CostBeaverHow Much Does a New Furnace Cost in 2026?
HVAC TIPSPlan on $4,500–$9,000 installed for a new gas furnace in 2026 across Georgia and the Carolinas. An 80% AFUE unit lands at $4,500–$6,500, a 95%+ condensing model at $6,000–$9,000, and a furnace-plus-AC package at $8,500–$14,000. Most swaps take one day. And in our mild winters, if the furnace and the AC are both old, get a heat pump quote next to the pair before you commit.
The short version
- A gas furnace runs $4,500–$9,000 installed in 2026: the 80% AFUE tier is $4,500–$6,500, and 95%+ condensing is $6,000–$9,000.
- Replace the AC at the same time and the package runs $8,500–$14,000 — which is exactly the price zone where a single heat pump starts to beat two systems.
- Four things move the quote: venting, gas line work, ductwork, and size. A flue reline alone adds $500–$1,500 if your water heater shares the chimney.
- Past age 12, run the math: if the repair costs more than $5,000 minus $500 for every year of age, the money belongs in a new system. A cracked heat exchanger skips the math — replace.
The 2026 numbers, up front
Three furnace quotes crossed our desk in the past month, from a Marietta split-level to a 1950s Decatur bungalow, and they all landed inside the same bands. Here is where the market sits this year, installed:
| Setup | 2026 installed cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 80% AFUE gas furnace | $4,500–$6,500 | The workhorse tier; vents through a metal flue |
| 95%+ AFUE condensing furnace | $6,000–$9,000 | PVC venting, wrings more heat from every therm |
| Furnace + new AC together | $8,500–$14,000 | One crew, one day, matched blower |
| Electric furnace | $2,500–$6,500 | Cheapest box on this list, priciest to run |
Equipment is roughly half of those numbers. The rest is labor, venting, permit, and haul-away. If AFUE is a fuzzy term for you, our gas furnace guide unpacks it properly, including the 80-vs-95 decision — here we stick to what moves the check you write.
Cost by fuel type
Gas dominates down here, but it is not the only option on the table. Same job, four fuels:
| Fuel | 2026 installed cost | The honest read |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | $4,500–$9,000 | Cheapest to run where Atlanta Gas Light or Piedmont Natural Gas already serve the street |
| Electric | $2,500–$6,500 | Low sticker, but resistance heat makes January bills sting; a heat pump beats it nearly every time |
| Propane | $5,000–$9,500 | The off-grid answer for rural counties and lake houses; budget $100–$200 a year for the tank lease |
| Oil | $6,500–$10,000+ | Rare in the Southeast; most crews will steer you to gas or a heat pump instead |
One pattern worth naming: the electric furnace looks like a bargain and almost never is. It turns every kilowatt into exactly one kilowatt of heat, no more. If your house is all-electric, that budget buys a heat pump that delivers two to three times the heat per kilowatt.
Plenty of homes in Kennesaw, Matthews, and the newer suburbs were built all-electric, and running a new gas service can take Atlanta Gas Light or Piedmont Natural Gas weeks to schedule, sometimes at a cost that erases the fuel savings for years. If the street has no main, stop and read our heat pump vs furnace breakdown before going any further. In this climate, hauling gas to the house just to feed a 10-week heating season rarely pencils out.
What actually moves your quote
Two neighbors can buy the same furnace and pay $2,000 apart. The gap is almost never the box. It is the four items below.
- Venting. A 95% condensing furnace exhausts cool, acidic vapor through PVC pipe and needs a condensate drain. New penetrations, new routing, new money. And here is the one that ambushes people: if your old 80% furnace shared a metal chimney with the water heater, the water heater gets orphaned and that flue needs a reline, which adds $500–$1,500.
- Gas line work. Moving or upsizing the line usually adds a few hundred dollars. Not huge, but it shows up on quotes for older homes.
- Ductwork. Crushed runs, leaky joints, or a return that was always too small. Fixing ducts during the swap is cheap; fixing them later is a second service call.
- Size. The jump from an 80,000 to a 100,000 BTU cabinet costs less than people fear — a few hundred dollars, not thousands. What costs real money is oversizing, because a too-big furnace short-cycles and dies young. Our sizing guide covers how a proper load calculation works.
Repair it, or replace it?
The furnace that limps into October is the one that quits on the first 28-degree night. So decide before the season, not during it.
Age first. A furnace lasts 15–20 years down here, partly because our winters only work it about ten weeks. Under age 12 with a fixable fault? Repair it. Past 12, use the old installer test: take $5,000, subtract $500 for every year of age, and if the repair estimate beats what is left, the money belongs in a new system. A $1,200 board on a 14-year-old furnace fails that test.
One fault ends the debate on the spot: a cracked heat exchanger. That is the wall between the flame and the air you breathe, and a crack can push carbon monoxide into the ductwork. No reputable tech will run it, and the part costs nearly what a furnace does. Replace. The repair-vs-replace guide walks the borderline cases.
Here is the opinion national furnace pages will not give you: in Georgia and the Carolinas, if your furnace and your AC are both past their prime, do not price the $8,500–$14,000 furnace-and-AC package alone. Price a heat pump next to it. Our winters run about ten mild weeks, our cooling season runs five months, and one system that does both jobs often beats buying two — one install, one lifespan to track, no gas bill. The full comparison is here. If the AC is only a few years old, ignore this and just swap the furnace.
What install day looks like
A straight swap is a one-day job. The crew shows up around 8, has the old unit on the truck by 10, and you have heat again by late afternoon — figure 4 to 8 hours. Add a day if the job includes new PVC venting, duct repairs, or an AC going in at the same time.
Two things to check before the truck leaves. First, the permit: Cobb, Mecklenburg, Greenville — pretty much every county here requires one for a furnace swap, and a pro pulls it without being asked. A bid with no permit line is a bid worth questioning. Second, the paperwork for registration, because most manufacturers cut the heat-exchanger warranty from 20 years to 5 if nobody registers the unit within 90 days. Takes ten minutes. Skipping it is the most expensive shortcut in HVAC.
One more calendar note: the federal 25C credit that once returned up to $600 on efficient furnaces expired for installs after December 31, 2025, so a 2026 install gets nothing from the IRS. Shop the equipment on merit, and check what your gas utility offers instead.
