Vinyl Lettering Cost: What Cut Letters Really Run

The honest 2026 number: about $10 per square foot of cut lettering, with shop minimums around $25. Most real-world orders — a door, a window, a boat transom — land between $25 and $150. The price driver is simple: how tall are the letters, and how long is the text?

Real-world examples

Job	Typical 2026 price
Business name + hours on a glass door (3–4" letters)	$30 – $60
Boat name on a transom (8–10" letters)	$40 – $90
Storefront window, name + tagline (6–12" letters)	$75 – $200
Office wall logo & lettering	$100 – $300
Registration numbers (pair)	$25 – $45

The height rule of thumb: letters need about 1 inch of height per 10 feet of viewing distance. Reading from across a parking lot (~50 ft)? You want 5"+ letters. From a passing car, 8–12". From the sidewalk, 3" does fine. Size for the reader, not the wall.

Why lettering beats a printed sign for words

• No background — cut letters float on glass and walls; printed signs carry a box around everything.
• Outdoor life — quality cut vinyl runs 10+ years in full sun; budget prints fade in two.
• Price — you pay for the letters, not the empty space between them.

Send it for quotes

Stop estimating — type your actual words into the designer and see the true size as you style it — then send it to shops for quotes. Applying it yourself? The application guide makes you look like a pro.