Tile Cost Calculator: Price Per Room & Install 2026

How tile cost is worked out

Tile is sold by the square foot, but a room is priced by the billable area: the room area plus the waste. Tiles are cut at the edges, around doorways and around fixtures, and the offcuts cannot be reused, so you buy more tile than the room needs. Ten percent waste is standard for a square room with a straight pattern; fifteen percent is right for a diagonal pattern or an L-shaped room. The tile, the grout and thinset, and the labour are all priced per billable square foot, so the total is the billable area times the three rates added together.

At the defaults — a 12 × 10 ft room, 10% waste, tile $5.00 a square foot, grout and thinset $0.75 a square foot, labour $6.00 a square foot — the room area is 12 × 10 = 120 sq ft, and the billable area is 120 × 1.10 = 132 sq ft. The tile costs 132 × $5.00 = $660.00, the grout and thinset cost 132 × $0.75 = $99.00, and the labour costs 132 × $6.00 = $792.00. The total is $1,551.00 — which is $1,551.00 ÷ 120 = $12.93 per room square foot.

The worked example, line by line

Setup: a 12 × 10 ft room, 10% waste, tile $5.00/sq ft, grout and thinset $0.75/sq ft, labour $6.00/sq ft.

Line 1 — the room area. 12 × 10 = 120 sq ft.

Line 2 — the billable area. 120 × 1.10 = 132 sq ft.

Line 3 — the tile cost. 132 × $5.00 = $660.00.

Line 4 — the grout and thinset. 132 × $0.75 = $99.00.

Line 5 — the labour. 132 × $6.00 = $792.00.

Line 6 — the total. $660.00 + $99.00 + $792.00 = $1,551.00, or $1,551.00 ÷ 120 = $12.93 per room square foot.

Line 7 — the budget check. A $2000 budget at $11.75 per billable sq ft buys $2000 ÷ $11.75 = 170.21 billable sq ft, which covers 170.21 ÷ 1.10 = 154.74 sq ft of room.

Every branch, checked

15 × 12 ft room: the room area is 15 × 12 = 180 sq ft and the billable area is 180 × 1.10 = 198 sq ft, so the tile costs $990.00, the grout and thinset cost $148.50, and the labour costs $1,188.00, for a total of $2,326.50. A bigger room costs $775.50 more than the default, and the labour is the biggest part of the increase.

Tile at $10/sq ft: the billable area stays at 132 sq ft, but the tile costs 132 × $10.00 = $1,320.00 and the total is $2,211.00. Doubling the tile price adds $660 to this room — the tile is the only part that moves, and it moves by the billable area, not the room area.

Waste at 15%: the billable area rises to 120 × 1.15 = 138 sq ft, so the tile costs $690.00, the grout and thinset cost $103.50, and the labour costs $828.00, for a total of $1,621.50. The extra 5% of waste adds $70.50 to this room — a diagonal pattern is not free.

DIY labour at $0: the tile and grout stay at $660.00 and $99.00, but the labour falls to $0, so the total is $759.00. Doing it yourself saves $792 on this room — more than half the total — but the waste is still real: you still buy 132 sq ft of tile for a 120 sq ft room.

Reverse — the $2,000 budget: the three rates add to $5.00 + $0.75 + $6.00 = $11.75 per billable sq ft, so $2,000 buys $2,000 ÷ $11.75 = 170.21 billable sq ft. Divide by 1.10 for the waste, and that covers a 154.74 sq ft room — bigger than the 120 sq ft default room, so $2,000 covers the room with room to spare.

What the defaults assume

The model assumes a rectangular room: L-shaped rooms, bay windows and built-in wardrobes change the room area, because the floor is not one straight rectangle. It assumes 10% waste covers the cuts — a diagonal pattern or a room with many fixtures needs 15% — and it assumes the grout and thinset together cost $0.75 a square foot, which is right for a standard tile but not for a large-format tile, which needs more thinset. It assumes $6.00 a square foot of labour covers the laying, the grouting and the sealing, but not the removal of the old floor, the levelling of the subfloor, or the waterproofing of a wet room — ask the tiler whether the quote includes those. It assumes the tile price is per square foot of tile bought, not per box, and that the shop sells the exact billable area. Rounding convention: money is rounded to cents and all figures are computed from unrounded values, rounded only for display.

Output · formula · meaning

Who uses this

• The homeowner tiling a bathroom: a 12 × 10 ft room costs $1,551.00 — $660.00 of tile, $99.00 of grout and thinset, and $792.00 of labour — so they know the exact number before they walk into the tile shop, and they know the labour is the biggest part.
• The landlord tiling a kitchen: a 15 × 12 ft room costs $2,326.50 — and they learn the bigger room is what pushes the labour to $1,188.00, so they budget by the billable area, not the room area.
• The couple choosing between tiles: the $10-a-square-foot tile costs $2,211.00 against $1,551.00 for the $5 tile — a $660 difference on this room — so they can decide whether the better tile is worth it, room by room.
• The renovator on a $2,000 budget: they learn $2,000 buys 170.21 billable sq ft, which covers a 154.74 sq ft room — so they know the 120 sq ft room is covered with room to spare before they start.

Accuracy & limitations

The math is exact for the numbers you enter: the room area is the length times the width, the billable area adds the waste, and the three costs are the billable area times their rates. What the model cannot do is measure your room for you: measure wall to wall at the longest points, and for an L-shaped room split it into two rectangles and add them. It leaves out the removal of the old floor, the levelling of the subfloor, the waterproofing of a wet room, the sealing, and tax — ask the tiler whether the quote includes those, and add them yourself if it does not. It assumes the waste allowance is right; a diagonal pattern or a room with many fixtures needs 15%, not 10%. The $0.75 of grout and thinset is an estimate for a standard tile: a large-format tile needs more thinset, and a mosaic needs more grout. For the floor of the same room, see carpet cost calculator; for how many tiles the room needs by size alone, see tile size chart.