Everything you need to launch your trade business.
Everything you need to launch your trade business.
Get a real french drain cost estimate in seconds. Built on 2026 contractor pricing for exterior yard and interior basement drains.
In 2026, a french drain costs about $10 to $35 per linear foot for an exterior yard drain and $40 to $85 per linear foot for an interior basement system. The national average for a full project sits near $5,000, but your real number depends on length, how deep you dig, your soil, and whether you add a sump pump. The calculator above runs those numbers for you.
The gap between exterior and interior is all about labor. A yard drain is open-ground digging. An interior basement drain means jackhammering concrete, working in a tight occupied space, and almost always tying into a sump pump, which is why it costs three to four times more per foot.
If you install drainage for a living, this same math is how you build a profitable bid. Start from your per-linear-foot labor and material cost, add a line for site difficulty, and never eat the cost of a surprise sump pump or hardscape cut. Quote a range on the walkthrough, lock the number after you see the soil. For the full picture on getting your drainage and landscaping business off the ground, see our guide on how to start a landscaping business.
The Landscaping Starter Kit hands you the pricing sheets, bid templates, contracts, and checklists to land paid jobs in week one. One download, no monthly fees.
DIY can cut the cost to materials only, roughly $5 to $12 per linear foot for pipe, gravel, and fabric. The catch is labor and grade. A drain that is not pitched correctly (about 1% slope, or 1 inch of drop every 8 feet) just moves water nowhere. For short, simple yard runs DIY is doable. For interior or deep runs, hire it out.
A typical 100-foot exterior yard drain runs about $1,000 to $3,500 in labor and materials, more if you hit hard clay, cross hardscape, or add a sump pump. Run your exact length through the calculator above for a tighter range.
Only if water cannot drain downhill on its own. Interior basement systems almost always need one; flat lots sometimes do too. A sump pump adds roughly $625 to $2,625 installed.
Interior systems run $40 to $85 per linear foot versus $10 to $35 outside because crews have to break up and repour the concrete slab, work inside a finished space, and tie into a pump. It is far more labor per foot.
