House cleaning cost calculator

These are the rates the calculator uses, combined from Fixr, HomeAdvisor and Housecall Pro. Low is the average of the guides' lows, high the average of their highs, typical sits in the middle. Deep and move-out rates come from Fixr alone; HomeAdvisor gives only a ceiling for them, up to $0.25 and $0.35 a sq ft.

Hourly is the other common way to price. Fixr puts one cleaner at $25 to $45 an hour for a basic clean; HomeAdvisor puts companies at $25 to $80 an hour and independents at $12 to $25. Fixr puts a deep clean of a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house at $170 to $310, and HomeAdvisor and Fixr both put most deep cleans at $200 to $400 a visit.

Regular customers usually pay less per visit, because a house cleaned every week or two never gets far behind. HomeAdvisor says many companies take $5 to $10 off each visit for weekly or every-two-weeks service. The calculator does the same and shows the year's total.

A first visit for a new regular customer is often priced as a deep clean, then drops to the standard rate once the house is caught up.

Regular customers are worth more than the per-visit price shows. They fill your calendar, cut your drive time when they are on the same route, and do not need a new estimate each time. Many cleaning businesses offer the regular rate only with a set schedule, and charge the one-time price when a customer skips visits.

Spell out the cancellation rule on the estimate: how much notice, and what happens on a lockout. It saves arguments later. Put the same rule in the reminder text the customer gets before each visit.

HomeAdvisor gives $0.10 to $0.20 a sq ft for commercial cleaning, and Housecall Pro gives $0.07 to $0.20 for a standard office, with medical space higher at $0.12 to $0.30. The calculator combines the office figures to $0.09 to $0.20 a visit, then multiplies by visits a week and 52 ÷ 12 weeks a month.

A 10,000 sq ft office cleaned three times a week comes to about 13 visits a month, $11,050 to $26,000 a month, typical $18,525. HomeAdvisor says a professional cleaner covers about 1,000 sq ft an hour, so each visit is about 10 cleaner hours.

Washing the outside of a building is a different job, priced by pressure washing crews. For a house, Fixr gives $0.30 to $0.80 a sq ft of siding. We did not find a commercial building figure we could check, so the calculator does not price it.

Before you quote an office, walk it with the manager. Count restrooms, kitchens and break rooms, note the floor types (carpet, tile, sealed concrete) and ask what is expected each visit versus monthly. Trash and restrooms every night with carpets once a month is a very different job from a full clean each visit.

Write the scope as a checklist in the contract. When the client asks for more, you can point to the list and price the extra, instead of absorbing it.

For a cleaning business, price from your costs up, then check against the market rates above. Housecall Pro lays out the same steps for commercial work; they apply to homes too.

1. Estimate the hours. Area ÷ your production rate. HomeAdvisor's 1,000 sq ft an hour is a starting point for open office space. Restrooms, kitchens and medical rooms go slower.
2. Cost the labor. Hours × wage × burden. Burden covers payroll tax, workers comp and paid time off. Housecall Pro puts labor at 50% to 80% of a cleaning job's cost.
3. Add supplies, travel and overhead. Chemicals, equipment wear, drive time and your share of insurance, phone and software.
4. Add margin by dividing. Price = cost ÷ (1 − margin). A $425 visit cost at a 30% margin is $425 ÷ 0.70 = $607, not $425 × 1.3 = $553.
5. Set a minimum. A small job still costs the drive and the setup.
6. Price add-ons separately. Inside the oven, inside the fridge, windows, carpets, laundry.
7. Review once a year. Wages and supplies go up; your prices should follow.

The profit margin calculator does step 4 for you.

The price difference is the time it takes. Agree what is in each clean in writing so the customer knows what they are paying for.

• Standard. Dust reachable surfaces, wipe counters and outside of appliances, clean sinks, toilets, tubs and showers, vacuum and mop floors, empty bins.
• Deep. Everything in standard, plus baseboards, door frames, light switches, blinds, vents, behind and under furniture, scrubbing grout and built-up soap scum. Often the first visit for a new regular customer.
• Move-out or move-in. An empty house cleaned top to bottom: inside cabinets and drawers, inside the oven and fridge, closets, windowsills and tracks. The goal is a house ready for the next person or a deposit returned.

By home size, from the calculator at national prices, one visit:

From the calculator at national prices:

Contracts for nightly cleaning of big spaces are usually priced below the per-visit rate of a one-off job, because the crew learns the building and the route. Use the low end as your floor for regular contracts only after you have timed a few visits.

• Size and layout. More rooms and more bathrooms take longer than the same floor area in open plan.
• Condition. A first visit, a move-out and a house with pets all take longer.
• Frequency. Regular visits cost less each.
• Add-ons. Inside appliances, cabinets, windows and walls are usually extra.
• Where. The calculator scales the labor share by the cleaning wage in your state, from BLS data. Cleaning wages vary a lot: Hawaii's median is about twice Mississippi's.

"Save as an estimate in Koira" carries the visit price to an estimate, and Koira can repeat it on a schedule for regular customers.

Pets add hair and dander to every room and can add a good part to the time on a visit. Clutter slows the crew because surfaces have to be cleared before they can be wiped. Ask about both at the estimate, and put a pet fee or a clutter note on the estimate rather than discovering it on the first visit.