How Much Do House Plans Cost?

Cost Range for New House Plans

The average cost range of home building blueprints, or house plans, is $600 to $5,700. The low cost begins with pre-made plans bought online for homes without custom features. The most expensive house plans are those designed by an architect for custom homes on a specific lot, and the price can go as high as $10,000 when the house is large, or the design is complex and requires engineering.

House plans are also called blueprints or prints. Some cities and counties might issue a building permit with hand-drawn plans on graph paper as long as dimensions are clearly defined.

Average Cost Ranges

Overview of New House Plans and Blueprints

House plans or blueprints are drawn for the purpose of showing building contractors the exact size, dimensions and layout of a home.

Common places to get house plans are:

Low-cost option: Pre-drawn plans from online sites like blueprints.com. If you find a plan you’re happy with, and don’t want modifications, then cost begins around $600. You’ll find these ranging up to $8,500! For that cost, you can have a custom design prepared by a drafter or architect.

Those plans can be modified for $300 to more than $1,000 depending on the extent of the changes.

Midrange option: Hire a draftsperson or CAD professional to turn your hand-drawn plan or a plan from a house plans book into certified plans needed to obtain a building permit. Cost to hire a for a drafter or CAD pro for house plans is $1,500 – $3,500 depending on home size and complexity.

High cost option: Hire an architect to draw custom home plans or blueprints for your project. Cost starts around $3,000 and can exceed $10,000 depending on home size and whether a structural engineer is hired to assist, at rates of $100 to $200 per hour, on complex designs.

Cost per square foot begins at less than $0.50 (50 cents) for pre-packaged plans and $3.00 to $7.50 for complex architectural blueprints.

House Plan Cost Factors

How much do house plans cost? The cost of blueprints or house plans depends on the following:

• Who Creates the Plan – Pre-drawn plans found online cost significantly less than custom plans created by a CAD pro or architect.
• Home Size – Plans for larger homes cost more regardless of who creates the plans.
• Number of Levels – Home plans with multiple stories take longer to draw than single-story homes with the same square footage, and cost goes up.
• Level of Detail in Plans – Some plans you can buy may include only the structural components like the footings and foundation, details for each floor plan, roof, etc. More detailed plans include all mechanical requirements like plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems for new construction, etc. Assure you are getting the highest level of detail that you need to support your home building project.
• Additional Home Design Complexity – Typically house plans for homes with more corners, varying elevations and intricate features like dormers cost more than simple designs.
• Hiring a Structural Engineer – When an engineer is hired to ensure that a complex home design has structural integrity, cost goes up significantly. Hourly rates are shown below.
• Modifications to Plans – Some homeowners buy a “stock” design or have a pro draw plans only to want changes made later like room size or roof elevation. In such cases, modifications can be made at significant cost per change.
• Rush Orders – Some architects and drafters offer expedited plans or changes at a premium of 15% to 33%.
• What Your Community Requires – We’ve had several friends obtain building permits and build homes with nothing more than plans drawn by hand on graph paper. Most communities, however, require plans drawn by a pro and printed in traditional blueprint style.
• Ecofriendly Plans – When the plan requires features like solar panels or a “green” roof, cost will increase.
• Miscellaneous Charges – These are a minor part of the total cost and include number of prints, full-color elevation prints and digital copies on a drive.

Blueprint Drafting Services and Costs

Here are some of the itemized costs you might encounter when buying house plans or blueprints.

*Rush orders will likely increase the cost of any service you hire for the project.

• $35 – $125 per Hour | CAD Drafting Rates – When a CAD pro can turn your drawing into prints, cost is lower than hiring an architect.
• $100 – $400 per Hour | Cost to Hire an Architect – Experience and company prestige are key factors in an architect’s fees. Home Advisor puts the top rate at $200 per hour, which is low.
• $150 – $450 per Hour | Cost to Hire a Structural Engineer when the structural integrity of house plans needs to be certified. Home Guide puts total cost at $500 – $1,000.
• $100 – $500 | Cost of a Plan Review – If you choose a plan out of a book or draw your own, your local building department might require pro certification of the plan before issuing a permit.
• $20 – $100 per Set | Cost to print a set of house plans – Fixr gives a rate up to $60.
• $40 – $85 per Hour | Cost to Hire a Mechanical Engineer to design an HVAC and ductwork system.

While they are separate costs than house plans and prints, you might first need a land survey to show setbacks and proposed home placement. If you’re planning a septic system/leach field, a perc test will likely be required too.

Permits, Inspection, and Labor Costs

Permits and Inspection

• $0 | You don’t need a permit for house plans, but you will need house plans to obtain a building permit at a cost of $800 to $4,000 or more based on home size and where you live.

Labor Cost

As noted above, here are some of the services and fees for labor in creating house prints.

• CAD/Drafter Rates: $35 – $125 per Hour
• Architect Rates: $100 – $400 per Hour
• Structural Engineer Rates: $150 – $450 per Hour for consultation or plans review
• Mechanical Engineer Rates: $40 – $85 per Hour if needed for HVAC design

Time Required to Have House Plans Produced

The time it takes for a pro to produce plans varies greatly by time of year and demand.

• Immediately: Pre-drawn Plans can be downloaded as soon as you order them online. The file is typically a PDF which you must have printed.
• 3-21 Days: CAD / Drafter Plans can be prepared in 3 days to 3 weeks.
• 2-6 weeks: Architect Plans usually take longer to prepare. The timeframe can be extended when an engineer must be consulted to produce the plans.

Related Projects

DIY or Hire a Pro

In many communities, your building department won’t accept DIY plans.

However, in some communities, a hand-drawn plan on graph paper showing all dimensions is enough. So yes, you can DIY in many cities and counties across the country.

However, just because you can do it yourself doesn’t mean you should. An experienced drafter or architect will assist you with floorplan layout, room sizes and proportions, window sizes and locations, front and back elevations and other factors important to the success of the finished home.

And those factors have already been considered on pre-drawn plans.

Find out what is allowed/required where you live.

We also recommend that you buy a House Plans book online – cost ranges from $12.00 to $50.00. Browse it to find a plan you like. And then you have the option to hire a CAD pro or architect to turn it into plans for your new home.