Which Home Warranty Plan is the Cheapest?
Written By: Ross Robinson
Edited by: Andrew Dunn
As soon as we become homeowners, we want to protect our houses, and unlike home insurance, a home warranty covers unexpected malfunctions for home systems and appliances and saves our wallets from high repair costs. As we start selecting the plan that is best for our home, many questions arise.
If we just look at the price and buy the plan that costs less, will it give us the best value for our money? If plans in two different companies cost the same, will they provide the same coverage? Let’s take a look at the cheapest plans available on the home warranty home appliance insurance market and try to find the answers to these questions.
Cheapest home warranty plans
Top 3 Cheapest Home Warranty Companies
We’ve done the research for you on the best home warranty companies across the country so you don’t have to. Here are our top three picks, and why.
| Company Name | Choice Home Warranty | American Home Shield | Select Home Warranty |
| Number of Plan Options | 2 Plans | 3 Plans | 2 Plans |
| Monthly Plan Cost | $45 – $54 | $25 – $75 | $44 – $48 |
| BBB Rating | D+ | B | B- |
| Reviews | Read Choice Home Warranty Reviews | Read American Home Shield Reviews |
Choice Home Warranty (Best Overall)
Choice Home Warranty is our top pick for exceptional value for your money. Not only do they have two inexpensive options for coverage in their Basic Plan and Total Plan, they offer the best coverage limits and outstanding service to customers. At $53 for the Total Plan, covering the essential appliances and systems that keep your home running, is the least expensive in our top three.
Coverage limits – that is going to save you money when things go wrong – you are much less likely to have out-of-pocket expenses with the generous coverage limits Choice offers. With up to $3,000 available per year on many covered appliances and systems, you won’t be likely to spend your own money on repairs or replacement beyond what Choice will cover. American Home Shield has similar limits on some items, but Select has limits that go up to just $2,000. Not bad, but not quite at the level offered by Choice.
Another factor to consider: claim denial. You can get cheap coverage, but if the company denies your claim, the repair is on you. Choice has a great reputation when it comes to claim acceptance. Our investigation into customer reviews shows that Choice is just half as likely to get complaints about claim denial compared with the industry average. Both AHS and Select have slightly higher claim denial rates.
Right now, Choice is offering new customers a great deal: $50 off plus a free month of coverage. This will make that $53 premium even less for that first year of home warranty mobile home protection. Go online for a free quote, or call them at 929-400-6169 before this offer goes away.
American Home Shield (Most Customizable)
American Home Shield is the best option for comprehensive coverage for the money. There are cheaper plans out there, but it would be hard to find a cheaper plan that covers as much as an AHS Platinum Plan.
It starts with the coverage, where 23 of your most important appliances and systems are covered. Choice and Select each cover about 18 items with their Platinum Plans. You can also save in other ways with American Home Shield. For instance, they allow you to “choose your own service fee” to get savings on your monthly premiums. So a comprehensive plan at $75 a month is a lot more expensive than the competition from Choice and Select. But if you opt for a $125 service fee, you can get that same comprehensive coverage for just $60 a month – $2 more than the Choice Total Plan. And if you choose the AHS Systems Plan at the higher service fee rate, you’ll pay just $35 per month. They also offer a pared-down Combo Plan for just $45 a month. That’s a lot of options for inexpensive coverage!
They also have a long list of optional add-ons that range in price from about $4 to about $21 per month, similar to both Choice and Select. But again, AHS offers more options, including things like home electronics coverage, and coverage for a guest house on your property.
With coverage limits between $1,000 and $3,000, AHS is similar to Choice in keeping more money for repairs on covered items in your pocket. It’s great to know that comprehensive coverage extends to the annual dollar limits as well as the number of items covered!
American Home Shield is also offering an incentive for new customers. You can get $50 off the plan of your choosing for some of the most comprehensive mobile home coverage you can get. To learn more, get a free quote online or request information about coverage from AHS at 866-464-7521.
Select Home Warranty (Most Affordable)
Select Home Warranty is a close runner-up to Choice in the value for the money department. You can get coverage for appliances or systems for as little as $52 per month, and you might as well go for their Platinum Combo Plan at $58 a month. System, Appliance, or Combo Plan, whichever you choose includes not just the major appliances and systems in your home, but roof leak coverage at no extra cost. That’s a nice bonus for an inexpensive plan.
The other savings you will gain with Select is with the deductible, or service call fee. What can you expect to be charged when you contact Select with a claim and a service technician comes to your home? Where Choice charges $85 for a service call, and AHS charges as much as $125, Select has a flat $60 service fee.
With inexpensive coverage, you might be concerned about the level of service you will receive. Select takes a spot in our top three exactly for this reason. Our research shows they get high marks when it comes to things like contractor professionalism and communication. Whatever you are shelling out for a home warranty plan, you want the company to communicate well and you want the people coming out to work on your home systems and appliances to be skilled and courteous. That’s what you get with Select. Cheap plans don’t have to mean skimping on essentials like customer service.
But we haven’t gotten to the best part of the value of Select for bargain hunters like you. Right now, they are offering $150 off plus two months free for new customers. That’s a tremendous savings. To learn more and take advantage of this deal, go online for a free quote or you can call a home warranty specialist directly at 866-464-7521.
Who Needs a Home Warranty?
Whether you are a homeowner, a buyer, a seller, a landlord, or a property manager, a home warranty is important to protect you from excessive repair and replacement costs for appliances and systems.
Homeowners
Homeowners stand to benefit greatly from buying a home warranty, especially if they have aged appliances. Since appliances don’t always last forever, they’ll need constant repair and servicing as they grow older. Having to pay for the repair of several appliances in a year is not exactly pocket-friendly, and this is where your $300- $600 becomes a lifesaver.
Homebuyers
Are you buying a house? Imagine after you’ve completed all the transactions and are starting to settle in the new home, the appliances start failing. Having spent all the money and time, the situation is stressful, annoying, and disorienting.
Well, a home warranty for buyers will give you great peace of mind, so you don’t have to worry about repairing appliances when you haven’t even used them or learned how to use some of them.
Landlords
Managing tenants is stressful in itself, but imagine if they keep calling for home repairs. Suppose you have a whole block of rental apartments. In that case, it becomes extensively costly and time-consuming to move from one unit to another, checking what needs to be repaired and following up with the various technicians.
However, with a home warranty for landlords in place, you just need to make a call to your home warranty provider and leave the rest to them. Companies like American Home Shield have a large network of technicians they contract and deploy to your home.
Home sellers
Did you know that a home warranty could help you sell faster? Well, try to picture a first-time buyer who has spent almost all of their savings on buying their dream home. Amid all the excitement, there’s a certain amount of fear and doubt, and knowing that their home is covered will give them a sense of security.
Other than acting as a deal sweetener, the home warranty also gives you higher bargaining power. This means that you can use this as an opportunity to sell it at the highest amount possible.
The home warranty for sellers works like a charm for real estate agents, sellers, and property managers when the home is up for sale.
Are You A First-Time Buyer? Check Out This Article!
Prices for the Cheapest Home Warranty Companies
What's In This Guide?
Our team at ReviewHomeWarranties.com has reviewed analyzed over 68 different home warranty plans and want to tell you the best coverage options for your wallet. In thirteen companies, the prices of the cheapest home warranty insurance were less than $200 per year. Six companies priced their cheapest warranty plans from $200 to $250, another forty-two companies had a price range between $250 and $500, and in six companies, the prices ranged between $500 and $625.
If you’re looking for a trusted, industry-leading home warranty company, we recommend Choice Home Warranty. They’re a top-rated brand and right now you can take advantage of their current promotions that get you $50 off, plus one free month and free 30-Day cancellation. Get a free online quote or contact a specialist at 929-400-6169 before these deals end. Another great option is American Home Shield which offers $50 off. Get a free quote online or you can call a home warranty specialist directly at 866-464-7521.
Cheapest plan cost distribution
Top 5 Cheapest Home Warranty Companies
The Cheapest Home Warranty Plans
As of 5/30/2023 we at ReviewHomeWarranties have compared and rated 66 companies and their 240 plans for the 57 covered items. Come and see our findings and recommendations of the best value-for-money plans available right now:
How much money can you save if you choose the cheapest warranty cover for a year, which is how long home warranty plans usually last? To answer this question, we compared the prices for the cheapest and the most expensive plan within one company. The difference ranged from 18.3% to 82.6%. In the graph below, we show how much you can save if you buy the cheapest warranty plan in the company instead of the most expensive plan.
Savings distribution when selecting the cheapest plan
Coverage of the Cheapest Home Warranty Plans
What about similar-priced home warranty plans in different companies? How different is their coverage? To answer these questions, we selected five well-known home warranty companies: American Home Shield, Total Home Protection, Choice Home Warranty, Select Home Warranty, and First American Home Warranty to compare their cheapest plans. In all five companies, the cheapest plan costs around $35 per month. Now let’s see what every plan covers.
In American Home Shield, there are two cheaper plans: The Systems Plan and the Appliance Plan. As we can infer from the name, the Systems Plan covers home systems: air conditioning, electrical, heating and plumbing, ceiling fans, alarm, doorbell, central vacuum, and water heater. The Appliance Plan, on the contrary, covers home appliances only. These include dishwasher, garage door opener, food center, microwave, oven, refrigerator, trash compactor, washer and dryer, and garage door. The service call fee for both plans is $125.
In Total Home Protection, the cheapest plan is the Silver Combo Plan. It includes the plumbing and electrical system and the following appliances: dishwasher, garbage disposal, microwave, oven, trash compactor, and water heater. Additionally, this plan includes coverage for a swimming pool and a whirlpool bathtub. The service call fee, or deductible, in Total Home Protection is $60.
The cheapest home warranty plan that Choice Home Warranty offers is the Silver Combo Plan for $34 a month. It includes coverage for heating and electrical systems, some kitchen appliances such as an oven, built-in microwave, dishwasher, garbage disposal, and fan. Also, this plan covers ductwork, water heater, and garage door. The deductible, or service call fee, is $60. As we can see, the cheapest plans in different companies may cost the same, but the coverage may vary significantly.
Select Home Warranty offers the most affordable yet comprehensive coverage for homeowners. This service provider has three plans;
- Bronze Care Plan
- Gold Care Plan
- Platinum Care Plan
The Bronze Care plan caters to home systems such as plumbing and HVAC systems and goes for $35.88 per month. The Gold care plan will protect your home appliances such as washers, air conditioners, and refrigerators at $35.88, while the Platinum Care plan covers both systems and appliances and will cost you $37.50 monthly. On all Select Home Warranty plans, you’ll also get free roof coverage of up to $99 and 2 months of free coverage.
First American Home Warranty has been in existence for over 35 years and has maintained its place as one of the cheapest home warranty companies. Their cheapest plan is the Basic plan, which covers home appliances at $32 per month. They also have a less-expensive plan; the Premier Plan that covers both home appliances and systems and goes for about $45.50 in monthly premiums. You can also expect to pay $75 in service fee with every service request, which is within the normal range of service fee cost ($75- $125).
Read Also: What Are The Costs of A Home Warranty For Home Sellers?
Factors that Influence the Cost of a Home Warranty
While the plan type- appliances or systems added determine the price of a home warranty, there are other factors that go into the cost;
Here are the most common;
Home Warranty Companies
The USA is home to about 45 home warranty companies, and with each claiming to be the best provider of the same, it is up to Americans to find the best company to protect their home appliances and systems.
Here is a list of the cheapest home warranty companies in the USA today;
- First American Home Warranty
- Select Home Warranty
- Choice Home Warranty
- Total Home Protection
- American Home Shield
Location
The location of your home, most especially the state, sometimes affects the pricing of a home warranty. Well, this may not be the case all the time since most home warranties have an already set price, while the likes of Choice Home Warranty will set the pricing according to location.
The main cause for the difference in price as per your location results from taxes and home warranty regulations in each state. In Idaho, for instance, the Idaho Code favors homeowners, as they can file a warranty claim in case appliances and systems are damaged accidentally or by power surges. So, it’s not uncommon to find home warranty plans in Idaho a bit higher than in other areas, where home warranties only cover normal wear and tear.
Property Type and Size
When signing up for a home warranty with a company like Choice Home Warranty, you’ll have to indicate the size of the property and type. If your house is about or less than 5,000 square feet, then you’ll be charged the standard rate. If it goes beyond that, then you can expect the home warranty to cost more.
At the same time, there are different plans for rental properties, single families, and condos.
Final Words About the Cheapest Home Warranty Plans
To answer the question “Which home warranty plan is the cheapest?,” we analyzed data for 24 cheap home warranty companies and specifically compared the coverage of the cheapest plans in three well-known companies, American Home Shield, Total Home Protection, and Choice Home Warranty. We found that there is a big difference in the prices of the cheapest plans between companies. It can be attributed to the difference in coverage offered by each company. The best cheap home warranty plan that we had in our database covered only one home system, while the most expensive of the cheapest plans covered a wide range of home appliances and systems.
Cheapest Home Warranty?
Choice Home Warranty is our top pick for homeowners that value affordable coverage. Choice’s coverage provides the biggest bang for your buck, with three different plans available for appliances and services.
While we compared the cheapest warranty plans in three companies that had similar price tags, we noticed that there was a significant difference between them. In American Home Shield, there were two equally priced plans, one for home systems, and the other for home appliances. Both Total Home Protection and Choice Home Warranty had the cheapest plans that combined coverage for home systems and home appliances, but the lists of items did not coincide. The bottom line is that the cheapest home warranty plan does not mean the worst plan. As the cheapest plan coverage varies between companies, there is a chance to find the one that fits your house best without spending extra money on more expensive plans.
Plans to fit your budget are available in every US state. We’ve revealed the top home warranty company in each state, all complied on our USA page. Curious which plan is most affordable in states like Delaware? North Dakota? Hawaii? Vermont? Iowa? We can help.