Branch drain (secondary, to 25 ft)
$144.90
- Lead labor billed at $135/hr.
- Secondary/branch line snake to 25 ft (sink, tub, or laundry).
- Region-neutral: excludes local sales tax; permit fees vary by jurisdiction (assumed $180).
Drain Cleaning Cost (2026): Branch, Main Line, and Camera
Drain cleaning runs about $145 to $278 at researched defaults: a branch line snake at the low end, a main sewer line clear through a cleanout at the high end, and a little more with a camera inspection bundled in. All at $135 an hour of labor. The scenarios below price each drain job separately from a real plumbing pack.
Written by Ashesh Dhakal · The numbers are real resolver output; every price is yours to adjust in your own price book.
Estimate your drain cleaning cost
Set the inputs and watch the price resolve — computed live by the exact pricing engine the app runs. The example below is already priced with zero JavaScript; the calculator hydrates over it.
Main line clear (to 100 ft)
Live calculator · real resolverA main sewer line cleared through an existing cleanout, to 100 ft — carrying the pack's automatic 30-day warranty.
| Labor — lead | $202.50 |
|---|---|
| Total | $202.50 |
Loading the interactive calculator… the priced example above is already real, computed by the engine.
Real quote scenarios, with the assumptions printed
Each scenario below is a real priced quote from the pack, with its assumptions stated in full — the labor rate, the size, the add-ons. These are the concrete numbers, not a vague range.
Main line (cleanout, to 100 ft)
$202.50
- Lead labor billed at $135/hr.
- Main sewer line clear through an existing cleanout, to 100 ft.
- Carries the pack's automatic 30-day warranty sentence.
- Region-neutral: excludes local sales tax; permit fees vary by jurisdiction (assumed $180).
Main line + camera inspection (bundle −$60)
$277.50
- Lead labor billed at $135/hr.
- Main line clear plus a camera inspection on the same visit.
- Pack bundle rule: −$60 when the camera is added to a main-line clear.
- Region-neutral: excludes local sales tax; permit fees vary by jurisdiction (assumed $180).
Every total is integer-cents resolver output from the plumbing pack’s researched defaults — nothing hand-typed.
What's in a fair quote, line by line
Here is the drain cleaning quote taken apart — every line the resolver produces, with the commonly-forgotten items and the at-cost pass-throughs flagged.
| Line item | Notes | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Labor — lead | $202.50 | |
| Total | $202.50 |
Real resolver output from the plumbing pack’s researched defaults. The permit is a pass-through billed at cost — never marked up (Law 3); the flagged rows are what low quotes leave off.
Why this beats a round number
A single “ballpark” hides where the money goes. Priced line by line, you can see the equipment, the labor, the code add-ons, and the pass-throughs separately — and check any quote you get against them. That’s the whole point of this tool.
What changes the price
Branch vs main line
A branch line (sink, tub, laundry) snakes to ~25 ft; the main sewer line runs to ~100 ft through a cleanout — more line, more time.
Access — pulling a toilet or a roof vent
No cleanout? Pulling and resetting a toilet, or working off the roof vent, are real add-ons on a main-line clear.
Camera inspection
A camera confirms the blockage is cleared and finds root intrusion or a broken pipe. Bundled onto a main-line clear, the pack takes $60 off.
The 30-day warranty
A main-line clear carries an automatic 30-day warranty in the pack — if it backs up again, they come back.
Red flags in a low quote
A cheap quote usually gets cheap by leaving something out. These are the same items the app’s review engine flags for a contractor — inverted here, so a homeowner can spot them too.
- A "$99 drain special" with no scope. Loss-leader pricing usually means a branch snake only — not the main line. If your problem is the main, that $99 becomes a bigger number fast.
- Camera inspection pushed before any snaking. A camera is useful after a clear, or when a clog keeps returning. Selling a camera before trying to clear the line is upside-down.
- No warranty on a main-line clear. A reputable main-line clear stands behind the work for a window. No warranty at all is a tell on how confident they are.
- Immediate jump to "you need a full replacement". Sometimes true — but that's a camera-confirmed diagnosis, not a first-visit upsell. Ask to see the footage.
drain cleaning cost — common questions
Snake or hydro-jet — which do I need?
A cable machine (snake) clears most stoppages and is what these prices reflect. Hydro-jetting scours grease and roots at higher pressure and costs more; it's a step up when cabling won't hold. Start with the clear, escalate only if it recurs.
Do I need a camera inspection?
Not for a routine clog. A camera earns its keep when a main line keeps backing up or you're buying a home — it finds root intrusion or a broken pipe. Bundled onto a main-line clear, this pack discounts the camera by $60.
Why are some drain quotes so cheap?
A low "special" almost always means a branch snake, not the main sewer line. The main line runs farther, needs cleanout or roof access, and carries a warranty — all of which is why it's priced above a quick branch clear.
Is there a warranty on drain cleaning?
On a main-line clear in this pack, yes — an automatic 30-day warranty. A branch clear is more variable. Always confirm the window before the tech leaves.
Keep exploring
Keep going — the trade page, a related calculator, and the line-by-line anatomy post below all share this pack's numbers.
Plumbing
Price plumbing service jobs from your own price book — flat-rate and parametric, in minutes.
Repipe cost
Whole-house repipe cost by fixture count and pipe run, priced from a real plumbing pack.
Anatomy of a water heater quote
Every line of a fair water heater replacement quote, explained — reviewed defaults, no filler.
Written by Ashesh Dhakal · The numbers are real resolver output; every price is yours to adjust in your own price book.
Plumbing pack defaults are researched from published trade data and labeled researched defaults. This page shows 2026 researched-default pricing and is dated honestly — refreshed when the numbers change, never re-dated to look fresh.