Motorized pergolas

Here’s what each brand charges for the same 10×13 size, cheapest first.

The cheapest kits, from Erommy and Mirador, often come with side screens or colored lights, but Erommy covers the whole kit for one year and Mirador for four, or five if you register. In the middle, BON and PergoLux cover the frame for ten years. At the top, Hansø and BON’s Grand buy you a bigger, stronger roof rather than a better motor.

If you’ll move the roof every day, yes. A motor lets you close it from indoors when a shower starts, or from your phone when you’re out, and most motorized kits come with built-in lights.

If you’d set the louvers in the morning and leave them, a manual kit does the same job for less. From the same brand at the same size, the motor adds about $1,400 to $1,800, as our pergola cost guide shows, and the louvered pergola kits page has the manual versions.

Every motorized kit needs power at one post, and in most cases that means an ordinary outdoor outlet. PergoLux asks for a standard 120 V outdoor outlet and doesn’t include it, which our PergoLux cost guide adds into the full bill. BON says its Villa plugs into a regular 110 V outlet and only needs an electrician if you want it wired into the breaker box. The Luxury Pergola ships with a plug-in cord. Hansø, Mirador and Paragon don’t say, so ask them before you order.

If there’s no outlet where the post will stand, Angi puts a new one at $150 to $260, and it may need an electrical permit. Get it in before the kit arrives.

The motor and the electrics are the parts most likely to need a claim, and they always get the shortest cover. BON gives the Villa’s electrics two years and its Grand five. PergoLux gives two years on moving and electrical parts. Hansø gives one year on the motor and five on the opening mechanism, and wants you to register within 30 days. All three cover the frame for ten years. Compare those motor terms, not the frame headline, when you choose.