Heat pump install quote 20k - reasonable?

We installed a heat pump for hearing and cooling last year. We did not replace ducts and it was still a little over $13k. I do recommend getting a quote from more than one place. The plumbing company we used was a but cheaper than another company. 

Well, I don't know if it's reasonable, but it seems to be the going rate! We paid a tick more for our 1,400 sq ft home and went with Hassler so think the quote you got is within bounds. They were professional and got the job done.

We had a Fujitsu heat pump installed last year for the same cost ($20K), which included replacing ducts and some asbestos tape abatement. The cost of the machine itself was around $14K. We also have a similar size house. We had gotten three quotes that were all very similar and ended up choosing this company (A-1 Guaranteed) because of the good reviews. It was expensive but we are very happy with the heat pump and having AC has been a nice bonus! 

Here’s a point of comparison: our house is a tad larger and on two levels.  The estimate we received was more than double 20K.

In Marin County, two months ago, an estimate from the big local HVAC company for a Mitsubishi system covering 1350 square foot home: $38,000.

I did not proceed as the cost seemed high. I have had verbal ball park estimates as low as 15 k. But not Mitsubishi.

20 k sounds great, as it is probably almost identical to the system design proposed 38K. (The design was bare bones.)

We had a certified installer for a Mitsubishi for a slightly larger house (1700 sqft) with new ducts last year and the cost was similar.  Feel free to DM for more info. 

I just had a 2.5 ton Mitsubishi system installed and mounted in the attic of my 1600 square-foot home. I had only a single gas gravity floor heater, no ductwork, no ac. Our project included removing the existing attic insulation, sealing the extensive air leaks in the attic and floors, insulating 200 square feet of the coldest exterior bedroom walls, removing the attic knob & tube wiring and rewiring everything, re-insulating the attic, cutting in 10 ceiling registers in plaster, cutting a bigger attic access hole for the air handler (fan), installing an all-house filter, installing all the ductwork, installing an outdoor condenser, unit installing new wall-mounted thermostat. Removing existing gas floor heater. The contractor is applying for multiple rebates but we’ve learned that some of the programs are out of funding. Im thrilled with how everything came out. 

For just the heat pump (air handler, ducting and condenser installation, removing existing gas gravity heater) I got three quotes that ranged from $22k to $32k. I went with the $24k quote and added the other items. 
I also looked at leaving the existing single gas gravity heater and adding a 3-mini split system to heat/cool the three small bedrooms (80-120 sf) in the rear of my house. They were actually the only rooms that were too hot and too cold. The quotes were the same as for conditioning the whole house so I went big. This way I reduce my natural gas use, too. I had a $300 gas bill last March and am ready to move on. (Still have gas dryer and hot water heater.) 
I do recommend that you consider a whole house air filter in-line with your system. It may require resizing your return plenum but I think worth it. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Good Luck!

If you're Excel-savvy, you can check comps for your project by downloading the data from TECH Clean California (a statewide heat pump incentive program that I work on, thus how I know about this): https://techcleanca.com/public-data/download-data/  If you download the "TECH Working Data Set Single Family" (right column of website) you will get an Excel file with data on thousands of heat pump systems installed across the state over the last 2 years.  You can filter the results down to HVAC systems with duct replacement and look at the range of project prices across homes similar to yours.  Hope that helps and you love your new heat pump!     

3 tons sounds excessive for 1200 SF! see: https://www.pickhvac.com/heat-pump/sizing/.  I'd recommend getting multiple quotes, and seeing if someone can size down, which should also help with up-front costs and ongoing electricity bills. 

We are a 1300 sq ft flat on the bottom floor of a duplex in Berkeley and had the furnace and all of our ducts replaced with a heat pump, plus air sealing and floor insulation for $30k or so, so that bid doesn't seem bad at all. Don't know how your specs are different from the Fujitsu heat pump we had installed, but probably still worth getting a second bid just to feel confident about moving forward with whoever you want to work with.

Eco Performance Builders did our project and we highly recommend them! Thorough scoping of the project with explanations of why to do or not do elements of it, and everyone who worked in our house was fantastic, especially considering both my wife and I work from home.

We're very happy with the results - much smoother moderation of temp when heating than furnace and the A/C has been lovely on really hot days (which are only going to get more common from here unfortunately).

Whoever you end up using, be sure to check if any of the work (suchas the new ducts, and possible adding insulation) qualifies for rebates from BayREN.  If you are in Albany, they are also offering rebates to residents  for heap pumps; not sure if other cities in the area are doing that.