The string on a crossbow is a wear part. It stretches, frays and loses its serving over a working life measured in shots and seasons, and replacing it is a normal part of ownership rather than a repair. What catches new owners out is that the cost is not one number - it depends on whether you mean the string alone, the full string-and-cable set, and whether you do the work yourself or hand it to a pro shop.
What a restring actually costs
For a compound crossbow there are two moving parts to the price: the components and the labour. A replacement string on its own is the cheap part. A full set that includes both cables is more, because on a compound the cables wear alongside the string and shops usually recommend replacing them together. Labour is the variable most people forget - the job needs a bow press, and if you do not own one you are paying a shop for the press time as much as the string.
| What you are paying for | Rough range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Replacement string only | $30 - $80 | Component alone; more for premium custom strings |
| Full string + cable set | $60 - $150 | What most compounds actually need at service time |
| Pro-shop labour | $20 - $60 | Press time and fitting; often bundled into a service |
| Bow press (if going DIY) | $80 - $200+ | One-off; only worth it if you service several bows |
Add it up and a typical compound restring at a shop lands somewhere around $60 to $150 all-in, depending on whether cables go with the string and what your local rates are. Buying a press to do it yourself only pays off if you own multiple bows or plan to service them for years - for a single crossbow, the shop is usually the cheaper and safer route. These are ballpark figures; call your local pro shop for a real quote, because rates and component prices vary by region and by brand.
The recurve exception
A recurve crossbow, such as an Excalibur, is the cheap and simple one to service. There are no cables and no cams, so there is no cable set to buy and, on many models, no press required - the string can be changed with a stringing aid at home. That drops the real-world cost to little more than the price of the string itself, and it is one of the quiet ownership advantages of recurve designs that never shows up on a spec sheet.
How often you need it
There is no fixed calendar. A rough guide is every two to three years of regular use, or sooner if you shoot a lot, but the honest metric is condition, not age. What extends the interval more than anything is waxing. A string kept waxed at the manufacturer's interval, on a bow that is de-cocked rather than stored under load, lasts markedly longer than one left dry and cocked between trips. That maintenance link is why every cocking cycle matters - the mechanics of loading the bow are covered in our guide on how to cock a crossbow, and a bow that is easy to cock and de-cock is a bow whose string you actually look after.
Signs it is time
Fraying strands, a serving that is separating or sliding, visible stretch that has changed your point of impact, or any broken strand at all - each is a reason to stop shooting and restring. A string that lets go at full draw is a dry-fire event with a person attached, so this is not a part to nurse through one more season. If your groups have drifted and cocking feels different, string wear is a common and overlooked cause before you start blaming the scope or your form.
A frayed or broken-strand string can fail at the shot, which loads the limbs like a dry-fire and can destroy the bow or injure you. Retire it early - the cost of a string is trivial next to the cost of the bow.