How Much to Charge for Reupholstering Furniture
Reupholstery is priced as labor per piece plus fabric at cost: roughly $150–$300 for a dining chair, $400–$800 for an armchair or wingback, $900–$1,800 for a sofa, and $1,500–$3,500 for a sectional, before fabric. Yardage is estimated per piece — about 1.5 yards per dining chair, 6–8 for an armchair, 14–20 for a sofa — with more for patterned fabric, and foam, springs, frame repair, and pickup and delivery billed separately.
Labor per piece, fabric at cost
- Dining chair (seat only) — $80–$150 · ~0.75 yd
- Dining chair (full) — $150–$300 · ~1.5 yd
- Armchair / wingback — $400–$800 · 6–8 yd
- Loveseat — $600–$1,200 · 10–14 yd
- Sofa — $900–$1,800 · 14–20 yd
- Sectional — $1,500–$3,500 · 25–40 yd
Add 10–25% yardage for a pattern with a repeat, and say so before you order.
What gets billed on top
- Foam replacement — by density and thickness, per cushion
- Springs and webbing — retie or replace
- Frame repair — as found, at a stated rate
- Refinishing — exposed wood, stain or paint
- Pickup and delivery — both directions, by distance
The pickup and delivery you keep absorbing
A sofa round trip is a truck, a second person, and half a day. Upholsterers give this away more consistently than any other line item, and on a $1,200 job it can end up being five percent of the whole ticket.
Price the piece, not the hour
Hourly quoting in this trade punishes experience and frightens customers who have no idea whether eleven hours is reasonable. A per-piece price is what people can actually say yes to — and your speed stays your margin, where it belongs.
Sell the frame
Almost every price objection dissolves the same way: that frame is hardwood and joined, and it’ll outlast three new sofas. Reupholstery isn’t really competing with retail furniture on price — it’s competing on the fact that the thing already in their house is better made.
Frequently asked questions
Should fabric be included in my price?
No — quote labor, and let fabric be at cost. Customers choose materials that range from $20 to $200 a yard, and a bundled price means either you subsidize the expensive choice or you look overpriced to the person who wanted something simple.
How much extra yardage does a pattern need?
Add roughly 10–25% depending on the repeat, and say so before ordering. Matching a large repeat across a sofa's cushions is real skill and real waste, and it needs to be a number on the quote rather than a surprise on the invoice.
How do I price frame and spring work I can't see yet?
As an as-found line with a stated hourly or per-item rate on the original quote, approved by text before you proceed. Nobody knows what's under a fifty-year-old sofa, and the honest way to price the unknown is to price the rate, not the job.
Is reupholstery still worth it versus buying new?
For a well-built frame, yes, and that's your sales argument. A 1950s hardwood frame will outlive three flat-pack sofas — pointing that out is what turns a price objection into an order.