Pads, rotors, calipers — per axle, front and rear, at your shop's rate
| Job | Front Axle | Rear Axle | Parts | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pads only | $200 – $388 | $220 – $441 | $70–$180 / $90–$220 | 1.0–1.6 / 1.0–1.7 |
| Pads + rotors | $445 – $825 | $501 – $901 | $250–$500 / $280–$550 | 1.5–2.5 / 1.7–2.7 |
| Pads + rotors + 1 caliper | $639 – $1,261 | $695 – $1,337 | + $90–$280 | + 0.8–1.2 |
| Pads + rotors + 2 calipers | $807 – $1,535 | $863 – $1,611 | + $180–$450 | + 1.4–2.0 |
| Both axles, pads + rotors | $946 – $1,726 total | $530–$1,050 | 3.2–5.2 | |
Calibration: RepairPal's national averages — $331-$390 for pad replacement, $572-$695 for rotors — and AAA's $150-$350 per axle for basic work all fall inside these bands. Cars with electronic parking brakes can add $50-$150 for a recalibration step the table doesn't include.
Brake pricing is the same arithmetic every repair uses — parts plus flat-rate hours times the shop rate — but the parts menu multiplies fast: which axle, pads alone or pads with rotors, whether a caliper has seized, and what quality of pad you're buying. This calculator prices those combinations per axle so you can check a quote line by line.
Job total = parts + (flat-rate hours × rate). Front pads run $70-$180 in parts and 1.0-1.6 hours; front pads with rotors, $250-$500 and 1.5-2.5 hours. Rears carry slightly more parts ($280-$550 for pads and rotors) and time (1.7-2.7 hours) because parking-brake hardware lives back there. A seized caliper adds $90-$280 in parts plus 0.8-1.2 hours for one, $180-$450 plus 1.4-2.0 for a pair. Parts quality scales the parts side only: economy at 85%, premium ceramic at 140%. Both axles is simply front plus rear.
Match the calculator to the quote you're checking. If the shop says "pads and rotors, front axle, one caliper," pick exactly that. The resurfacing line shows the alternative when your rotors are still above their stamped minimum thickness: machining them at $10-$40 per rotor plus 0.3 hour instead of replacing. If you drive something with an electronic parking brake or a German badge, mentally add the recalibration or a Euro-parts premium.
The most common quote: pads and rotors on both axles of a mainstream sedan, standard parts, at $130 an hour. Front: $250-$500 in parts plus 1.5-2.5 hours ($195-$325) = $445-$825. Rear: $280-$550 plus 1.7-2.7 hours ($221-$351) = $501-$901. Together: $946-$1,726 across 3.2-5.2 flat-rate hours.
Cheaper and pricier variants fall out of the same math. Front pads alone: $200-$388 — which is why a pads-only quote near $600 deserves a second opinion. A front pads-and-rotors job with one seized caliper: $639-$1,261. And the shop-type lever: the same front pads-and-rotors job bills $423-$788 at an independent's $115/hr versus $483-$888 at a dealer's $155/hr.
When rotors are healthy and just need machining, the resurface route on both front rotors costs about $20-$80 in machining plus the 1.5-2.5 hours of pad labor — meaningful savings against $250-$500 in rotor parts, though shops increasingly skip it because rotor replacement has gotten cheap and machining quality varies.
Front pads alone run $200 to $388 installed at a $130/hr shop rate; pads plus rotors run $445 to $825 on the front axle and $501 to $901 on the rear. Doing pads and rotors on both axles lands between $946 and $1,726. Published averages bracket these: RepairPal puts pad replacement at $331-$390 and rotor replacement at $572-$695, while AAA pegs basic brake work at $150-$350 per axle.
A single caliper adds $90 to $280 in parts and 0.8 to 1.2 hours of labor, so on top of a front pads-and-rotors job ($445-$825) you're at $639 to $1,261. Replacing both front calipers with pads and rotors runs $807 to $1,535. Calipers are usually replaced one at a time — only when a piston seizes or a bore leaks — not as routine maintenance.
Not automatically. Rotors have a minimum stamped thickness, and if yours are above it with no scoring, heat cracks, or pulsation, you can put new pads on them or have them resurfaced for about $10 to $40 per rotor. But if they're at or near the discard spec — common by the second pad change — pads plus rotors is the honest quote, and mixing new pads with worn rotors shortens both.
Rear pads do less braking work so they're not pricier, but rear rotors often hide an electronic parking brake mechanism or a drum-in-hat design, which adds hardware cost ($280-$550 in parts versus $250-$500 up front) and 0.2 hours of labor. On cars with electronic parking brakes, a recalibration step can add $50-$150 at the dealer.
On a front pads-and-rotors job (1.5 to 2.5 flat-rate hours), an independent at $115/hr charges $423-$788 against $483-$888 at a dealer's $155/hr — roughly 12% less. Brakes are commodity work with book hours any competent shop knows, which is why they're a classic dealer-to-independent switch.
Roughly 30,000 to 70,000 miles, with the spread driven by driving style and pad compound. City stop-and-go eats pads twice as fast as highway miles; ceramic pads on a gentle driver can stretch past 70,000. Front pads wear two to three times faster than rears because fronts do most of the braking. Squealing, grinding, or a low pedal means don't wait for the mileage number.