How Much Does It Cost to Wrap a Truck? Pro and DIY Prices Detailed

Short Answer

Vinyl wrapping your truck provides an alternative to new paint that is typically cheaper and comes with far more design choices. To get a professional job, you’ll likely pay between $1,000 to $3,000 for a partial wrap or $2,500 to $6,000 for a full wrap. To do the job yourself, you can expect to pay anywhere from $500 to $3,000 just for the vinyl, plus the cost of any tools you don’t already own. If you just want a small decal, you will likely only pay around $200 to $600. For more about the cost and benefits of a vinyl wrap, as well as information about how to wrap a truck yourself, see below.

Table of Contents

Why Get a Vinyl Wrap?

A vinyl wrap is essentially a giant, removable sticker made of highly formable vinyl that can fit the shape of a vehicle. Wraps can cover your entire vehicle, part of the vehicle, or they can just be decals. Custom designs can be digitally printed on the vinyl, making a custom style cheaper than a custom paint job. You can even apply a decal advertising for a company and turn your vehicle into a mobile billboard (as previously reported).

Beyond being an easy and relatively inexpensive way to change the color of your truck, a wrap also won’t damage your paint and you can remove it later, making it a good choice if you want to change the truck’s design or if you don’t want to decrease its resale value. You can choose specific parts to wrap, and since there is much less prep work needed than a paint job, you can usually have the truck back on the road within a few days. Additionally, vinyl wraps are durable — they can last for around four to 10 years — and they can protect your paint from minor blemishes and UV rays.^[1]

Note, however, that vinyl wraps are not made for protection; for more protective options, you may want to check out our article about clear paint protection film.

One of the best things about vinyl is that you can print virtually any design onto it. Vinyl wraps come in many colors, and custom colors are easy to make on a computer. Custom designs cost more than solid colors, but they’re still much cheaper than a custom paint job. There are many different vinyl finishes available, including matte, gloss, chrome, gold, glow-in-the-dark, carbon fiber, and brushed steel. You can wrap just your door mirrors, hood, roof, or any other select area to inexpensively transform the look of your truck.

Cost of a Professional Vinyl Truck Wrap

The most important thing to know about vinyl wrapping any type of vehicle is that prices will vary considerably. Factors like the make and model of the vehicle, the individual or business installing the wrap, the finish of the vinyl, the design of the vinyl, and whether you are getting a full or partial wrap will affect the total cost of the job. On average, you can expect to pay the following for a vinyl wrap on a truck:

Full wrap: Between $2,500 and $6,000, including professional installation^[2]^[3]
Partial wrap: Between $1,000 and $3,000, including professional installation^[4]^[5]

The Size of the Truck

One of the biggest factors affecting the cost of vinyl wrapping is the size of your truck. Most vinyl wrap installation specialty shops charge by the vehicle’s square footage. In other words, a larger truck will cost more to wrap than a smaller one because there is more space to cover. Additionally, on top of the additional vinyl needed, a larger truck will require more labor, which will increase the price.

Full Wrap vs. Partial Wrap vs. Decal

A full wrap will cost more than a partial wrap. Typically, partial wraps cover 25% to 75% of a vehicle, so you can expect a partial wrap to cost that much less than a full wrap.

A vinyl graphic or decal is even less costly than a partial wrap — typically around $200 to $600, depending on the size and complexity of the design.^[6] Vinyl graphics can also make effective advertisements for your business, and just like full or partial wraps, you can customize them with any logos or designs you want to be printed onto the vinyl.

The Complexity of the Design

Solid color vinyl wraps cost much less than multicolor designs. Things like logos, stripes, and images will increase the cost of the wrap because they require an extra layer of laminate to protect the ink, and applying them is much trickier than applying a solid color.

Some vinyl wrap shops have in-house designers, while others may outsource the process, which can also affect the price. You may save yourself some money by providing the shop with your own custom image, print, or logo.

The Installer You Choose

If you want to make sure your vinyl properly installed, you’ll need to seek out a reputable car wrapping specialist. When choosing a place to install your vinyl, be sure to ask about what brands of vinyl the business uses. You’ll want to select a business that uses the top-rated brands, such as 3M, Avery Dennison, Oracal, or Arlon.^[7]

Make sure that the vinyl being used is manufactured specifically for vehicles, and if possible, choose a car wrapping business with a solid reputation in the industry for quality work. You can search for customer reviews and online reports to find out more about the company’s reputation.

Finding an Installer

You can find a certified 3M installer on the 3M website. Avery Dennison also provides a directory of certified installers. You can even find a directory of vinyl wrap installers across the U.S. through the Wrap Society Network. One popular installer is Gatorwraps, which uses 3M and Avery vinyl and will wrap any type of vehicle (including trucks) in all 50 states.

Cost of Wrapping a Truck Yourself

If you want to wrap your truck on your own, you can expect to pay between $500 and $3,000 just for the cost of the vinyl. You will also want to factor in the cost of the necessary application tools, extra tools like trim removal tools, and potentially extra vinyl to account for mistakes. Per the breakdown below, in total, you can expect to pay between $700 and $3,200.

Cost of Vinyl

When choosing solid-colored vinyl, there are a couple of different types of finish available. The most common types are carbon fiber, chrome, gloss, and matte. The prices for vinyl vary depending on the finish and the manufacturer. To ensure that your vinyl wrap is of good quality, it’s important to choose a reputable company. The best vehicle-grade vinyl on the market usually comes from 3M, Avery Dennison, Oracal, or Arlon.

The final price will depend on the size of your truck; most are around 300 to 450 square feet. If you plan to apply the wrap yourself, be sure to check the size of your truck to calculate how much vinyl you’ll need before you place your order. Rvinyl lists the amount of vinyl needed to wrap some of the most common truck models. You can also check this vehicle square footage chart offered by We Print Wraps.

We’ve gathered approximate prices for vinyl brands available on Amazon and listed the price per square foot — this is typically how a professional installer will calculate the price. We used prices for black vinyl wrap as a baseline unless black wasn’t available, in which case we chose the closest neutral color. Note that prices are different for different colors, and the prices below do not include shipping costs:

Carbon Fiber Finish

3M Carbon Fiber Vinyl Wrap Black: $7 per square foot
- Cost for a small two-door truck: $2,285
- Cost for a large four-door truck: $3,145
Avery Carbon Fiber Vinyl Wrap Black: $4 per square foot
- Cost for a small two-door truck: $1,308
- Cost for a large four-door truck: $1,800
VViViD XPO Black Carbon Fiber Vinyl Wrap: $3 per square foot
- Cost for a small two-door truck: $978
- Cost for a large four-door truck: $1,345

Chrome Finish

Avery Chrome Vinyl Wrap Silver: $8.50 per square foot
- Cost for a small two-door truck: $2,780
- Cost for a large four-door truck: $3,825

Gloss Finish

3M Gloss Vinyl Wrap Black: $2.60 per square foot
- Cost for a small two-door truck: $850
- Cost for a large four-door truck: $1,170
Avery Gloss Vinyl Wrap Black: $2.60 per square foot
- Cost for a small two-door truck: $850
- Cost for a large four-door truck: $1,170
Oracal Gloss Vinyl Wrap Black: $1.60 per square foot
- Cost for a small two-door truck: $523
- Cost for a large four-door truck: $720

Matte Finish

3M Matte Black Vinyl Wrap: $2.60 per square foot
- Cost for a small two-door truck: $850
- Cost for a large four-door truck: $1,170
Avery Matte Black Vinyl Wrap: $2.30 per square foot
- Cost for a small two-door truck: $752
- Cost for a large four-door truck: $1,035
Oracal Matte Black Vinyl Wrap:$1.70 per square foot
- Cost for a small two-door truck: $555
- Cost for a large four-door truck: $765
VViViD Matte Silver Vinyl Wrap: $3.20 per square foot
- Cost for a small two-door truck: $1,046
- Cost for a large four-door truck: $1,440