How much does an elevator cost for a 2,3,4,5-story building?

What is an elevator? It is used for transfer people from the ground floor or basement floor to the upper floor. It is convenient and time-saving than climbing stairs, so it gets more and more popular in personal house. So how much does an elevator cost for a 2-story building? Let me explain to you.

First of all, we should know that there are two main models of elevators-hydraulic elevator and traction elevator. The specifications and price difference are many, but both of them are customized products, and are used for people.

Hydraulic elevator and its cost

Hydraulic elevator is a customized product according to your building size. It is mainly made up of cabin part, cylinder part and T-rail part. The smallest size we need is 1000x700mm or 3.3x2.3ft. And the biggest size is 1500x1500mm or 4.9x4.9ft. If you have a much bigger size, we can add extra assist guide rail to make a bigger hydraulic elevator. Usually, the standard cabin size is 1200x1000mm or 3.9x3.3ft, and this will need about 1400x1450mm or 4.6x4.75ft space size for installation. We will provide you professional installation guide and video, so you don’t need to worry about how to install our hydraulic elevator at all. As for the electricity part, we have our own proprietary technology control cabinet. It is all English and number display, and it is plug-in type. You will find how easy to connect the wires of our hydraulic elevator.

This model has a cheaper price and easy installation steps, but its speed is a little slower than traction elevator, the speed is 0.3m/s. This model doesn’t require too much for the installation environment, it doesn’t need a machine room or a pit, it only requires at least 1.8m overhead height, and the best is 2.6m. Our hydraulic elevator can be installed indoors, outdoors, near to a wall or in the middle of stairs. We can customize it according to the space size you have, and we can also provide a glass elevator shaft to protect the elevator and people well. Our glass shaft is made of high strength aluminium alloy and tempered glass. The cabin can be made of stainless steel or tempered glass, we have different designs for the cabin, and all the standard designs are free, you will find your favorite one. There is light curtain on the cabin door, if any part of your body is out of cabin during elevator moving, the elevator will stop immediately to protect you. The main structure is made of hot galvanizing steels, which more durable and not easy to get rusty than normal steels.

The standard landing door is manual swing door, it can’t open while the elevator is moving, or the elevator can’t move if the door is not closed well. We also have other landing door options, like automatic swing door, automatic middle opening door and automatic sliding door. But of course, the price is different, like automatic swing door is about USD 600 - USD 800, automatic sliding door is about USD 1,500 - USD 2,000.

Traction elevator and its cost

Traction elevator is also a customized product, the biggest difference from hydraulic elevator is traction model needs higher overhead height for the traction motor and a pit for the buffer. The traction elevator is mainly made up of traction motor, control cabinet, door system, cabin part, and counter weight. The smallest we can make a traction elevator is 1200x1200mm or 3.9x3.9ft. And the biggest size is 1650x1570mm or 5.4x5.1ft. This is the standard for personal home elevator, if you want bigger size or commercial use elevator, please contact us to discuss about the details.

The traction elevator must need a shaft as a support. If you have your own shaft, we can customize our traction elevator to fit in your shaft size. If you doesn’t have a shaft and want to order from us, the cost of steel shaft is about USD 150 - USD 230 per meter, and the cost of aluminium alloy shaft is USD 300 - USD 380 per meter.

The standard landing door is automatic middle opening door or automatic side opening door. We can also make manual opening door if you want or the installation space size is too small. The speed of traction elevator is 0.4m/s, it is a little faster than hydraulic elevator. And because of this speed, traction elevator needs a buffer in the pit as a safety device.

So, how much does an traction elevator cost for a 2,3,4,5-story building?

For a 2-story building

A two-story traction elevator is the simplest and cheapest setup. Most of the cost comes from the cabin, traction machine, and basic rail height. Because the travel distance is short, materials and labor remain minimal.

The price of a traction elevator cost is about USD 8,000 - USD 15,000. Market Cost: $12,000 – $18,000

For a 3-story building

Adding the third floor requires:
• Longer rails
• Extra wiring
• One more landing door
• More time to assemble

The price of a traction elevator cost is about USD 8,500 - USD 16,000.Market Cost:$15,000 – $23,000

For a 4-story building

The fourth floor adds another landing door, more shaft height, electrical runs, and tuning time. By this point, the cabin materials and traction machine may need to be slightly upgraded depending on load.

The price of a traction elevator cost is about USD 9,000 - USD 17,000.Market Cost:$18,000 – $28,000

For a 5-story building

Four stops require:
• Highest rail length
• More complex wiring
• Additional safety circuits
• More alignment labor
• Sometimes a larger motor depending on lift weight

This is the point where elevators shift from simple home models to semi-commercial configurations.

The price of a traction elevator cost is about USD 10,000 - USD 18,000.Market Cost:$22,000 – $34,000

Cost of a Hydraulic Elevator for 2, 3, 4, and 5 Floors

Hydraulic elevators generally fall into a predictable price pattern. More floors mean taller rails, a longer piston or telescopic cylinder, more wiring, safety circuits, and slightly more labor time.

The figures below reflect complete system + installation (typical global pricing). Factory-direct Chinese sourcing usually hits the lower end of these ranges, while European/US brands push toward the top.

2-Story Hydraulic Elevator (Ground + 1 Floor)

The hydraulic elevator cost is about USD 4,000 - USD 10,000 ,Market Cost: USD $13,000 – $20,000

Why it’s cheaper:

Shortest travel height
Single-section piston
Minimal site work
Often no need for complex pit or overhead

Ideal for villas, home retrofits, and small commercial spaces.

3-Story Hydraulic Elevator

The hydraulic elevator cost is about USD 5,000 - USD 12,000 Market Cost: USD $16,000 – $25,000

What adds cost:

Longer rails
Taller frame structure
More wiring and safety lines
Higher-capacity pump station

This height generally requires a telescopic piston to achieve smooth travel without a deep pit.

4-Story Hydraulic Elevator

The hydraulic elevator cost is about USD 6,000 - USD 13,000. Market Cost: USD $20,000 – $32,000

Changes here:

Third-level telescopic hydraulic cylinder
Stronger guide-rail support
Extra landing doors and door locks
More powerful control valve system

At this point, the elevator needs very stable structural support because hydraulic systems accumulate pressure with height.

5-Story Hydraulic Elevator

The hydraulic elevator cost is about USD 8,000 - USD 15,000. Market Cost: USD $24,000 – $38,000

This is the upper practical limit for most hydraulic designs.
More complexity means:

High-pressure multi-stage cylinder
Stronger beam reinforcement
Larger oil tank and pump power
Additional cooling methods if the lift runs frequently

Some suppliers shift customers to traction elevators at this height because of smoother long-distance travel, but modern telescopic hydraulic cylinders can still manage it.

Optional Costs That Influence the Final Price

These aren’t mandatory, but they’ll nudge the total upward depending on your requirements:

• Glass shaft or panoramic cabin: +$1,500 – $10,000
• Automatic sliding doors instead of manual swing doors: +$2,000 – $6,000
• Premium cabin materials (stainless steel, mirror paneling, LED ceiling): +$800 – $3,000
• Deep pit construction or overhead reinforcement: varies widely
• Local installation labor differences

Hydraulic systems are mechanically simple, but construction work around them often isn’t.

As a professional elevator manufacturer, we TUHE company always do our best to meet customers different requirements. You will find the best plan from us for a 2-story building, whether it is a personal house or a commercial offer building. Also, the power voltage customization is acceptable, no matter it is 110V, 220V, 380V, 415V or whatever it is in your country, we will make our hydraulic elevator to adapt to your local power source with any extra cost. The production time is about 25 days, if you need it in a rush, we can expedite the production for you. With a international standard packing box and waterproof membrane, the elevator parts will be protected well.