Fall furnace tune-up pricing: what to charge and what to include

Fall furnace tune-ups have a weird pricing problem. Homeowners have been trained by Groupon and big-box HVAC companies to expect $49 or $59 tune-ups. Meanwhile, your actual cost to send a tech to a house, do thorough work, and drive back is somewhere between $90 and $150 depending on your market.

So either you race to the bottom and lose money on every tune-up, or you charge what the work is actually worth and explain why. I've watched a lot of HVAC shops navigate this, and the ones doing well have figured out a few things worth sharing.

What a furnace tune-up should actually include

Part of the pricing problem is that nobody agrees on what "furnace tune-up" means. The $49 special from the big national franchise includes a visual inspection and a sales pitch. A real tune-up from a competent tech takes 45-75 minutes and covers all of this:

1. Filter check and replacement. Replace the filter or clean the washable one. Note the size for future reference.
2. Thermostat calibration. Verify the thermostat is reading the correct temperature and cycling properly. Check programming for the heating season.
3. Electrical connections. Tighten all connections at the furnace. Check wire insulation for damage. Test the door safety switch.
4. Flame sensor cleaning. This is the number one cause of "no heat" calls in early winter. A dirty flame sensor takes 30 seconds to clean with emery cloth and prevents a $200+ emergency call in December.
5. Burner inspection and cleaning. Pull the burners if accessible. Check for rust, cracks, and carbon buildup. Watch the flame pattern when you fire it up: it should be steady and blue with small yellow tips.
6. Heat exchanger inspection. This is the safety-critical one. Visual inspection for cracks, rust, and separation. Use a mirror and flashlight, or a camera if you've got one. On older furnaces, do a CO test in the supply plenum.
7. Flue and venting. Check the flue pipe for corrosion, separation, and proper pitch. Test the draft with a match or smoke pen at the draft hood (on natural draft furnaces). For high-efficiency units, inspect the PVC vent and intake for blockage.
8. Blower motor and assembly. Check amp draw. Listen for bearing noise. If it's a belt-drive blower, check belt tension and condition.
9. Gas pressure. Measure manifold gas pressure and compare to the rating plate. High gas pressure accelerates heat exchanger failure. Low gas pressure reduces efficiency and can cause ignition problems.
10. Carbon monoxide test. Test CO levels in the supply air and at the furnace exhaust. Anything above 100 ppm at the furnace exhaust warrants further investigation. Any CO in the supply air means the heat exchanger needs immediate attention.
11. Temperature rise. Measure the temperature difference between return and supply air. Compare to the range listed on the rating plate (usually 35-65°F). Out of range means airflow or gas pressure issues.

That's a real tune-up. If you're doing all of that in under 45 minutes, you're either very experienced or cutting corners.

Pricing tiers that work

Offering a single flat rate puts you in a take-it-or-leave-it position. Three tiers give customers a sense of control and push most people to the middle option. Here's a framework based on what's working in 2026:

Tier	What's included	Price range
Basic inspection	Visual check, filter, flame sensor, thermostat, safety test	$89 - $119
Full tune-up	Everything above + burner cleaning, gas pressure, CO test, temp rise, electrical	$139 - $189
Comprehensive + report	Full tune-up + written system report, efficiency assessment, photo documentation	$189 - $249

Most customers pick the middle tier. The basic tier exists so the middle one looks like good value. The top tier is for the homeowner who wants documentation (rental properties, home sales, or just the person who likes thoroughness).

Use the HVAC pricing calculator to verify these numbers against your specific overhead and labor costs. If you're in a high-cost market, your floor might be higher. In a rural market, you might need to compress the range. The contractor rates tool shows what shops in your zip code are charging.

How to compete with the $49 tune-up

You can't win on price against the loss-leader shops, and you shouldn't try. Their business model depends on the tune-up tech finding something wrong and selling a $5,000 repair or replacement on the spot. Your business model depends on doing good work and having people call you back next year.

Here's how to position yourself against the low-price operators:

Name what you do that they don't. Most homeowners don't know what a furnace tune-up includes. When they see your list next to the $49 guy's vague "20-point inspection," they can see the difference. Put your checklist on your website and in your marketing materials.

Lead with the CO test. Nothing gets a homeowner's attention like the words "carbon monoxide testing included." The $49 shops almost never include an actual CO test because they don't give their techs combustion analyzers.

Show the math. A proper fall tune-up prevents the most common winter breakdowns. The average emergency furnace repair costs $300-800. The average tune-up costs $140-190. Even if you only prevent one breakdown every three years, the tune-up pays for itself.

Offer the guarantee. Some shops offer a "no breakdown" guarantee: if the furnace breaks down within 90 days of the tune-up, the diagnostic fee on the repair call is waived. This costs you very little (a furnace that just had a real tune-up rarely fails) but it eliminates the customer's risk entirely.

Turning fall tune-ups into recurring revenue

Fall is the best time to sell annual maintenance agreements. The customer is already thinking about their heating system. They just watched your tech do thorough, professional work. They don't want to deal with scheduling this again next year.

The pitch is simple: "For $199/year, I come out in spring for your AC and fall for your furnace. You get priority scheduling in peak season, and 15% off any repairs. Would you rather I just put you on the schedule for both, or would you prefer to call each time?"

Most people pick the easy option. And that $199 agreement customer becomes a $199/year customer for the next 5-10 years, plus whatever repair and replacement work comes up during those visits. The lifetime value of one maintenance agreement customer is typically $3,000-7,000.

Scheduling your fall tune-up blitz

Start booking in September. Send a text or email to every customer in your system who has a gas furnace. Keep the message short: "Fall furnace tune-ups are open. We book up fast once it gets cold. Reply YES to grab a spot."

Block dedicated tune-up days on your schedule. When techs only do tune-ups all day, they get into a rhythm and can handle 5-7 per day. When tune-ups are squeezed between service calls and installs, productivity drops to 2-3 per day.

By the time the first frost hits, you want your tune-up calendar to be mostly full. Every empty slot after November is revenue you're never getting back.

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