There’s a wide range in cost for a soundproofing project that will depend on your goals and where you’re starting from. As a general rule, if you are preparing to soundproof a room in your home, top priority is to soundproof weak points such as windows and doors with the second order priority being all 4 walls, the ceiling, and the floor.

For airborne noises inside the house getting into a room, soundproofing your door is far and away the key! Without a solid and sealed door, you’ll still be able to hear your roommate talking to his girlfriend late at night or your kids running around causing havoc while you attempt to work.

In this article, we will discuss the cost of soundproofing a door, and go over the different types of doors you commonly find. After that, when you're ready to take the next step, read our article for all the door soundproofing solutions. Let's get into it!

Different Types of Doors

We’re going to be very broad when we categorize the different types of doors you may come across, because from a soundproof perspective there are only a few things you care about. The first thing that matters is how heavy the door is, and the second is how well sealed it is. You have several variations to consider, but the soundproofing basically boils down to those two factors.

Hollow Core Door

Hollow core doors are the cheapest option on the market and really common in residential homes. As the name suggests, they have a completely hollow interior so they are super light. This makes them very cost-effective, but not very efficient at blocking sound. If you have a hollow door, you’ll want to do something about it or your room isn’t going to be very soundproof at all.

How to Soundproof a Hollow Core Door

You can't soundproof a hollow core door. You have to start by replacing it with a solid core one. There are ways to reduce sound in your hollow core door by a few decibels, such as sealing up the air gaps around the door with a bottom door seal. If you just want a very small reduction, you can get a cheap one on Amazon. The sound reduction will be somewhere from not noticeable to barely noticeable. But the only way to really make a big difference is to replace the hollow door entirely with a solid core door.

We would NOT recommend one of our Door Seal Kits for a hollow core door, because the door itself will still be letting significant sound through.

Cost of Soundproofing a Hollow Core Door

A Sound Lock Door Seal Kit costs $450, which honestly is overkill to use on a hollow core door. We have more cost effective doors sealing kits like our Sound Lock Gasket Seal Kit which costs $300 and contains a bottom door seal and a gasket seal tape.

Your best bet is to replace the hollow core door with a solid core door. Replacing your door can be anywhere from $150 to $1000 depending on the material the door is made of. Add the door seal kit and you’re anywhere from $600 to $1450 for a solid core door with a soundproofing door seal kit.

SOLID Core Door

A solid core door has a solid interior, usually either made of composite materials, wood, or a combination of the two. Solid core doors weigh about 55 lbs on average (much heavier than any hollow core door). With this extra density comes a better ability to block sound. When deciding between solid core doors, you will want to check the weight of the door. Even if the door is labeled as “solid core”, if it weighs 30 lbs or less – you want a different door for soundproofing.

How to Soundproof a Solid Core Door

A solid core door should be sealed at the perimeter to soundproof it. Our Sound Lock Seal Kit is adjustable to fit any door and will seal the gaps around the perimeter and at the bottom without impeding the swing of the door. It also has a drop down bottom seal that closes off the bottom gap of the door when closed.

Cost of Soundproofing a Solid Core Door

Our Sound Lock Seal Kit can be added to your solid core door for $449. This seal kit can improve the STC rating of your door immensely. Depending on the density of your door, you can expect it to be between 38 to 51 STC.

SOLID WOODEN Door

Solid wooden doors have a completely solid wood interior without any air hollow spaces. They are heavy and great at blocking sound compared to hollow core doors. Solid wooden doors weigh around 65 lbs on average, so they tend to be heavier and more expensive than other solid core doors. Again, for soundproofing… the heavier the better.

How to Soundproof a Solid Wooden Door

Soundproofing a solid wooden door is essentially the same process as with a solid core door. You want to seal off the gaps around the perimeter of the door. Install our $449 Sound Lock Door Seal Kit for awesome results.

Studio grade sOundproof Door

Getting an STC 50 door (or more) is the best performance you can expect from a soundproof door. We build a beautiful interior wood door, which is extremely effective at blocking noise (STC 56). Depending on the size, it can weigh a over 350 lbs and has some serious soundproofing abilities. You can expect an STC rating of up to 56 with this soundproof door, and it comes pre-hung for a simple install.

The Sound Lock Soundproof Door costs between $3,895 to $5,000 depending on the wood species. It’s used in soundproof home studios, music rooms, offices, military bases, and anywhere else with rated STC requirements. It’s the gold standard for soundproof doors. You can’t get any better than this!

Avoid Hollow Core Doors For the Sake of Soundproofing

We mentioned this earlier, but it bears repeating. Hollow core doors are bad for soundproofing! They simply should not be used in a room if you want to reduce noise traveling into or out of it. You either are going to have to Frankenstein together a door that doesn’t work all that well, or you need to replace it with a solid core door. Don’t build Frankenstein’s monster! Replace your hollow core door with a more effective solid core door or soundproof door.

Avoid Door sweeps For Soundproofing

Those cheap door sweeps should be avoided like the plague when trying to soundproof a door! They aren't dense enough nor create positive pressure against the floor, both of which are crucial for door soundproofing. Watch this video that goes into more detail on the different door seal kits, their use cases, and benefits: