8 Cheap Flooring Ideas For Your Home

The costs associated with building or renovating a home have increased significantly over the past couple of years due to reduced supply, increased demand, and the general supply chain issues because of the pandemic. As a result, many homeowners may find themselves looking for cheap flooring that still looks great.

There’s a lot to consider when you’re shopping for cheap flooring solutions, including the price, durability, and style longevity. Ideally, you want to find the most affordable option that will withstand wear and tear and will still look timeless when trends have changed in the future.

Keep reading to discover eight cheap flooring ideas for your home.

1. Laminate

Laminate is an affordable option and one of the most popular flooring solutions on the market. The benefit of laminate is that while it comes at a low price point, it can imitate and replace some of the most expensive flooring options like stone or hardwood flooring.

You’ll have plenty of options when it comes to laminate flooring. While you can hire a professional to install it, you can also easily install it yourself. And as long as it’s installed correctly, you can expect your laminate flooring to last 15 – 25 years.

According to Home Depot, the average total project cost of installing laminate flooring is $3.80 – $4.80 per square foot when you account for installation costs, materials and underlayment.

Pros of Laminate

• Easily snaps together, meaning you can install it yourself
• A more affordable alternative to expensive hardwood or stone
• Requires limited maintenance

Cons of Laminate

• Susceptible to moisture damage
• Can’t be refinished like real wood
• Can have a different look and feel than real wood

2. Vinyl

Vinyl is another popular flooring option that comes in a wide variety of styles. Like laminate, vinyl is far more affordable than options like hardwood and stone. And yet, it can come in nearly any style and imitate your favorite more expensive flooring styles. It can be designed to look like wood, marble, or stone, come in attractive patterns, and more. It can also be used in every room of the house.

According to Home Depot, the average total project cost of installing vinyl flooring can be $2 – $6 per square foot depending on the type of vinyl you’re working with.

Sheet Vinyl

Sheet vinyl is the more affordable of the vinyl flooring options. It typically ranges from $1 – $2 per square foot for materials and another $1 – $2 per square foot for labor. This type of flooring is waterproof and durable, making it well-suited to high-traffic rooms. It comes in a large roll to cover your entire space.

Plank Vinyl

Plank vinyl comes in a style more similar to laminate flooring, where there are individual planks to lay down. It’s more valuable than sheet flooring, and also more expensive. It costs $2 – $3 for the materials and an additional $2 – $3 for labor. Like sheet vinyl, it’s also waterproof and durable.

Pros of Vinyl

• Many options to choose from
• Waterproof and durable, making it great for high-traffic rooms
• Easy to install and maintain

Cons of Vinyl

• Often more expensive than laminate
• Difficult to remove or replace damaged planks
• Not as valuable as wood flooring

3. Linoleum

Linoleum is a type of resilient flooring that comes in large sheets or tiles designed to cover entire rooms, especially in high-traffic areas. It’s similar in both appearance and price point to sheet vinyl but has the benefit of being more environmentally friendly. It’s easy to maintain but may require professional installation.

Linoleum flooring generally costs $.91 – $3.63 per square foot when you account for materials, labor, and the type and finish of the linoleum you choose.

Pros of Linoleum

• Easy to maintain
• Recyclable and made of renewable materials
• Resilient and good for high-traffic rooms

Cons of Linoleum

• May require professional installation
• Not waterproof
• May require resealing or refinishing every 5 years

4. Cork

Cork flooring is made from the bark of cork oak trees. Cork has become an increasingly popular flooring option because it's sustainable and renewable. Not only that, but it’s biodegradable, meaning it won’t be harmful to the environment when you remove it from your home.

Cork flooring ranges widely in price, making it difficult to say how much it will cost. Costs can range from $5 – $14 per square foot when you account for the materials and labor. The price you’ll pay depends on the quality and appearance of the cork you choose.

Pros of Cork

• Renewable, recyclable, and hypoallergenic
• Easy to install and maintain
• Highly durable with low maintenance costs

Cons of Cork

• More expensive than many cheap flooring options
• Susceptible to damage from divots, pets, water and sunlight
• Fewer style options than other cheap flooring options

5. Carpet

While many homeowners have moved away from carpeting in recent decades (especially in living areas) it’s still one of the most popular flooring options. And luckily, it can be highly affordable.

As you’d expect, carpeting generally comes in a roll designed to cover an entire room. Some of the common materials include natural fibers, polyester, olefin, nylon and more. Polyester and olefin tend to be the most affordable options, costing around $2 per square foot. Nylon is slightly more expensive, at $3.50 per square foot. Natural fibers like wool will have the highest price tag, costing roughly $7.50 per square foot.

In most cases, you’ll want to hire a professional to install your carpeting. Some companies offer this service for free when you purchase their carpet, while others charge anywhere from $.99 – $6 per square foot.

Pros of Carpet

• Can be inexpensive, depending on the type you choose
• Soft and adds warmth to your home
• Provides sound insulation

Cons of Carpet

• Can be high maintenance
• Traps allergens and moisture
• Captures odors

6. Tile

Tile is another cheap flooring option known for its durability and a wide variety of designs. The most common types of flooring are ceramic and porcelain. Both of these options are excellent choices for high-traffic rooms because they’re durable and hold up to wear and tear well. Because of this, they’re often used in bathrooms and kitchens, since flooring in those rooms gets dirty most quickly.

Tile comes at a higher price point than some of the other cheap flooring options on our list. You can expect to pay $15 –$20 per square foot when you account for both materials and installation. The cost will largely depend on their class – the higher the class, the more resilient and durable the flooring.

Pros of Tile

• Easy to maintain
• Water-resistant and durable
• Comes in many different options

Cons of Tile

• More expensive than other cheap flooring options
• Cold and hard underfoot
• Can be difficult to install

7. Concrete

Concrete is one of the most resilient types of flooring on the market. It’s hard and strong, which it’s why it’s frequently used for basements, garages, driveways and more. Concrete can also be used as a flooring solution for your home. It’s surprisingly flexible — it can be stained nearly any color and refinished in a variety of different ways to match your preferred style.

Concrete flooring is also surprisingly affordable. Polished concrete flooring can cost $3 – $8 for most homeowners, though high-end options are available for far higher price points. For a single color and stain polish, you can expect to pay just a few dollars per square foot.

Pros of Concrete

• Solid and durable
• Easy to maintain and clean
• Many color and finishing options

Cons of Concrete

• Can be hard and cold underfoot
• Susceptible to cracking
• Moisture can accumulate if not properly sealed

8. Refinish Existing Floors

Installing cheap flooring in your home is easy on the budget. But another budget-friendly option could be refinishing the flooring already in your home. Several types of flooring can be refinished to look new again.

Refinishing your existing flooring is a particularly attractive option if you have hardwood flooring in your home. While you can hire professionals to refinish it for you, it’s also something you can do yourself with a bit of effort.

To start the refinishing process, you’ll either buff or sand your existing flooring. Once you’ve done that, you can apply staining in the color of your choice. Keep in mind, however, that hardwood flooring can only be sanded down so many times. If your hardwood floors have already been refinished a handful of times, you’ll want to check the thickness to ensure they can withstand another finishing.

While hardwood floors are the ones most commonly refinished, you may also be able to refinish or refurbish your ceramic tile or stone floors, returning them to their original state and helping them to look like new again.

While refinishing old flooring can be somewhat expensive, especially depending on the type of flooring you have, it’s often cheaper than replacing your flooring altogether, even with one of the cheap flooring options mentioned above.

The Bottom Line: Which Cheap Flooring Option Is Best For You?

There are plenty of costs associated with homeownership, and you can save money by switching to a more affordable option. There are plenty of cheap flooring options available to homeowners, and the good news is that a cheap price point doesn’t have to mean it’s cheap-looking.

Home improvement projects like switching out your flooring can help to increase your home’s value. To learn more, visit our guide about other home improvement projects that can increase your home’s value.