How much does cedar siding cost per square foot?

Cedar siding costs about $5 to $15 per square foot installed in 2026 for mid-grade bevel clapboard. Profile and grade move that a long way: knotty clapboard sits near the bottom, while clear-grade hand-split shakes can reach the high twenties per square foot. For a 1,500 square foot wall area that is roughly $7,500 to $22,500 before tear-off.

How much does it cost to install cedar siding on a whole house?

For a typical 1,500 square foot wall area, mid-grade cedar clapboard runs roughly $7,500 to $22,500 installed before removing the old siding. A 1,000 square foot single-storey home sits near $5,000 to $15,000, and a 2,500 square foot two-storey home can exceed $40,000 in shakes or clear grade.

Which is more expensive, cedar shingles or cedar shakes?

Shakes. Shingles are machine-cut and uniform, so they hang faster; shakes are hand-split, thicker and irregular, which means more labour per square foot and more waste. Expect shakes to run roughly 15 percent above shingles for the same grade, and both above plain bevel clapboard.

Is clear-grade cedar worth the extra cost?

It depends on the finish you want. Clear grade is knot-free and takes a semi-transparent stain evenly, which is the look most people picture when they picture cedar. Knotty grade costs substantially less and is the honest choice if you are painting, because paint hides the knots anyway. Paying for clear stock and then painting it is the most common way to waste money on a cedar job.

How much does it cost to maintain cedar siding?

Budget roughly $1.5 to $4 per square foot every 4 years or so to clean and refinish it. On a 1,500 square foot wall area that is about $2,250 to $6,000 per cycle. Over thirty years the recurring finish cost can approach what the siding cost to install, which is the part almost every cedar estimate leaves out.

Is cedar siding cheaper than fiber cement?

They overlap. Cedar runs about $5 to $15 per square foot installed and fiber cement about $6 to $14, so the install costs are comparable. The difference is what happens afterwards: fiber cement holds a factory finish for a decade or more, while cedar needs refinishing every few years. Over a long horizon cedar is the more expensive material to own, and it is chosen for the look rather than the economics.

Can I install cedar siding myself?

It is the most DIY-friendly of the premium materials because it cuts with ordinary woodworking tools, but the details are unforgiving. Back-priming every board before it goes up, keeping fasteners to a single line so boards can move, and maintaining clearance at grade all matter more with cedar than with engineered products, and getting them wrong shortens its life considerably.

Cedar Siding Cost Per Square Foot

Independent — we don't sell or install siding · Last updated September 2026 · Data as of August 2026 · 2026 planning ranges, not quotes

The short answer

Cedar siding costs about $5 to $15 per square foot installed for mid-grade bevel clapboard — roughly $7,500–$22,500 on an average 1,500 sq ft wall area. Profile and grade move it more than anything else: clear-grade hand-split shakes cost over twice what knotty clapboard does. And cedar keeps costing money — budget refinishing every 4 years.

Cedar siding cost calculator

Most cedar estimates quote one range for a material sold across a 10x price spread. This asks for the two specs that decide where in that spread you land.

Exterior wall area (sq ft)Rough guide: ~1,000–1,300 sq ft single-storey, ~1,800–2,400 two-storey.ProfileClassic overlapping horizontal board. The baseline.GradeFewer knots, more consistent — the common residential choice.FinishCheapest up front; back faces are never sealed.StoriesRegionRemove existing siding

Estimated cedar siding

$9,000–$25,500

≈ $6.00–$17.00 per sq ft, all in

Cedar, installed: $7,500–$22,500
Tear-off & disposal: $1,500–$3,000
Estimated total: $9,000–$25,500

Cedar is not done when it is installed. Budget $2,250–$6,000 every 4 years or so to refinish it. Over 30 years that recurring cost can approach the original install — it is the single most under-budgeted part of choosing cedar.

Compare this to a quote you have →

A planning range, not a quote. Access, wall complexity, trim detail and local labour demand all move a real bid.

Cedar cost per square foot by profile and grade

Installed cost per square foot, before tear-off. Read down for the look you want and across for how much knot-free stock you are paying for.

Profile	Knotty / rustic	Mid-grade	Clear / premium
Clapboard / bevel	$4.25–$12.75	$5.00–$15.00	$6.75–$20.25
Board & batten	$4.46–$13.39	$5.25–$15.75	$7.09–$21.26
Cedar shingles	$4.89–$14.66	$5.75–$17.25	$7.76–$23.29
Shiplap	$5.10–$15.30	$6.00–$18.00	$8.10–$24.30
Tongue & groove	$5.31–$15.94	$6.25–$18.75	$8.44–$25.31
Cedar shakes	$5.53–$16.58	$6.50–$19.50	$8.78–$26.33

Profile is a labour axis and grade is a material axis, which is why they multiply rather than add. The percentages behind each are modelled from published cost data, not surveyed — the ordering is reliable, the exact figure is a planning assumption.

Cedar siding cost by home size

Whole-project planning ranges for a single-storey home on average regional labour, before removing the old siding.

Wall area	Clapboard, mid-grade	Shakes, mid-grade
1,000 sq ft	$5,000 – $15,000	$6,500 – $19,500
1,500 sq ft	$7,500 – $22,500	$9,750 – $29,250
2,000 sq ft	$10,000 – $30,000	$13,000 – $39,000
2,500 sq ft	$12,500 – $37,500	$16,250 – $48,750

Wall area is not floor area. A 1,500 sq ft single-storey house has roughly 1,000–1,300 sq ft of wall; a two-storey of the same footprint has far more.

Cedar species, and which one you are actually buying

“Cedar” on a quote can mean four different woods at four different prices. Ask which, because the answer changes both cost and how the wall ages.

Species	Material / sq ft	Character
Western red cedar	$3–$30	The premium standard — stable, rot-resistant, rich colour. Most common.
Northern white cedar	$2.50–$20	Often sold as shingles or shakes; naturally durable, lighter tone.
Eastern red cedar	$2.50–$30	Very rot- and insect-resistant; aromatic, knottier look.
Alaskan yellow cedar	$5–$12	Dense and extremely durable; good in wet, cold climates.

The cost that outlives the install

This is where cedar budgets go wrong. The install is a one-off; the finish is not. Cedar needs cleaning and refinishing roughly every 4 years at $1.5–$4 per square foot, and over a thirty-year horizon that recurring spend can approach what the siding cost to put up.

What that means in practice

It does not make cedar a bad choice — it makes it a choice you should make with the whole number in view. People who love cedar and budget for the upkeep are happy with it for decades. People who price only the install are the ones who end up letting it go grey and blotchy, or covering it over within fifteen years.

If the recurring cost is the dealbreaker but the look isn't, engineered wood and fiber cement both hold a factory finish far longer for a similar install price.

How to sanity-check a cedar quote

Three questions separate a comparable quote from an incomparable one, and all three are things a vague estimate leaves out.

Which species and grade? “Cedar” spans a 10x material range. Two quotes without this stated are not comparable at any price.
Is it back-primed? Sealing the back faces before the boards go up is cheap during install and impossible afterwards. Its absence is the most common reason cedar cups and splits early.
Who finishes it, and when? A site-finished job that sits raw through a wet season starts ageing before it is protected. Pre-finished stock avoids that and costs more up front.

Run a real quote through the checker to see where it lands against typical ranges, or take the contractor checklist to the next site visit.

Keep going

Wood Siding Cost & GuideCedar next to pine, redwood and the engineered alternatives.Clapboard SidingClapboard in vinyl, fiber cement, engineered wood and steel vs cedar.Board & Batten SidingCedar boards and battens vs vinyl, fiber cement, LP and steel.Fiber Cement vs CedarThe head-to-head most cedar shoppers end up making.Staining & RepaintingRefinishing intervals, prep, and what actually fails first.LP SmartSide CostThe engineered-wood route if the upkeep is the dealbreaker.All-Materials CalculatorPrice cedar against every other siding material.Is My Siding Quote Fair?Put a real cedar quote next to typical ranges.

Frequently asked questions

How much does cedar siding cost per square foot?: About $5–$15 per square foot installed for mid-grade clapboard. Clear-grade shakes run far higher — profile and grade together swing the number more than 2x.
How much does it cost to install cedar siding on a whole house?: Roughly $7,500–$22,500 for an average 1,500 sq ft wall area in mid-grade clapboard, before tear-off.
Which is more expensive, cedar shingles or cedar shakes?: Shakes — they are hand-split and thicker, so more labour per square foot. Shingles are machine-cut and hang faster; both cost more than bevel clapboard.
Is clear-grade cedar worth the extra cost?: Only if you are staining. Clear grade takes a semi-transparent stain evenly — but if you are painting, knotty grade looks the same once coated and costs far less.
How much does it cost to maintain cedar siding?: About $1.5–$4 per square foot every 4 years. Over 30 years that can approach the original install cost — budget it from the start.
Is cedar siding cheaper than fiber cement?: Install costs overlap, but ownership does not — cedar needs refinishing every few years where fiber cement holds a factory finish for a decade-plus. See the head-to-head.
Can I install cedar siding myself?: More approachable than fiber cement, but the details are unforgiving — back-priming, single-line fastening, and clearance at grade all decide how long it lasts.