Lowe's vs Home Depot carpet installation: Lowe's labor runs $0.50–$2.00/sq ft and Home Depot $0.60–$2.10/sq ft in 2026, with different promos and warranties.
Enter your room size below to estimate carpet, padding and professional installation cost. The worked example beneath the form is produced by the same calculation the tool runs.
Inputs: 12 × 15 ft room (180 sq ft) at Lowe's pricing. Lowe's retailer multiplier of 0.95 applied to material, pad and labor.
Total estimated cost: $822 – $1,320 (typical mid-point $1,071). Labor and disposal use the Midwest rate; enter a ZIP code in the tool to switch regions. You can download this breakdown as a PDF from the live tool.
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| 1. Raw floor area | 180 sq ft (20.0 sq yd) |
| 2. Add 10% waste factor | 199 sq ft ordered |
| 3. Carpet material | $564 – $941 |
| 4. Padding | $122 – $160 |
| 5. Installation labor | $135 – $220 |
Lowe's labor averages $0.50-$2.00/sq ft; Home Depot averages $0.60-$2.10/sq ft in 2026. Lowe's is typically 5-10% cheaper, but Home Depot runs more $99 / $159 install promos.
Lowe's: STAINMASTER, Shaw, Mohawk. Home Depot: LifeProof (exclusive), Home Decorators Collection, Mohawk SmartStrand. Both stock TrafficMaster basics.
Both offer 0% APR financing on $299+ purchases — Lowe's via the Lowe's Advantage Card, Home Depot via the Consumer Credit Card. Promotional periods run 6-24 months.
Home Depot averages 7-14 days from order to install; Lowe's averages 10-21 days. Both are slower during peak Spring (April-June) and pre-holiday (October-November).
No — both retailers only install carpet purchased in-store. Independent installers ($1.00-$3.50/sq ft labor) will install customer-supplied carpet.