"How much does it cost?" is the first question we get, and it deserves a straight answer. The honest one is that a network is priced like a renovation, not like a product off a shelf: the same square footage can cost very different amounts depending on the building, the goals and how much of it needs wiring. So instead of a price list that would be wrong for most people, here is what actually moves the number, with real figures where they help.
The hardware is the smaller half
It surprises people that the equipment is often not the biggest line. UniFi gear itself is reasonable and, importantly, you own it outright with no per-device licence fees. As a reference point, a single UniFi Express is US$199 and a three-node whole-home mesh runs US$559 at the manufacturer's list. A gateway, a small switch and a couple of access points for a house sit in the same general territory. A camera is a couple of hundred dollars; a door-access reader and controller more.
If your home or office is open, modern and you are happy to place equipment where the outlets already are, the hardware plus a proper setup is the bulk of the job, and it is not a large number.
What moves the price is the building and the wiring
The cost climbs with the work around the hardware, not the hardware itself. The big factors, roughly in order:
Running cable is the main one. A network is only as good as the wire behind it, and pulling Cat6 through finished walls, across a ceiling or out to a shop or barn is skilled, time-consuming work. A new build where we can wire before the drywall goes up is far cheaper per drop than retrofitting the same drops into a finished century home. This single factor separates a modest project from a large one more than any other.
The building itself matters next. A brick two-storey with a finished basement is three separate coverage problems on three floors, where an open bungalow might be one. Older construction, plaster and lath, foil-backed insulation and detached outbuildings all add access points and cable.
Then scope. Wi-Fi and switching is the foundation. Cameras, door access, a phone system, guest networks with proper separation, and network segmentation for a business each add their own hardware and configuration time. You do not have to do it all at once, which we will come back to.
Finally, whether you want it looked after. A one-time install is one price. Ongoing managed support, monitoring and updates is a separate, optional arrangement that some businesses want and most homes do not need.
Roughly how projects break down
Without quoting your specific job, most work falls into recognisable shapes:
A Wi-Fi refresh replaces a struggling consumer router and mesh kit with a proper gateway, switch and one or two well-placed access points, using existing cabling. It is the most common home project and the most affordable.
A whole-home or whole-office network adds cabling to reach the dead spots, more access points, and usually a wired backbone between floors. This is where the building's age and layout decide the number.
A business build layers on the things a business needs that a home does not: network separation so the guest Wi-Fi and the point-of-sale cannot see each other, resilience so a failure does not take you offline, cameras and door access, and often a support agreement. It is a larger project because it is doing more, not because business customers are charged more for the same work.
Cameras and door access are usually priced per device on top of whichever of the above applies.
How to keep it sensible
A few things genuinely lower the cost, and we would rather tell you than not:
Wire during any renovation. If a wall is open for any reason, that is the cheapest cable you will ever run, and our notes on wiring a new build and on choosing the right cable are worth a read before the drywall stage.
Start with the foundation and grow into the rest. A gateway, switching and Wi-Fi done properly is a platform. Cameras, door access and automation can be added later on the same system without replacing anything, so a first phase need not be a whole phase. That upgrade path is a real advantage of building on one platform instead of a drawer of unrelated boxes.
Right-size the coverage. More access points is not better; the right number in the right places beats a box of nodes fighting each other, and it costs less.
Plan the power budget. If cameras and access points are on the list, the switch has to feed them. Our note on PoE budgets explains why that matters before you buy.
So what is the number?
For a straightforward Wi-Fi refresh using existing wiring, the investment is modest and the hardware leads the cost. For a wired whole-home system, a multi-building property, or a business network with cameras and access, it scales with the cabling and the scope, and the only honest figure is one that has seen your floor plan.
That is not evasion; it is the difference between a quote you can trust and a number designed to get you on the phone. We will walk the building with you, tell you what it actually needs and what it does not, and put it in writing. If you would like that, get in touch and we will take it from there.
RelayPoint Technologies designs, installs and supports UniFi networks for homes and businesses across Norfolk County and the surrounding region. Hardware figures are Ubiquiti's published prices in US dollars and are for orientation only.
Cabling, networks, cameras, access control, smart homes, hosting and software for homes and small business across Southwestern Ontario. Twenty-plus years in the trade, and we still answer the phone.