Quick Answer: Blown in cellulose insulation typically runs $1.00 to $3.00 per square foot of attic floor as of 2026, with the spread driven by target R value, depth, and whether you price material only or material and install together. A standard R 38 attic fill sits in the middle of the range, a shallow R 30 sits at the low end, and a dense packed wall or a deep R 60 attic sits at the high end. Prices move with the recycled paper and borate market, region, and contractor volume, so treat the range as a planning number and pull live quotes for bid day.
What Drives the Price
Six variables move the price of blown in cellulose, and you should read them off the insulation schedule before you quote.
- Target R value and depth. Cellulose runs about R 3.6 per inch, so a code minimum R 38 attic needs about 10.5 inches of settled depth, and an R 49 attic needs about 13.5 inches. Depth drives the cubic feet of material, and cubic feet drive the bag count, which is what you price.
- Loose fill versus dense pack. Loose fill is the attic product, blown to a settled depth and priced per square foot. Dense pack is the wall and retrofit product, blown to a settled density of about 3.5 pounds per cubic foot, and it costs more because it needs a higher density and a tighter cavity. Dense pack commonly runs 50 to 80 percent more per cubic foot than loose fill.
- Material only versus installed. Cellulose is a contractor applied product, not a bag you stack in the attic. The material only price per bag is the lower number. The installed price includes the blowing rig, the crew, the prep, and the containment, and it commonly runs 50 to 100 percent over the material only number.
- Brand and additive. The major manufacturers all run a commodity loose fill line and a premium dense pack line. Borate treated cellulose is the base spec. Ammonium sulfate treated is cheaper but carries a corrosion risk in damp cavities, and premium lines run a higher borate percentage for fire and pest resistance. Brand moves price 5 to 15 percent at the same R.
- Bag weight and yield. Cellulose ships in bags, commonly 25 to 30 pounds each, and the yield per bag is published by the manufacturer at a given settled depth. A 25 pound bag at R 38 yields about 40 square feet.
- Region and volume. Cellulose is recycled paper, so it tracks the paper and freight market, not the oil index. Local markets with a paper mill close by run cheaper, and remote markets pay freight. Volume on a tract of homes gets a better per bag price than a single attic, because the rig and crew are already on site.
Typical Price Ranges by Type
These are contractor price ranges as of 2026, per square foot of attic floor for loose fill, and per cubic foot for dense pack, material only unless noted. Your local market will move the numbers, so use them to frame the bid and refresh on quote day.
- Loose fill attic, R 30, 8.5 inch settled, material only: $0.80 to $1.20 per SF. Warm climate code minimum.
- Loose fill attic, R 38, 10.5 inch settled, material only: $1.00 to $1.50 per SF. Common residential code attic.
- Loose fill attic, R 38, installed: $1.50 to $2.25 per SF. Crew, rig, and containment included.
- Loose fill attic, R 49, 13.5 inch settled, installed: $2.00 to $3.00 per SF. Cold climate code attic.
- Dense pack wall, installed: $1.00 to $2.00 per square foot of wall. Crew, rig, and drill included.
Price the type the schedule calls for. A loose fill bid priced as dense pack will look cheaper on the attic floor and lose the job when the wall cavity is short, because dense pack is sold by the cubic foot and the wall has less volume than the attic.
How to Calculate the Quantity You Need
For loose fill attics, take the square footage of the attic floor and multiply by the settled depth in feet to get cubic feet. A 1,000 square foot attic at 10.5 inches of settled cellulose is 1,000 times 0.875, or 875 cubic feet. Convert cubic feet to bags at the published yield, because the bag count is what the contractor quotes.
For dense pack walls, take the wall square footage, multiply by cavity depth in feet, and apply the 3.5 pounds per cubic foot settled density to get the bag count. A 2x4 wall at 3.5 inches deep runs about 0.29 cubic feet per square foot of wall.
Apply a 5 percent waste factor to the bag count, because overspray, settling, and trimming add up, and a tight waste factor beats a generous one when the unit price is low. Tie every count to the sheet and assembly it came from so the bid is defensible in review.
How to Buy Smarter
- Pull three contractor quotes on bid day. Cellulose contractor pricing on the same R can vary 15 to 25 percent between rigs. The R value and depth are the leveler, quote the same spec everywhere.
- Buy by the attic, not the bag. A tract of homes quoted as a single application beats per home quotes, because the rig and crew are already on site. Ask for the volume break up front.
- Lock the quote for 30 to 60 days. Cellulose tracks the paper market, not oil, and paper moves with freight and mill capacity. A 30 day hold protects a longer bid cycle.
- Match the type to the assembly. Loose fill goes in attics, dense pack goes in walls and retrofit cavities. Read the notes before you price the type, because the unit is different.
- Check the settled depth, not the installed depth. Cellulose settles, and the schedule calls for settled R value. A bid that prices installed depth will underbuy and the attic will settle short of code.
Where Estimators Get It Wrong
The classic mistake is pricing installed depth instead of settled depth. Cellulose settles 10 to 20 percent in the first months, and the schedule calls for the settled R value. Price the settled depth, or the attic will be short at inspection and the fix is a second blow.
The second mistake is mixing loose fill and dense pack. They are different products with different units and different prices. A loose fill bid priced by the square foot will not cover a dense pack wall, because dense pack is sold by the cubic foot and the wall has less volume than the attic. Read the schedule for the type before you read for the R.
The third is forgetting the prep and the containment. Cellulose does not go over a dirty attic floor, and the fixtures and access have to be masked. Prep labor and containment are part of the application, and they are easy to miss on a fast takeoff. Build them into the line, not the labor line.
Putting It Together
Read the insulation notes, take the square footage by assembly, convert to cubic feet at the settled depth, and convert to bags at the published yield. Price each line by type and R value with the matching contractor quote. Get three quotes on bid day, lock them for the bid window, and price the installed number, not the material only. An attic priced at $1.20 per square foot material only becomes a $2.00 line installed, and the estimator who prices only the bag loses that gap. Keep the count tied to the sheet, keep the quotes dated, and the bid holds up in review.