What should you actually charge for a house cleaning? When you’re figuring out how to price cleaning services, it comes down to covering your overhead, keeping an eye on trends in your service area, and factoring profit into your pricing equation. Then, pick the best pricing strategy (hourly, flat rate, per room, or square footage) to suit the jobs you plan to tackle.
Building in business costs like travel, payroll taxes, and cleaning business insurance from the start is the key to long-term success and sustainability. In this house cleaning pricing guide, we’ll break down exactly how to set your rates, what you can’t forget to include, and how to bill your clients.
How to Price Cleaning Services
Wages and supplies are the costs everyone remembers. The ones that hide like dust bunnies under the couch are payroll taxes, insurance premiums, licensing fees, mileage, and the unpaid hours you spend driving and quoting. Miss them, and your “base rate” is really a pay cut.
These costs can quietly eat into your bottom line. Factor them into your pricing to ensure you’re not losing money on each job.
| Your expense | Where to find your number | How to convert it to an hourly cost |
|---|---|---|
|
Your pay and your crew’s wages |
What you feel comfortable paying your crew, considering what cleaners typically earn |
Hourly wage ($16.31 is the average in 2026 for housekeepers) |
|
Payroll taxes (if you have employees) |
Federal payroll taxes (Social Security, Medicare, and FUTA), plus your state’s payroll tax rates |
Add to the hourly wage |
|
Your policy premium (starting at $39/month or $425/year with Insurance Canopy) |
Annual premium ÷ billable hours per year |
|
|
Workers compensation insurance (if your state requires it) |
Your policy premium |
Annual premium ÷ billable hours per year |
|
Supplies, equipment, and licensing fees |
Your receipts |
Monthly cost ÷ billable hours per month |
|
Travel |
IRS standard mileage rate ($0.76 from July–December 2026) × miles driven |
Total per job, or spread across your hours |
|
Unbilled time (driving, quoting, administration) |
Track it for one week |
Spread across billable hours, which raises your rate |
|
Business costs (software, phone, marketing) |
Your subscriptions and bills |
Monthly cost ÷ billable hours per month |
|
Your base hourly rate |
Total of everything above |
The lowest you can charge before profit |
Be sure to factor profit into your pricing! Business shouldn’t just be about breaking even.
Your pay covers you. Profit is what your business keeps for slow months, new equipment, and growth. Once you know your base rate, add the profit you want on top.
For example, to add 15% profit to a $45 base rate, multiply $45 by 1.15 for a rate of about $52 an hour. How much profit you aim for is up to you.
Starting a cleaning business? Learn about cleaning business startup costs and what you really need to get your business up and running.
How to Charge for Cleaning Services
Once you determine how much money you need to earn to make ends meet (plus a comfy cushion of profit), decide how you’ll charge your clients. Clients love the transparency of flat-rate pricing, but hourly pricing may make more sense for your bottom line on a larger, more complicated job.
You may want to consider different pricing models for different scenarios and a menu of add-on services, such as oven cleaning or window washing.
Flat-Rate Pricing
Charging a flat rate or fee means completing a job for a set price, making the same amount of money no matter how long the job takes. To set one, estimate how many hours a typical job takes, and multiply by your hourly rate. Then add a small buffer for surprises.
This cleaning business pricing structure solves the problem of the client feeling nervous about the final invoice amount after a job. They’ll know from the start what they’ll be invoiced for when their services are complete.
This pricing structure also makes things less complicated for you, as you don’t need to keep track of the time you spend cleaning to calculate the final cost to the customer. The downside is that more complicated jobs could take more time to complete, and you won’t be paid extra for those hours.
Hourly Rate Pricing
One way to ensure your time is valued is to charge customers by the hour. Some customers may be skeptical that hourly rates will benefit you more than them. However, this cleaning business pricing structure allows you to fully customize their cleaning plan.
If you clean short-term rentals like Airbnbs, hourly pricing lets you add small tasks, like counting silverware or laundering bedding. Be sure to outline detailed tasks for hourly rates to illustrate your value clearly. Think of it as finding the right balance between elbow grease and fair pay.
Per-Room Pricing
Setting your cleaning business pricing structure on a per-room basis works best for residential or vacation properties. To price your cleaning services per room, divide the average time per job by the number of rooms you cleaned to get your time per room, then multiply that by your hourly rate.
Per-room price = (average job time ÷ rooms cleaned) × your hourly rate
For example, if a typical job covers six rooms in three hours, each room averages 30 minutes. At $50 an hour, that’s $25 per room. Bathrooms and kitchens usually take longer, so consider pricing them separately.
The downside of pricing on a per-room basis is that you might find you are spending longer in spaces than you calculated. This approach can hurt profitability, especially when cleaning large commercial spaces.
Square-Footage Pricing
Pricing your services by square foot can make quoting a price faster. Setting a rate per square foot lets you quickly offer a quote when customers know the size of the space they need cleaned.
It’s like having a magic formula for pricing:
Pricing Calculator
Price of Job:
$0.00
The average rate for house cleaning services in 2026 is between $0.10 and $0.20 per square foot. For deep cleanings, such as move-out cleanings or tackling spaces with hoarding, many cleaners charge more, between $0.25 and $0.35 per square foot.
One of the challenges of booking by square foot is that you don’t have an opportunity to walk the space to understand areas of concern. You could be quoting for a house with 10 years’ worth of pet hair on the baseboards and not realize it.
How to Charge for Add-Ons
Every extra task eats into your time and, therefore, your bottom line. Price add-ons by how long they take, and you’ll never clean an oven or a fridge for free again.
| Add-on | Estimated time | How to price it | Example at $50/hour |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Inside oven |
30–45 min |
Time × your hourly rate |
$25–$38 |
|
Inside fridge |
20–30 min |
Time × your hourly rate |
$17–$25 |
|
Inside cabinets |
30–60 min |
Time × your hourly rate |
$25–$50 |
|
Baseboards (whole home) |
30–60 min |
Time × your hourly rate |
$25–$50 |
|
Interior windows |
5–10 min per window |
Time × rate × number of windows |
$4–$8 per window |
|
Blinds |
5–10 min per set |
Time × rate × number of sets |
$4–$8 per set |
|
Wall spot cleaning |
15–30 min |
Time × your hourly rate |
$13–$25 |
|
Laundry (wash and fold) |
15–20 min hands-on per load |
Time × rate × number of loads |
$13–$17 per load |
Note: Times are estimates. Track your own on a few jobs and adjust.
What Else to Consider When Pricing Your Cleaning Services
When pricing your cleaning services, consider these factors:
- Location: Consider the cost of living for your area, median household incomes, and how much competition there is. You should also consider that location drives demand; certain areas will have a higher percentage of people looking to hire professional cleaning services.
- Competition: Check local competitors’ pricing, especially as you talk with customers who have likely price-shopped. This is especially helpful if you’re new to the area and don’t yet understand the cost of living there.
- Years of experience: People will pay more for seasoned professionals. As your business grows, you may find you can charge more for your services based solely on how long you have been in business.
- Condition and size of the job site: Don’t forget to factor in the condition and size of the space you’re cleaning. Pricing should increase for move-outs, deep cleans, and foreclosures.
The type of cleaning you offer also affects your price. Specialized work requires more time, equipment, and risk.
Here’s what typically drives pricing for different types of cleaning services:
| Service | What drives the price | How it's usually billed |
|---|---|---|
|
Residential cleaning |
Home size, frequency, add-ons |
Hourly or flat-rate packages |
|
Commercial cleaning |
Square footage, cleaning needs, frequency |
Custom quotes |
|
Carpeted area, carpet type, cleaning method |
By area, plus extras like stain removal |
|
|
Number and size of windows, access, inside vs. outside |
Per window or package deals |
|
|
Surface area, material, grime, pretreatment |
By square foot or project packages |
|
|
Facility size, frequency, task scope |
Monthly or annual contracts |
|
|
Green cleaning |
Eco-friendly product costs |
Premium over standard rates |
|
Specialized cleaning (deep, move-in/move-out, post-construction, medical) |
Intensity, risk, space size |
Higher rates than standard cleans |
If you’re in a location with steep competition, one of the most effective things you can do is find a unique selling point for your business. Adding to your services from the menu of tasks above is one way to offer more to your clients and make your business shine compared to the competition.
Common Cleaning Business Pricing Mistakes to Avoid
Missing the mark with your pricing can throw off your whole business and derail clients’ trust in your services. A few cleaning business pricing mistakes to avoid include:
- Underpricing services: While it may be tempting to offer rock-bottom prices to attract more customers, this can hurt your business in the long run.
- Ignoring market trends: If you price your offerings significantly higher or lower than the market average, you may struggle to attract customers. By staying informed about market trends, you can ensure that your prices are competitive and reflective of the current market conditions.
- Inconsistent pricing: Inconsistency can erode trust in your brand and make it difficult for customers to budget for your services. Establish a pricing strategy and stick to it, make adjustments only when necessary, and communicate any changes to your customers.
- Forgetting your overhead: Factor in your overhead costs, like travel expenses, payroll taxes, workers compensation, and cleaning business insurance, from the start.
Pro tip: Carrying the right cleaning business insurance helps safeguard you against costly claims, like client slips and falls and property damage. Plus, many cleaning contracts require insurance.
Shopping around for the right coverage? Check out our guide to the best insurance for cleaning business owners.
FAQs About How to Charge for Cleaning Services
What Is the Average Cost to Clean a 2,000-Square-Foot House?
At the national average of $0.10 to $0.20 per square foot, a standard cleaning for a 2,000-square-foot house costs about $200 to $400. Deep cleans and move-out cleanings cost more, up to about $700 at $0.35 per square foot. The home’s condition, number of bathrooms, and local rates will affect your final price.
Is Insurance a Requirement for Cleaning Contracts?
Liability insurance is often a requirement for cleaning jobs, especially commercial contracts. Many savvy homeowners also want their cleaners to carry insurance. Clients may ask for a certificate of insurance (COI), a one-page document that proves you’re covered.
Insurance not only helps protect you and your clients, but also demonstrates professionalism and reliability. While you may find some clients who don’t require it, carrying insurance can help you secure more contracts and justify your pricing.
