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Window Replacement Cost in Ontario (2026): Per Window, Per House, Retrofit vs. Full-Frame, With Three Real Houses Priced
Windows & Doors
What New Windows Cost in Ontario, and Why Three Quotes on the Same House Are $8,000 Apart
Windows are priced per opening, by type and size, and almost every quote you will get hides that behind one number for the house. That is the first reason quotes vary. The second is that one company quoted inserts and the other quoted full-frame, and neither wrote down which. Here are the rates, three houses priced all the way through, and the list of what moves the bill.
The numbers
$850standard slider, retrofit, installed
$1,100standard casement, retrofit, installed
+40%full-frame instead of retrofit
$25,50015 windows and 2 doors, retrofit, with HST
| Window | Retrofit (insert) | Full-frame | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basement slider, 32 by 24 | $700 | $1,000 | Small, cheap, and subject to the egress rules if there is a bedroom down there. |
| Slider or single-hung, 36 by 48 | $850 | $1,200 | The 1980s window. Cheapest to buy, leakiest to live with. |
| Double-hung, 36 by 48 | $950 | $1,350 | Both sashes slide and tilt in. More hardware. |
| Casement, 36 by 48 | $1,100 | $1,550 | Cranks out, seals on compression. The tight one. |
| Awning, 36 by 30 | $1,000 | $1,400 | Hinged at the top. Bathrooms, basements, under picture windows. |
| Fixed, 36 by 48 | $950 | $1,350 | No hardware, no screen, still mostly glass. |
| Picture window, 60 by 60 | $1,650 | $2,300 | One big sealed unit; tempered if it is near the floor. |
| Picture with a casement each side, 96 by 60 | $2,900 | $4,000 | The living room window, as one mulled unit. |
| Bay or bow | n/a | $6,500 | Always full-frame; usually a roof and a seat too. |
Installed means the old window out and gone, the new one set and foamed, exterior caulked, interior jamb extensions where the wall needs them, standard screens and locks. New casing is extra on retrofit and included on full-frame. The calculator prices your own openings at these rates.
Why the same window is $850 at one company and $1,400 at the next!
Four things, and the quote usually names none of them. Retrofit or full-frame: a 40% difference, explained on its own page. The glass: double Low-E argon is the base; triple with two coats is $150 to $250 more a window. The frame: a builder-grade vinyl with a 2 7/8 in. frame and a welded-corner 4 1/2 in. frame from the same factory are $200 apart and both “vinyl”. And the company: a manufacturer’s own install crew, a dealer with subs, or a home-show outfit with a sales commission baked into the number. The commission one is the $1,400.
None of that makes the dear quote wrong or the cheap quote right. It makes them different windows, and your job is to find out which, before you compare the totals. How to line three quotes up.
Three houses, priced through
Real Ontario openings, October 2026 rates, mid-grade vinyl, double glazed, the installer’s own crew. Retrofit unless it says full-frame. Before HST, then with.
| House | Openings | Retrofit | Full-frame | With HST (retrofit) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,100 sq ft bungalow, 1975, siding | 8 sliders, 1 picture, 2 basement sliders, patio slider | $13,650 | $18,300 | $15,400 |
| 1,800 sq ft two-storey, 1992, brick | 5 sliders, 5 casements, 3 fixed, 2 picture, fibreglass entry, patio slider | $22,600 | $29,000 | $25,500 |
| 2,600 sq ft two-storey, 2004, brick and stone | 14 casements, 4 fixed, 2 combination units, 1 bay, entry with sidelights, 8-ft patio | $42,900 | $54,500 | $48,500 |
The bungalow is the one people under-budget. Sliders are cheap, but there are a lot of them and the two basement ones have to meet egress if the basement has a bedroom. The 2004 house is the one people over-budget: the windows are only 22 years old, half of them are fine, and the repair vs. replacement page would take six of those casements off the list.
What moves the number
- Full-frame: +40%. Necessary when frames are rotten, when you are residing, or when you want the glass back. Otherwise optional.
- Triple glazing: +$150 to $250 a window. Quieter, warmer glass, less condensation; a long payback on energy. The comparison.
- Fibreglass: +30%. Wood-clad: +60%. Thinner frames, more glass, better in dark colours and big sizes. Vinyl or fibreglass.
- Black exterior: +8%. Worth asking whether it is a laminate or paint, and what the colour warranty says. Black frames.
- Brick, full-frame: +$150 an opening. Brickmould and caulk joints; a mason if anything moves.
- Second storey: +$75. Third, or over a roof: +$150. Ladders and the time on them.
- Interior finishing: $120 to $180 an opening. Retrofit reuses your trim if it is worth reusing. Full-frame always needs new.
- Rot: $350 an opening, and sometimes much more. Nobody knows until the old unit is out. Get the unit price on the quote.
- Doing them all at once: -10 to 15%. Setup, delivery and the minimum charge spread over more openings.
What you are paying for, inside one window
On an $1,100 casement, about $550 is the window leaving the factory, $100 is the measure, delivery and the dealer’s time, $300 is the two hours of two people on site with the foam, the caulk and the disposal, and the rest is the company’s overhead and margin. A manufacturer’s own crew compresses the middle two. A home-show company adds $300 to $500 of commission on top and calls the result a 40% discount. That is the whole mystery of window pricing, and it is on the sales tactics page in detail.
Where homeowners go wrong
- Pricing the house, not the openings. Count them, measure them, type them. The calculator does the rest, and the list is what you hand to three companies.
- Replacing windows that are not done. A fogged sealed unit is a $250 glass swap, not a $1,100 window. Which is which.
- Forgetting HST. Thirteen percent on $22,600 is $2,938, and the flyer price never has it.
- Assuming the rebate. The $100 an opening is real, but only inside a program with an energy assessment and a second upgrade. The rules.
- Signing the first visit. Ten-day cooling-off on anything signed at home in Ontario. Use the ten days.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to replace 10 windows in Ontario?
About $9,000 to $12,000 installed before HST for mid-grade vinyl retrofit, $13,000 to $17,000 full-frame, assuming ordinary sizes. Big picture windows and bays push it up; basement sliders pull it down.
What is the average cost per window installed?
$850 to $1,650 retrofit for ordinary sizes in vinyl, $1,200 to $2,300 full-frame. The house average in the second example above is $1,060 a window retrofit, doors excluded.
Are windows cheaper in winter?
A little. Installers are slower from December to March and some manufacturers run promotions. The crew can set windows in cold weather with the right foam and sealant; the installation page covers what changes.
Do new windows add value to a house?
Some, and they take an objection off the table when you sell. Do not expect to recover the cost; expect to recover part of it and get a warmer house in the meantime. How long they last is the better question before selling.
Price your own openings
The window replacement calculator prices every opening at these rates, retrofit, full-frame or new build, doors included, and writes the schedule three companies can quote the same way. Have quotes already? $99 gets them read by a builder.
Sources and further reading
- Your rights when starting home renovations or repairs: Ontario government. The 10-day cooling-off period for contracts signed in your home, and what a contract has to say.
- ENERGY STAR Canada technical specification for windows, doors and skylights: Natural Resources Canada. The U-factor and Energy Rating thresholds, and the certified product lists.
- Home Renovation Savings program: Save on Energy and Enbridge Gas. The current rebate rules, the assessment requirement and how to apply.
