How much does an interior door cost?

A hollow core 30 inch slab runs about $50 to $75, the same door prehung about $95 to $140. Solid core MDF is roughly $145 to $210 as a slab and $230 to $330 prehung. Solid knotty pine prehung runs $280 to $420. Those are Quebec ranges before tax.

Hollow core or solid core: which should I buy?

Hollow core for closets and low traffic rooms where sound does not matter. Solid core for bathrooms, bedrooms next to living spaces, and offices, where the noise difference is immediately obvious. Solid core costs roughly two to three times as much and is the upgrade most people notice.

A slab saves roughly $45 to $65, and it only pays off if the existing frame is square and plumb and you own a hinge jig and a lock bore set. For new openings, renovations, or an older house where frames have settled, prehung is faster and usually cheaper once your time is counted.

What width of interior door should I choose?

Thirty inches is the common default for bedrooms and bathrooms. If accessibility matters now or later, go to 32 or 34 inches on at least the main floor bathroom: a 30 inch door gives only about 28 inches of clear opening, which does not work for a wheelchair.

Do I need a fire rated door to the garage?

In Quebec, yes: the door between an attached garage and the living space must be fire rated. Other provinces set their own requirements, so confirm against your local code rather than assuming. Budget $250 to $380 for a 30 inch fire rated door.

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What an interior door costs, and which one to buy

By Simon Lafortune, Co-founder, Buildsavr · September 19, 2026

Interior doors are one of the few renovation items where the cheap option can genuinely be the right one, and where the expensive option is sometimes the only one that works. The difference is not taste, it is where the door goes.

Two decisions set the price: what is inside the door, and whether it arrives already hung in a frame.

$50 to $75: hollow core 30 in slab
$230 to $330: solid core MDF, prehung
$87.99 to $137.95: same 32 in prehung door, four stores, May 2026

Hollow core, solid core, solid wood

A hollow core door is two skins over a cardboard honeycomb. It is light, cheap, easy to hang alone, and it transmits sound like a drum. For a closet or a bedroom in a house where nobody works nights, it is fine and always has been.

A solid core door is MDF or particle core between the skins. It is heavy, it feels like a door when it closes, and it cuts noise meaningfully. This is the one worth paying for on a bathroom, a bedroom next to a living room, or an office.

Solid wood, usually knotty pine here, is the only one you buy for looks as much as performance. It moves with humidity, it can be planed and refinished, and it costs accordingly.

**The practical rule:** hollow core where nobody listens, solid core where somebody sleeps or works, solid wood where somebody looks.

Prehung or slab: the decision that costs the most

A slab is just the door. A prehung door arrives already mounted in its jamb, hinged, and bored. The slab is cheaper by roughly $45 to $65 on the same door.

That saving is real only if the existing frame is square, plumb and in good shape, and if you own a hinge jig and a lock bore set. If the frame is out, and in an older house it usually is, a slab turns into an afternoon of shimming and chiselling that a prehung would have skipped.

**Buy the slab when you are swapping a door into a frame you know is good.** Buy prehung for new openings, renovations, and any house where the frames have settled.

What each category costs

Ranges observed in Quebec hardware stores, 30 inch width unless noted, before tax.

Hollow core 6 panel hardboard, 30 in slab: $50 to $75
Hollow core 6 panel, 30 in prehung: $95 to $140
Hollow core smooth Shaker, 30 in prehung: $110 to $155
Solid core MDF 6 panel, 30 in slab: $145 to $210
Solid core MDF, 30 in prehung: $230 to $330
Solid knotty pine 6 panel, 30 in prehung: $280 to $420
Fire rated door, 30 in: $250 to $380
Jamb only, ready to install, 30 in: $65 to $95

The same door, $50 apart

What four retailers were charging for a standard 32 inch prehung interior door on 24 May 2026. **This is an archive, not a live comparison**, and the exact model varies slightly by banner.

Who makes what

Three names cover most of what is on the shelf here. JELD-WEN and Masonite between them supply the large majority of standard interior doors sold through the big banners, under the banner’s own model names as often as their own. Metrie is the trim and moulding specialist that also sells doors, generally a step up in finish.

The practical consequence: two banners can sell what is essentially the same door under two different names at two different prices. Comparing by model name alone will not catch it. Comparing by size, core type and configuration will.

Where the code has an opinion

Doors are one of the few interior items with a hard requirement attached. **In Quebec, the door between an attached garage and the house must be fire rated**, and that is not optional or negotiable at resale. Other provinces have their own codes and their own wording, so check yours rather than assuming this one applies.

Accessibility is the other one worth knowing before you buy. A 30 inch door gives a clear opening around 28 inches once the stops are in, which is tight for a walker and impossible for most wheelchairs. If the house is meant to age with you, 32 or 34 inches on the main floor bathroom costs almost nothing extra today and is expensive to retrofit.

The mistakes that cost the most

Doors are cheap to buy and expensive to get wrong.

Buying a slab for a frame you have not checked. Measure the opening in three places first.
Getting the hand wrong. Stand in the opening facing the way the door swings toward you: hinges on the left is a left hand door.
Hollow core on a bathroom. It is the one room where the sound difference is worth the money.
Forgetting the hardware. Knob, hinges and strike are rarely included and add $25 to $60 per door.
Buying all the doors at one store because it is one trip. On six doors, the spread above is real money.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an interior door cost?: A hollow core 30 inch slab runs about $50 to $75, the same door prehung about $95 to $140. Solid core MDF is roughly $145 to $210 as a slab and $230 to $330 prehung. Solid knotty pine prehung runs $280 to $420. Those are Quebec ranges before tax.
Hollow core or solid core: which should I buy?: Hollow core for closets and low traffic rooms where sound does not matter. Solid core for bathrooms, bedrooms next to living spaces, and offices, where the noise difference is immediately obvious. Solid core costs roughly two to three times as much and is the upgrade most people notice.
Prehung or slab?: A slab saves roughly $45 to $65, and it only pays off if the existing frame is square and plumb and you own a hinge jig and a lock bore set. For new openings, renovations, or an older house where frames have settled, prehung is faster and usually cheaper once your time is counted.
What width of interior door should I choose?: Thirty inches is the common default for bedrooms and bathrooms. If accessibility matters now or later, go to 32 or 34 inches on at least the main floor bathroom: a 30 inch door gives only about 28 inches of clear opening, which does not work for a wheelchair.
Do I need a fire rated door to the garage?: In Quebec, yes: the door between an attached garage and the living space must be fire rated. Other provinces set their own requirements, so confirm against your local code rather than assuming. Budget $250 to $380 for a 30 inch fire rated door.

Price all your doors at once, not one store at a time

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