactly: homeowners often highlight the installation experience, noting that crews arrived on time, were professional and courteous, and paid close attention to fit and finish. Many reviewers point to the customized fit, quality of the finished product, and the warranty service experience, for those who used it, as reasons they feel the investment is worthwhile.
Home Genius Exteriors fits ProVia entry and patio doors (Endure, ecoLite, Aspect and Aeris) and the door reviews describe the same named-project-manager experience the company is known for elsewhere, with a straightforward process and thorough cleanup. One practical flag on pricing: their promotional discounts are tiered by trade, and doors sit outside the materials discount entirely. So ask what your door quote actually qualifies for rather than assuming the headline offer applies.
Window Nation fits its entry and patio doors with the same Installation Masters™-certified crews as its windows, and most door-specific reviews describe exactly that: a quick, clean install day with little disruption. A handful of complaints are specifically about doors: missing screw-cover plugs, a patio lock that was stiff to operate, a screen door that came loose within weeks. None of them is about the door itself. Have the exact measurements and the hardware operation checked at the final walkthrough while the crew is still there, and confirm what the limited lifetime warranty covers on the moving parts.
Clear Choice Home Improvement fits entry, exterior and patio doors as one of six trades, and the door reviews echo what homeowners say about the rest of its work: responsive communication and crews that turn up on time and treat the house with care. It works across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, southern Maine, Vermont and central Pennsylvania. One thing worth knowing before you inquire: Clear Choice does replacement and installation rather than repairs, so a single sticking door is not the job they are set up for.
Statewide fits sliding and French patio doors with insulated glass and low-E coatings. Homeowners describe having a leaking patio door and the rotted wood around it replaced in the same visit, with the crew hauling the old materials away and leaving the site clean. Reviews across its Texas markets describe the same unhurried, professional service its other trades are known for.
Power Home Remodeling builds its entry and sliding patio doors with ProVia, and the door-specific reviews are genuinely good. Homeowners report drafts gone and heating bills down after replacement, with most installs wrapped up in a few hours. Installation is carried out by independent contractors partnered with Power. Its Homeowner Bill of Rights applies to doors as it does to everything else, including the blind-pricing commitment that your price will not vary by your age, income or the value of your home.
Fiberglass sits in the middle of the range above. A paint-grade smooth slab with no glass is at the low end of that tier; a textured wood-grain door with factory stain and decorative glass is at the high end. Sidelights move you out of the tier, because that is framing work rather than a door choice.
Above the top of the wood tier, and not quotable generically: custom means your opening, your glass and your species, so there is no stock unit to price against. Expect the manufacturing wait to roughly double against a stock door as well.
Steel is the value choice and structurally strong; fiberglass insulates better, resists dents, and does not rot, warp or rust. For a sheltered opening on a budget, steel is enough. For an exposed opening, fiberglass is the more durable buy. Warranty coverage differs too. See our entry door brand comparison.
Longer than most homeowners expect, and the failure is almost never the slab. What ends a door's life is the frame and sill rotting, water getting behind the threshold, or the unit racking until it no longer seals. Any figure a manufacturer quotes you is a warranty term rather than a lifespan.
Mahogany and its relatives are the traditional pick for stability and grain. White oak stains well and handles weather. Douglas fir is affordable and paints cleanly. Knotty alder and pine cost less and move more with moisture. With no overhang, a stable species and a durable finish beat a prettier grain.
