Decision guide
Repair or replace a leaking water heater?
Two questions settle it: where is it leaking, and how old is the heater? Location decides whether the leak is even repairable; age decides whether repairing is worth it.
Let the tool decide for you Answer three questions and get a repair-or-replace verdict with cost ranges.Step 1 — is the leak repairable?
Most leaks are a fixable part. The exception is the tank itself: water seeping from the bottom of the tank body means the steel has corroded through, and a leaking tank cannot be repaired. Everything else — the drain valve, a top connection, the relief valve — starts as a repair.
| Where it's leaking | Starting point |
|---|---|
| Tank body / bottom (tank corroded through) | Replace — always |
| Drain valve | Repair (replace if past service life) |
| Top / supply connection | Repair (replace if past service life) |
| T&P relief valve | Repair the valve + fix the cause |
Step 2 — is it worth repairing?
If the leak is repairable, age is the tie-breaker. A conventional storage tank lasts about 8–12 years; a tankless unit often reaches 20.
- Under ~8 years: repair it — the unit has plenty of life left.
- ~8–12 years: weigh the repair cost against a replacement you'll likely need within a few years anyway.
- Past ~12 years: put the money toward a new unit rather than repairing a heater near the end of its life.
That's exactly the logic the triage tool runs. See typical numbers on the replacement cost page.
Repair-or-replace questions
Should I repair or replace a leaking water heater?
It comes down to where it's leaking and how old it is. A leaking connection, drain valve, or relief valve on a heater under about 8 years old is usually worth repairing. Past roughly 8–12 years a storage tank is near the end of its service life, so a repair competes with a replacement you'll need soon anyway. A tank leaking from its body is a replacement regardless of age. The triage tool weighs your leak location against the unit's age to give you a specific repair-or-replace call.
How long does a water heater last?
A conventional storage-tank water heater lasts about 8–12 years; a tankless unit often lasts around 20 years with maintenance. Once a tank is past about 12 years, spending money on a repair usually isn't worth it — the tank is likely to fail soon anyway. If you don't know the age, look for the manufacture date encoded in the serial number on the unit's label.
Can a water heater leaking from the bottom be repaired?
If the leak is the drain valve or a connection, yes — those are cheap fixes, roughly $150–$400 with a plumber depending on which fitting it turns out to be. But if the tank body has rusted through, no: a leaking tank cannot be repaired and needs to be replaced. Installed replacement typically runs about $700–$1,800 for an electric tank and $1,000–$3,000 for a gas tank, depending on your region, the brand, and the installation.
How much does it cost to replace a water heater?
Installed replacement in 2026 typically runs about $700–$1,800 for an electric tank, $1,000–$3,000 for a gas tank, and $1,200–$4,500 for a tankless unit — electric at the low end of that range, gas at the high end — with labor making up roughly 30–50% of the total. A straightforward same-location swap is at the low end; relocating the unit, upsizing gas or venting, or bringing old connections up to code pushes it higher. These are typical ranges, not quotes — get two or three local estimates.
How long does it take to replace a water heater?
A like-for-like tank swap is usually about 2–4 hours once the plumber is on site: pulling and draining the old unit, setting the new one, and remaking the connections. It runs longer if the old connections, venting, or drain pan have to be brought up to code, if the heater moves to a different spot, or if you switch to tankless, which adds gas or electrical work. Where a permit is required, the inspection is normally a separate short visit a day or two afterwards. Labor is roughly 30–50% of the installed cost.
Is a leaking water heater covered by homeowners insurance?
It depends on your policy and on how the leak happened, so check with your insurer rather than assume. The general pattern in standard US homeowner policies is that sudden, accidental water damage — a tank that lets go and floods a room — is usually covered for the damage to floors, walls, and belongings, while the water heater itself is typically excluded, and a slow leak that has been seeping for weeks or a failure blamed on age and wear is commonly denied. Photograph the damage and the unit before anything is removed. If the tank is still inside its 6–12-year manufacturer warranty, ask about that separately — it may cover a replacement tank even though it won't cover the labor. This is general information, not insurance advice.