# Pergola Cost: Price It by the Member, Not by the Guess

Canonical URL: https://www.simplywise.com/blog/pergola-cost/
Plain text: https://www.simplywise.com/blog/pergola-cost/llms.txt
Publisher: SimplyWise, Inc. (https://www.simplywise.com)
Published: September 23, 2026
Updated: October 27, 2026
Category: Project Cost Guides
Summary: Pergola cost by post, beam, rafter and purlin from named supplier listings, with the footing code that decides the job and a free take-off calculator.

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## Pergola Cost: Price It by the Member, the Way a Carpenter Builds It

A pergola is posts, beams, rafters and purlins. Count the members, price them off published listings, then set your labor.

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Members, sourced material and your labor

Framing

Layout

Rafters sit 24 inches on center, purlins 12 inches, in stock lengths.

Length, feet

Width, feet

Posts

Crew hours

Your rate, dollars an hour

$1,146 to $1,260 material plus your labor

Member take-off4 posts, 4 beams, 7 rafters, 26 purlins

Crew labor$465.92

Material we price$680.69 to $793.75

Add at your yard pricenothing, every member priced

Member prices are two named supplier listings read September 23, 2026, each at regular price. The rate starts at the May 2025 median carpenter wage, which is a wage and not a billed rate. Local prices vary.

At a glance

1. A pergola is three products. A kit, a site built frame and an aluminium structure share no price ladder.
2. Listings read September 23, 2026 put a treated 6×6 post at $40.99 to $48.99 and a standoff base at $47.99 to $57.99.
3. The May 2025 median carpenter wage is $29.12 an hour. That is a wage, not the rate you bill.
4. Model code frees a freestanding structure of 600 square feet or less from frost depth footings. Bolt it to the house and that is gone.

## Pergola cost is three products, not one ladder

Most cost guides average three unrelated things. A delivered kit, a site built frame and an aluminium structure price differently.

The kit is a box of parts with a sticker. Do it Best lists a 9.84 ft by 11.81 ft steel pergola at $409.99, a single source.

Aluminium and louvered roof structures sell through dealers who quote. No publisher states a price it is bound by, so we print none.

## The site built take-off is the part anyone can price

Nobody publishes an installed pergola price they will honour. Every member carries one.

| Member | What it is | Published price |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Post | 6×6 by 10 ft treated pine | $40.99 to $48.99 |
| Post base | Simpson ABU66RZ standoff base | $47.99 to $57.99 |
| Beam | 2×10 by 12 ft treated | $20.39 to $25.59 |
| Rafter | 2×8 by 12 ft treated | $16.99 to $17.99 |
| Purlin | 2×2 by 8 ft treated strip | $4.78 to $5.29 |

Two sellers per row, neither on promotion the day we read it.

### Species changes the post, not the plan

Cedar swaps the species, nothing else. The same 6×6 post in rough cedar runs $169.99 to $188.99, about four times the treated price. Redwood is regional, with no second published price.

### What we will not price

Cedar beams, rafters and purlins carry no second published price. The calculator counts them and leaves the dollars to your yard.

## What the labor side pays

The occupation is Carpenters. The May 2025 national median is $29.12 an hour, the mean $31.55.

The spread is the useful part. Across 670,090 carpenters the 25th percentile is $23.32, the 75th $36.94, the 90th $48.03.

Those are wages, not billed rates, and the survey skips the self employed.

## Footings and the post base decide the job

Exterior footings go 12 inches below undisturbed ground under R403.1.4. Below that the frost line governs, and R403.1.4.1 points at a table your jurisdiction fills in. Grant County, Washington publishes 18 inches.

Here is the exception that pays for itself. R403.1.4.1 releases a freestanding accessory structure of 600 square feet or less, light frame, eave 10 feet or less, from frost depth. Most backyard pergolas land inside it. Attach one and it does not.

R317.1.4 lets an untreated post stand on a metal pedestal that holds it 1 inch above concrete or 6 inches above exposed earth, within the exceptions your official applies. That is the standoff base. R317.3.1 wants fasteners in treated wood hot dipped galvanized, stainless steel, silicon bronze or copper, and check connector coatings with the connector maker.

## Turn the take-off into a signed job

Turn a photo into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds. Pricing is $29.99/mo or $239.99/yr, about $20/mo on annual, with a 7-day free trial.

## Permits, and why no national number exists

Plenty of jurisdictions want a permit. Longmont, Colorado names pergolas on its list.

Almost nobody publishes a flat pergola fee. Longmont charges off valuation: $79.50 on the first $2,000, then $16.10 per additional $1,000.

That is Longmont, not the country, so this page prints no national permit price. Read the schedule for your address.

## Price a pergola in four steps

1. Fix the footprint and the post count Those three drive every other number on the list.
2. Count the members before you price anything Posts, bases, beams, rafters and purlins at your real spacing.
3. Price each member off a named listing Two sellers per member. Say so when only one publishes.
4. Add your crew hours at your own rate Start at the wage, then load burden and margin.

## Keep reading

- Construction Calculators Hub (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/construction-calculators/)
- Cost to Build a Deck (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/cost-to-build-deck/)
- Deck Material Calculator (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/deck-material-calculator/)
- Landscaping Cost (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/landscaping-cost/)

## Sources

### Supplier listings

- Sutherlands 33308 (https://sutherlands.com/products/item/33308/sutherlands-6-x-6-inch-x-10-foot-number2-s4s-treated-yellow-pine-lumber) ($40.99; 2026-09-23).
- McCoy’s 01102300 (https://www.mccoys.com/shop/p/01102300/6-in-x-6-in-x-10-ftactual-5-12x5-12-2-ground-contact-treated-pine) ($48.99; 2026-09-23).
- Sutherlands 14001 (https://sutherlands.com/products/item/14001/sutherlands-6-x-6-inch-x-10-foot-2-better-rough-cedar-board) ($169.99; 2026-09-23).
- McCoy’s 01395408 (https://www.mccoys.com/shop/p/01395408/6-in-x-6-in-x-10-ft-2-or-btr-rough-cedar) ($188.99; 2026-09-23).
- McCoy’s 28618207 (https://www.mccoys.com/shop/p/28618207/simpson-strong-tie-ab-series-abu66rz-post-base-6-x-6-in-post-14-ga-steel-zmax) ($47.99; 2026-09-23).
- Do it Best 132405 (https://www.doitbest.com/product/132405/simpson-strong-tie-abu-zmax-galvanized-adjustable-standoff-post-base-for-6x6-rough-132405) ($57.99; 2026-09-23).
- Sutherlands 126102 (https://sutherlands.com/products/item/126102/sutherlands-2-x-10-inch-x-12-foot-number1-s4s-treated-ground-contact-yellow-pine-lumber) ($20.39; 2026-09-23).
- Sutherlands 6747646 (https://sutherlands.com/products/item/6747646/sutherlands-2-x-8-inch-12-foot-number1-s4s-treated-ground-contact-yellow-pine-lumber) ($16.99; 2026-09-23).
- Sutherlands 89979 (https://sutherlands.com/products/item/89979/sutherlands-2-x-2-inch-x-8-foot-number1-s4s-treated-appearance-yellow-pine-lumber) ($4.78; 2026-09-23).
- McCoy’s 010915 (https://www.mccoys.com/shop/p/010915/2-in-x-10-in-x-12-ft-actual-1-12x9-14-1-ground-contact-treated-pine) ($25.59; 2026-09-23).
- McCoy’s 010903 (https://www.mccoys.com/shop/p/010903/2-in-x-8-in-x-12-ft-actual-1-12x7-14-1-ground-contact-treated-pine) ($17.99; 2026-09-23).
- McCoy’s 011339 (https://www.mccoys.com/shop/p/011339/2-in-x-2-in-x-8-ft-actual-1-12x1-12-treated-select-strips) ($5.29; 2026-09-23).
- Do it Best 806001 (https://www.doitbest.com/product/806001/outdoor-expressions-9-84-ft-w-x-8-27-ft-h-x-11-81-ft-l-woodgrain-steel-pergola-806001) ($409.99, single source; 2026-09-23).

### Code and permit fees

- Grant County WA (https://www.grantcountywa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/9481/2021-Residential-Excerpts), R403.1.4.1 (2026-09-11).
- Kennewick WA (https://www.go2kennewick.com/DocumentCenter/View/92/Shed-Packet-PDF), frost exceptions (2026-09-11).
- Phoenix AZ (https://www.phoenix.gov/pddsite/Documents/TRT/dsd_trt_pdf_00620.pdf), R403.1.4 (2026-09-11).
- Lake County IN (https://lakecountyin.gov/departments/planning-commission/building-department-forms-c/forms/code%20requirements%20for%20design%20and%20construction%20of%20residential%20decks.pdf), R317.1.4 and R317.3.1 (2026-09-11).
- Tyrone GA (https://www.tyronega.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/building-permits/patio-covers-carports-2012-irc.pdf), post pedestal (2026-09-11).
- Longmont CO (https://longmontcolorado.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Fee-Manual-3-24-2026.pdf), 2026 fee manual (2026-09-11).

### Wages, posts and product

- BLS OEWS 47-2031 Carpenters, May 2025 national; median OEUN000000000000047203108 (2026-09-11).
- AWC DCA 6 (https://awc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/AWC-DCA62015-DeckGuide-1804.pdf) (6×6 nominal posts; 2026-09-11).
- SimplyWise Cost Estimator (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/simplywise-cost-estimator/id6670619664) (4.8, App Store; 2026-09-09).
- Hero, Field Outdoor Spaces (https://www.flickr.com/photos/7282451@N02/5268054360) (CC BY 2.0; 2026-09-11).

## Common questions about pergola cost

### Price and material

**How much does a pergola cost?**

No publisher states an installed price it is bound by, so this page prints none. It prices the members instead. A 12 by 12 treated pine frame comes to $1,146 to $1,260 on listings read September 23, 2026.

**What does a pergola post cost?**

A 6×6 by 10 ft treated southern pine post is $40.99 to $48.99 at two sellers naming the product. In rough cedar, $169.99 to $188.99.

**Why is there no aluminium pergola price here?**

Those structures sell through dealers who quote rather than publish. No publisher is bound by a figure, so we print none rather than deriving one.

### Code and permits

**How deep do pergola footings have to go?**

At least 12 inches below undisturbed ground under R403.1.4, then below the local frost line under R403.1.4.1. A freestanding light frame structure of 600 square feet or less, eave 10 feet or less, is released from frost depth.

**Do I need a permit for a pergola?**

Often yes. Longmont, Colorado names pergolas in the work that needs one. Fees are municipal and charged off valuation, so there is no national figure.

**Can SimplyWise price a pergola from a photo?**

Yes. SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a photo into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds, with material and labor lines. Free to try, at $29.99/mo.

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