French Drain Installation Cost

A French drain is a sloped trench filled with gravel and a perforated pipe that collects groundwater and carries it away from the spot where it does damage: a soggy lawn, a wet basement wall or a foundation that keeps taking on water. LawnStarter puts the national average at $5,000, with most projects between $1,650 and $12,250. Very small yard jobs can come in around $500, and long interior systems can reach $18,000.

The single biggest factor is where the drain goes. An exterior drain is mostly digging and backfilling. An interior drain means breaking up the basement floor, laying pipe along the footing, pouring new concrete and usually adding a sump pump, so it costs several times more per foot.

Cost per linear foot by drain type

Contractors price French drains by the linear foot. Ranges differ between sources, so here are two side by side:

HomeAdvisor's average across all types is about $45 per linear foot. ThePricer separates exterior drains by depth: a shallow yard drain runs $10 to $35 per foot, a deep footing drain $30 to $90, an interior crawl-space drain $20 to $40 and a basement perimeter system $40 to $85.

Cost by length

Most yard drains are 50 to 150 feet long. A basement perimeter drain usually follows the full inside wall, which HomeAdvisor says typically means 100 to 150 linear feet.

50–200 ft: LawnStarter. 300 ft: Lawn Love.

As a worked example, ThePricer estimates a 150-foot basement perimeter system at $6,000 to $12,750 before the sump pump, or about $11,275 at the midpoint once a pump is included.

Interior vs. exterior: which one you need

Exterior drains solve water that collects on the surface or soaks the soil next to the house. A shallow curtain drain across the slope above the house catches runoff before it reaches the foundation. A deep footing drain runs along the base of the foundation wall and relieves the pressure that pushes water through cracks. HomeAdvisor puts most exterior perimeter jobs at $500 to $10,000, and curtain drains at $1,000 to $5,000.

Interior drains handle water that is already coming through the walls or up through the floor. The crew cuts a strip of the slab around the perimeter, digs a channel, lays the pipe in gravel and routes it to a sump pit. HomeAdvisor's range for an interior basement or crawl-space system is $5,000 to $18,000. It is the more expensive route, but it can be done in any season and without digging up landscaping, driveways or decks outside.

If water appears only after heavy rain and the yard slopes toward the house, an exterior drain plus grading is usually the first thing to try. If the basement is wet most of the year or has hydrostatic seepage at the joint between wall and floor, interior drainage is the more reliable fix. A basement waterproofing contractor can tell you which one your house needs after an inspection.

What makes up the price

Pipe and gravel are cheap; labor and equipment are where the money goes. LawnStarter lists perforated pipe at $0.50 to $3 per linear foot and pea gravel at $25 to $53 per ton. HomeAdvisor gives typical hourly rates of $50 to $100 for drainage contractors and landscapers and $45 to $200 for plumbers.

The things that push a quote up:

• Depth. A drain at footing depth means far more digging than a shallow yard trench.
• Soil. Rock and heavy clay slow the work, and Lawn Love notes they raise labor costs.
• Access. Hand digging along a narrow side yard costs more than running a trencher across open lawn.
• Where the water goes. The drain needs an outlet: daylight at a lower point, a dry well or a storm drain connection.
• What has to be put back. Concrete, pavers, sod and plantings that are removed have to be restored.

Extra costs to budget for

HomeAdvisor suggests keeping a 10% to 15% buffer above the estimate for surprises such as buried rock, roots or utility lines.

DIY French drain cost

A shallow exterior drain is a realistic weekend project if the trench is short and the soil is easy to dig. LawnStarter estimates a DIY drain at about $700, compared with about $3,000 for a typical professional job. Lawn Love's itemized 25-foot DIY project came to $528, or about $21 per linear foot, including a sod cutter rental ($110), a half-day trencher rental ($60), landscape fabric, gravel, 4-inch perforated pipe and a catch basin.

Leave interior drains and deep footing drains to a contractor. Cutting a basement slab, digging next to the footing and setting a sump pump all carry real risks to the foundation, and a drain without the right slope simply fills up and stays wet.

How to get an accurate quote

1. Get the length measured. Ask each contractor to quote per linear foot as well as a total, so quotes can be compared directly.
2. Ask where the water will discharge. A quote that does not say where the outlet goes is incomplete.
3. Check what restoration is included. Concrete patching, sod and landscaping repair can be a large share of the bill and are often listed separately.
4. Ask about cleanouts. Access points let the pipe be flushed later; ThePricer puts drain cleaning at about $200 to $600 if it clogs.
5. Confirm permits. Some towns require a permit when a drain ties into a storm sewer or changes how water leaves the property.

Is a French drain worth it?

A French drain is often the cheapest permanent fix for water that comes from the soil around the house rather than from gutters or a plumbing leak. Compare the cost with the damage it prevents: Angi puts the average basement waterproofing job at more than $5,000, and water damage restoration and foundation repair routinely cost more. Before paying for any drain, check the cheap fixes first: clean gutters, downspout extensions that carry water at least several feet away, and soil graded so it slopes away from the foundation. If water still collects after those are in place, a French drain is the right next step.

Sources

1. LawnStarter: How Much Does a French Drain Cost in 2026? (updated Oct 5, 2026)
2. HomeAdvisor: How Much Does a French Drain Cost? (updated Jun 20, 2026)
3. Lawn Love: How Much Does a French Drain Cost? (updated Dec 27, 2025)
4. ThePricer: How Much Does a French Drain Cost? (updated Sep 6, 2026)
5. Angi: How Much Does Basement Waterproofing Cost? (updated Jul 20, 2026)