How Much to Charge for House Cleaning: Rates, Formulas and Examples

Price is the first thing a cleaning client asks about and the thing new cleaning business owners most often get wrong. Too low and you work long weeks for little money; too high without explanation and leads go quiet. The answer is to calculate your price from your costs and time, then present it clearly. This guide gives you the formulas and examples.

The three common pricing models

Most successful residential cleaning companies quote a flat rate per visit, calculated from estimated hours, because clients prefer a known price and efficient teams earn more.

Step 1: Know your hourly cost

If you clean alone, your hourly cost includes your target wage, self-employment taxes, supplies, travel, insurance, software and marketing. If you employ cleaners, add their wages, payroll taxes, workers' compensation and paid time off.

Example for a small company with employees:

• Cleaner wage: $18 per hour
• Payroll taxes and workers' comp (est. 15%): $2.70
• Supplies: $1.50 per hour
• Travel time and mileage allocation: $3.00
• Overhead (insurance, software, marketing, admin): $6.00
• Total cost per cleaner hour: about $31

Add a profit margin of 15 to 25 percent:

Price per cleaner hour = cost per hour ÷ (1 − margin)

$31 ÷ 0.80 = about $39 per cleaner hour. In high-cost cities, both wages and prices run higher.

Step 2: Estimate time per home

Time depends on size, condition, pets, number of bathrooms and how often you clean. Rough benchmarks for a recurring standard clean with a two-person team:

These are starting points. Time your own team for the first month and adjust.

Step 3: Turn time into a flat rate

Flat rate = estimated cleaner hours × price per cleaner hour

A 3-bed, 2-bath home at 4.5 cleaner hours × $39 = $175.50, quoted as $175 per biweekly clean.

Recurring frequency pricing

Homes cleaned more often take less time each visit. Many companies price like this:

• Weekly: lowest price per visit
• Biweekly: standard price
• Monthly: 10 to 20 percent higher than biweekly
• One-time: priced as a deep clean

Deep cleans and move-out cleans

A first visit takes much longer because of built-up grime. Typical approaches:

• Deep clean: 1.5 to 2 times the standard rate, or hourly with an estimate range.
• Move-in or move-out: priced like a deep clean, plus add-ons such as inside cabinets, inside the oven and refrigerator, baseboards and windows.

Always describe what a deep clean includes in writing so the client knows what they are paying for.

Add-ons that raise the average ticket

• Inside oven: $25 to $50
• Inside refrigerator: $25 to $50
• Interior windows: per window or per hour
• Laundry and linen change: per load or per bed
• Baseboards and blinds detail: hourly or flat

Per-square-foot pricing

Some companies quote by square footage for speed, commonly using a cents-per-square-foot figure for standard cleans and a higher figure for deep or move-out cleans. It is convenient for online quotes, but always check that the result matches your time-based number; a 2,000-square-foot home with three dogs is very different from one with none.

Short-term rental turnovers

Airbnb and vacation rental hosts need fast, reliable turnovers. Price per turnover based on bedrooms and bathrooms, plus linen handling. Hosts value reliability and photo reports over the lowest price. Charge for same-day urgent turnovers.

Commercial cleaning

Offices and small commercial spaces are usually priced per visit or per month, calculated from production rates (square feet cleaned per hour) and the scope of tasks. Contracts are longer and payment is steadier, but bids are competitive and clients expect insurance certificates and background-checked staff.

How to present your price

• Quote in writing with a clear checklist of what is included.
• State your cancellation policy, such as a fee for cancellations within 24 to 48 hours.
• Collect card details and charge after each clean to avoid chasing payments.
• Offer a satisfaction guarantee, such as a free re-clean of any missed area within 24 hours.

When to raise prices

Review prices every year. Raise them when wages rise, when your schedule is full, or when you are winning more than 70 to 80 percent of quotes, which can be a sign you are too cheap. Give recurring clients 30 days' notice.

Mistakes to avoid

1. Matching the cheapest competitor. Low prices attract the least loyal clients.
2. Forgetting travel time. Unpaid driving between jobs can erase your margin.
3. Not charging extra for first cleans. A first clean priced as a recurring one loses money.
4. No written scope. Disputes come from unclear expectations.

A worked quote from first call to signed client

Here is how the formulas come together on a real lead.

A homeowner calls about a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house of about 1,800 square feet with one dog. She wants a cleaning every two weeks. You ask four questions on the phone: how long since the last professional clean, any rooms to skip, pets, and access (key, code or someone home).

1. First visit (deep clean): your time benchmark for this home is 4.5 cleaner hours for a recurring clean, and a first visit typically takes 1.75 times as long, so about 8 cleaner hours. At $39 per cleaner hour that is $312, quoted as $310.
2. Recurring biweekly clean: 4.5 cleaner hours × $39 = $175.50, quoted as $175.
3. Pet adjustment: with a shedding dog you might add 0.5 hours, bringing the recurring price to $195.
4. Add-ons: she asks for the inside of the fridge once a month, priced at $35 on those visits.

You send a written quote that lists every task included in a standard clean, the first-visit price, the recurring price, the cancellation policy and how payment works. After the first visit, record the actual time. If the job took noticeably longer than estimated, adjust the recurring price before the second visit and explain why; clients usually accept a clear, early adjustment.

Tip: Keep a simple spreadsheet of estimated versus actual hours for every home. After 20 homes you will quote faster and more accurately than any online calculator.

Insurance and bonding affect your price

Clients and property managers increasingly ask whether you are insured and bonded. General liability covers damage you cause in a home; a janitorial or fidelity bond helps protect clients against theft by employees. Both are relatively inexpensive for a small company, but their cost belongs in your overhead, and being able to say "fully insured and bonded" justifies a higher price than an informal cleaner can charge.

Your next step

Calculate your cost per cleaner hour with your real numbers, then time your next three cleans. Build a simple price sheet from those results.

The full guide, Starting a House & Commercial Cleaning Business, includes a pricing calculator, bonding and insurance checklists, client agreements, cleaning checklists for teams, hiring scripts and a 30/60/90-day launch plan for $0.99.