Updated October 2026 · Prices checked 13 October 2026
Polyester Carpet Cost: $1.94 to $7.49 Per Sq Ft Installed
Polyester carpet costs $1.94 to $7.49 per sq ft installed ($17.46 to $67.41 per sq yd) with 6 lb rebond pad and labor, and a 12x12 room comes to $280 to $1,080. The carpet itself listed at $0.88 to $4.34 per sq ft at Lowe’s and Home Depot on 13 October 2026; labor runs from Home Depot’s published $0.69 per sq ft.
Polyester carpet cost by area
Floor area
Installed, polyester on 6 lb pad
144 sq ft (12x12 room)
$280 to $1,080
300 sq ft
$580 to $2,250
500 sq ft
$970 to $3,740
1,000 sq ft
$1,940 to $7,480
The low end is the Lowe's Style Selections Believer, 14.6 oz listing; the high end is the Home Depot Lifeproof Velvetine III, 75 oz. Pad is 6 lb rebond ($0.26 to $0.45 per sq ft listed, up to the $1.01 Home Depot uses on installed jobs). Removal is not included.
Polyester against the other fibers
Fiber
Carpet listings, per sq ft
Installed, per sq ft
Polyester (PET)
$0.88 to $4.34
$1.94 to $7.49
Olefin (polypropylene)
$0.99 to $2.09
$2.07 to $5.01
Nylon
$2.24 to $5.74
$3.53 to $9.03
Triexta (PTT)
$2.99 to $5.89
$4.35 to $9.19
Mohawk’s soft-surface FAQ calls polyester the budget fiber, nylon the fiber for heavy traffic and triexta the fiber with built-in stain protection. Wool and berber are on the carpet types page; to price a room in any fiber, use the carpet installation cost calculator.
Questions
$1.94 to $7.49 per sq ft with 6 lb rebond pad and professional installation in our model, on prices checked 13 October 2026. The carpet alone lists at $0.88 to $4.34 per sq ft, from Lowe's Style Selections Believer, 14.6 oz to Home Depot Lifeproof Velvetine III, 75 oz. A 12x12 room comes to $280 to $1,080.
Sources and method.Lowe's, carpet listings (nylon and polyester) (per sq ft prices of nylon and polyester carpet; checked 13 October 2026); The Home Depot, Installed Carpet listings by fiber (per sq ft prices of polyester, nylon, triexta, wool, olefin and berber carpet; checked 13 October 2026); The Home Depot, Carpet Padding listings (per sq ft prices of 6 lb and 8 lb pad, memory foam and moisture-barrier pad; checked 13 October 2026); The Home Depot, Carpet Installation Cost Guide (average cost per sq ft: carpet $1 to $4, padding $1.01, installation $0.69 for basic install; furniture moving, removal and disposal priced separately; checked 13 October 2026); The Home Depot, How to Calculate Square Footage (order 5 to 10 percent more material for waste; checked 13 October 2026); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025, Carpet Installers (47-2041) (national and state hourly wages, read through the BLS public data API; checked 13 October 2026); Mohawk Flooring, Soft Surface Flooring FAQs (fiber traits (nylon for heavy traffic, triexta with built-in stain protection, polyester as the budget fiber, wool needing more care); quality carpet can last 10 to 15 years or longer with care and professional cleaning every 12 to 18 months; checked 13 October 2026). Installed figures are our arithmetic on the cited inputs: carpet and pad at the retail prices shown, plus 10 percent for waste, plus labor from $0.69 per sq ft (Home Depot's published basic rate) to $1.60 (our estimate: $0.69 scaled by the BLS 90th to 10th percentile installer wage ratio). Removal, furniture moving and stair surcharges are not included.
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