How Much Does Cost To Install A Mini-Split Unit In Your Garage? It Depends

There comes a point every year at which working in your garage goes from pleasant to unbearably hot. The exact date varies by your latitude, and the quality of your home's insulation. You might try a powerful fan for a day or two, but by about the tenth time you rinse sawdust out of your eyes, that same old thought rises in your again: "This garage needs air conditioning." And heat, for that matter, because in winter you can't retreat with your sawhorses to a shady tree. Unfortunately, your HVAC guy doesn't like the idea of tying the garage into your home's heat pump — he says it'll create some kind of quantum imbalance in the cosmos, and cost a fortune to boot. So what can you do?

Hunker spoke exclusively to Micah Sherman, Frontdoor Virtual HVAC Expert, about your options for keeping a garage habitable. The answer, Sherman says, is likely a mini-split AC system. "Many mini-splits are heat pumps, so they can also heat the garage as well as cool it," Sherman said. "They are also much simpler to install than a central A/C system and can be done DIY." 

The beauty of mini-split systems is that they're ductless. There are indoor and outdoor units tied together with power supply and control wires and a couple of refrigerant lines. This simplicity means mini-splits can be affordable... as little as $600 if you do the work yourself, according to Sherman. And they're often the best choice regardless of affordability. "They are also a permanent solution as opposed to a portable AC," he explained. "And, as many garages don't have windows, they work [when] a window unit is not an option."

Of course, $600 is a best-case scenario. There are a lot of factors that determine the price of a mini-split for your garage or workshop. "The cost will range drastically depending on the size of the system, the brand and the size of your garage," said Frontdoor's Micah Sherman when Hunker spoke with him exclusively. "Factors affecting cost will depend on the size of the mini-split unit, the size of the garage, how well the garage is insulated, how hot the outdoor temperature is, what temperature you are aiming for, how much electricity costs where you live and how efficient your mini-split is." 

Energy efficiency has the potential to affect mini-split pricing in a couple of ways. The higher-quality efficient systems will cost more, while an inefficient system will cost more than necessary to operate. It is important to carefully choose the right BTU capacity for your mini-split air conditioner. And, of course, there are pros and cons of a ductless heating and cooling system, many of which affect pricing or total cost of ownership.

The mechanics of installation can also prove costly... or not, if minimal carpentry is required. "It's usually easier to install a mini-split in a garage than in the home," said HVAC expert Micah Sherman when Hunker spoke with him exclusively about mini-split costs. "Typically, you are installing the mini-split head on an exterior wall in the garage, which makes running the refrigerant lines outside simpler. Also, the electric panel is often inside the garage already, which makes the job easier."

Simpler construction requirements also make it possible to complete a mini-split installation as a weekend DIY job, which can contribute to big savings overall. "You can save a lot of money if you purchase and install the mini-split yourself," Sherman said. The goal is to cut out the middleman's markup by buying the unit yourself, and cut out the installation labor expense, which can be a big percentage of the cost of a mini-split installation.

Of course, DIY installation isn't for everyone. DIY installation often also means DIY mini-split troubleshooting if problems arise. If you're averse to that, or to cutting holes through your exterior walls (and it's certainly understandable if you are), there's at least one other option for making the cost of a mini-split more manageable. "Most companies will offer financing or a payment plan," Sherman explained. Well, that's a relief.

So, what is your cost likely to be? 

All the factors mentioned above can shape your price, but regional differences in units, materials, and labor are a major contributor to price differences. Since price varies dramatically based on the size of the system and other factors, it's worth noting that 61 percent of American families with a garage have a two-car garage, the average size of which is 360 square feet. That square footage suggests a roughly 12,000 BTU system. We looked at high and low prices in three combined statistical areas for each of the five U.S. regions — northeast, southeast, midwest, southwest, and west. That gave us 15 widely distributed data points to figure out how your location might affect your mini-split cost.

2025 data from Homewyse suggests that labor costs are the major factor in regional price differences, and those differences can be quite large. For the fairly simple installation of a value-grade 14,000-BTU system, moderate labor cost can still be as much as $3,545.10 (in the New York combined statistical area) and will likely be over $1,700 at a minimum (in the Southeast CSA). This makes DIY installation an attractive option, though you'll still have to contend with unavoidable expenses related to permits, around $300 in supply costs, etc. But it can reduce the average cost of this size of system from $5,103.80 to $2,507.32 for basic materials, labor, and supply costs.