Summary: Chapter 7 typically costs $2,000 to $4,500 total and finishes in 3 to 6 months; Chapter 13 typically costs $3,500 to $5,500 and runs 3 to 5 years. Chapter 7 is cheaper in dollars but requires passing the means test and can require surrendering non-exempt assets. Chapter 13 costs more but lets you keep property, catch up on mortgage arrears, and strip wholly unsecured junior liens, with most attorney fees paid through the plan. The trustee's fee of up to 10 percent of plan payments applies only in Chapter 13. Choice of chapter is a legal strategy decision, not just a price comparison.
Chapter 7: $2,000 to $4,500. Filing fee $338, attorney $1,500 to $4,000, courses ~$75. Due mostly upfront, before filing. Chapter 13: $3,500 to $5,500. Filing fee $313, attorney $3,000 to $5,000, courses ~$75, plus the trustee's cut of up to 10 percent of plan payments. Most of the attorney fee is paid through the plan, so upfront cost is often under $1,000.
On sticker price, Chapter 7 wins. On cash-flow-at-filing, Chapter 13 can be easier to start. Neither comparison answers which chapter you should file; that depends on your assets, income, and goals.
Chapter 7 buys speed: discharge in 3 to 6 months, debts gone, fresh start. What it cannot do: save a house from foreclosure (no mechanism to cure arrears over time), reduce secured debt to collateral value on most consumer loans, or help filers with regular income keep non-exempt property.
Chapter 13 buys power: cure mortgage arrears over 3 to 5 years, cram down certain secured debts to collateral value, strip wholly unsecured second mortgages, and protect co-signers. The price is 3 to 5 years of court-supervised payments and the trustee's fee. People choose Chapter 13 to keep things, not to save money.
Chapter 7 requires passing the means test (Official Form 122A): if your income is below your state's median for your household size, you pass automatically. Above median, the full test deducts allowed expenses; remaining disposable income above thresholds pushes you toward Chapter 13.
Failing the means test does not mean no relief; it means Chapter 13, where your payment plan is built from that same disposable-income math. The test is complex enough that above-median filers should not self-file.
Chapter 13's fee structure is its own topic. Courts set no-look fee caps, commonly $3,500 to $5,000 depending on district, that attorneys can charge without itemized review. You typically pay a portion upfront ($500 to $1,000) and the rest through the plan, meaning creditors effectively fund part of your legal bill from plan payments.
The trustee's fee, up to 10 percent of plan disbursements, is separate: it compensates the trustee for administering the plan and comes out of plan funds. On a $60,000 plan, up to $6,000 goes to trustee compensation. It is real money, but it is not an additional out-of-pocket charge beyond the plan payment.
Chapter 7's low price is a trap when: you are behind on a mortgage you want to keep (Chapter 7 cannot cure arrears), you have non-exempt equity the trustee will sell (a paid-off car, valuable collections, investment property), you have priority debts like recent taxes that survive anyway, or you filed Chapter 7 within the last 8 years (ineligible for discharge).
In these situations the 'cheap' chapter costs you the house or the car. Price the asset risk, not just the fee.
The decision tree: 1. Can you pass the means test? If no, Chapter 13 (or no filing). 2. Are you behind on secured debts you want to keep? If yes, Chapter 13. 3. Do you have non-exempt assets? If yes, price what the trustee takes in Chapter 7 versus what the plan pays in Chapter 13. 4. How much of your debt is non-dischargeable? If most survives either chapter, consider non-bankruptcy workouts.
Run both scenarios in the calculator above, then take the numbers to a bankruptcy attorney. Most offer free consultations, and chapter choice is the highest-value question they answer.
Chapter 7: typically $2,000 to $4,500 total, finished in months. Chapter 13: typically $3,500 to $5,500 total, paid over 3 to 5 years. Chapter 7 is cheaper in dollars but requires passing the means test.
Within eligibility limits, yes. Above-median income filers generally must file Chapter 13. Others choose based on assets, arrears, and goals; an attorney's free consultation usually settles it.
Usually only a portion ($500-$1,000). Most of the $3,000-$5,000 fee is paid through the plan, and courts set no-look caps standardizing the amount.
Up to 10 percent of plan payments, paid to the Chapter 13 trustee from plan funds for administering the case. It is not an extra out-of-pocket charge beyond the plan payment.
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Data current as of October 2026. Sources: US Courts bankruptcy fee schedule; 11 U.S.C. 707(b) (means test); Chapter 13 trustee compensation rules. Legal information only, not legal advice.