How Much Does a Home Warranty Cost? (April 2024)

Our rating: 4.5/5 stars
Annual cost: $499–$599

We recommend Liberty Home Guard for homeowners who want comprehensive plans or need coverage for specific items. LHG offers plans that cover essential home systems alongside more than 40 add-ons for reasonable prices.

Liberty Home Guard provides three plans: Appliance Guard, Systems Guard, and Total Home Guard. The Appliance Guard plan covers major appliances, such as clothes washers and dryers, refrigerators, and cooktops. The Systems Guard plan covers major systems, including air conditioning, ductwork, and plumbing. Total Home Guard is Liberty Home Guard’s most comprehensive plan and includes everything in the systems and appliance plans. After reading LHG’s sample contract, we learned all items have a coverage cap of $2,000, except for electrical and plumbing systems with caps of $500. 

Here’s a more detailed overview of Liberty Home Guard’s plans:

• Appliance Guard: Covers nine major appliances, such as dishwashers, refrigerators, cooktops, and garbage disposals
• Systems Guard: Covers six essential built-in systems, such as electrical, HVAC, ductwork, and water heaters
• Total Home Guard: Covers everything in the Appliance Guard and Systems Guard plans

The following table summarizes LHG’s plans and associated costs.

Liberty Home Guard has among the most comprehensive add-on coverage in the industry at 42 options. Due to its large variety of add-ons, Liberty Home Guard provides a lower coverage limit per item. LHG’s add-ons include the following: 

• Ejector pump
• Electronics protection
• Grinder pump
• Gutter cleaning
• Lawn sprinkler system
• Lighting fixtures
• Limited roof leak
• Pest control
• Sump pump
• Swamp cooler

Liberty Home Guard earned 4.5 out of 5 stars when assessed against our review standards. Here’s how LHG performed in key categories:

• Coverage (4.7 out of 5): LHG’s extensive list of add-ons and comprehensive plan coverage earned it nearly full points in this category. 
• Value (4.25 out of 5): We docked LHG some points due to its unclear and strict service fee policy. 
• Trustworthiness and transparency (4.8 out of 5): LHG’s strong customer review scores on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Trustpilot earned it nearly full points in this category. 
• Availability and service (4.3 out of 5): LHG’s strict service contractor policy resulted in some loss of points in this category.

We attempted to contact a customer service associate through LHG’s online chat system. The online chat feature functioned as expected but only allowed us to communicate with a rudimentary bot. We had to ask for an agent twice before the system would connect us with a live representative. When speaking with them, we learned that if there isn’t a technician in your service area, LHG will let you choose an out-of-network home service provider at its discretion. 

Our rating: 4.4/5 stars
Annual cost: $348–$1,068

We recommend American Home Shield (AHS) because of its flexible home protection and exceptionally high coverage caps. We also recommend AHS for older homes due to its coverage of rust, corrosion, and sediment damage.

American Home Shield provides three home warranty coverage options. The ShieldSilver plan covers major systems, while the ShieldGold plan offers coverage for home appliances. ShieldPlatinum covers systems and appliances and includes a discount for HVAC tuning, roof leaks, and code violations coverage. 

After reading its sample contract, we discovered American Home Shield offers a $5,000 coverage cap for major systems. It covers up to $2,000 for major appliances in its ShieldGold plan. It doubles appliance coverage limits to $4,000 for the ShieldPlatinum plan. 

Here is a more detailed overview of American Home Shield’s plan costs:

• ShieldSilver: Covers five major home systems, such as HVAC, plumbing, and electrical
• ShieldGold: Covers all systems within ShieldSilver, along with nine appliances, including garbage disposals, refrigerators, and cooktops
• ShieldPlatinum: Covers everything within ShieldGold coverage plus additional items, such as roof-leak repairs and HVAC tune-ups

The following table breaks down AHS’s plans and pricing.

American Home Shield offers add-on options alongside its standard plans. American Home Shield provides limited add-ons compared to other home warranty companies. Here are all the add-ons offered by AHS: 

• Electronics protection
• Guest unit 
• Pool and spa
• Septic pump
• Well pump

We scored AHS 4.4 out of 5 stars in our review standards. Here’s how we rated it in key categories:

• Coverage (4.7 out of 5): AHS scored higher for its comprehensive plan coverage, which includes persistent conditions. 
• Value (4 out of 5): The company lost points for its premium costs, which are higher for comprehensive coverage than other reviewed providers.
• Trustworthiness and transparency (4.25 out of 5): We deducted points for its lower customer review scores on third-party review sites. 
• Availability and service (4.7 out of 5): AHS received higher points for its efficient online claims process, which took less than 24 hours during our testing.

We tested the AHS claims process and found it quick and pleasant. Our team member who completed the testing received a text and email confirmation immediately after submitting his online claim. The service technician connected with him within five minutes and scheduled an appointment for the following day. Repairs took a few hours, and he only paid the service call fee.

Our rating: 4.3/5
Annual cost: $479–$524

We recommend Select Home Warranty for its affordable monthly premiums and low service fees. This home warranty company provides great value—its monthly plans all cost less than $50, and each service call fee is $75.

Select Home Warranty provides three coverage plans: Bronze Care, Gold Care, and Platinum Care. The Bronze Care plan covers home appliances, while the Gold Care plan protects home systems. The Platinum Care plan combines both systems and appliance coverage.

After reading Select’s sample contract, we discovered that its plans have a $3,000 coverage limit for cooling and heating systems. We found that most of its coverage caps for appliances and systems are $500. 

Select lowers coverage caps even more for its add-ons. These coverage caps are far below that of other home warranty companies. However, its service call fees are only $75. This price range makes Select a good home warranty plan for homeowners on a budget.

Here is a more detailed overview of Select Home Warranty’s plans:

• Bronze Care: Covers eight essential home appliances, such as refrigerators, clothes washers and dryers, garbage disposals, built-in microwaves, and cooktops
• Gold Care: Covers six major home systems, including ductwork, air conditioning, heating, electric, plumbing, and water heater
• Platinum Care: Covers all inclusions in the Bronze and Gold Care plans alongside additional items such as plumbing stoppages, garage door openers, and ceiling fans

The following table provides a comprehensive breakdown of Select’s prices.

Select Home Warranty offers nine add-on options for additional coverage. Select’s coverage for each add-on is up to $400 per item. Select’s full list of add-ons includes the following:

• Central vacuum
• Lawn sprinkler system
• Pool
• Septic system
• Spa
• Stand-alone freezer
• Sump pump
• Well pump

We awarded Select Home Warranty 4.3 out of 5 stars. Here’s how it performed in key categories:

• Coverage (3.7 out of 5): We docked a significant number of points due to Select’s below-industry-standard coverage caps.
• Value (5 out of 5): Select’s low-cost premiums and service fees earned it a perfect score.
• Trustworthiness and Transparency (4.5 out of 5): Select lost some points in this category for its mixed reviews across websites such as the BBB and Trustpilot.
• Availability and Service (4.3 out of 5): We penalized Select in this category due to its long claims processing times.

We spoke with a Select customer service representative. The representative was polite and knowledgeable. They informed us that Select chooses a service technician from its network of contractors when processing a claim. If no in-network technician is available, the company will let you select one for yourself. However, Select maintains the final right to approve the technician before the repair process begins.

Our rating: 4.6/5
Annual cost: $528–$696

We recommend Elite Home Warranty for its flexible premiums, comprehensive add-on selection, and 90-day workmanship guarantee. Elite offers an affordable $70 service call fee and 27 add-ons.

Elite Home Warranty has three plans: Elite Appliances, Elite Systems, and Elite Complete. Elite Appliances covers eight essential appliances, while the Elite Systems plan covers eight home systems. The Elite Complete plan covers all items of the Elite Appliance and Systems plan items. 

After reading Elite Home Warranty’s sample contract, we discovered that its plans all have an annual $15,000 coverage cap. Its Elite Appliance plan has a combined $7,000 coverage cap for appliances and an $8,000 cap for systems. The coverage for each item within these plans varies. For example, air conditioning systems have an individual item cap of $4,000, and electrical systems have a cap of $2,000.

Here is a more detailed breakdown of Elite’s plans:

• Elite Appliances: Covers eight major appliances, including refrigerators, clothes washers and dryers, and cooktops
• Elite Systems: Covers eight home systems, such as air conditioning, ductwork, and electrical systems
• Elite Complete: Covers all items with the Elite Appliances and Elite Systems plans

The following table outlines the costs of Elite’s home warranty policies.

Elite has a selection of 27 add-ons to choose from. This range of options is one of the most comprehensive we’ve seen. The coverage cap for each item varies, such as the inclusions in its standard plans. The highest coverage cap among add-ons is $5,000. 

Here are some of our favorite add-ons Elite offers:

• HVAC annual maintenance
• Septic system
• Water softener

Elite Home Warranty earned a total score of 4.6 out of 5 stars when judged against our review standards. Here’s how we scored it in key categories:

• Coverage (4.6 out of 5): Elite’s comprehensive coverage plans and diverse add-on options earned it points in this category. 
• Value (4.25 out of 5): Elite lost points in this category due to its restrictive service call fee policy.  
• Trustworthiness and transparency (4.8 out of 5): Elite’s high customer review scores on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Trustpilot earned it the high points in this category.
• Availability and service (4.5 out of 5): Elite’s lack of an online quote tool resulted in a point deduction.

A team member tested the Elite Home Warranty claim process through its online customer portal. They were contacted by an Elite claims specialist within 30 minutes of filing their claim and given a next-day appointment. The technician inspected the damage, informed our team member that they would require additional parts, scheduled a follow-up appointment, returned the following Monday, and completed the job in one hour.