How Much to Charge for House Cleaning: Prices, Rates, Examples

You’re ready to start cleaning houses professionally—now you just need to know how much to charge. For a standard cleaning job, your price could be:

• $20–50 per hour
• $25 per bedroom and bathroom
• 5–16¢ per square foot
• $100–200 as a flat fee

But which option is best for your cleaning company and your clients? That all depends on which house cleaning services you offer, what pricing method you use, and what business factors you need to consider.

In this house cleaning pricing guide, we’ll explore the best ways to charge for different house cleaning services and keep every job profitable.

Cleaning services pricing list

Here’s how much house cleaning companies typically charge for various types of cleaning services, using different pricing structures:

Cleaning Task	Hourly Rate	Flat Fee	Room Rate	Sq Ft Rate
House cleaning	$20–50/hour per cleaner	$100–200	$100–150+	$0.05–0.16/sq ft
Deep cleaning	$40–100/hour per cleaner	$200–400	$125–175+	$0.13–0.17/sq ft
Move-out cleaning	$40–100/hour per cleaner	$300–400	$125–175+	$0.13–0.20/sq ft
Construction cleanup	$30–50/hour per cleaner	Up to $800	$125–175+	$0.10–0.50/sq ft

Set prices for your specialty services that help clients solve other household problems. These add-ons can use a mix of pricing models, depending on what the house cleaning service is.

Here are some examples:

Cleaning Task	Cost
Laundry	$5–20 per load (added fee for folding and putting away)
Appliance cleaning	$25–35+ per appliance (more if it’s in bad shape)
Blinds and window cleaning	$2–6 per window
Floor buffing	$0.04–0.12 per square foot
Tile cleaning	$0.12–0.21 per square foot
Carpet cleaning	$0.16–0.28 per square foot
Floor stripping and waxing	$0.30–0.50 per square foot
Furniture/curtain cleaning	$100+ per hour (depending on size, type, and condition)
Green cleaning supplies	$5–10 per cleaning job

READ MORE: Offer service packages with good, better, best pricing

Keep in mind that this pricing sheet is just a starting point. You can set your own prices based on what feels right for your situation and your clients—and what they’re willing to pay.

Pro Tip: Set yourself apart from competitors with green cleaning service, either as a value add or an optional extra cost. Just make sure your bottom line can handle more expensive cleaning supplies.

How much to charge for cleaning a house

Standard house cleaning service includes tasks like dusting, wiping surfaces, vacuuming and mopping floors, and scrubbing bathroom fixtures.

Here’s what your cleaning business can charge for general cleaning tasks:

• House Cleaning Hourly Rate: $20–50/hour per house cleaner, based on experience and team size
• Flat Fee: $100–170 weekly/biweekly for standard cleaning in a single-family home
• Room Rate: $100 for 1 bed/1 bath + $10–20 for each additional bedroom or bathroom
• Square Footage Rate: 5–15¢ per square foot for weekly or biweekly standard cleaning (note that the higher the square footage, the lower your rate should be)

PODCAST: Listen and learn how to attract high-paying customers

How much to charge for deep cleaning a house

If you’re doing a deep clean, you can add an extra 30–50% to your normal cleaning rates. There are several ways to price deep cleaning service, depending on what works best for you:

1. Deep Clean Hourly Rate: $40–100/hour per house cleaner, based on team size and experience
2. Flat Fee: $200–400+, depending on the size of the home (and your team)
3. Room Rate: $125–175 for a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home
4. Square Footage Rate: $0.13–0.17 per sq ft (at the lower end for larger homes, and the higher end for homes requiring more effort)

How much to charge for move-out cleaning

Move-out cleaning is another form of deep cleaning. However, the home is completely empty, so thorough cleaning takes even more work.

This one-time house cleaning cost could be:

1. Move-Out Cleaning Hourly Rate: $40–100/hour per house cleaner
2. Flat Fee: $300–400
3. Room Rate: $125–175 for a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home
4. Square Footage Rate: Up to $0.22 per square foot

How much to charge for construction cleanup

Construction cleanup is much like move-out cleaning because you’re cleaning an empty space. However, it may require a bit less elbow grease since the building is brand-new.

Here’s what your cleaning business could charge:

1. Construction Cleanup Hourly Rate: $30–50/hour per house cleaner
2. Flat Fee: Up to $800, depending on the size and condition of the space
3. Room Rate: $125–175 for a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home
4. Square Footage Rate: $0.10–0.50 per square foot

How to charge for house cleaning

There are four common methods to help you decide how much to charge for house cleaning. All of them can be effective—it’s just a matter of finding the pricing strategy that works best for you.

You can also learn how to properly charge for house cleaning services in this video with our cleaning experts:

1. Hourly house cleaning prices

Best Fit: Cleaners who don’t know how long it’ll take to clean a house
Poor Fit: Experienced, fast-working cleaners or clients who want a predictable fee for service

Here’s how to price cleaning a house at an hourly rate, with an added 50% for overhead costs and profit margin:

Hourly Rate = (Employees’ hourly wage x Number of employees) x 1.5

An appropriate hourly rate is around $25–50 for less experienced cleaners or standard services, while a one-time deep cleaning cost per hour could be up to $100.

Lower cleaning rates usually apply to repeat clients who have you clean every week or so, since regular cleaning means less work each time. Charge a higher house cleaning rate if it needs more work or more cleaners.

2. Flat rate house cleaning prices

Best Fit: Experienced cleaners, clients who want a predictable rate
Poor Fit: Less experienced cleaners, jobs that require more time

Flat fee pricing is one of the most common pricing methods for house cleaners—and a favorite for clients. Your budget is set from the start, so the faster you go, the more profit you take home.

There isn’t a set formula for flat fee pricing because it’s based on value. However, you can typically charge $100–170 per visit for cleaning a typical single-family home. The cost can be higher for deep cleaning services.

To set your fee, consider house cleaning cost factors like:

• How long the job will take you
• How many workers the job requires
• Hourly overhead costs
• A healthy profit margin
• Extra padding in case of delays
• How much the client is willing to pay for convenience

3. How to calculate cleaning cost per square foot

Best Fit: Pricing multiple jobs quickly, pricing commercial cleaning jobs
Poor Fit: First-time cleaning jobs where you aren’t certain about the scope of work

Some professional house cleaning companies set residential cleaning prices based on square footage. This type of pricing is easy to calculate on the spot when a client is asking for a quote:

Square Footage Cost = Home’s square footage x Your cost per square foot

Charge a higher square footage rate for smaller spaces and less frequent, more detailed cleaning. For example:

• If you’re deep cleaning a furnished 700 sq ft apartment at a square footage rate of 30¢, you would quote $210 for that one-time job.
• Regularly cleaning a 2,000 sq ft home at a rate of 7¢ would earn you $140 each week. It’s less income per job, but it’s recurring work that you can count on.

If you decide to quote by square footage, run the numbers for a few different house sizes. Make sure each job is still profitable after deducting labor costs, cleaning supplies, and overhead.

4. How much to charge for house cleaning per room

Best Fit: Repeat jobs where each room is in reasonably good condition
Poor Fit: Deep cleaning service for a house that hasn’t been cleaned in a while

To easily quote professional cleaning services for houses of all sizes, some house cleaning companies set their prices based on a room rate. This refers to the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.

Easily calculate your total house cleaning amount using this room rate formula, which assumes a 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom home. Feel free to adjust the additional room fee as needed:

Cost = 100 + (# of extra bathrooms x $20) + (# of extra bedrooms x $10)

If a home has more bedrooms, it may have larger common areas as well, like the kitchen and living room. Remember that when you’re calculating room rates for homes with 4+ bedrooms.

Factors that affect cleaning service pricing

These are some of the most common factors that will influence the cost of your house cleaning services:

1. Labor: Factor in your hourly rate for your team’s labor, multiply your hourly rate by the number of workers for that job, and add 18% payroll on top. That’s your bare minimum amount for any job, not including overhead costs and other factors.
2. Overhead and profit margin: Account for operational expenses like taxes, fuel, cleaning insurance, cleaning supplies, and cleaning business advertising, as well as a healthy profit margin to help your professional cleaning service grow.
3. Home size: The larger the home, the more you should charge for house cleaning service. You can determine home size based on square footage or the number of rooms.
4. Home condition: The worse the home’s condition, the more cleaning it’ll need—and the more you’ll want to charge for your time and effort. Charge a higher rate for homes with pets, too, since this could mean more time spent cleaning.
5. Home location: If you have to travel a fair distance, charge more to cover travel time and fuel. You can also schedule clients in the same area on the same day, or use route optimization to cut down on drive time.
6. Local demand: Your rate should be unique to your cleaning company, but check your area’s going rate to make sure you aren’t over or undercharging.
7. Ideal client: Make sure your rate is affordable for your ideal client while sending the right message about the quality of your house cleaning services.
8. Type of cleaning: Charge more for cleaning service that takes more time, effort, or cleaning product—and for specialty cleaning services that your competitors don’t offer.
9. Cleaning frequency: The more time and effort required for a cleaning job—for example, a deep clean versus regular weekly cleaning—the more you should charge.
10. Experience level: A more experienced cleaner can charge a premium, but if you’re less experienced, wait to charge a higher rate until you have the reputation and know-how to back it up.

Pro Tip: If there’s a cleaning contract involved, do an initial cleaning before signing so you know how much work to expect each time. This keeps you from being locked in at a lower rate or longer cleaning time than you planned for.

There are lots of factors to consider and a range of pricing methods to help you set your house cleaning prices. Your prices may not be the same as anyone else’s, but they’ll be just right for you and your clients.

Originally published August 2021. Last updated June 12, 2023.