If you’re moving into a new home with hard water, you'll want to be in the loop about the plumbing requirements for having a water softener. Water softeners eliminate minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, which cause hard water.
https://www.angieslist.com/articles/my-house-ready-water-softener.htm
Whether you want to prolong the life of your appliances or avoid scale buildup, water softeners solve the problem of hard water, which affects the majority of homes in the U.S. However, a soft water system can’t be installed without a water softener loop. A water softener loop keeps indoor and outdoor water separate. Once a softener is attached to the loop, all water coming into the home, including to the water heater, will be softened water. The loop ensures that all appliances, faucets and water lines are protected from hardness buildup. It avoids sending treated water to outside faucets where it’s not necessary.
https://www.angieslist.com/articles/my-house-ready-water-softener.htm
A 33,000 grain softener can handle a 1-to- 5 person household and costs around $350. These prices reflect the cost of the water softener alone. Installation will include: labor, materials and the removal/disposal of any existing system--which all-tolled can cost between $250 and $400.
http://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/kitchens/water-softener-installation-costs/
Of course, there are still some possible drawbacks of having a water softener installed. For starters, the upfront cost can be a bit daunting for some homeowners, especially those on a tight budget. Because the average cost to have a water softener installed is around $3,000, this can be a large investment for any homeowner to make. Furthermore, because it's not an absolute necessity, many homeowners find that they'd rather spend their money on other household improvements.
http://www.improvenet.com/r/costs-and-prices/water-softeners
My favorite response to this question is A water softener doesn't cost - it saves. A typical family of 4 will save $40 to $70 per month just by installing a water softener. But I know that is never the answer that you are looking for.
http://holmesecowater.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-much-does-it-cost-to-operate-water.html
With the proper pretreatment and maintenance, the average water softener will not need its resins replaced in its lifetime (20 + years). It is impossible to accurately determine the life of resin since so many factors contribute to the degradation of the resin itself.
http://idahowatersolutions.com/water-softener-faqs/
It depends on how often your system needs to regenerate. The more your softener regenerates the more salt you will consume. As for the salt level in the brine tank, you can let the salt get down to the point inside the tank where you can see the water just above the salt. When you see water above the salt, it is time to add more! Generally, you will add salt to your brine tank about every 8 weeks.
http://idahowatersolutions.com/water-softener-faqs/
Most homeowners use sodium in their water softeners because of its significantly cheaper cost: Water softening sodium costs about $5.50 for a 40 pound bag compared to potassium which costs around $27.00 for a 40 pound bag.
http://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/kitchens/water-softener-installation-costs/
Manual regeneration softeners tend to be the least expensive to install — in some cases costing around just $400 with an extra $100-$400 for installation— whereas a metered or even timed system can cost significantly more, with the average reported cost running about $3,000 total. The minimum reported cost is $400.
http://www.improvenet.com/r/costs-and-prices/water-softeners
The cost of these items will vary depending on water hardness, how much water you use and the water softener control. The first control factor is if the unit is demand or timeclock driven. A timeclock softener will recharge on a fixed schedule. This is the most wasteful way for a softener to work. Our softener had to recharge every 3 days, using 60 pounds of salt per month. These softeners are usually not very water efficient either - using over 50 gallons per recharge. So that means a total monthly operating cost of under $15.
http://holmesecowater.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-much-does-it-cost-to-operate-water.html
what does it cost for a water softener/
The cost of a water softener is $3,000. It costs $3,000 for a water softener. 