Published per-step prices for stairs in Ontario run from $30 to $250 for vinyl plank and laminate, and from $50 to $300 for hardwood work. The spread is mostly scope. Some figures cover only the tread, some add the riser, the nosing or carpet removal, and some are Ottawa prices rather than Toronto ones. Below, seven named sources are set side by side, each range is multiplied across a 13-step staircase, and then we add the one part we can price from our own catalogue: the plank material for that same staircase.
Every per-step dollar figure in the tables belongs to the publisher named beside it. They are other businesses' and cost guides' published ranges, not Top Floorings Depot rates, and we do not publish a per-step installation price. If you are also pricing the pieces that go with the planks, our stair nosing collection lists 52 products and our stairs collection lists 209. For room floors priced by the square foot, see our flooring installation cost in Toronto guide.
Staircase flooring cost per step: what seven sources publish
We read each page on October 31, 2026 and copied the figure along with the words around it. Where a source gives a range, the 13-step column multiplies its low and high by 13. Nothing is merged into one figure, and each row stays a range published by that business or guide. City labels matter: an Ottawa installer prices Ottawa jobs, so those numbers should not be read as Toronto quotes.
Vinyl plank and laminate: the cost to put flooring on stairs
Three of the sources give a per-step figure for vinyl, and only one of them also names laminate.
| Publisher | Where | What the figure covers | Published range per step | 13 steps at the source's range | HST in the quoted line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexanian | Ontario-wide vinyl cost guide | Stairs line: each step is a custom installation | $30 to $80 | $390 to $1,040 | Not mentioned |
| Solomon Flooring | Ottawa | Vinyl plank stairs, installed, nosing included | $90 to $200 | $1,170 to $2,600 | Before HST |
| Agora Flooring | Ottawa | Vinyl or laminate | $100 to $250 | $1,300 to $3,250 | Not mentioned |
Solomon Flooring's Ottawa page says vinyl plank stairs run $90 to $200 per step installed, nosing included, before HST. That last phrase means the Ontario tax comes on top. In a Canada Revenue Agency example, a store charges 13% HST on the sale because the place of supply is Ontario. Applied to Solomon's range, $90 becomes $101.70 per step and $200 becomes $226.00, so 13 steps move from $1,170 to $2,600 up to $1,322.10 to $2,938.00 with tax.
Laminate has the thinnest evidence of the three floors. Agora Flooring publishes $100 to $250 per step for vinyl or laminate together, which is the only place in this set that names laminate. No source here splits laminate out on its own, and none of these vinyl or laminate figures comes from a Toronto installer.
Hardwood: stairs hardwood flooring cost per step
Hardwood figures describe different jobs, so each job gets its own row.
| Publisher | Where | Job described | Range as published | Same range x 13 steps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agora Flooring | Ottawa | Hardwood | $150 to $300 | $1,950 to $3,900 |
| Toronto Quality Wood | Ontario (provincial baseline) | Tread-only, installed | $80 to $160 | $1,040 to $2,080 |
| Toronto Quality Wood | Ontario (provincial baseline) | Full tread-and-riser replacement | $140 to $250 | $1,820 to $3,250 |
| SmartReno4u | GTA | Refinishing existing hardwood | About $50 to $90 | $650 to $1,170 |
| SmartReno4u | GTA | Recapping worn or carpeted stairs with new oak treads | From around $185 | From $2,405 |
| BBS Flooring | GTA | Refinishing solid hardwood treads | $125 | $1,625 |
| BBS Flooring | GTA | New hardwood recapping, carpet removal included | $185 | $2,405 |
Which row applies depends on what is under the carpet. BBS Flooring says older GTA homes often have solid hardwood treads under the carpet, refinishable at $125/step. It adds that most newer builds have plywood treads, which cannot be refinished and need new hardwood recapping at $185/step, carpet removal included. Agora Flooring publishes about $150 to $300 per step for hardwood in Ottawa. Toronto Quality Wood separates tread-only work from full tread-and-riser replacement, so its page carries two ranges instead of one.
Component prices: what a tread and a riser cost as parts
RenoQuotes, a Canada-wide cost guide, prices parts rather than finished steps: a standard 36-inch hardwood tread at $50 to $110 each and a hardwood riser at $25 to $55 each. Its page notes that component prices generally exclude installation. Thirteen treads come to $650 to $1,430 and thirteen risers to $325 to $715. If each step takes one tread and one riser, the parts add up to $75 to $165 per step, or $975 to $2,145 for the staircase, before anyone installs them.
Why one per-step number hides so much of the bill
Alexanian's Ontario vinyl guide says each step is a custom installation, and the published figures above show how widely the numbers vary. Before you compare two quotes, find out which of these items sit inside each number:
- Tread only, or tread and riser. Toronto Quality Wood prices the two jobs separately, and RenoQuotes lists treads and risers as separate parts. Ask which one your number covers.
- Nosing. Solomon Flooring includes it. The other lines quoted here do not say, so ask whether the nosing pieces and their supply are inside the price.
- Carpet removal. BBS Flooring includes it in its recapping figure. For anyone else, request removal as its own line.
- Refinish or replace. SmartReno4u's refinishing range and its recapping figure describe two different jobs on the same staircase.
- The floor itself. The quoted lines do not spell out whether the flooring material is in the per-step number. Ask for it to be written down.
- The city. Ottawa, GTA and Ontario-wide figures sit side by side in the tables, and they should stay labelled that way.
- Tax. Solomon Flooring and SmartReno4u both state that their pricing is before HST. For the other lines quoted here, ask whether tax is in or out.
To apply any published range to your own stairs, count your steps and multiply both ends of the range by that number. Our guide on how to compare flooring quotes covers how to hold two itemized quotes against each other.
Plank material for a 13-step staircase from our catalogue
An installed price bundles several costs, but the planks can be computed exactly. The scenario below is a reader-chosen example, not a measurement of your stairs: 13 steps, each with a tread of 36 in x 10 in and a riser of 36 in x 7 in. Treat the 5% waste allowance as an input you can change.
- Tread: 36 in x 10 in / 144 = 2.50 sq ft.
- Riser: 36 in x 7 in / 144 = 1.75 sq ft.
- One step: 2.50 + 1.75 = 4.25 sq ft, so 13 steps = 55.25 sq ft.
- With 5% waste: 55.25 x 1.05 = 58.0125 sq ft.
- Boxes = 58.0125 divided by the sq ft per box, rounded up to whole boxes. Material = boxes x box price, and per step = material / 13.
| Floor | Box price | Coverage per box | Price per sq ft | Boxes | Plank material, 13 steps | Per step |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riche Heavy-Duty 8mm SPC vinyl, Nordic Frost | $37.24 | 16.55 sq ft | $2.25 | 4 | $148.96 | $11.46 |
| Riche Blonde Sand Oak 6mm SPC vinyl | $44.68 | 23.64 sq ft | $1.89 | 3 | $134.04 | $10.31 |
| Swiss Krono 10mm Grey Oak laminate | $42.83 | 17.22 sq ft | $2.49 | 4 | $171.32 | $13.18 |
| Villa European Oak engineered hardwood | $83.31 | 19.42 sq ft | $4.29 | 3 | $249.93 | $19.23 |
Prices checked October 31, 2026. Box prices and coverage come from our current catalogue.
Vinyl plank: two SPC examples
The Nordic Frost plank is 8mm thick with a 20mil wear layer. At $37.24 for a box that covers 16.55 sq ft, it works out to $2.25 per sq ft. Four boxes cover 66.20 sq ft, which leaves room above the 58.0125 sq ft needed, and the staircase's planks cost $148.96, or $11.46 per step.
The Blonde Sand Oak plank is 6mm. A box costs $44.68 and covers 23.64 sq ft, which is $1.89 per sq ft. Because each box covers more floor, three boxes already reach 70.92 sq ft. That makes $134.04 in planks for the staircase, or $10.31 per step.
Laminate and engineered hardwood
The Swiss Krono laminate is 10mm thick, and its product title lists an AC5 rating. A $42.83 box covers 17.22 sq ft, or $2.49 per sq ft. It takes four boxes, so the planks come to $171.32 for the staircase and $13.18 per step.
The Villa engineered hardwood is a 19mm European oak plank at $83.31 for 19.42 sq ft, or $4.29 per sq ft. Three boxes cover 58.26 sq ft, only 0.2475 sq ft more than the 58.0125 sq ft required. That is $249.93 for the staircase, or $19.23 per step.
That thin margin shows why the waste input matters. Raise it to 15% and the area becomes 55.25 x 1.15 = 63.5375 sq ft. The Nordic Frost, Blonde Sand Oak and Swiss Krono keep the same box counts, while the Villa needs a fourth box. Four boxes cost $333.24, or $25.63 per step.
What these numbers do and do not include
The figures above are planks only. Nosing is a separate piece. Our Riche Coastal Grey PVC stair nosing costs $35.00 for a 2400 x 110 mm length, the same price as the other Riche nosing colours in our stair nosing collection. On a staircase 36 inches wide, one length gives two step nosings, so 13 steps need 7 lengths: $245.00, or $18.85 per step, before HST. Treads are separate again, and our post on stair nosing for vinyl plank, laminate and hardwood stairs covers matching profiles. Even the largest plank figure, $19.23 per step, sits below $30, the start of the smallest published per-step range in the tables. That is a reminder that the planks are one line inside a per-step price. For where to source matching pieces, see our post on matching stairs and trims, and for stair terms and materials, our stair flooring guide. Confirm with your installer that a specific plank suits stair use before you order.
Questions about stair flooring costs
How much does it cost to put vinyl plank on stairs in Ontario?
It depends on who is quoting and what the number includes. Alexanian's Ontario guide lists $30 to $80 per step, Solomon Flooring in Ottawa lists $90 to $200 with nosing and before HST, and Agora Flooring in Ottawa lists $100 to $250 for vinyl or laminate. All three are other businesses' ranges, so use them to sanity-check a written quote rather than to replace one.
How much does it cost to install laminate on stairs?
Only one source in this set names laminate, and it groups it with vinyl: Agora Flooring's Ottawa range of $100 to $250 per step. Scaled to 13 steps, that range is $1,300 to $3,250. It is Agora's published range scaled up and not a Toronto figure. For the laminate itself, the Swiss Krono example above needs $171.32 in boxes for the same staircase.
What do hardwood stairs cost per step?
The published hardwood lines run from $50 to $90 per step for refinishing existing treads in the GTA, up to $150 to $300 per step in Ottawa. SmartReno4u says recapping with new oak treads in the GTA starts at around $185 per step, and BBS Flooring publishes $185 per step for new hardwood recapping with carpet removal included. Toronto Quality Wood publishes $80 to $160 for tread-only work as an Ontario baseline. What is under your carpet decides which line applies.
How much does stair carpet removal cost?
None of the lines quoted here gives a separate per-step price for pulling up stair carpet. BBS Flooring folds carpet removal into its $185 recapping figure. With any other installer, ask for removal as its own line so two quotes can be compared fairly.
Is HST included in a per-step price?
Solomon Flooring says its range is before HST, and SmartReno4u says its GTA pricing is before 13% HST. Ontario HST is 13% where the place of supply is Ontario, so on those two publishers' figures the tax comes on top. For the other lines quoted here, ask each installer whether the figure is before or after tax.
Get a written stair flooring quote in Toronto and the GTA
Send your step count, photos of the staircase and the floor you are considering through our quote request page, and ask for every line to be itemized so you can set it against the staircase flooring cost per step published above. You can also reach us through our contact page.
Top Floorings Depot
3781 Victoria Park Avenue, Unit 1, Toronto, ON M1W 3K5
www.topfloorings.com
Call: 416-499-0117
Text: 416-770-8819