• Air Compressors Home
• Price Quotes
• Basic Types
• Choosing a Size
•  Pricing 
• Choosing a Dealer

Pricing and costs

Of course the amount you should spend varies according to your situation. But there are a couple of points to keep in mind. First, don't try to save every penny you can. The least expensive compressors – chain store specials for $500 – are not built for business use. We don't recommend them for anything other than hobbyists.

Even with legitimate business compressors, though, you should spend enough to make sure that the compressor you wind up with is capable of handling the loads you'll put on it for years to come.

Don't overspend, either, though. In Choosing the right size air compressor, we talked about building in a safety margin. Buying more capability than you need is a good idea, but overdoing it is a waste of money. Upgrading to a bigger compressor may only cost a few hundred dollars up front, but due to these higher ongoing operating costs, you'll be wasting quite a bit of money over the long term by operating a compressor that's bigger than you need.

Costs of air compressors

You can spend $1,000 or $100,000 on an air compressor, so having an idea of the general range you need is helpful when doing your comparison shopping.

As stated earlier, small reciprocating compressors are less expensive than rotary compressors, but they're not built to the same performance standards and aren't capable of the same amount of work. Also, prices even out and even begin to favor rotary compressors as you compare larger and larger compressors.

At the low end of the business compressor range, 5 HP reciprocating compressors can go for $1,500 to $3,000. These can provide up to about 20 CFM and 100 to 130 PSI. Two-stage compressors are a good choice when you need higher PSI ratings without breaking the bank. At that level, you probably don't need a rotary compressor – but if you do, you can expect to pay $2,000 to $4,000.

Larger compressors – around 25 HP – can offer 100 CFM at over 200 PSI. At these ratings, you might pay over $10,000 for a reciprocating compressor, and $6,000 to $9,000 for a rotary model.

Rotary compressors can offer much, much higher CFMs – easily into the thousands, suited for running a large number of tools or a large air-powered conveyor or manufacturing system. Getting a comprehensive air power system installed can reach into the tens of thousands of dollars, but the rewards are significant.

Oil-free compressors

One feature that may increase your costs is the need for an oilless compressor. Standard compressors use oil to lubricate moving parts and to help maintain a sealed compression chamber, but this has the side effect of allowing some oil into the compressed air. If you're working with food, or semiconductors, or other applications with no tolerance for oil in the air, you'll need to seek out an oil-free or oilless compressor.

Oil-free air compressors guarantee 100% pure air. They can cost twice as much or more as regular compressors with the same specifications, though, so only go this route if it's absolutely essential.