What water softener installation costs in Chicago
Our City Water Package is $3,299 installed in Chicago and the suburbs: a whole-home softener with carbon filtration, a 5-stage under-sink reverse osmosis drinking-water system, standard installation, the permit where your town requires one, and tax. Homes on private wells or on water over 25 grains per gallon start at $4,499, quoted in writing after a water test.
Prices confirmed October 14, 2026. Water facts last checked October 15, 2026.
What is in the price
Everything below is in the $3,299. Nothing here is an extra.
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Softener and carbon Where your water comes in. Resin takes out the hardness minerals that leave white crust, and carbon reduces the chlorine taste and smell.
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Metered valve The control valve on top of the softener. It counts the water your household actually uses and refreshes the resin when it needs it, instead of on a fixed schedule.
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Salt tank A separate tank beside the softener. The valve draws salt water from it to refresh the resin. Check it about once a month and top it up when it runs low. The first fill of salt is included.
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Drinking-water system A 5-stage reverse osmosis system in the cabinet under your kitchen sink. It filters the softened water once more for drinking and cooking, and a small tank keeps a supply ready.
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Drinking-water faucet A small separate faucet on your sink for drinking and cooking. Your regular tap keeps running softened water.
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Standard installation By our plumbers, with a bypass valve, copper pipe inside Chicago, and the permit where your town requires one.
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Tested before we leave We test your softened water and your drinking water in front of you and leave you the results.
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Tax Tax is included in the price.
Who this price is for
The City Water Package is the standard package for most homes on city or village water. Homes on private wells, or on water over 25 grains per gallon, start at $4,499, because the system is sized from a water test. How well water is sized and quoted.
On the Well & Hard Water Package, a 5-stage reverse osmosis drinking-water system is an optional add-on for $699. The City Water Package already includes it.
What can change the price
Our published price covers a standard install. These are the things that can add to it. Anything we can see in your photos is priced into your quote before you sign, and we never add anything without your written OK.
- The drain is more than 6 feet awayfrom where the system will sit, so we need a longer drain run or a small pump.
- No grounded outlet within 6 feetThe control valve needs power.
- Old galvanized steel pipeat the connection point, which needs transition fittings or a short section of new pipe.
- Water pressure under 25 or over 80 psiHigh pressure needs a pressure regulator. Low pressure, we flag before anything else.
- A faucet hole in granite or quartzfor the drinking-water faucet, drilled with a diamond bit.
- Iron over 0.3 ppmneeds iron treatment ahead of the softener, quoted separately.
- Hardness over 25 grains, or a large householdneeds a bigger system, quoted separately.
- Chloramine in your waterinstead of chlorine. We are confirming with our supplier which carbon handles it, and we make no taste or smell promise until then. If a different carbon changes the price, it goes on your written quote.
- Long drain routingsuch as sump discharge or drilling through concrete.
- A drinking-water line to your fridge or ice makerwhich takes an extra tubing run.
The full list
The same list, with what is not included and how septic systems are handled, is on How it works.
Why your water sets the system
Chicago's Lake Michigan water measures 7.6 to 8.8 grains per gallon, according to the City of Chicago. The city's page is dated December 2018, so treat the figure as what the city prints, not as a new measurement. We last checked that page on October 15, 2026.
Towns that pump their own groundwater run 12 to 42 grains where the town prints a number, which is why wells and harder water are quoted after a test. The service areas page lists each town's figure next to its source.
Comparing quotes?
Ask any company these ten questions before you sign.
Questions about the cost
How much does water softener installation cost in Chicago?
Our City Water Package is $3,299 installed. That covers a whole-home softener with carbon filtration, a 5-stage drinking-water system at your kitchen sink, the permit where your town requires one, and tax. Homes on private wells or on water over 25 grains per gallon start at $4,499, quoted in writing after a water test.
What's included in the $3,299 price?
The City Water Package covers three things:
- A whole-home system where your water comes in: it softens the water, and carbon filtration cuts down the chlorine taste and smell. It comes with a metered valve and a salt tank, plus the first fill of salt.
- A 5-stage reverse osmosis drinking-water system under your kitchen sink, with its own faucet.
- A standard installation by our plumbers, the permit where your town requires one, and water tests before we leave.
Tax is included. A few things can change a price, and they're all listed on How it works. Any that apply to your home go on your written quote before you sign.
Does Chicago water need a softener?
Chicago's water is hard (7.6 to 8.8 grains per gallon, the city's own figure), so a softener is a choice, not a need. That figure falls in the "hard" band of the U.S. Geological Survey hardness scale. Hard water leaves white crust on faucets and shower glass and builds up scale in water heaters. Whether that is worth fixing is your call. If it doesn't bother you, you don't need a softener.
Read Chicago's water report in plain English for the rest of the numbers.
Does my water need a test before you quote?
City water: no. Your town tests its water all year and publishes the results in an annual water quality report. On your Free Water Check we pull up that report with you. On install day, our plumbers also check your hardness and water pressure before connecting anything.
Private well: yes. A well has no utility report, so we won't guess. We test hardness, iron, pH and dissolved solids from a sample bottle at no charge, and point you to a certified lab for anything more, like bacteria, nitrate or radium.
Do I pay a deposit?
Yes, in two halves. You pay 50% when you book your install date, and the other 50% when the install passes our checklist: the 9 photos, the 4 water tests and your sign-off. Tax is included in the price.
Your written quote shows both amounts and when each one is due. Read it before you pay anything.
If you cancel before we order your equipment, we refund your booking payment in full. If we can't go ahead with your install, we refund it in full.
Do you handle permits?
Yes. If your town requires a permit for the install, we pull it, and it's included in the package price.
Is the plumber's installation charge included?
Yes. The $3,299 City Water Package includes standard installation by our plumbers, the permit where your town requires one, and tax. Anything that could add to it is listed on How it works and goes on your written quote before you sign.
Is a water softener worth it in Chicago?
It depends on how much hard water bothers you. Chicago's water measures 7.6 to 8.8 grains per gallon (the city's own figure), which leaves white crust on faucets and shower glass and builds scale in water heaters. If that does not bother you, skip the softener. If it does, ours is $3,299 installed, and the upkeep is checking the salt about once a month and changing the drinking-water filters about once a year.
What is included and what can change the price. On sodium, see how much a softener adds; on upkeep, what the system needs.
Get your price in writing
Tell us where you live and where your water comes from. We'll do the rest on a short call.
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A 10 to 15 minute phone call about your water and your price. No home visit.