How much does it cost to install a sump pump in Toronto?

Dropping a new pump into a pit that already exists is the cheap version: $500 to $1,200 according to MBM Plumbing and Ontario Plumbing Quotes, and $1,400 to $2,400 according to Tornado Plumbing & Drains, so the honest published range is $500 to $2,400 before tax. Cutting a brand new pit into a finished basement floor is the expensive version at $2,800 to $4,500, because the flooring comes up, the slab is saw-cut and the floor has to be put back.

Does the City of Toronto pay for a sump pump?

It pays for most of one. The Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program covers up to 80 per cent of the invoiced cost to a maximum of $2,250 for a sump pump, plus up to $300 more toward a battery backup, with a ceiling of $6,650 per property across every eligible item. Owners of single-family, duplex, triplex and fourplex homes apply online. On a typical $2,000 pump swap that turns an out-of-pocket cost of about $2,260 with HST into roughly $450.

Why is a new sump pit so much more expensive than a new pump?

Because almost none of that money is the pump. A pit means saw-cutting the slab, digging out the hole, setting the basin in stone, plumbing a discharge line out through the wall, running power to it and patching the concrete. Canada Waterproofers prices the pit work on its own at $1,050 to $2,700 on top of the pump. The pump itself is $200 to $600 as a unit, per Ontario Plumbing Quotes.

Do I need a battery backup sump pump in the GTA?

The storms that fill a Toronto sump pit are the same storms that knock the power out, and a pump with no power is a hole full of water. A backup pump added to an existing primary runs $1,200 to $2,400 per Tornado Plumbing & Drains, or $400 to $1,500 per Ontario Plumbing Quotes for the backup system itself. Bought as one combined primary-plus-backup system it is $3,500 to $6,500. The City subsidy adds $300 toward it.

Should the sump pump discharge tie into my sewer line?

No, and in Toronto it must not. A sump pump that discharges into the sanitary sewer sends stormwater into a pipe sized for sewage, which is one of the ways a whole street's basements back up at once. The discharge belongs on the ground, away from the foundation and away from the neighbour's yard, and it needs to be run so it does not freeze shut in February.

How often does a sump pump need to be checked?

Once a year is the published cadence. Canada Waterproofers lists an annual visual inspection and float test at $150 to $250, with $185 given as the typical. The float switch is the part that fails silently: the pump looks fine and does nothing when the pit fills. Lifting the float by hand and hearing the pump start is a two-minute check any homeowner can do between visits.

What does sump pump installation cost in Toronto?

Last updated: August 25, 2026By Below-Grade Records Desk

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A sump pump going into a pit that is already in the floor costs $500 to $2,400 across three published Ontario price lists. Cutting a new pit into a finished basement is the job that costs real money, at $2,800 to $4,500 per Tornado Plumbing & Drains, because the flooring, the slab and the patching are most of the bill. The City of Toronto then takes 80 per cent of the invoice back off, capped at $2,250.

Price your job

What is under your basement floor right now?

There is already a pit, and the pump in it needs replacingNo concrete comes up. This is the cheapest version of the job and the one most Toronto homeowners are actually pricing.No pit yet, and the basement floor is bare concreteA hole is cut, a basin is set and the discharge is plumbed out. Nothing has to be taken apart to reach the floor.No pit yet, and the basement is finishedFlooring and often a section of wall come out, the slab is saw-cut, and the floor is patched afterwards. That restoration is most of the difference.

Do you want a battery backup pump too?Yes, add a second pump that runs on a batteryA primary pump is useless in the storm that takes the power out with it. The City pays a further $300 toward one.

What this job costs in Toronto

$565–$2,712

installed, with 13% HST. Before tax that is $500–$2,400.

There is already a pit, and the pump in it needs replacingTornado Plumbing & Drains; MBM Plumbing; Ontario Plumbing Quotes: $500–$2,400
HST at 13%Government of Ontario: $65–$312
Less the City of Toronto subsidy, capped at $2,250City of Toronto, Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program: −$452–$2,170
What you are out of pocket: $113–$542

Already been quoted? Type the number and see where it sits

Before HST, in Canadian dollars. Nothing is sent anywhere; the comparison happens in your browser.

Ranges are the published prices of the named Ontario companies, widened where they disagree, never averaged. The subsidy line applies inside Toronto only and is capped at $6,650 per property across all eligible work. Your own quote depends on the depth to the drain, the discharge route and what the electrical panel can take.

Method

How is this estimate built?

Three things go into it and nothing else. First, the published price for your pit situation: WaterproofingIndex read four Ontario plumbing and waterproofing price lists in August 2026 and took the range each one prints for the exact job. Where they disagree, the range on this page covers both ends rather than splitting the difference, so a swap in an existing pit shows $500 to $2,400 rather than a tidy midpoint no company quoted.

Second, HST. Plumbing labour is fully taxable in Ontario at 13 per cent, and every price list quoted here is a before-tax number, so the calculator adds it rather than letting the estimate read low.

Third, the City of Toronto subsidy. The Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program pays 80 per cent of what the invoice actually says, capped at $2,250 for the pump and $300 for a battery backup. The calculator applies the percentage to the with-tax figure, which is what an invoice from a plumber shows.

What it cannot know: how far the discharge has to run, whether the panel has a spare breaker, whether the pit hits a footing, and whether the weeping tile actually reaches the pit. Those are the four things that move a real quote, and they are the four things worth asking a contractor to price separately.

Prices

What moves the price on a real Toronto job?

Whether concrete comes up. A pit means a saw, a jackhammer, spoil carried out through the house and a patch afterwards. Canada Waterproofers prices that work alone at $1,050 to $2,700.
Finished basements. Laminate, subfloor and drywall have to come off and go back. That gap between $1,200 to $2,500 for a bare floor and $2,800 to $4,500 for a finished one is mostly restoration.
Where the water goes. A discharge that can exit through a nearby rim joist is cheap. One that has to cross a finished room, or be buried to daylight in a side yard a metre wide, is not.
Power. A sump pump wants its own circuit. On an old Toronto panel with no space, an electrician is a separate trade and a separate line on the invoice.
What the pit is for. If the weeping tile is being cut off the storm sewer and rerouted to the pit, that is drainage work, not pump work, and it is priced with the drainage job.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to install a sump pump in Toronto?: Dropping a new pump into a pit that already exists is the cheap version: $500 to $1,200 according to MBM Plumbing and Ontario Plumbing Quotes, and $1,400 to $2,400 according to Tornado Plumbing & Drains, so the honest published range is $500 to $2,400 before tax. Cutting a brand new pit into a finished basement floor is the expensive version at $2,800 to $4,500, because the flooring comes up, the slab is saw-cut and the floor has to be put back.
Does the City of Toronto pay for a sump pump?: It pays for most of one. The Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program covers up to 80 per cent of the invoiced cost to a maximum of $2,250 for a sump pump, plus up to $300 more toward a battery backup, with a ceiling of $6,650 per property across every eligible item. Owners of single-family, duplex, triplex and fourplex homes apply online. On a typical $2,000 pump swap that turns an out-of-pocket cost of about $2,260 with HST into roughly $450.
Why is a new sump pit so much more expensive than a new pump?: Because almost none of that money is the pump. A pit means saw-cutting the slab, digging out the hole, setting the basin in stone, plumbing a discharge line out through the wall, running power to it and patching the concrete. Canada Waterproofers prices the pit work on its own at $1,050 to $2,700 on top of the pump. The pump itself is $200 to $600 as a unit, per Ontario Plumbing Quotes.
Do I need a battery backup sump pump in the GTA?: The storms that fill a Toronto sump pit are the same storms that knock the power out, and a pump with no power is a hole full of water. A backup pump added to an existing primary runs $1,200 to $2,400 per Tornado Plumbing & Drains, or $400 to $1,500 per Ontario Plumbing Quotes for the backup system itself. Bought as one combined primary-plus-backup system it is $3,500 to $6,500. The City subsidy adds $300 toward it.
Should the sump pump discharge tie into my sewer line?: No, and in Toronto it must not. A sump pump that discharges into the sanitary sewer sends stormwater into a pipe sized for sewage, which is one of the ways a whole street's basements back up at once. The discharge belongs on the ground, away from the foundation and away from the neighbour's yard, and it needs to be run so it does not freeze shut in February.
How often does a sump pump need to be checked?: Once a year is the published cadence. Canada Waterproofers lists an annual visual inspection and float test at $150 to $250, with $185 given as the typical. The float switch is the part that fails silently: the pump looks fine and does nothing when the pit fills. Lifting the float by hand and hearing the pump start is a two-minute check any homeowner can do between visits.

Sources

Where these numbers came from

Every dollar figure on this page was read off the page named beside it, in August 2026. Canadian dollars.

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