Types of Home Elevators

The prices below are typical installed figures. Each one sits in the middle of the published ranges we found per type.

Lifts that run in a shaft typically cost $25,000 to $56,500 installed. The shaft is the enclosed column that runs from one floor to the next and holds the car as it moves. A pit is a shallow hole below the bottom floor, deep enough for the car to rest level with that floor.

If you live in an existing home and have a corner to spare, a shaftless model can work well, since it needs no shaft. That means very little building work, which is why it is the cheapest full elevator you can get, around $20,000 to $35,000 installed.

The prices published around the web spread wide. Angi lists units at $15,000 to $25,000, labor at $1,500 to $2,500, and full installation at $18,500 to $27,500. HomeGuide puts shaftless lifts at $30,000 to $50,000 with installation. A separate HomeGuide page lists $40,000 to $75,000 once you add up the unit, getting the site ready, and paying for installation.

Most through floor lifts serve two floors, and a bedroom is a common destination. There is no shaft involved. Instead, the installer cuts a hole in the ceiling for the lift to travel through. Expect to pay $30,000 to $60,000 installed in most cases.

• HomeGuide: $30,000 to $60,000 with installation
• Lifeway Mobility, a dealer, quotes $35,000 to $60,000, a figure that covers tax, shipping, and installation
• From manufacturer Savaria: $30,000 to $40,000 installed for two stops, on a model like the Luma

This style of elevator is a see-through tube where air pressure does the lifting. It fits nicely in an open stairwell or a home with a modern style, and it works without a shaft. Installed, most land between $30,000 and $50,000.

Fixr and Angi both quote $35,000 to $60,000, installed. HomeGuide lists a wider band of $35,000 to $100,000 for the equipment plus professional installation, running from the compact PVE30 all the way up to the bigger PVE52.

Hydraulic elevators travel inside a built shaft. Because they need a built shaft, they suit new builds best, where the shaft can be planned in from the start. Installed, most come to $25,000 to $56,500.

• HomeGuide: $30,000 to $60,000 when the unit goes into a shaft
• Angi: $25,000 to $50,000 once installation is counted
• Fixr: $22,000 to $53,000 including install

Traction elevators use a shaft too, and installed they run about $27,000 to $50,000. Some wrap a cable around a drum. Other models rely on a counterweight, a heavy weight riding the opposite end of the cables to balance the car. Here is what HomeGuide publishes for each design, installed:

A compact lift uses the least room and holds one rider, or sometimes two. Installed, it typically goes for $25,000 to $30,000. Capacity means the weight a lift is rated to hold, and the more it holds, the more you pay.

Hydraulic and traction lifts are the kinds that need a shaft. Shaftless, through floor, and pneumatic lifts are made to go without one, and some small lifts may too, so check with the seller. If the house has no shaft yet, having one built adds $5,000 to $25,000, per Willow Home.

Most figures here assume two stops. Go past two floors and each additional floor adds roughly $9,000 to $15,000, based on what HomeGuide publishes. So a lift that serves three floors would cost the two floor price plus one more stop.

The ASME A17.1 safety code sets size, speed, and height limits for elevators in private homes, so check which edition and local rules apply to your project. These rules come straight out of the code's 2004 edition.

• Floor area inside the car: 15 square feet at most
• Weight rating: no less than roughly 937 lb on a 15 square foot car
• Speed at the top: 40 feet per minute
• Travel from the bottom stop to the top: no more than 50 feet

For every type of lift, we gathered the low and high installed prices that cost guides, dealers, and manufacturers have published. The typical low is the middle value among all the published lows, and the typical high is the middle value among the published highs. We round both to the closest $500. Our about page explains the method in full.