Renewal by Andersen vs Andersen: What's Actually Different (2026)

Renewal by Andersen is Andersen. It was founded in Minnesota in 1995 as “the full-service window and door replacement division of Andersen Corporation.” The question is not which company is better. It is which of two ways of buying from the same company fits your project:

Andersen sells windows. Its 100, 200 and 400 Series are listed at big-box stores with a price on them, and you hire someone to install them.
Renewal by Andersen sells a replacement project. It runs a design consultation, measures each opening, builds the windows to order and installs them, with no published price.

The product overlap is closer than most people expect. Renewal by Andersen windows are made of Fibrex, the same composite Andersen uses for its 100 Series. To estimate a project, start with the window replacement cost calculator.

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How this estimate is calculated

$509–$1,600 per window installed, from BLS wages and the FRED price index

Based on BLS, FRED & EIA data

Labor, weatherproofing and price escalation come from federal data. The base material cost does not — and we say so below rather than rounding it into the same sentence. Reference window: standard vinyl double-hung, retrofit install.

Labor: 2 man-hrs (NREL/Craftsman) × $29/hr national carpenter wage (BLS OEWS, SOC 47-2031) × 2.84 contractor markup = $165
Materials: Vinyl frame + Low-E glass, escalated 4.9% since 2025 by the FRED producer price index. The base cost this escalates is not independently sourced — it is the largest single term in the estimate and the one we cannot yet cite. Retail listings for the products named in our tiers put a comparable unit at $284–$379, which brackets it. How we are trying to close that.
Weatherproofing: $20–$35 per opening — flashing tape, foam, backer rod and caulk, priced per opening rather than as a percentage of the window (DuPont GREAT STUFF)
Installed cost: $509–$1,600 per window installed — the low end is buying the window and hiring an installer, the high end is a full-service replacement company. Both are installed prices; they are different markets, roughly 2× apart. · $5,090–$16,000 for a 10-window project (before bulk discount)

Dealer ceiling published by Pella, the only window company that publishes one. Sources: BLS OEWS · FRED · NREL & Craftsman — updated September 2026

What Each Publishes on Price

Andersen's retail lines can be priced from the shelf. Renewal by Andersen's can only be priced in a consultation. The Andersen figures are unit-only retail prices at Home Depot, where every Andersen listing in our census was found. Installation is extra, and our cost model puts it at $185 to $200 per opening for a double-hung insert.

Option	Frame	Price per window
Andersen 100 Series	Fibrex composite	Shelf medians: $483 single-hung, $465 slider, $854 casement
Andersen 200 Series	Wood, vinyl Perma-Shield exterior	Shelf $399 (1 listing)
Andersen 400 Series	Wood, vinyl Perma-Shield exterior	Shelf medians: $717 double-hung, $588 casement, $358 awning
Renewal by Andersen	Fibrex composite, custom-built	Not published — priced by dealer quote

“Shelf” is the retail price of the window alone at Home Depot or Lowe’s — not installed — from our Google Shopping census, checked 2026-09-08. Where no company publishes a price we say so rather than estimate one.

The rows do not compare like with like. An Andersen shelf price is a standard-size unit with nothing installed. A Renewal by Andersen price covers a window built to your opening plus the installation and its two-year installation warranty. To compare them, get a Renewal by Andersen quote for a set number of openings and an installed quote for the same openings from a contractor using a retail Andersen line. Our installation labor cost guide shows what the contractor's labor line should look like.

The Product: Same Material, Different Build

	Andersen (retail lines)	Renewal by Andersen
Frame material	100 Series: Fibrex. 200 and 400 Series: wood with vinyl Perma-Shield cladding	Fibrex composite
How it's built	Andersen's series products, sold at retail	Custom-built to order for each opening (Cottage Grove, MN)
Wood interior	200 and 400 Series: wood frame inside	Optional stainable wood interiors: oak, maple, engineered pine
Window types	Varies by series	Double-hung, casement, awning, picture, sliding, bay/bow, specialty
Who installs	The contractor you hire	Renewal by Andersen installers or a contractor it authorizes

Both companies describe Fibrex in similar terms. Andersen calls it a composite “combining wood fiber and thermoplastic polymer” that is “2x stronger than vinyl” and “exclusive to Andersen.” Renewal by Andersen says it is “crafted from reclaimed wood and polymers,” was “perfected 1992,” and “blocks thermal transfer nearly 700 times better than aluminum.” These are the maker's own claims. Renewal by Andersen also says it is the only place to get custom-made windows in Fibrex, which is the real product difference: the 100 Series is a retail line, while Renewal by Andersen builds each window to the measured opening.

A wood look inside is available both ways. Renewal by Andersen offers stainable wood interiors in oak, maple and engineered pine on its Fibrex windows. Andersen's 200 and 400 Series are wood frames with vinyl cladding outside.

Warranty Comparison

This is where the two purchases differ most. Andersen's warranty covers the product. Renewal by Andersen's covers the product and its own installation, and includes the labor to fix covered failures.

Term	Andersen 400 Series	Renewal by Andersen (installed after Jan 1, 2022)
Glass	20 years (standard glass)	20 years
Frame and sash	10 years (non-glass)	20 years on Fibrex components
Other components	10 years (non-glass)	10 years: locks, hinges, operators, screens, weatherstripping
Exterior color fade	See series warranty	10 years
Installation	Whoever installs the windows	2 years
Labor on a covered repair	See series warranty	Included: RbA will “provide and install” the replacement
Transferable	Yes: Owner-to-Owner limited warranty	Yes
Dispute terms	See series warranty	Class-action and jury trial waivers; opt out within 1 year

Two details from Renewal by Andersen's warranty document are worth knowing before you sign:

The installation warranty covers its installers only. It “does not extend to labor/services performed by anyone other than the original Renewal by Andersen installer or other contractor authorized by Renewal by Andersen.”
There is a one-year opt-out window. The document's Dispute Resolution Process “includes class-action and jury trial waivers.” To opt out you must complete the form at renewalbyandersen.com/optout “within one year from the original installation date.”

Andersen publishes a separate warranty document for each series. The 400 Series figures above are from Andersen's 400 Series page, so read the document for the series you are buying.

How Each Purchase Works

Step	Andersen (retail line + your installer)	Renewal by Andersen
1	Price units at a store or dealer	Design consultation, in-home or virtual
2	Get installation bids	Project technician measures every opening
3	Order windows (you or your installer)	Windows built to order
4	Installer fits and finishes	Renewal by Andersen installs and cleans up
5	Product warranty from Andersen; labor warranty from the installer	One company for product, installation and service

Which Should You Choose?

Choose a retail Andersen line if:

You want to see a price before anyone visits. The 100, 200 and 400 Series are priced on store shelves.
You already have an installer you trust. Then the separate installation warranty matters less.
You want a wood-frame window. That means the 200 or 400 Series.

Choose Renewal by Andersen if:

You want every window built to its opening. A project technician measures each one before the order goes in.
You want one accountable company. It covers the product and its own installation, including labor on covered repairs.
You don't want to manage a contractor. Consultation, measurement, manufacture and installation are all one contract.

Weighing Renewal by Andersen against another brand? See Pella vs Renewal by Andersen and Andersen vs Marvin.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Renewal by Andersen the same as Andersen?

Same company, different business. Renewal by Andersen was founded in 1995 as the full-service window and door replacement division of Andersen Corporation. Andersen sells windows. Renewal by Andersen sells a replacement project: consultation, measurement, custom manufacture and installation. Buying an Andersen window at a store and hiring Renewal by Andersen are different purchases with different warranties.

Are Renewal by Andersen windows the same as Andersen 100 Series?

They share a material. Both are made of Fibrex, the wood-fiber and polymer composite Andersen calls exclusive to Andersen. They are not the same product. Renewal by Andersen windows are custom-built to order for each opening at its Cottage Grove, Minnesota plant and are sold only through Renewal by Andersen. The 100 Series is a retail line you can price on a store shelf.

How much does Renewal by Andersen cost?

Renewal by Andersen publishes no price; the price comes from an in-home or virtual design consultation. For a reference point, Andersen's 100 Series, also Fibrex, had shelf medians of $483 single-hung, $465 slider, $854 casement per unit in our September 2026 census. That is the window alone, before the $185 to $200 our cost model adds to install a double-hung. Ask the Renewal by Andersen consultant for an itemized price for the same openings and compare like for like.

What does the Renewal by Andersen warranty cover?

For units installed after January 1, 2022: 20 years on glass, 20 years on Fibrex frame and sash components, 10 years on other components such as locks, hinges, operators and screens, 10 years on exterior color fade, and 2 years on the installation. When a covered part fails, Renewal by Andersen will provide and install the replacement or repair it. The warranty is transferable.

Does the Renewal by Andersen warranty have an arbitration clause?

Its warranty document includes a Dispute Resolution Process with class-action and jury trial waivers. Renewal by Andersen says you can opt out of those waivers by completing the opt-out form at renewalbyandersen.com/optout within one year of the original installation date. Mark the deadline when your windows go in.

Is Renewal by Andersen worth it over regular Andersen windows?

It depends on what you would otherwise do. With a contractor you already trust, a retail Andersen line plus that contractor's labor is a price you can check before signing. If you want one company to measure, build to the opening, install, and stand behind the installation for two years, Renewal by Andersen sells exactly that. You will not know the premium until you have both quotes in hand.

Sources

Pages and documents read 2026-10-12:

Renewal by Andersen, About — founding, relationship to Andersen Corporation, custom manufacture, consultation process.
Renewal by Andersen, Exclusive Product — Fibrex claims.
Renewal by Andersen, Window Options — stainable wood interiors.
Renewal by Andersen Limited Warranty, units installed after January 1, 2022 — all RbA warranty terms and the dispute-resolution opt-out.
Andersen 100 Series — Fibrex composition and claims.
Andersen 400 Series — Perma-Shield cladding, 20-year glass and 10-year non-glass warranty.
Andersen warranty — Owner-to-Owner transferability.

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