Flooring · Contractor Cost Breakdown
Hardwood vs LVP Pricing: Contractor Cost Breakdown
Four lines settle this job: material, labor, moisture, and lifespan. LVP takes the first two. Hardwood takes the last one, plus the rooms a buyer photographs.
Stop typing flooring quotes at midnight. Price a job from a photo in about 6 seconds.
Hardwood vs LVP, side by side
Overall, ten lines move a flooring estimate. No national index publishes flooring cost per square foot, so every figure below is a band, not a quote. Species, grade, wear layer, and crew rates then shift it.
| Line | Hardwood | LVP |
|---|---|---|
| Material per sq ft | Roughly $5 to $15 | Roughly $2 to $7 |
| Installed per sq ft | Roughly $8 to $25 | Roughly $4 to $12 |
| Install method | Nail-down, staple, or glue-down. Engineered can float | Click-lock float, glue-down, or loose-lay |
| Labor and skill | Slower, higher skill, more waste, needs acclimation | Faster, forgiving on layout, smaller crew |
| Subfloor | Plywood or OSB for nail-down. A slab means glue-down | Flat and dry. Handles slab on grade with prep |
| Moisture | Low for solid, limited for engineered | Waterproof rigid core suits baths and basements |
| Lifespan | Decades with care | Years, tracking wear layer thickness |
| Refinishing | Yes. Solid takes many passes, engineered a few | No. You replace worn plank |
| Best rooms | Living, dining, bedrooms, formal entries | Basements, kitchens, baths, laundry, rentals |
| Resale | The finish buyers expect in formal rooms | Neutral to positive, reads as low maintenance |
Both columns need a real number, not a range. SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a photo into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds. Free to try.
Where the money actually moves
Material
LVP price tracks wear layer and core. Thin wear layer over a flexible core sits at the bottom. Meanwhile, rigid core plank with a pad sits at the top. Hardwood price instead tracks species, grade, and board width. Common oak sits low, wide plank and select grade high. Similarly, engineered oak lands inside the premium LVP range.
Labor
Generally, LVP floats. A crew drops click-lock plank over underlayment, cuts with a knife, then absorbs small layout errors. Solid hardwood instead goes down board by board with fasteners, racking, and expansion gaps. It also needs acclimation on site and throws more waste. Quote the two labor lines separately, then the gap explains itself. Our cost to install flooring guide then breaks that number down room by room.
Subfloor and moisture
Moisture, not budget, generally kills hardwood jobs. Solid hardwood swells and cups through humidity swings, so it stays out of basements, full baths, and laundry. Engineered tolerates more and still has limits. Rigid core vinyl brands such as COREtec market waterproof construction, so LVP owns wet rooms and slab on grade. Meanwhile, the National Wood Flooring Association publishes installation and moisture guidelines for wood. Ultimately, read those and the manufacturer spec before you warranty a floor.
A worked example on 600 square feet
Main floor, 600 square feet, tear out included. LVP at $4 to $12 puts the job at $2,400 to $7,200. Hardwood at $8 to $25, however, puts it at $4,800 to $15,000. Show both on one page, then hold your margin on whichever the homeowner picks.
Which floor for which room
- Living, dining, bedrooms, formal entries: hardwood. Dry, above grade, and especially the rooms buyers photograph.
- Basements, kitchens, baths, laundry, mudrooms: LVP, since moisture decides it.
- Rentals and flips: LVP. Low cost, fast install, and you swap a plank instead of sanding.
- Whole home consistency: premium rigid core LVP throughout, so one look survives every room.
Quote both options on the walkthrough
The pro who hands over both numbers on site still beats the one emailing a quote that night. SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a photo into an itemized estimate with material quantities in about 6 seconds. On iPhone Pro models it also scans the room with LiDAR for measurements. Then you hand over a professional, branded quote the client signs to approve. It runs $29.99/mo or $239.99/yr, about $20/mo on annual, with a 7-day free trial, and one subscription opens every app in the SimplyWise suite.
Quote both floors before you leave the driveway
Snap the room and get an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds. Build the hardwood version and the LVP version in one visit. Free to try.
Keep reading
- Flooring Estimate Template: the line item sheet behind these numbers.
- Best Estimating Apps for Flooring Contractors: what flooring crews quote with today.
Sources
- COREtec Floors, Why COREtec (waterproof luxury vinyl construction; verified live 2026-08-08).
- National Wood Flooring Association, Technical Guidelines (installation and moisture guidelines; verified live 2026-08-08).
- National Association of Realtors, 2025 Remodeling Impact Report (new wood flooring Joy Score 9.1 against a typical project score 8.2; verified live 2026-08-13).
- SimplyWise, Pricing (plan prices, trial length, suite access; verified live 2026-08-08).
- SimplyWise Cost Estimator FAQs (room scan on iOS Pro devices; verified live 2026-08-08).
- SimplyWise Cost Estimator on the App Store (4.8 rating; verified live 2026-08-08).
Hardwood vs LVP is rarely about which floor is better, but rather about which floor fits the moisture, the budget, and how long the owner stays.SimplyWise Editorial
Hardwood vs LVP: common questions
Is LVP cheaper than hardwood?
Almost always. LVP material runs roughly $2 to $7 per square foot against roughly $5 to $15 for hardwood, and the LVP labor line runs lower too. Price the job off your own supplier and crew rates.
What does each floor cost per square foot installed?
Use roughly $8 to $25 per square foot for hardwood and roughly $4 to $12 for LVP, material and labor together. Subfloor prep, tear out, and crew rates decide where inside the band a job falls.
Can you put solid hardwood in a basement or bathroom?
Skip it. Solid hardwood swells and cups with moisture, so it stays out of below grade rooms, full baths, and laundry. Engineered tolerates more and still has limits. Rigid core LVP is sold with a waterproof construction claim. Check the manufacturer spec for the product you order.
Does LVP refinish like hardwood?
No. A printed layer under a clear wear layer gives LVP its look, and sanding removes it. Once the surface wears through, you replace plank. Solid hardwood refinishes many times and engineered a few, because its sandable layer is a thin veneer.
Which floor holds resale value better?
Hardwood, in the rooms buyers expect it. LVP reads as modern and low maintenance, especially in wet rooms and rentals. The 2025 Remodeling Impact Report from the National Association of Realtors and NARI gives new wood flooring a Joy Score of 9.1 against a typical project score of 8.2. It publishes no cost recovery figure for flooring and no vinyl project, so judge resale off your own market.
How much does SimplyWise Cost Estimator cost?
It runs $29.99/mo or $239.99/yr, about $20/mo on annual, with a 7-day free trial, and one subscription opens every app in the SimplyWise suite. It turns a photo of the room into an itemized estimate with material quantities in about 6 seconds.
Price the hardwood and the LVP in the same visit.
Snap the room, get an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds, and hand over both options before you leave the driveway. Free to try.