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Jessica Wimmer is a writer for USA TODAY Homefront. She specializes in writing reviews and informational articles in the home and pet insurance industries. Jessica analyzes the best brands and has read over 1,000 customer reviews to learn what matters most to buyers. She’s been published in Deep South Magazine, The Dead Mule Journal of Southern Literature and The Deep Water Literary Journal. She’s also a Pushcart Prize nominee, Write Well award winner and former English teacher. Jessica hails from Virginia but currently resides in the Raleigh, North Carolina area.
The Pella Corporation sets itself apart from some of the best window companies in the industry for a few reasons. It’s well-awarded and patented for its innovative features and advanced technology that allow you to enhance your windows’ performance.
The company also offers various window styles and materials to suit different price points. However, its warranty coverage is inconsistent, and you may not like the number of negative customer reviews it has online compared to other affordable window brands.
Our Pella windows review examines the company’s warranty coverage, customer reviews, cost and more to help you decide whether it’s the right brand for you.
We used our windows methodology to give Pella a total score, rating it in categories such as window options, energy-saving features, customer service and warranty coverage. Overall, Pella earned 4.2 out of 5 stars.
The company offers a selection of nine window styles and three frame materials. It also has lines of patio doors, sliding glass doors and French doors. While the number of window style options is on par for the industry, not many top brands offer three material options. According to customer reviews, however, despite Pella’s selection, the products fall short of expectations.
We like that Pella has many window options and builds advanced performance into every style. Pella doesn’t stick to the basics when it comes to performance. In addition to rigorous testing for energy efficiency, Pella designs windows to be impact-, sound- and weather-resistant. You can add optional smart-home integration to increase security and convenience, such as remote locking and blind-lowering.
We also like how user-friendly Pella’s website is. There’s a wealth of information, and everything is easy to read and find. It even has pages dedicated to what it offers that competitors don’t. For example, it includes stats on how much stronger and dent-resistant its fiberglass is compared to the brand Marvin.
We don’t like how much warranty coverage varies across window lines and parts. Although this isn’t uncommon in the window industry, it signifies that the brand may not stand behind some aspects of its windows as much as it does others.
Our main issue with Pella is the number of negative customer reviews we found online. We can find plenty of selling points for the company on its website, but if customer feedback says otherwise, we can’t ignore what actual product buyers have to say.
Pella ranks neck and neck with many top competitors based on its offerings. It scores points for window variety but loses just as many for lesser warranty coverage.
Unfortunately, Pella’s customer reviews are largely negative despite having an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Sixty-four customers rate it an average of 1.28 out of 5 stars on the site. Most of the negative feedback cites product quality issues, such as window parts that easily break or degrade or windows that don’t perform as promised.
An issue customers say comes with this is poor communication. Many, like Sandra, report on Trustpilot and the BBB of trying to get help with their faulty windows only to speak with a representative who’s rude or unhelpful.
Others, however, say they had an overwhelmingly positive experience with the brand. Kathy’s review on Trustpilot speaks of being a longtime, repeat customer who has exclusively bought Pella windows and doors. She notes a dramatic change in her home’s energy efficiency and comfort and exceptional service from her salesperson and installation team.
Pella offers nine window styles and eight window lines, all with their own selling points.
The company’s product lines vary in material and function.
Pella makes many popular window styles. You can choose from the following:
Pella is one of the few leading brands that offers a variety of window materials — vinyl, wood and fiberglass — so you have more options for the look and price point of your windows.
Four of Pella’s window series are made from vinyl. Vinyl is budget-friendly, long-lasting and highly durable. It’s also energy-efficient and easy to maintain. The multi-chambered frames in vinyl windows help reduce thermal transfer and add reinforcement to the window.
Pella’s wood windows come at a higher price point, but they’re a warmer, more attractive option if you want a classic look. Wood is a strong and energy-efficient material, and it’s easy to customize.
The company’s fiberglass window options are heavy-duty, with powder-coating that resists chipping and fading, so your finish never diminishes. Fiberglass resists dents, bends and breaks. It’s tested to hold up to varying temperatures and elements and made to not rot or corrode.
You can get double- and triple-pane windows from Pella. Triple-pane windows are available in the 250, Architect, Impervia, Lifestyle and Reserve series. Investing in triple-pane windows improves energy efficiency and noise reduction. According to a study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, upgrading from double-pane to triple-pane windows can improve a home’s energy efficiency by 40% or more.
Pella’s windows are Energy Star-certified, and those in the 250, Architect and Lifestyle series were voted Most Efficient by Energy Star in 2023. Holding an Energy Star certification means the company’s windows have undergone rigorous testing for performance and energy efficiency.
Pella offers several energy-saving features, including the following:
Pella also claims to prioritize proper installation. Windows that are installed properly are better able to control air leaks.
We surveyed 1,500 window customers in October 2023 and learned that those who bought Pella windows spent between $8,664 and $20,644 on their window replacement project. This price varies by the project size. Here’s a look at customers’ average investment based on how many windows they purchased:
An FAQ on Pella’s website states that a standard window typically costs between $200 and $900. Expect to pay more for a series with extra storm protection, impact resistance, energy-saving features and other performance enhancements. Also, expect to pay more for larger styles with more complex designs, such as bay and picture windows.
We recommend getting a quote once you know which type of windows you want. Or if you don’t know which windows you want, Pella offers a free consultation. You can schedule an in-home appointment or speak with someone over the phone, and a Pella representative will advise you on the best windows for your home and give you a price estimate for the job.
Pella offers financing options, but it’s not upfront about them. Its website has a dedicated financing page where you can enter your ZIP code to see options in your area, but it directs you to schedule a consultation to discuss them. Pella advertises the opportunity of $750 qualifying projects and a no-payments, no-interest program if you pay in full within 12 months.
Pella makes selecting and ordering the windows you want easy. If you plan to install the windows yourself, which we don’t recommend, you can order straight from the website. If you want professional installation, you can have an in-home consultation or visit a showroom.
During a consultation, a Pella expert will measure, order and then schedule the installation for you. If you want to see the windows first, you can also visit a Pella showroom or retailer that sells Pella products, such as Lowe’s or ABC Supply. A showroom representative can schedule your installation date.
On your installation date, your Pella team will prepare the area to protect your floors and furniture. The crew will then remove your old windows, make any necessary repairs, and install your new windows. They’ll seal them as tightly as possible and perform a quality assurance check to ensure all aspects of the window perform as they should, as well as let you examine their craftsmanship for any issues. They’ll then clean up the site and properly dispose of your old windows for you.
Pella’s warranties vary by window material.
Most of Pella’s warranty coverage is transferable for a certain time frame. We suggest reading warranties carefully to understand what can void your warranty.
There’s a lot to like about Pella, including energy-saving features and advanced technology that makes its windows resistant to weather, impact and noise. But no matter how innovative and passionate about window performance Pella appears on its site, we can’t ignore that most customer reviews point to negative experiences with window quality and customer service.
We recommend speaking with a Pella sales rep and reading testimonials to better understand what you can expect for the type of project you’re interested in. It’s also a good idea to get quotes from a few companies before deciding which to hire for your window installation.
Our aim is to provide you with the information you need to assess and choose a window company when updating or replacing your windows. We conducted research to thoroughly understand the window industry from both a consumer and company perspective.
Our in-depth methodology compares window companies based on various attributes, including window options, energy efficiency, warranties, reputation, reviews, customer service, communication, installation and other services. Each attribute is worth points that add up to a possible total of 100. We then translate that score into our 5-star rating we feature in our reviews.
BBB and Trustpilot scores are accurate as of March 2024.
Editorial note: The name “Homefront” refers to the alliance between USA TODAY and Home Solutions that publishes review, comparison, and informational articles designed to help USA TODAY readers make smarter purchasing and investment decisions about their home. Under the alliance, Homefront provides and publishes research and articles about home service and home improvement topics.
Homefront has an affiliate disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Homefront editorial staff alone (see About Homefront). Homefront adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is believed to be accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.
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