How Much to Charge for House Cleaning: Prices, Rates, Examples
If you’re ready to start cleaning houses professionally, the next step is determining what you’ll charge your clients. Pricing might feel overwhelming, especially if you offer a range of services.
Fortunately, industry benchmarks can help you create prices that are both competitive and profitable. According to Thumbtack, house cleaners can charge:
- $45-50 per hour, based on the national average
- $175-$218 per home, for low-end cleaning jobs
- $350-$400 per home, for high-end cleaning jobs
Whether you’re looking for a quick reference on how much to charge for house cleaning, or want to learn how to price out your services yourself—you’ve come to the right place.
In this house cleaning pricing guide, you’ll learn the best ways to charge for various house cleaning services to ensure that every job is profitable.
How much to charge for residential cleaning services (pricing chart)
Here’s how much you can typically charge for various types of cleaning services. In this chart, you’ll find calculations based on four 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 |
Looking for commercial cleaning pricing suggestions? Pricing commercial cleaning services is different than residential cleaning jobs. Learn how to price commercial cleaning jobs with our commercial cleaning pricing guide.
How much to charge for cleaning a house (standard residential cleaning)
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 home 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
Deep cleaning involves a more thorough process than spot cleaning. This option might be recommended if the time between cleanings is more than several months.
With a deep clean, add an extra 30–50% to your normal cleaning rates. There are several ways to price deep cleaning for new and existing clients:
- Deep clean hourly rate: $40–100/hour per house cleaner, based on team size and experience
- Flat fee: $200–400+, depending on the size of the home (and your team)
- Room rate: $125–175 for a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home
- 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 usually empty and free of furniture and clutter. When move-out cleaning is required (in a rental, lease, or purchase contingency), the cleaning must meet specific criteria. As a result, this one-time house cleaning cost could be:
- Move-out cleaning hourly rate: $40–100/hour per house cleaner
- Flat fee: $300–400
- Room rate: $125–175 for a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home
- Square footage rate: Up to $0.22 per square foot
How much to charge for construction cleanup
Construction cleanup is similar to move-out cleaning because you’re cleaning an empty space after a project. However, it may require a bit less elbow grease since the building is brand-new and free of furniture or other items.
Here’s what your cleaning business could charge:
- Construction cleanup hourly rate: $30–50/hour per house cleaner
- Flat fee: Up to $800, depending on the size and condition of the space
- Room rate: $125–175 for a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home
- Square footage rate: $0.10–0.50 per square foot
How much to charge for specialty services (average price per service)
Specialty services are extra add-ons. These offerings can help clients solve other household problems when they’re low on time. Plus, they’re a chance for you to earn more per job.
Here’s what you can charge for add-on cleaning services:
| Add-on cleaning service | Average price per job |
|---|---|
| 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 upholstery/curtain cleaning | $100+ per hour (depending on size, type, and condition) |
| Green cleaning supplies | $5–10 per cleaning job |
| Sanitization or odor removal services | $75-100 per hour |
| Ceiling and wall (paint) cleaning | $0.50 to $0.60 per square foot |
| Disaster or emergency restoration cleaning (i.e., water damage) | $1,000-4,000+ |
READ MORE: Offer service packages with good, better, best pricing
Depending on your cleaning checklists, some speciality services might already fall into basic house cleaning packages.
For example, you’d probably wipe down a refrigerator during a normal house cleaning call. In other cases (especially if there’s extra grime), you can charge additional fees for more labor.
We’ve even had some scenarios where a client would request a house wash and a window wash for example and we’ll offer them a luxury bundle and quote everything that we can clean on the house. So we’ve taken an eighteen hundred dollar request and converted it to a forty five hundred dollar request just for offering it.
Keep in mind that this pricing sheet is just a starting point. 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 an eco-friendly green cleaning service, either as a value add or an optional cost. Just make sure your bottom line can handle more expensive cleaning supplies.
How to price house cleaning services (pricing formulas)
There are four options when deciding how much to charge for house cleaning—hourly, flat rate, square footage, and per room. Each pricing method can be effective and profitable. It’s simply a matter of finding the pricing strategy that works best for your personal and business goals.
In this video, our cleaning experts share how to properly charge for house cleaning services:
1. Hourly pricing formula
An hourly pricing model means you’ll charge customers a set rate for every working hour. This system ensures that you are compensated for your labor and time.
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 $25–50 for less experienced cleaners or standard services. A one-time deep cleaning cost per hour could be up to $100.
Best Fit: When you aren’t sure how long a house cleaning job will take
Poor Fit: Fast-working cleaners or clients who want a predictable fee for a single service
Charging per hour protects you from surprises, such as a client booking you for four hours, if you go to the home and then you find out that the shower is going to take you four hours to clean. It’s a lesson learned.
Repeat clients might pay lower hourly cleaning rates, since regular cleaning means less work each time. Charge a higher house cleaning rate if a home requires more effort or team members to get the job done.
Pro Tip: Remember, if you have a variable hourly rate, you may not be able to widely advertise it to all new clients. Instead, you can market your services by encouraging prospects to reach out for a “custom quote.”
How much do house cleaners make per hour?
Housekeepers and house cleaners make $12/hour on average, or $29,991/year. A cleaner’s actual hourly wage will vary depending on skill level, average pay in their state, and local cost of living.
2. How to set flat rate house cleaning prices
A flat fee is determined by the amount of time you assume the job will take based on an estimate. For example, charging $175 to clean a two bed, two bath house. Flat fee pricing is helpful when you’re juggling many recurring projects.
Best Fit: Experienced cleaners and clients who want a predictable rate
Poor Fit: Less experienced cleaners or jobs that require more time on-site
Flat fee pricing is one of the most common pricing methods for house cleaners—and a favorite for clients. The budget is set from the start. This means that 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 under 3,000 square feet. The cost can be higher for deep cleaning services or larger homes.
To set your fee, consider house cleaning cost factors like:
- How long the job will take you or your employees
- How many workers the job requires
- Hourly overhead costs
- A healthy profit margin
- Extra padding in case of delays (unexpected work in the home)
- How much the client is willing to pay for convenience
3. Square footage pricing formula
In this model, charge customers a set rate per square foot of a home. Square footage pricing relies on an accurate measurement that you collect yourself or get from a homeowner.
Best Fit: When you need to price multiple jobs quickly or set commercial cleaning prices Poor Fit: First-time cleaning jobs when the scope of work is unknown
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 wants a quote based on the size of their space. Here’s how to do it:
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 and predictable work.
When you 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. Per room pricing formula
Per room pricing is a simple way to offer “à la carte” options to homeowners who don’t want a full house package. You might price higher to compensate for cleaning less per trip.
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, or for clients who live outside of your normal travel range
To quickly quote professional cleaning services for houses of all sizes, some house cleaning companies establish prices based on a room rate. This refers to the number of bedrooms and bathrooms that will be cleaned.
Calculate your total house cleaning amount using this room rate formula, which assumes a 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom home. Then, adjust the additional room fee as needed:
Price per room = 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.
Pricing considerations for your house cleaning services
No matter which strategy you choose to set your prices, there are several data points you’ll always need. These numbers are: cost labor, cost of materials, overhead and equipment, and profit margin.
- Labor: Labor chargers refer to your hourly rate and that of your team members. Multiply your set hourly rate by the number of cleaners to get a bare minimum charge for a job.
- Cost of materials: In your cleaning business, this total might include cleaning products, tools, special chemicals, protective equipment (gloves and masks), or uniforms.
- Overhead: Overhead includes some operational expenses like taxes, gas for traveling to and from locations, cleaning insurance, and cleaning business advertising. These expenses aren’t necessarily attributed to specific jobs and clients, but they ensure that you can maintain your business.
- Profit margin: Profit margin is a percentage that you hope to make or “take home” after other expenses are accounted for. Profit also ensures that you and your team members get paid based on a healthy cost of living.
Some elements, like the cost of materials, can change frequently. For instance, buying cleaning supplies in bulk or at wholesale helps reduce supply costs.
Kimberly Towers, owner of The Red Rose, considers the following when pricing her services:
“The rationale we have behind our pricing and services is what we pay our people to do the job, the cost of the products, equipment, and then the cost of things like our scheduling systems, or uniforms, or things that we have in place on the job that make The Red Rose what they are.”
At other times, you might want to increase certain elements. This could be true if you want to expand your marketing (increase your overhead) or ramp up profit (increase your margin) based on the broader market.
Make a cleaning service price sheet for customers
As you talk to potential customers, you’ll often need a fast way to share your prices and services with them. That’s where a cleaning services pricing sheet comes in.
On a price sheet, you can highlight the cost of all your services, from small projects to full deep cleans. Not only does this help you maintain consistency, but it also helps your customers visualize their budget. When you’re estimating a new cleaning job, simply glance at your price sheet or have your future customers do the same.
Here’s one example of a residential cleaning price sheet based on projected home size:
| Type of residence | Estimated cleaning cost |
|---|---|
| Studio – 1BD/BA apartment | $75-150 |
| Single family – 2BD/2BA home | $150-200 |
| Single family – 3BD/3BA home | $200-300 |
| Single family – 3,500+ sq. feet | Custom quote upon request |
Pro Tip: Pricing estimates are even easier to manage when you use cleaning business software. Keep a digital record of estimated costs, include set fees and optional add-ons, and let your clients easily agree to the work.
Factors that affect cleaning service pricing
As a business owner, remember to keep an open mind about your prices, services, and even your customer base. Flexibility will allow you to adapt, even when trends, overhead expenses, and other factors are beyond your control.
These are some of the most common factors that could influence how much to charge for house cleaning services:
- Home sizes: The larger the home, the more you can expect to charge. You can determine home size based on square footage or the number of rooms. When planning your business, it’s wise to have a mix of home and project sizes to diversify.
- Home condition: When a home is poor shape, it will need more elbow grease to meet top cleaning standards. Regardless of condition, always invoice for your time and effort. Additionally, you might charge more for homes with pets, since pet hair or damage can require extra cleaning time.
- Home location: If you have to travel a long distance, charge more to cover time and gas for vehicles. You can also schedule clients in the same area on the same day, or use route optimization to cut down on commutes.
- Local demand: Check your area’s going rate for residential cleaning to make sure you aren’t over or undercharging. Even when there’s high competition, you can stand out by offering in-demand services that other providers don’t perform.
- Ideal clients: Make sure your rate is affordable for your ideal client while promoting the quality of the work you do. While you shouldn’t stereotype your clients, you should become familiar with their budget and how much they’re willing to pay for good value.
- 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. You might not have recurring work from one move-out cleaning job.
- Experience level: A more experienced cleaner can charge a premium based on their training, skills, and experience. If you’re less experienced or working to build a reputation, wait to charge a higher rate. With client testimonials and more jobs under your belt, you’ll soon be able to responsibly increase prices.
When to adjust your cleaning prices
Hourly and one-time service rates may change over time. When it comes to your business, making new price adjustments often depends on your specific services and business goals.
Here are a few scenarios in which it’s acceptable or smart to reframe your pricing structure:
- A requested cleaning job is outside of your normal scope of work (ex: a client has a mold or mildew problem that you normally don’t handle)
- A cleaning project requires more work than your initial terms of service stated
- The home or job site is outside of your local region, requiring more travel and gas
- You’re testing a marketing strategy by offering a group rate to a particular neighborhood or group of homes
- You want to offer discounts or special rates to repeat clients or referrals
- You’ve had to drastically change your workforce (making several new hires, or having multiple team members leave at one time)
We raised our prices this year alone, 15% because we wanted to encourage people to save their credit cards on file and auto charge, and we wanted to keep up with the credit card transaction fees and things like that.
Introducing price changes can be tricky, but most customers expect small changes over time.
LEARN MORE: How to write a price increase letter for customers (with free template)
Pro Tip: If you want to establish a predictable cleaning contract, perform an initial cleaning before signing. This step lets you know how much work to expect each time. It also ensures that you’re not locked in at a lower rate or longer cleaning time than you planned for.
By now, you’ve learned that there are a range of pricing methods you can use to establish house cleaning prices. Speciality services, transparent pricing sheets, and flexibility can help you adapt and excel.
As you grow, remember to revisit your pricing strategy to make sure it’s in alignment with your costs, availability, and profit goals. By being proactive, you’ll attract more cleaning clients and set yourself up for long-term success.
Originally published on June 12, 2023. Last updated on April 3, 2024.