Pool Liner Replacement Cost
Replacing a pool liner costs $2,000–$5,000 above-ground or $3,000–$7,500 inground, installed. Price your pool size and thickness upgrade — and learn when a $150–$300 patch beats replacing at all.
Replacing a pool liner costs $2,000 to $5,000 for above-ground pools and $3,000 to $7,500 for inground pools, installed — draining, old-liner removal, and fitting included. Size sets the price, and one thing it's worth knowing first: a single tear doesn't need a new liner — patches run $150–$300, even underwater.
What kind of pool?
Inground liners cost more — the liner is custom-measured to the pool's exact walls, floor, steps, and fittings. Above-ground liners come in standard sizes and go in faster.
Which is closest to your pool's size?
No need to be exact — pick the nearest match. In between two sizes? Expect to land between their prices. Curves, stairs, and tanning ledges add labor beyond these ranges.
Standard or thicker liner?
Liner thickness is measured in mils. A standard 20-mil liner is fine for most pools; upgrading to 30-mil costs more up front but resists punctures and UV fade — worth it for dogs, heavy use, or harsh sun.
Cost to replace the liner in a ~16'×28' inground pool
$3,000–$3,200
installed — draining, old-liner removal, prep, and fitting included; refill water is extra
One tear isn't a replacement
A professional patch runs $150–$300 — and specialists can do it underwater with dive gear, skipping the drain-and-refill entirely. DIY patch kits cost $20–$100, though not all hold against real leaks. Replace instead of patch when the signs stack up: constant water loss, multiple rips, sections bubbling off the wall, or heavy fading — a liner that's failing everywhere can't be patched anywhere.
The costs that ride along with a new liner
Refilling the pool is on you — hose water runs $4–$10 per 1,000 gallons, so a typical 20,000-gallon pool adds $80–$200. Wall or floor damage found under the old liner gets fixed before the new one goes in, and deck repairs run $750–$2,500 when access requires them. Curves, stairs, tanning ledges, and waterfalls all add labor beyond the standard ranges.
Installed totals from published size-by-type pricing — liner, draining, old-liner removal, minor prep, and fitting. Assumes standard rectangular pools up to about 800 sq ft with normal access; larger, curved, or hard-to-reach pools run higher. Above-ground liner material alone runs $150–$900 by attachment type (overlap cheapest, beaded priciest). The job itself takes 5–9 hours.
💡About this calculator▼
Every vinyl pool liner is on a countdown — chlorine, sun, and pH swings age the material until fading turns to brittleness and brittleness turns to leaks. When yours reaches that point, the replacement bill is refreshingly predictable, because two things set it almost entirely: whether the pool is inground or above-ground, and how big it is.
Above-ground liners run $2,000 to $5,000 installed; inground liners run $3,000 to $7,500, with the biggest pools reaching $8,000. Those totals are the whole job — draining the pool, cutting out and hauling the old liner, prepping the surface, and fitting the new one. The inground premium is precision: an inground liner is custom-measured to your pool's exact walls, floor, steps, and fittings, while above-ground liners come in standard sizes.
One decision inside the job deserves real thought: liner thickness. Upgrading from a standard 20-mil liner to a 30-mil runs $700–$1,000 more and buys meaningful resistance to punctures and UV fade — the difference between the short and long end of a liner's 5-to-15-year lifespan often lives here, along with how well you keep your water chemistry.
And before pricing a replacement at all, ask the cheaper question: is this actually a one-tear problem? A professional patch costs $150–$300 — specialists can even do it underwater with dive gear — and it's the right answer for a single puncture in an otherwise healthy liner. Pick your pool below and see both numbers in context.
Pool type picks the column, size picks the row, and thickness rides on top.
The size-by-type pricing. Installed liner replacement follows published national pricing on both axes. Above-ground: about $1,500–$2,000 for a ~14'×28' pool, rising to $5,000–$5,200 at ~40'×20'. Inground: $2,500–$3,000 for the small pool, $3,000–$3,200 at ~16'×28' (the most common size), $5,200–$6,000 at ~18'×36', and $7,500–$8,000 for the ~40'×20'. These totals include the labor most people forget to budget separately — draining, old-liner removal and disposal prep, surface work, and the fitting itself, which takes a crew 5–9 hours on a standard rectangular pool.
The thickness upgrade. Liners are measured in mils (thousandths of an inch). Standard liners run 20-mil or less; stepping up to 30-mil adds $700–$1,000 and buys puncture resistance and slower UV fade. It's the one line item that changes how soon you do this project again.
What's deliberately not included. Refill water — your hose, your water bill, at $4–$10 per 1,000 gallons. Wall or floor repairs discovered under the old liner. Deck repairs ($750–$2,500) when access demands them. And anything beyond a standard shape: curves, stairs, tanning ledges, and waterfalls all add fitting labor.
📐How it's calculated▼
Total = liner installed (size × pool type) + thickness upgrade (if chosen).
Above-ground, installed: ~14'×28' $1,500–$2,000 · ~16'×28' $2,000–$2,100 · ~16'×33' $2,600–$2,900 · ~18'×36' $3,500–$4,000 · ~40'×20' $5,000–$5,200.
Inground, installed: ~14'×28' $2,500–$3,000 · ~16'×28' $3,000–$3,200 · ~16'×33' $3,700–$4,200 · ~18'×36' $5,200–$6,000 · ~40'×20' $7,500–$8,000.
30-mil thickness upgrade: +$700–$1,000 over a standard 20-mil liner.
Between sizes, expect to land between the tiers' prices. The totals bracket the market's headline ranges — $2,000–$5,000 above-ground, $3,000–$7,500 inground for pools up to 800 square feet — with the very largest pools slightly exceeding them.
🔍Finding your inputs▼
What kind of pool? Inground liners are custom-measured to your pool's exact geometry and cost more to fit; above-ground liners come in standard sizes. If you have an above-ground pool, the liner attachment style matters when you shop materials — overlap liners are cheapest ($150–$600 for the liner itself), beaded liners the priciest ($300–$900).
Which is closest to your pool's size? Pick the nearest match — a tape measure across the longest and widest points gets you close enough. Between two tiers, expect to land between their prices. If your pool has curves, stairs, a tanning ledge, or water features, expect the fitting labor to push past the tier's range.
Standard or thicker liner? The honest framing: a 20-mil liner in a well-kept pool is fine, and the $700–$1,000 upgrade to 30-mil is insurance. Buy it if your pool hosts dogs, heavy kid traffic, or harsh year-round sun — the puncture and UV resistance is real. Skip it if you keep water chemistry dialed and the pool lives under a cover half the year.
⚠️Special situations▼
My liner has one tear but is only a few years old
Patch it. A professional repair runs $150–$300, and specialists can patch vinyl underwater with dive tanks and marine adhesives — no draining, no refill bill. DIY kits cost $20–$100 but are hit-or-miss against real leaks, so for anything below the waterline, the pro patch is the value play. Replacement is for liners failing in multiple places, not one puncture in healthy vinyl.
I'm losing water but can't find a hole
Rule out evaporation first with the bucket test: set a bucket of water on a pool step, mark both levels, wait 24 hours — if the pool dropped more than the bucket, you have a real leak. Then check the usual suspects before blaming the liner: skimmer gaskets, return fittings, and light niches leak far more often than the vinyl itself. A leak-detection service can pinpoint it before you buy a liner you didn't need.
The old liner is bubbling or floating off the wall
That's usually groundwater or a leak behind the liner, not the liner itself failing — water is getting between the vinyl and the pool shell. Draining and resetting sometimes works for a young liner, but recurring floating means a drainage problem that a new liner alone won't fix. Fix the water table issue (sump, drainage) at replacement time, or the new liner floats too.
My pool is concrete — can I switch to a vinyl liner instead of resurfacing?
Yes, and it's the budget path: resurfacing an old concrete pool runs $6,000–$15,000, while converting it to a vinyl-lined pool costs liner-replacement money plus a conversion kit. The trade-offs are real — vinyl needs replacing every 5–15 years and shows wrinkles where plaster didn't — but for a leaking concrete shell on a budget, the liner route saves thousands up front.
When in the season should I schedule this?
Spring and fall are the sweet spots — installers' calendars are softer than mid-summer, and vinyl fits best when it's warm enough to stay flexible (installers want mild temperatures, not heat waves or cold snaps). Avoid replacing mid-season if you can: you lose swim weeks to scheduling, draining, fitting, and the slow hose-refill, which alone can take days on a big pool.
❓Common questions▼
How much does it cost to replace a pool liner?
Replacing a pool liner costs $2,000–$5,000 for above-ground pools and $3,000–$7,500 for inground pools, installed — that includes draining, removing the old liner, prep, and fitting the new one. Size drives the spread: a small ~14'×28' above-ground job can run $1,500, while a large ~40'×20' inground reaches $8,000. Upgrading to a thicker 30-mil liner adds $700–$1,000.
Why do inground liners cost more than above-ground?
Precision. An inground liner is custom-measured to your pool's exact walls, floor slope, steps, corners, and fittings — get it wrong and it wrinkles or stretches. Above-ground pools use standard-size liners (overlap style is cheapest at $150–$600 for the material, beaded runs $300–$900), so both the liner and the fitting labor cost less.
How long does a pool liner last?
5 to 15 years on average — and the spread is mostly in your control. Balanced pH, proper chlorine levels, regular filter care, and a cover during the off-season push liners past 20 years; aggressive water chemistry and relentless sun can kill one in 5. A thicker 30-mil liner extends the puncture-and-fade side of the equation for $700–$1,000 more at install.
Can a pool liner be repaired instead of replaced?
Often, yes. A professional patch costs $150–$300, and specialists can patch underwater with dive gear and marine adhesive — no draining required. DIY patch kits run $20–$100 with mixed results on pressurized leaks. Replace rather than patch when the failure is systemic: constant water loss, multiple tears, sections bubbling off the wall, or vinyl so faded and brittle that the next tear is already coming.
Does liner replacement include refilling the pool?
No — the refill is on your water bill. Hose water runs $4–$10 per 1,000 gallons depending on local rates, so a typical 20,000-gallon pool costs $80–$200 to refill (and takes a day or more). Water delivery trucks are faster for big pools at a premium. Budget the startup chemicals too — a fresh fill needs balancing from scratch.
How long does the replacement take?
The fitting itself is quick: 5–6 hours for pools up to 600 square feet, 8–9 hours up to 800, assuming a standard rectangular shape. The full timeline is longer — draining a big pool takes a day, custom inground liners are measured and then manufactured (often 2–4 weeks of lead time), and the refill runs another day or more. Plan the project in weeks, even though the labor is a day.
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