Ducted vs. Ductless Range Hood: Total-Cost Math
The ducted-versus-ductless choice is a choice between two price structures, not two sticker prices. A ducted total is a unit, an install labour line, a duct run, and a vent cap. A ductless total is a unit, a shorter labour line, and a filter purchase that repeats. Adding the same lines for both lanes -- including the recurring one -- is the only fair comparison, and it is the comparison this guide works.
Orange County, CA · Updated 2026 · Costs shown as ranges — your quote will vary by installer and scope
The two structures, side by side
| Cost line | Ducted lane | Ductless lane |
|---|---|---|
| Unit and installation | inside the $700-$1,000 under-cabinet band | $200-$400 including labour |
| Duct run | near $500 where new | none |
| Vent cap | inside duct materials, $50-$300 band | none |
| Filters | no recurring purchase line | charcoal sets $20-$80, recurring |
Published 2026 bands frame the gap before any math: ductless hoods price at $200 to $400 installed, the lowest band in the data, because the duct run and the vent cap simply are not in the quote. Ducted pricing starts from the type bands on the hub guide and then adds whatever duct work the kitchen needs. Convertible hoods, at $300 to $1,200, are sold for either lane, which makes their quote ambiguous until the mode is stated on paper.
Worked math: the same kitchen, both lanes
| Option (illustrative) | Unit + install | Duct run | Vent cap | Filters | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ducted, under-cabinet, new duct run | $850 | $500 | $150 | $0 | about $1,500 |
| Ductless, under-cabinet | $300 | $0 | $0 | $50 | about $350 |
| Convertible, run ductless today | $750 | $0 | $0 | $50 | about $800 |
Each figure sits inside the published bands above: the ducted row takes the middle of the under-cabinet band, the published ductwork average, and a vent cap inside the $50 to $300 duct-materials band. The ductless row takes the middle of its installed band plus one charcoal filter set at the middle of the planning allowance. The convertible row prices the unit in ductless mode today; converting it later adds the same duct run and cap lines the ducted row carries, roughly $650 at the figures used here.
The recurring line: filters against a one-time duct run
The ductless total is the only one of the three that keeps spending after installation day. Published planning figures put charcoal filter sets at $20 to $80, replaced roughly twice a year in regular use, which compounds to $200 to $800 across five years. The ducted lane's filter line is not a purchase line at all: metal grease filters are a cleaning item, so the ducted five-year filter spend in published comparisons is $0 in parts. Even at the top of the filter band, five years of filters does not close the upfront gap in the worked rows -- but it narrows it every year, and a comparison that stops at installation day overstates the ductless lane's price edge.
What both totals leave out
Two lines sit outside the worked rows and belong in a complete budget on either lane. Electrical work is the first: where a kitchen has no suitable outlet or connection point near the hood position, both lanes price that work as a separate charge. Cabinet work is the second: an insert unit or a resized cabinet opening prices carpentry on top of either total. Both lines are itemized on the ductwork and electrical cost guide. And where a hood is bundled into a full kitchen remodel or a kitchen appliance package, the lane math here is a cross-check on the bundled figure, not the quote itself.
Questions that settle the comparison
- Is the ducted quote priced with a new duct run, or on an existing route?
- Vent cap and duct materials itemized, or folded into labour?
- Filter set price and replacement cadence stated on ductless quotes
- Convertible quotes naming the mode being priced today
- Five-year totals compared, not installation-day totals
Frequently asked questions
Which lane costs less in total, ducted or ductless?
Ductless, on published 2026 bands and at every horizon this guide works. Ductless installation prices at $200-$400 against a ducted under-cabinet total near $1,500 in the worked math once a new duct run and vent cap are added. Five years of charcoal filters at $200-$800 narrows the gap without closing it.
What does the duct run add to a ducted total?
Published data puts new ductwork near $500 on average, with the vent cap and duct materials inside a $50-$300 band on top of the unit and labour lines. Where an existing route is reused, the duct line drops toward $0 and the ducted total falls close to its type band.
How much do ductless filters cost over time?
Charcoal filter sets run $20-$80 in published planning figures, replaced roughly twice a year in regular use. That is $40-$160 a year, or $200-$800 across five years -- the only recurring purchase line in either lane.
What does a convertible hood do to the comparison?
A convertible unit at $300-$1,200 can be priced in either mode, so its total depends on the mode quoted. Run ductless, it carries the filter line and no duct line; converted later, it adds the same roughly $500 duct run and vent cap the ducted lane pays upfront.
Does the lane choice change inside a kitchen remodel?
The arithmetic does not, but the paperwork does: inside a remodel or an appliance package, the hood, duct, and electrical lines are bundled into one project figure. The per-line bands in this guide still work as a cross-check on that bundle.