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6 Best Water Heater Services in Chicago (2026)

Ranked by real Google ratings and review volume · How we chose

Brad Smith
By Brad Smith, Home Services Expert · ✓ Updated (data verified October 2026) · 8 min read

We compared 19 water heater services in Chicago on Google Maps · 6 listed · How we rank

Cold showers have a way of turning a routine repair into an emergency. Review counts for Chicago's water heater services on this page run from a couple hundred up past 8,500, a reminder that a smaller, newer name can still be worth calling if the work fits what you need.

Short answer: King Heating, Cooling & Plumbing offers same-day water heater work, rated 4.7 across more than 4,200 reviews, with installs, repairs and up-front pricing. Walsh & Son Plumbing and Sewer and Hot Water Heater Repair Chicago both carry a perfect 5.0, and Roto-Rooter brings the deepest bench with over 8,500 reviews citywide. A standard tank replacement typically runs $1,200 to $3,000 installed.
Jump to a business

How Chicago's water heater pros compare

# Business Rating Reviews Best for
1 Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup 4.7 ★ 8,575 Largest, most established plumber View ›
2 King Heating, Cooling & Plumbing 4.7 ★ 4,341 Overall / same-day tank or tankless installs View ›
3 Walsh & Son Plumbing and Sewer 5.0 ★ 473 Perfect rating / Southwest Side and suburbs View ›
4 Hot Water Heater Repair Chicago 5.0 ★ 366 Water heater specialist View ›
5 Direct Improvements 4.7 ★ 357 Home warranty claims View ›
6 Tabor's Complete Comfort Mechanical 4.9 ★ 271 South Loop / small business, HVAC and plumbing combined View ›
6 Best Water Heater Services in Chicago (2026)

Our picks, and who each one suits

Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup logo
#1 Overall🕑 Open 7 days↩ Responds to reviews

Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

4.78,575 Google reviews

Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup is a national plumbing brand with a downtown Chicago location offering 24/7 emergency plumbing, drain cleaning, and water damage cleanup, with no extra charge for nights, weekends, or holidays. The company's site notes more people use Roto-Rooter than any other plumbing company in North America.

What people praise

  • Reviewers consistently report a technician on-site within two hours of calling, including on weekends
  • Camera inspections and thorough follow-up checks come up repeatedly
  • No overtime or weekend surcharge is mentioned favorably by multiple customers

Worth knowing

  • As a larger national operator, pricing on emergency calls can run higher than a small local shop
Reputation scorecardrank in Chicago
Rating4.7 / 5
Review volume8,575 · 100th
Confidencevery high
Recencyyesterday
Info completenesssite · phone · hours
Rating breakdown89% 5-star
✓ VerifiedSource: Google

Our take: By far the deepest review base on this list, and the speed reviewers describe for emergency calls is hard to match. Worth calling first if your water heater failure has already flooded a floor drain.

Website Book now+1312-379-2926 Directions

166 W Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602

King Heating, Cooling & Plumbing logo
★ Featured Partner#2🕑 Open 7 days↩ Responds to reviews

King Heating, Cooling & Plumbing

4.74,341 Google reviews

King Heating, Cooling & Plumbing is an Oak Forest-based HVAC and plumbing contractor serving Chicago and NW Indiana, with 24/7 availability across heating, cooling, and plumbing including water heaters. The company's plumbing page specifically calls out water heater work alongside frozen pipes and general plumbing repair, and its site leads with up-front pricing before work begins.

What people praise

  • Reviewers describe full water heater installs completed same day, including hauling the old unit out
  • Technicians are named specifically for walking customers through warranty details afterward
  • One reviewer had two large water heaters installed in a single visit with no issues
Reputation scorecardrank in Chicago
Rating4.7 / 5
Review volume4,341 · 95th
Confidencevery high
Recencyyesterday
Info completenesssite · phone · hours
Rating breakdown89% 5-star
✓ VerifiedSource: Google

Our take: King handles water heaters as part of a broader plumbing and HVAC operation, and the reviews back up fast, clean installs. A dependable first call whether it's a repair or full replacement.

Website+1708-808-6162 Directions

4813 W 159th St, Oak Forest, IL 60452

Walsh & Son Plumbing and Sewer logo
#3🕑 Open 5 days/wk↩ Responds to reviews

Walsh & Son Plumbing and Sewer

5.0473 Google reviews

Walsh & Son Plumbing and Sewer is an Orland Park-based plumbing company with over 25 years in business, covering water heaters, drains, sewer lines, and general plumbing repair across the Chicagoland area. Its site lists both tankless water heater installation and repair as standard services.

What people praise

  • Every review on file is 4 or 5 stars, with technicians named individually and repeatedly
  • Reviewers specifically mention the company beating competing quotes on sewer and plumbing jobs
  • Same-day scheduling after a major storm shows up in more than one review

Worth knowing

  • Fewer total reviews than the citywide operators, so the sample is smaller
Reputation scorecardrank in Chicago
Rating5 / 5
Review volume473 · 95th
Confidencehigh
Recency3 days ago
Info completenesssite · phone · hours
Rating breakdown98% 5-star
✓ VerifiedSource: Google

Our take: A perfect rating across every review we could pull. Best fit if you're on the Southwest Side or in the close suburbs and want a smaller, consistently praised outfit.

Website Book now+1708-316-1509 Directions
Hot Water Heater Repair Chicago logo
#4🕑 Open 7 days↩ Responds to reviews

Hot Water Heater Repair Chicago

5.0366 Google reviews

Hot Water Heater Repair Chicago is exactly what the name says, a Chicago plumbing business on North Western Avenue that focuses specifically on water heater diagnosis, repair, and replacement, run by a technician named Jim.

What people praise

  • Reviewers describe Jim diagnosing issues over text photos before ever coming out, sometimes saving a truck roll entirely
  • Multiple reviews mention a full tank replacement completed in under an hour
  • One reviewer compared six quotes and this company came in $700 to $2,000 below the rest

Worth knowing

  • A narrow specialty means this is the pick for water heaters specifically, not broader plumbing or HVAC work
Reputation scorecardrank in Chicago
Rating5 / 5
Review volume366 · 89th
Confidencehigh
Recencyyesterday
Info completenesssite · phone · hours
Rating breakdown99% 5-star
✓ VerifiedSource: Google

Our take: The name matches the specialty, and reviewers consistently mention Jim trying the cheaper fix first rather than pushing a replacement. Ties for the top rating on this page.

Website+1312-661-2770 Directions

1535 N Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60622

Direct Improvements logo
#5🕑 Open 7 days↩ Responds to reviews

Direct Improvements

4.7357 Google reviews

Direct Improvements is a Chicago-based HVAC, plumbing, and appliance repair company that also works directly with home warranty providers like American Home Shield, covering water heaters alongside furnace, AC, and appliance repair under one company.

What people praise

  • Reviewers describe the company successfully finishing home-warranty claims that stalled with other contractors
  • Technicians are named specifically and consistently across reviews
  • One reviewer cites a repair quote well under a competitor's full-replacement estimate

Worth knowing

  • Water heaters are one of several service lines here, not the sole focus
Reputation scorecardrank in Chicago
Rating4.7 / 5
Review volume357 · 89th
Confidencehigh
Recency3 days ago
Info completenesssite · phone · hours
Rating breakdown89% 5-star
✓ VerifiedSource: Google

Our take: If a home warranty is part of the picture, reviewers credit this company with actually getting the claim resolved.

Website Book now+1708-578-8601 Directions

111 W Jackson Blvd Unit 1700, Chicago, IL 60604

Tabor's Complete Comfort Mechanical logo
#6🕑 Open 7 days↩ Responds to reviews

Tabor's Complete Comfort Mechanical

4.9271 Google reviews

Tabor's Complete Comfort Mechanical is a South Michigan Avenue HVAC contractor founded in 2005 by owner Alan Tabor, covering heating, cooling, and related plumbing work like water heaters for homes and offices across Chicagoland.

What people praise

  • Reviewers consistently name the owner directly and describe same-day scheduling
  • Customers cite competitive pricing against larger companies quoted for comparison
  • Multiple reviews mention the crew returning promptly to resolve a follow-up issue after install
Reputation scorecardrank in Chicago
Rating4.9 / 5
Review volume271 · 79th
Confidencehigh
Recency7 days ago
Info completenesssite · phone · hours
Rating breakdown96% 5-star
✓ VerifiedSource: Google

Our take: A near-perfect rating from a small, owner-led operation. Good option if you're downtown or in the South Loop and already need HVAC work alongside the water heater.

Website Book now+1773-715-3860 Directions

1449 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60605

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Watch: 6 Best Water Heater Services in Chicago (2026)

How we scored this list

Rating is each company’s live Google average. Review volume measures how many customers have actually rated them, ranked against the others here. Confidence blends the two, so a perfect score built on a couple hundred reviews is weighted differently than a strong average built on thousands. Recency checks how recently people are still leaving reviews, and completeness checks whether basic info like hours and a working site are in place. No business can pay to change any of these numbers.

Water heater costs in Chicago (2026)

Repair costs depend on the part involved (a heating element or thermocouple is cheap, a full tank failure is not), while replacement costs depend heavily on tank versus tankless and gas versus electric.

JobTypical price
Diagnostic / service call$75-$150
Minor repair (element, thermocouple, valve)$150-$450
Standard tank replacement, installed$1,200-$3,000
Tankless water heater installation$2,500-$5,500

Ranges compiled July 2026 from Angi, HomeGuide, and Fixr national and Chicago-metro water heater pricing data. These are third-party averages, not quotes from the businesses on this page, so ask each company for its own written price.

Water heater service near you in Chicago

Coverage spans the full city and close suburbs, from downtown and the South Loop out to Orland Park, Oak Forest, and the Northwest Side. If you’re searching for water heater repair near me in Chicago, the specialists above (particularly Hot Water Heater Repair Chicago) are worth calling first for a water-heater-only job, while the full-service plumbers suit anything broader.

What to ask before you hire a water heater company

  • Is this worth repairing, or is the tank old enough that replacement is the smarter move?
  • What size and type of unit fits my household, tank or tankless, gas or electric?
  • What’s the manufacturer and labor warranty on the new unit?
  • Is removal and disposal of the old water heater included in the price?
  • Is there an after-hours premium if this turns into an emergency?
  • How soon can you actually get here?

Frequently asked questions

How long does a water heater last before it needs replacing?

Most tank water heaters last 8 to 12 years. If yours is in that range and failing, replacement is usually more cost-effective than another repair.

Is tankless worth the higher upfront cost?

It depends on hot water demand and how long you plan to stay in the home. Ask whichever company you call to walk through the payback math for your household.

The bottom line

Roto-Rooter is the safe default on the deepest review record citywide. King Heating, Cooling & Plumbing is the strong pick for a water heater repair or replacement in Chicago, with same-day service and clear pricing. If the job is a water-heater-only fix, it’s also worth comparing a quote from Hot Water Heater Repair Chicago before you commit.

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