100 vs 200 vs 400 Amp Panel: Cost Compared (2026)

A new electrical panel runs roughly $1,600 to $5,200 installed in 2026, and the single biggest driver is the service size you land on: a 100A panel sits at the bottom, a 200A panel — the modern standard and the usual upgrade target — sits in the middle around $2,150 to $3,350, and a 400A service for large or all-electric homes sits at the top. Everything else (meter and service-mast work, the permit, and your local labor rate) moves you inside those bands. Below is an honest 2026 comparison of 100A vs 200A vs 400A installed, when each is the right call, and the cost step between them. You can estimate your exact cost with our Electrical Panel Calculator. Every figure here is an estimate that varies by market and condition, not a quote.

The short answer: 200A is the standard, 100A is the floor, 400A is for big loads

If you only remember one thing: 200A is what almost everyone installs today, 100A is the older minimum that newer homes outgrow, and 400A is the heavy-service tier you reach for when one 200A panel genuinely can't carry the load. The amperage you pick is the dominant cost driver — bigger service means a bigger panel, more breaker capacity, and more electrician time, and that jump matters more than almost anything else on the invoice.

For a like-for-like job in the same spot, a 100A-class panel is realistically around $1,600 to $2,800 installed, a 200A service lands around $2,150 to $3,350, and a 400A service runs around $3,955 to $5,200. Where you fall inside each band is mostly whether the meter and service mast also have to be replaced, then the permit, then your local labor market. If your panel feeds a workshop, an EV charger, a heat pump, and an induction range, the 400A question is real; for most single-family homes, 200A is the answer and 400A is overkill.

100A vs 200A vs 400A: installed cost compared (2026)

Here are honest 2026 US installed ranges by service size. The low end of each is a clean panel swap in the same location; the high end assumes the meter and service mast get replaced too, which is common on an older home where the whole service entrance is dated. These are estimates that move with your market, the panel tier you choose, and how much of the service has to change — they are not quotes.

Read the table as a comparison of where each size starts and where a full service swap lands. The realistic figure for most homeowners is a 200A service with new meter and mast around $3,350, which is exactly why 200A is the default recommendation and the usual upgrade target.

• 100A panel: roughly $1,600–$2,800 installed (bare swap ~$1,610; with new meter + mast ~$2,810)
• 200A panel: roughly $2,150–$3,350 installed (bare swap ~$2,150; with new meter + mast ~$3,350)
• 400A service: roughly $3,955–$5,200 installed (bare swap ~$3,955; with new meter + mast ~$5,155)
• Add a handful of new circuits and expect a few hundred more (about $75 per added circuit in breaker + labor)
• The permit and inspection (~$350, region-scaled) and the meter + mast (~$1,200 when replaced) apply to any size

The cost step between each size — and why it isn't linear

The jump from 100A to 200A is modest because they install almost the same way: a 200A panel is a bigger box with more breaker spaces, but the labor to mount it, land the feeders, and tie in the circuits is similar. On a bare swap that step is roughly $500 — about $2,150 for 200A versus $1,610 for a 100A-class job. That small gap is a big reason almost nobody installs a fresh 100A panel anymore; for a few hundred dollars more you get double the headroom.

The jump from 200A to 400A is much steeper, and it isn't padding. A 400A service is heavier equipment — often two 200A panels or a 400A meter-main with subfeeds — and it carries real upgrades to the service entrance: a larger meter base, heavier service-entrance conductors, and frequently coordination with the utility. In the cost model behind our calculator, the 400A tier more than doubles the panel-and-breakers line (about 2.4x) and adds about 85% more electrician labor versus a 200A job, which is why a bare 400A lands near $3,955 against $2,150 for 200A. Plan on the 200A→400A step costing meaningfully more than the 100A→200A step.

What the meter, mast, and permit add to any size

The panel itself is only part of a service job. Two near-fixed line items show up regardless of amperage. The permit and inspection are required for any real panel job and run about $350; because they're local and labor-like, they scale with your region, not with the size of the panel. Nobody should quote a code-compliant panel swap without one — pulling a permit is the trade norm, and skipping it is how you get bitten at resale or insurance time.

The meter and service mast are the other swing. On an older home, the meter base and the mast (the pipe and weatherhead carrying the service drop) are often as tired as the panel, and replacing them while the power is off is the sensible time to do it. Together they add roughly $1,200 — about $400 for the meter and $800 for the mast in hardware and install. That single decision is most of the difference between the low and high end of each size's range. The panel, breakers, meter hardware, and mast hardware are nationally priced equipment, so your regional cost multiplier scales the labor, permit, and install — never the boxes themselves.

• Permit + inspection: ~$350, required on any size, scales with region
• Meter replacement: ~$400 (hardware + install) when the meter base is also dated
• Service mast replacement: ~$800 when the mast and weatherhead are upgraded
• Extra circuits: ~$75 each (breaker + a bit of labor) if you're adding loads while you're in there
• Equipment is nationally priced; only the labor-like costs move with your local market

When each service size is the right call

Choose 100A only when you're truly load-light and the existing service is sound — a small home, a condo, or a detached structure with modest demand and no plans for an EV charger, heat pump, or electric range. It meets minimum code in many older homes, but it's the floor, and most homeowners who open up a 100A panel find it already crowded. If you're considering 100A mainly to save money, the small step up to 200A usually makes more sense given the headroom it buys.

Choose 200A for nearly every modern single-family home. It's the standard new builders install, it comfortably carries central air, electric appliances, and a Level 2 EV charger, and it leaves spare breaker spaces for the next project. This is the size most upgrades target, and our companion guide on the electrical panel upgrade cost breaks down the full upgrade line items if you're replacing an aging 100A panel.

Choose 400A when one 200A panel genuinely can't keep up: a large home (think 4,000-plus square feet), an all-electric house stacking a heat pump, electric range, EV charging, and a workshop or shop building, or an accessory dwelling that needs its own substantial feed. A 400A service is the right tool there, not a vanity upgrade — but if you're not sure your loads demand it, a load calculation will usually point you back to 200A. Not sure whether you even need to upgrade yet? Our piece on the signs you need an electrical panel upgrade covers the warning flags worth acting on.

What pushes a panel quote to the top of its range

Inside any one size, the spread is real and usually legitimate. A premium panel with copper bus and a brand-name breaker line sits near the top; a builder-grade main-breaker panel sits near the bottom. Two honest 200A quotes can differ by several hundred dollars simply because they're different panels and different breaker brands.

After panel tier, the install conditions decide the rest. Replacing the meter and mast, relocating the panel to a new wall, long or buried service-entrance runs, aluminum feeders that need attention, code-required upgrades like grounding electrodes or arc-fault and ground-fault breakers, utility coordination on a 400A service, and a high-cost labor metro all push you up. The labor-like portion of the same job scales with your region, so a 200A service that's ~$3,350 in an average market can read closer to $3,000 in a low-cost metro and roughly $4,500 in a pricey one — while the panel hardware barely moves. None of it is padding; ask the electrician to itemize so you can see which line is driving the number.

• Panel tier: builder-grade vs premium copper-bus, name-brand breaker line
• Meter + mast replacement: the biggest single swing on an older home
• Relocation: moving the panel to a new wall adds wire-routing labor
• Code items: grounding electrodes, AFCI/GFCI breakers, bonding required by current code
• 400A utility coordination: heavier service can require utility involvement
• Region and labor market: labor-like costs scale with your region; equipment stays nationally priced

Quick answers

What's the cheapest panel to install? A 100A-class panel on a like-for-like swap, usually around $1,600 to $2,800 installed. But the step up to 200A is only a few hundred dollars on the panel itself, so most people spend it for the headroom.

Why is my quote higher than these ranges? Usually a premium panel and breaker line, a meter and mast replacement, a panel relocation, code-required grounding or AFCI/GFCI work, a 400A service with utility coordination, or a high-cost labor market. All legitimate — ask for an itemized breakdown.

Is the installed range a quote? No. Every number here is a 2026 US estimate that varies by market and condition. Use it to sanity-check bids and set a budget, then get real quotes for your specific job.

How do I turn this into my number? Pick your service size, toggle the meter, mast, and any added circuits, set your region, and run it through the Electrical Panel Calculator. It returns a panel / labor / meter-and-mast / permit breakdown and an honest low-to-high range instead of a single guess.

The bottom line

A 2026 panel job runs roughly $1,600 to $5,200 installed, with a 100A panel near the bottom, a 200A service — the modern standard and usual upgrade target — around $2,150 to $3,350, and a 400A service for large or all-electric homes around $3,955 to $5,200; the 100A-to-200A step is small, the 200A-to-400A step is steep. Use the ranges above to sanity-check bids, then plug your service size, meter and mast options, and region into our Electrical Panel Calculator for a line-by-line breakdown and an honest total range. Every number here is an estimate, not a quote.