Cost transparency · San Antonio metro
HVAC pricing in San Antonio, in plain numbers.
Polar Express publishes two dollar figures: an $89 A/C tune-up (single residential system, through September 30, 2026) and $50 off any repair (one per household). Every other AC, heating, and refrigeration job across the San Antonio metro is one written flat-rate price approved before work starts, and a second opinion on any written replacement quote from a licensed competitor is free; other live offers are listed at /offers. TDLR license TACLA00127982C.
What repairs, replacements, maintenance, and commercial refrigeration typically cost across this market, what moves those numbers, and how a written flat-rate quote from Polar Express turns a range into one price you approve before the work starts.
- Licensed TACLA00127982C
- Flat rate, approved before work
- Free second opinion
The short answer
What does HVAC service cost in San Antonio?
Most San Antonio HVAC work falls into three price bands. Common AC repairs run a few hundred dollars, larger component repairs such as a compressor run over a thousand, and a full residential system replacement usually lands in five figures. Maintenance visits are the cheapest line item, and Polar Express currently offers an $89 A/C tune-up.
Read this before the tables
These are typical market ranges compiled from industry data to help you budget, not Polar Express prices. Your written Polar Express quote is the only number that binds us. Polar Express publishes exactly two of its own prices, both of them offers with terms: the $89 A/C tune-up and $50 off any repair. Everything else we can tell you about cost before we see your equipment is market context, and we would rather label it honestly than dress a guess up as a quote.
How our pricing works
The written flat-rate quote.
Every repair is quoted as one flat price for the whole job, in writing, before any work begins. You approve that number first. There is no hourly meter running behind you, and the price does not move because the job took longer than expected.
Diagnose first, price second
A technician finds the actual fault before anyone talks about money. A price quoted over the phone for a system nobody has looked at is a sales number, not a repair estimate.
One number, in writing
Parts and labor together, for the repair as described. You see it and approve it before a wrench moves. If a second fault turns up behind the first, it gets its own quote and its own yes.
The free second opinion
Holding a replacement quote from another licensed company? We will look at the system and tell you what we find, at no charge, one per household or business location. See the terms.
The two figures we publish are on the offers page, each with its own terms and end date. Offers come off this site when they expire rather than sitting there as decoration.
What the San Antonio market charges
AC and heating repair ranges.
Repair pricing is driven almost entirely by which part failed. These are the residential repairs that make up most service calls in this market, from the cheapest to the most expensive.
| Repair | Typical market range | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic or service visit | $75 to $200 | The trip and the diagnosis. Many companies apply it to the repair. |
| Capacitor replacement | $150 to $450 | The most common summer failure, and one of the least expensive. |
| Contactor replacement | $150 to $400 | The relay that starts the outdoor unit. Pitted contacts, no start. |
| Condensate drain clearing | $150 to $400 | A clogged drain or a tripped float switch shutting the system off. |
| Condenser fan motor | $400 to $900 | The outdoor fan. Heat and hours kill these in Texas. |
| Blower motor | $450 to $1,200 | The indoor fan. Variable-speed motors sit at the top of the range. |
| Refrigerant leak repair and recharge | $500 to $2,000 and up | Depends on where the leak is and which refrigerant the system uses. |
| Evaporator coil replacement | $1,000 to $3,000 | A big job on an old system, and often the moment to price a replacement. |
| Compressor replacement | $1,500 to $4,000 and up | The most expensive part in the machine. Usually a replace-or-repair decision. |
Market context, not a quote. These are typical market ranges compiled from industry data to help you budget, not Polar Express prices. Your written Polar Express quote is the only number that binds us.
Once a single repair passes roughly a quarter of what a new system costs, the arithmetic deserves a second look before you spend it. Our repair-or-replace guide walks that decision, and our AC repair page covers what a visit actually includes.
What the San Antonio market charges
System replacement ranges.
Replacement is the largest HVAC purchase most households make, and the spread is wide because equipment tier, correct sizing, and the state of your ductwork all move it independently.
| System | Typical installed market range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gas furnace replacement | $3,500 to $8,000 | Furnace only, with venting and gas connections brought up to code. |
| Ductless mini-split, per zone | $3,500 to $8,000 | Additions, garages, casitas, and rooms the ductwork never reached. |
| Outdoor condenser and indoor coil only | $5,000 to $9,000 | A partial changeout. Only correct when the air handler is sound and matched. |
| Full central AC and air handler replacement | $8,000 to $16,000 | The common case. Most complete Texas replacements land in five figures once permits, a matched indoor unit, and duct work are counted. |
| Heat pump system | $8,000 to $18,000 | Heating and cooling from one system. Well suited to mild San Antonio winters. |
| High-efficiency variable-speed system | $12,000 to $20,000 and up | Quietest and steadiest. The efficiency premium comes back monthly, not overnight. |
| Duct repair or partial duct replacement | $1,000 to $5,000 | Added to any of the above when the existing ductwork leaks or was sized wrong. |
Market context, not a quote. These are typical market ranges compiled from industry data to help you budget, not Polar Express prices. Your written Polar Express quote is the only number that binds us.
Two quotes for identical equipment can differ by thousands, and the difference is usually the installation: correct charge, a proper line set, sealed connections, and a commissioning step where the installer verifies airflow instead of switching it on and driving away. See AC installation and replacement for how we run the job, and the new system cost guide for a deeper breakdown of what you are paying for.
What the San Antonio market charges
Maintenance and tune-up ranges.
Maintenance is the only HVAC spending you get to schedule. In a climate where the system runs close to nine months a year, one annual visit is the cheapest thing on this page and the item most likely to keep the expensive ones off it.
| Service | Typical market range | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Cooling tune-up, one system | $80 to $200 | Once a year, in spring, before the first triple-digit week. |
| Heating tune-up and safety check | $80 to $200 | Once a year, in fall, ahead of the first cold front. |
| Annual maintenance plan, per system | $150 to $400 | Bundles both visits, usually with priority scheduling attached. |
| Duct sealing or duct cleaning | $400 to $1,500 | Occasional. Worth pricing when rooms will not balance. |
Market context, not a quote. These are typical market ranges compiled from industry data to help you budget, not Polar Express prices. Your written Polar Express quote is the only number that binds us.
Our own tune-up sits at $89 for a single residential system, which is a real Polar Express price rather than a market range. The San Antonio maintenance checklist lists what belongs to you and what belongs to a technician.
What the San Antonio market charges
Commercial refrigeration ranges.
Commercial refrigeration prices above the residential equivalent of the same failure, because the equipment is larger, the refrigerant charges are bigger, and the work often happens outside business hours around a kitchen that cannot stop.
| Commercial job | Typical market range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Service visit and diagnosis | $150 to $400 | After-hours and holiday response typically prices above a weekday visit. |
| Door gaskets and seals | $200 to $800 | The cheapest fix on this list, and the one most often left too long. |
| Ice machine deep clean and descale | $200 to $600 | San Antonio water is hard. Twice a year is a realistic interval here. |
| Defrost control or thermostat replacement | $250 to $900 | The usual cause of a freezer that ices over and drifts out of hold. |
| Evaporator or condenser fan motor | $300 to $900 | One dead fan motor is enough to lose the box overnight. |
| Refrigerant leak repair and recharge | $600 to $2,500 | Commercial refrigerants and larger charges push this above the residential range. |
| Compressor replacement | $2,000 to $6,000 and up | Rack and low-temperature systems sit at the top. Often a repair-or-replace call. |
Market context, not a quote. These are typical market ranges compiled from industry data to help you budget, not Polar Express prices. Your written Polar Express quote is the only number that binds us.
The number that never appears in a repair range is the inventory in the box, which is usually the larger loss. Walk-in cooler repair and the commercial hub cover how a temperature-critical call is dispatched, and the walk-in cooler maintenance checklist is the cheapest way to stay off this table.
What moves the price
Why two houses on the same street get two different numbers.
A range exists because these seven things vary. When you read a quote, you are really reading how a company answered each one.
- Which part failed
- This is the largest single factor. A capacitor and a compressor are the same visit and two very different invoices, and nobody knows which one you have until a technician puts meters on the system.
- The age and condition of the system
- Older equipment takes longer to work on, uses parts that cost more to source, and frequently turns up a second fault behind the first one. Well-maintained systems are cheaper to repair for the same failure.
- Refrigerant type
- Systems running phased-out R-22 cost far more per pound to charge than current refrigerants, which is why a leak on an older system often changes the conversation from repair to replacement.
- Size and efficiency, on replacements
- Tonnage and SEER2 rating both move the number. Correct sizing comes from a load calculation, not from square footage, and an oversized system costs more up front and performs worse.
- The condition of your ductwork
- The cost nobody budgets for. Leaking, undersized, or disconnected ducts undo a new system on day one, so honest replacement quotes either include duct work or say plainly why they do not.
- Access and installation difficulty
- An attic air handler in August, a rooftop unit needing a crane, or a walk-in condenser behind a working line during dinner service all add real labor hours to the same nominal job.
- When you call
- Nights, weekends, and holidays are dispatched around the clock, and response outside office hours generally prices differently across the trade. Ask when you call, and whatever the answer is, it appears on the written quote before anyone starts.
Paying for it
Financing, offers, and what to ask.
Financing options are available on qualifying installations. We do not publish monthly payment figures here, because payment terms and the disclosures that legally have to travel with them come from the lender rather than from us. Ask when you call, or when the technician writes the quote, and we will walk you through what is available today.
- Ask for the quote in writing, itemized, before you agree to anything.
- Ask what the flat rate covers and what would trigger a second quote.
- On a replacement, ask what size the system is and how they arrived at it.
- Compare labor warranty terms, not just the equipment warranty.
- On a big verdict, get the free second opinion before you sign.
Pricing questions
Straight answers about cost.
Still want a number for your equipment? The fastest path to one is a phone call, day or night.
Call (210) 376-0781A range is a starting point. A written quote is an answer.
One call gets a licensed technician to the equipment, a diagnosis in plain language, and a flat-rate price you approve before the work starts. Answered around the clock, every day of the year.
