How Much Does an Electrical Panel Upgrade (or Service Upgrade) Cost in 2026?

I’ve watched this exact conversation play out a bunch of times:

“My friend upgraded his panel for like $1,700.”

“Cool. Mine is $6,400.”

“That’s a scam.”

It might be a scam. But most of the time it’s something less dramatic.

Most of the time, you’re both using the same phrase—“panel upgrade”—for two different jobs.

One job is basically a swap. The other is a service change that drags in the meter, the utility, permits, inspections, and whatever weird rule your local power company swears is “standard.”

Two different jobs (same words)

1) Panel replacement (same service size).

This is the “new box, new breakers, tidy the wiring, label everything so it’s not a mystery novel” job.

The important part: the amperage stays the same. If you had 100A, you still have 100A.

2) Service upgrade (often 100A → 200A).

This is where the scope changes. You might be touching the meter equipment, the service entrance conductors, grounding/bonding, the mast, and you’re almost certainly touching permits/inspection timing.

If your quote mentions the utility, a reconnect, a meter socket, an exterior disconnect, or a service mast… you’re probably in Job #2.

Okay, so what does it cost in 2026?

I’m going to give you ranges, not a magic number. (Anyone giving you a single number is either selling something, or they live in one very specific county and forgot everyone else exists.)

Here’s what I’d budget before you start collecting bids:

• $800–$2,500: panel replacement, same service size.
• $1,800–$5,500: a “normal” 200A service upgrade.
• $5,500–$12,000+: scope got spicy (panel relocation, underground service changes, exterior disconnect requirements, a busted meter base, or old problems that have to be corrected to pass inspection).

Do those align with public cost guides? Close enough to be useful. Angi’s national guides on replacing a panel and upgrading to 200 amps fall in this neighborhood and basically say the same thing: the number jumps when the scope jumps.¹² This Old House puts many 100A → 200A upgrades around $1,300–$3,000 (with a big asterisk for region and complexity).³ NerdWallet also treats the job as a wide range once you start changing amperage and dealing with older homes.⁴

The four things that make your quote “weird”

I’m not listing these to scare you. I’m listing them because once you see them, the pricing stops feeling random.

1) The panel has to move.

This is the most annoying surprise, because homeowners don’t mentally file “move the panel three feet” under “major electrical project.”

But moving a panel can mean extending a bunch of circuits, opening walls, and then paying to patch/paint afterward. (A lot of electricians won’t include drywall/paint in the electrical scope, which is fair—just don’t forget to budget it.)

2) The utility has Opinions.

One utility wants an exterior disconnect. Another wants a specific meter socket. Another wants the mast changed. Another wants the grounding updated to current standards.

So the job isn’t just “panel + labor.” It’s “panel + labor + whatever your utility’s checklist says this year.”

3) Old equipment that nobody wants to touch.

Sometimes the “expensive” quote is an electrician pricing in risk.

Examples: fuse conversions, corroded service gear, overheated conductors, or a panel that has a reputation for bad failures.

I’m not saying you should argue your way into keeping unsafe stuff.

I am saying: if one quote includes “correct existing hazards” and the other doesn’t, you don’t actually have two competing prices. You have two different scopes.

4) Permits/inspections included (or not).

This sounds boring until it bites you.

If one bid includes permits, inspection scheduling, and utility coordination—and the other bid says “owner to pull permit”—that second number can look artificially low.

Why this comes up (usually you’re doing something else)

Nobody shops for a breaker panel as a hobby.

The panel/service upgrade usually gets pulled into the conversation because you’re adding a new load:

• Level 2 EV charger (EV charger installation cost)
• Detached garage / shop (detached garage power cost)
• Solar (solar installation cost)
• Mini-split (mini-split installation cost)
• Heat pump water heater (heat pump water heater cost)

Then someone says, “you need 200A.”

Maybe you do.

But it’s fair to ask what they’re basing that on (EV charging amps, future HVAC plans, electric range/dryer, etc.), and whether they did a load calculation.

Sometimes “need 200A” is short for: “the panel is full and messy and I don’t want to play breaker Tetris.”

Two questions I’d use to keep bids honest

When you’re comparing quotes, ask this—verbatim—because it forces clarity:

1. “Is this a panel replacement or a service upgrade, and what service size do we end at?”
2. “What’s excluded?” (drywall/paint/stucco repair, trenching, interior wiring beyond the panel, fixing existing branch-circuit issues, etc.)

Once you have those answers in writing, you’ll know whether the $6,400 quote is overpriced… or whether it’s just describing a bigger job than the $1,700 one.