How much does a life cycle assessment cost?
And what funding reduces the bill?

Public buyers publish the price of the life cycle assessments (LCAs) they commission. In 2024, the Normandy Regional Health Agency commissioned the carbon LCA of plasters for €14,000 excl. VAT. The same year, the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME) commissioned a comparative LCA of domestic wood heating for €128,912 excl. VAT, according to the essential public procurement data. Between the 2, the price follows what the study covers and the use of its result.

For a company, the most solid benchmark remains a public price. The Diag Écoconception, funded by ADEME and run by Bpifrance (the French public investment bank), costs €18,000 excl. VAT for 18 days, which is €1,000 excl. VAT per day, with the LCA of one product and an action plan included. The sections below detail what makes this price vary, what is added to it and what funds it.

1How much does a product LCA cost in 2026?

No public price list sets the price of an LCA: each provider quotes working days. Ecobalyse, a French public service, puts the cost at a few thousand euros for a standard product in a streamlined LCA and at several tens of thousands for a complex product whose data collection is long. Between these 2 limits, the intended use of the result sets the level of study. Who carries out these studies, from large consultancies to specialist firms, is the subject of our article on the providers who can support you with a product LCA.

A streamlined LCA to spot the impacts

A streamlined LCA models the product with generic data to spot the stages that weigh most: materials, manufacturing, transport, use or end of life. It costs in the order of €5,000 to €10,000 excl. VAT, an order of magnitude observed in 2026, no public price list, varying by provider. Below that, a screening, that is a very streamlined LCA, starts at about €3,000 excl. VAT. Both serve an internal decision and are not enough for a public claim; the guide to LCA on a small budget shows how to scope one.

A full LCA to eco-design

An LCA that complies with the ISO 14040 and 14044 standards collects data specific to the product, tests variants and calculates several impact indicators. For a typical product, it falls between €10,000 and €25,000 excl. VAT, an order of magnitude observed in 2026, no public price list, varying by provider. The Diag Écoconception, at €18,000 excl. VAT with the action plan included, falls within this range. The 2 carbon LCAs commissioned in 2024 by the Normandy health agency, on a single indicator, cost €14,000 and €19,200 excl. VAT.

beta.gouv.fr, Ecobalyse page

What the State writes about the cost of an LCA

beta.gouv.fr, page of the State startup Ecobalyse, paragraph headed "Problème"

The page of the Ecobalyse public service describes calculating the impacts of a product as a long and costly process. From a few thousand to several tens of thousands of euros per product, from the streamlined LCA of a standard product to the full LCA of a complex product. The page gives neither a number of days nor a price list.

The steps of a first product LCA show where these days concentrate: scoping, data collection, calculation, then interpretation with the product team. For a medical device, a mattress or a garment, the difficulty lies mainly in supplier data.

An FDES, a PEP or an EPD

An environmental declaration also follows the rules of a programme: the FDES (the French format of environmental product declaration for construction products) for construction products in France, the Product Environmental Profile (PEP) for electrical equipment, the environmental product declaration (EPD) internationally. The study costs the same as a full LCA, but verification and registration come on top. The choice between FDES, EPD and PEP is made before asking for a quote.

A published comparison between products

A comparative claim intended for the public requires an LCA of each product compared and, under ISO 14044, a review by a panel of at least 3 experts. In late 2020, ADEME awarded the critical review alone of its comparative LCA of bulk sales and pre-packaged goods for €13,350 excl. VAT. The choice between an expert and a panel, the choice of reviewer and the price of a critical review are covered separately.

2How much do public buyers pay for an LCA?

The essential public procurement data give the subject, amount and duration of each contract awarded. The LCAs commissioned from 2022 to 2025 by ADEME and the Normandy health agency cost €14,000 to €238,790 excl. VAT. Their duration ranges from 7 to 36 months.

The gap comes from the subject of the study. ADEME's LCAs cover an entire sector: several scenarios or several technologies, and inventories to build, over 17 to 36 months. A company's product LCA relies on a bill of materials, a few processes and a few variants, over a few months.

These amounts also pay for what a public buyer requires: specifications, steering committees, a publishable report. At IMT Nord Europe, a French engineering school, an LCA and a carbon expert assessment for a research project were awarded in 2025 for €84,750 excl. VAT, with price accounting for 40% of the score. For a company, these contracts show that the price follows the scope of the study.

3What makes the quote for an LCA vary?

An LCA quote is calculated in working days. 6 parameters make this number of days vary:

• The number of products and variants counts first, because a family of product references that share their processes is modelled once, whereas 2 products with no common process make 2 studies.
• Data availability shortens or lengthens collection, often the longest phase of a first LCA: an up-to-date bill of materials and measured factory consumption save days.
• Each data item requested from a supplier adds reminders, exchanges and consistency checks before it can enter the model.
• A carbon footprint alone requires less analysis than a multi-criteria LCA, such as the European method of Product Environmental Footprint.
• A critical review, a panel or a programme verification adds its own rounds of comments, and often a corrected version of the report.
• A report alone costs less than a model handed over and documented, which the team can reuse for the following products.

The price of an expert day

Consultancies do not publish their day rate, but 2 public benchmarks exist. The Diag Écoconception works out at €1,000 excl. VAT per day, and Normandy Region bases its Impulsion Conseil grant on a maximum of €1,000 excl. VAT per day of advice. A quote far from this benchmark is explained first by the number of days it provides for. The same reasoning applies to the price of a Bilan Carbone® (the French carbon accounting method).

Software and databases

Some tools are free: the open-source software openLCA, ADEME's Base Empreinte (its emission factor database) after creating an account, and the public tool Ecobalyse, designed for textile environmental labelling. The publishers of common commercial software, such as SimaPro, do not publish their prices. A company that wants to reuse the model after the study therefore asks, in the quote, which software and which databases it assumes.

Time spent in-house

An LCA also mobilises the company: gathering the bill of materials, questioning production and purchasing, reviewing the assumptions. This time does not appear on the consultancy's invoice. The 2025 call for projects of Lyon Metropolis accepted it among eligible expenses, up to 20% of costs.

4What do review, verification and publication cost?

As soon as the result leaves the company, fees are added to the study. Programmes publish their registration fees, while review and verification are priced by quote:

• A critical review by a single reviewer costs in the order of €3,000 to €5,000 excl. VAT, an order of magnitude observed in 2026, no public price list, varying by provider, and a review by a panel considerably more.
• The verification of an FDES or a PEP by an authorised verifier has no published price in France, and is priced by quote, separately from the study.
• Registering an FDES in the INIES database (the French national reference database for environmental declarations) costs €220 excl. VAT, or €190 from 20 tokens, according to the programme's fee conditions.
• A PEP is registered for €280 to €865 excl. VAT with PEP ecopassport, depending on whether the manufacturer belongs to the association, according to its published fee schedule.
• Internationally, EPD International charges €1,000 for the first EPD of the year, and the German institute IBU €2,700 for the verification of an EPD, verifier included.

These fees remain low next to the price of the study, but they recur. The registration number of an FDES is renewed with each major update, and EPD International adds an annual fee of €515 to €2,575 depending on the size of the company. The choice of an authorised verifier and verifying an EPD for export are covered separately.

For a construction product, a collective FDES sponsored by a trade association shares the study between manufacturers. In November 2024, with the support of ADEME, the Alliance HQE-GBC (the French sustainable building association) launched a fourth call for support to create new collective declarations. The guide to the acronyms FDES, EPD and PEP places each one, and reading an FDES in a RE2020 calculation (RE2020 being France's environmental regulation for new buildings) shows what it is then used for.

5Which public funding schemes pay for an LCA?

The Diag Écoconception, a French public scheme for companies established in France, remains the most direct funding for a first LCA. It covers 18 days spread over 10 months: the LCA of one product, awareness-raising for the teams and an action plan. On €18,000 excl. VAT, it leaves €5,400 excl. VAT to a company with fewer than 50 employees and €7,200 excl. VAT to an SME with 50 to 249 employees, according to France Num. Bpifrance selects the expert, and the Diag Écoconception guide details the conditions.

ADEME eco-design studies

Outside the Diag, ADEME funds eco-design studies in 2026 at 60 to 80% depending on company size, on spending capped at €150,000. The study must be entrusted to an external provider and must not have started before the application. The agency's conditions exclude a standalone LCA done only to communicate, outside any eco-design approach.

Regional support

Several regions also fund part of the study. Nouvelle-Aquitaine subsidises circular economy consultancy studies, LCA included, up to 70%. In Occitanie, the OcciMore programme asks the company for €200 to €1,400 for a diagnostic of 1 to 7 days based on the life cycle of a product. Lyon Metropolis funded the LCA at 50% in 2025, up to €10,000 of support. The overview of transition funding lists the other schemes.

6How to compare 2 LCA quotes?

2 quotes for the same amount can buy very different studies. Before comparing prices, 5 pieces of information must appear in each:

• The intended use of the result, whether an internal decision, a reply to a customer, an FDES or a published comparison, which sets the standard followed and the reviews needed.
• The functional unit and the system boundaries, that is, the service the product provides and the stages of its life that the study covers.
• The indicators calculated, carbon only or multi-criteria, and the databases used, with their version and usage rights.
• The number of days per phase, from scoping to presentation of results, with the number of rounds of comments planned on the report.
• The deliverables handed over, a report alone or a model handed over, and what remains excluded, such as the review, the verification or registration fees.

The time asked of the company deserves the same attention. A low quote that assumes the data are already ready can cost more internally than a higher quote that provides for collection with the team. An LCA done in-house with software shifts this cost to life cycle assessment training and to the verification of results.

For us at Projet Celsius, the first line of an LCA quote must be the use of the result. A study designed for an internal decision is not enough to publish an FDES or a comparison, and a study designed for publication costs more than necessary if the result stays internal. We carry out product LCAs, and Projet Celsius is referenced by Bpifrance for the Diag Écoconception.

7Key takeaways

• An LCA costs from a few thousand euros for a streamlined study to several tens of thousands for a complex product, according to Ecobalyse, a French public service.
• A full LCA of a typical product costs in the order of €10,000 to €25,000 excl. VAT, an order of magnitude observed in 2026, no public price list, varying by provider.
• Public LCA contracts range from €14,000 to €238,790 excl. VAT, because a study of a whole sector covers much more than one product.
• Publishing a result adds a critical review or a verification, and registration fees from €220 excl. VAT for an FDES to €1,000 for an EPD.
• An SME pays €5,400 or €7,200 excl. VAT with the Diag, and ADEME funds 60 to 80% of a broader eco-design study.

To reduce the bill without losing rigour, the guide to LCA on a small budget details the possible trade-offs.

Further resources

Frequently asked questions

1How much does a streamlined LCA cost?

In the order of €5,000 to €10,000 excl. VAT, an order of magnitude observed in 2026, no public price list, varying by provider, and from about €3,000 excl. VAT for a screening, a very streamlined version. Ecobalyse, a French public service, speaks of a few thousand euros for a standard product. A streamlined LCA spots the stages that weigh most with generic data: it serves an internal decision, not a declaration or a published comparison.

2Does the Diag Écoconception fund an LCA?

Yes. The Diag Écoconception of Bpifrance, funded by ADEME, includes the LCA of one product and an action plan, over 18 days spread over 10 months. It costs €18,000 excl. VAT, of which €5,400 excl. VAT remains payable by a company with fewer than 50 employees and €7,200 excl. VAT by an SME with 50 to 249 employees.

3How much does an FDES cost?

An FDES adds up 3 costs: the LCA of the product, its verification by an authorised verifier, on quote, and its registration in the INIES database, at €220 excl. VAT. The LCA costs in the order of €10,000 to €25,000 excl. VAT, an order of magnitude observed in 2026, no public price list, varying by provider. A collective FDES, sponsored by a trade association, shares the cost of the study between several manufacturers.

4Is a second LCA cheaper?

Often, if the second product shares the processes and data of the first: the model is reused and collection is shorter. The saving disappears when the material, the process or the use changes. A documented model handed over during the first study is the condition for benefiting from it.

5Life cycle costing and LCA: what is the difference?

Life cycle costing adds up euros: purchase, energy consumed, maintenance, end of life, and sometimes monetised environmental externalities. The French Public Procurement Code defines it in Article R2152-9 as an award criterion. LCA measures environmental impacts, such as greenhouse gas emissions or water consumption, without converting them into money.

6Can you do an LCA yourself with free software?

Yes for a first screening: the openLCA software is open source and free, and ADEME's Base Empreinte can be consulted free of charge. A published LCA, however, requires a method compliant with ISO 14040 and 14044 and, for a comparison, a critical review. Training takes time, and a study intended for publication remains subject to the same method requirements.

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