How much does garage door spring replacement cost?

A typical torsion-pair replacement with labor and a service call lands in a familiar range; enter your own per-spring price, labor and service fee in the spring replacement tool for a planning estimate. A worked example — two $80 springs, 1.5 h at $90/hr, $75 service, 10% contingency — comes to about $407.

Should I replace one spring or both?

Both. If one spring has failed, the other is the same age and cycle count and is likely close behind. Replacing both means one service call and a balanced door, which is why technicians recommend it and the tool defaults to a count of two.

Can I replace a garage door spring myself?

No. Torsion and extension springs store extreme mechanical energy and can cause serious injury or death. Spring, cable and off-track work must be done by a trained garage-door technician with the correct winding bars. These tools estimate cost only — they are not a DIY repair guide.

Torsion or extension springs — which is better?

Torsion springs are the modern standard: they last longer, control the door more smoothly and are generally safer. Extension springs are older and cheaper but need safety cables. Most replacements move to torsion, and you can upgrade the cycle rating for longer life — see the cycle-life helper.

Garage door spring replacement cost

A broken spring is the most common reason a garage door stops working. This guide explains what a spring replacement costs and why it is a job for a trained technician, never DIY.

By Francesco Zinghinì

⚠ Safety first: garage-door torsion and extension springs and cables store extreme mechanical energy. A failing or improperly handled spring can cause serious injury or death. Spring work must be done by a trained garage-door technician with the correct winding bars. This guide and the linked tool are for cost estimating only — not a DIY repair or safety guide.

With that said, spring replacement is one of the most common and most predictable garage-door repairs, so it is easy to budget. The spring replacement cost tool builds the total as (spring count × $/spring + labor hours × $/hr + service call) × (1 + contingency).

Torsion vs extension springs

There are two spring systems. Torsion springs mount on a shaft above the door and wind and unwind to counterbalance its weight; they are the modern standard, last longer and control the door more smoothly. Extension springs run along the horizontal tracks and stretch as the door lowers; they are older and cheaper but need safety cables to contain them if they snap. Torsion systems generally cost a little more but are safer and more durable, which is why most replacements move to torsion.

Why springs are replaced in pairs

If your door has two springs and one breaks, the other is the same age and has seen the same number of cycles — it is likely close behind. Replacing both at once means one service call and a balanced door, which is why technicians almost always recommend it. That is why the tool defaults to a count of 2; you enter the real per-spring price from your quote.

What drives the price

Spring type and size: higher-cycle and higher-load springs cost more per unit but last longer.
Count: one vs two (or more on very wide doors).
Labor: winding and balancing a torsion system safely takes skill and the right bars.
Service call: most companies charge a trip/diagnostic fee that often includes the first part of the labor.
Contingency: a small cushion for a seized shaft, worn cables or bearings found during the job.

A worked example

Two springs at $80 each ($160), 1.5 hours of labor at $90/hr ($135), and a $75 service call, at 10% contingency: (160 + 135 + 75) × 1.10 = 370 × 1.10 = $407. Swap in your own per-spring price, labor rate and service fee and the estimate follows. Because no prices are stored, the tool stays correct as parts and labor rates change.

Should you upgrade the spring rating?

Springs are rated in cycles (one open + close = one cycle). Stock springs are often only 10,000 cycles; upgrading to 20,000 or 30,000 roughly doubles or triples service life for a modest price bump. If you open your door many times a day, the upgrade usually pays for itself in fewer future service calls. Use the cycle-life helper to see how many years each rating buys at your usage, and read how long garage door springs last.

Signs a spring has failed

Common symptoms: the door will not open, or opens only a few inches; you heard a loud bang from the garage (often a spring letting go); the door feels extremely heavy by hand; there is a visible gap in the torsion spring coil; or the door is crooked and binds. Do not force a door with a broken spring — the opener is not built to lift the full unbalanced weight, and you can damage it or hurt yourself. If you are diagnosing the symptom first, the won’t-open diagnostic points you to the likely cause and the matching cost tool.

Repair or replace the door?

A spring replacement is almost always far cheaper than a new door, so a broken spring on an otherwise sound door is a clear repair. Replacement of the whole door makes sense only when it is old, damaged across multiple sections or badly out of balance beyond the springs. Compare the numbers with the replacement cost tool.

Why the door feels so heavy after a spring breaks

A common panic is discovering the door will not budge and assuming the opener has died. In fact a balanced door on good springs weighs almost nothing to lift by hand — the springs counterbalance nearly all of it. When a spring breaks, that counterbalance vanishes and you are suddenly facing the door’s full weight, often 150 to 400 lb. The opener, which is built only to nudge a balanced door, cannot lift that mass and will strain, hum or reverse if you keep pressing the button. That is your cue to stop: repeatedly fighting a broken-spring door can burn out the opener motor or strip its gears, turning a spring repair into a spring-and-opener repair. Leave the door down, park elsewhere if the car is trapped behind it, and call a technician. The heaviness is not a mystery or a second fault — it is exactly what a missing spring feels like, and it is the clearest confirmation of the diagnosis.

Every figure here is a planning estimate from your inputs, not a bid. Get an itemized written quote from a licensed, insured garage-door company — and leave the spring work to them.