Electrical Panel Replacement Cost: $518 to $2,193 (2026)

Electrical panel replacement cost and upgrade cost

Installed prices. Angi puts the labor at about $1,500 for 4 to 8 hours of work.

The ranges overlap, and the guides do not always say what each one includes. HomeGuide, for one, puts a 100 to 200 amp upgrade at $1,800 to $2,500 instead of $1,300 to $1,600 when a new service panel is needed. Ask for a quote that lists the panel, the meter base, the permit and the labor as separate lines.

Electrical panel repair: when the panel can be fixed

Not every panel problem means a new panel. No major cost guide publishes a single price for panel repair; the closest figures are for parts of the panel. HomeAdvisor puts a breaker or fuse replacement at $100 to $200, and HomeGuide a main breaker at $200 to $600.

Repair makes sense when one breaker has failed in an otherwise sound panel with open spaces. Replacement makes sense when the panel is a Federal Pacific or Zinsco, when it is full and you are adding load, when the bus bars show burning, or when the house still runs on fuses. If the trouble is a breaker that will not stay on, start with breaker keeps tripping. A panel that is hot, buzzing or smells of burning is an emergency electrician call, not a quote request.

100 to 200 amp upgrade: why people need one

The usual trigger is a new load the old service cannot carry:

• An EV charger. Qmerit, which reports more than 770,000 charger installs and more than 86,000 panel upgrades, says the cost of a charger job rises by $1,500 to $3,000 when a 200 amp service upgrade is needed. See EV charger installation cost.
• A home battery. Adding a battery can bring panel work with it, so ask the electrician to check capacity. See adding a battery to existing solar and Tesla Powerwall cost.
• A standby generator. A transfer switch goes in at the panel; see generator installation.
• A fuse box. HomeAdvisor puts a fuse box to breaker panel conversion at $1,500 to $2,000.

Some upgrades also need a new meter base. HomeGuide puts meter socket replacement at $200 to $500 on average, and Angi puts meter box installation or replacement at $200 to $800.

Is a 200 amp panel now required?

No. The electrical code sets a 100 amp minimum for a one-family home's service, not 200: the City of Philadelphia's service equipment standard, which cites NEC 230.79(C) and IRC E3602.1, says that for one-family dwellings the service conductors "shall not be less than 100A."

The size a house needs comes from a load calculation (the same standard cites NEC 220.82 for it). That is why 200 amps usually comes up when a big load is added, such as an EV charger: Qmerit says a 200 amp service upgrade adds $1,500 to $3,000 to a charger job. A 100 to 200 amp upgrade runs $1,300 to $3,000 in This Old House's guide.

Local rules can add to the national code. Philadelphia, for example, requires an emergency disconnect on new services and on upgraded ones such as 100 to 200 amps. Your city's building department decides which code edition applies, so ask the electrician what the permit will require.

400 amp service

Large homes, or homes adding several big loads at once, may need 400 amps. Angi, This Old House, HomeGuide and HomeAdvisor all put a 400 amp panel and installation at $2,000 to $4,000, and This Old House puts a new 400 amp installation at $4,000 to $6,000. HomeGuide lists a 400 amp meter socket at $480 to $765, against $85 to $680 for a 200 amp socket.

Federal Pacific (FPE) and Zinsco panels

Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok panels are the best known problem. A 2019 bulletin from the insurer AmTrust reports that a team hired by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the 1980s found 51% of Stab-Lok breakers did not trip, and that tests from 1979 to 1983 recorded trip failures in 14% to 74% of tests. CPSC closed its investigation in 1983, citing insufficient data and budget limits, so there was never a recall. A 2002 New Jersey class action found that FPE knowingly sold breakers not tested to UL standards despite their labels.

Zinsco and GTE-Sylvania panels have a similar record. InspectApedia cites tests in which about 25% of breakers failed to trip, and describes arcing and burn-up where breakers connect to the aluminum bus. There was never a mandatory recall.

AmTrust (for Federal Pacific) and InspectApedia (for Zinsco) both recommend replacing the whole panel, not swapping breakers. HomeAdvisor puts FPE or Zinsco replacement at $1,500 to $4,000.

Subpanel and meter base costs

A subpanel adds breaker space for a garage, a workshop or an addition without replacing the main panel. HomeGuide puts a subpanel at $500 to $1,000 on average, with a 40 amp subpanel at $452 installed and a 50 amp at $482. Angi and This Old House give a wider range of $400 to $1,750. A subpanel adds space, not capacity: if the service is already near its limit, it does not solve that.

Smart panels: an alternative to a service upgrade

A smart panel controls individual circuits so a home can add an EV charger without raising the service size. SPAN markets its panel that way; its hardware starts at $2,550 plus installation, tax and shipping, with 16 to 48 controllable circuits. SolarReviews quotes SPAN hardware at $3,500 before installation and installation at $2,000 to $15,000, depending on the region and whether a main panel upgrade is also needed. If you are weighing one, ask the electrician to price both options.

Is there a tax credit for a panel upgrade in 2026?

Not from the federal 25C credit. The 25C energy efficient home improvement credit covered 30% of a 200 amp or larger panelboard, up to $600, but per the IRS it applied only to property placed in service through 2025. Some cost guides still mention it; do not count on it for 2026 work.

Electrical panel upgrade near me: permits and who does it

Panel work needs a licensed electrician and usually a permit; Angi puts the permit at $50 to $300 and the job at 4 to 8 hours. The power is off while the panel is swapped. The electrical repair guide lists the licensing rules for Texas, Florida, Arizona, California, Nevada and Colorado.

1. Is this a panel swap at the same amperage, or a service upgrade?
2. Does the quote include the meter base, the permit and the inspection?
3. Will the existing breakers be reused, or replaced?
4. Does the utility need to disconnect service, and who schedules it?
5. If I add an EV charger or battery later, is this panel sized for it?

If one breaker is the problem, see how to tell if a circuit breaker is bad; if the wiring is old too, see the cost to rewire a house.

200 amp service upgrade cost and Federal Pacific panel replacement cost

A 200 amp service upgrade costs $1,300 to $2,000 installed in Angi's August 2026 guide and $1,300 to $3,000 at This Old House, and replacing a Federal Pacific or Zinsco panel runs $1,500 to $4,000 in HomeAdvisor's 2026 figures.

The 200 amp figures cover the panel and labor; a new meter base, service entrance cable or utility work adds to them.

A Federal Pacific Stab-Lok panel is replaced, not repaired: an AmTrust insurance bulletin cites CPSC-era testing in which 51% of Stab-Lok breakers failed to trip, and recommends replacing the whole panel rather than the breakers. The upgrade to 200 amps is often done in the same visit, which is why the two searches land on the same bill. Hourly rates and service call minimums are on electrician cost.