I bought my first minisplit ~4 years ago since none of the contractors were available in the hot summer.
I bought the tools as well (vacuum pump, manifold, pipe cutters, etc.).
It cost me ~650$ total.
The next time I bought a minisplit (3.5kW one), I already had the tools and it cost me only 450$. A proper one meant for use during harsh winter would probably costs a bit more though, at around 1000$.
So I have set up a few of them for my family and friends so far. The units come pre-charged with gas for ~5M of ducts, there is nothing hard to set them up.
I also set up ESP32 controllers so I could attach them to Home Assistant, bypassing any Chinese cloud apps, etc.
It cost me ~650$ total.
The next time I bought a minisplit (3.5kW one), I already had the tools and it cost me only 450$. A proper one meant for use during harsh winter would probably costs a bit more though, at around 1000$.
So I have set up a few of them for my family and friends so far. The units come pre-charged with gas for ~5M of ducts, there is nothing hard to set them up.
I also set up ESP32 controllers so I could attach them to Home Assistant, bypassing any Chinese cloud apps, etc.