Three ways to price, one that holds up
Cleaners usually price one of three ways: by the hour, by square foot, or a flat price per visit. Clients prefer a flat price because they know the bill before you arrive. Square-foot pricing is quick but misses what actually takes time, which is bathrooms and kitchens, not floor area. The approach that holds up is a flat price per visit that you build from estimated minutes and your real cost per hour. The client sees one number; you know it pays.
The price list
These prices come from the same method as the free house cleaning price calculator: cleaner pay of $20 an hour plus 12% payroll burden, $1.50 of supplies per hour, $450 a month of overhead over 140 cleaning hours, a 12-mile round trip, a 30% margin, rounded up to $5 and never below $120. Square feet are a typical size for each bedroom count.
| Home | Typical sq ft | Standard | Deep | Move-in / out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 bed, 1 bath | 950 | $120 | $120 | $145 |
| 2 bed, 1 bath | 1,400 | $120 | $155 | $190 |
| 2 bed, 2 bath | 1,400 | $120 | $185 | $230 |
| 3 bed, 2 bath | 1,850 | $145 | $220 | $275 |
| 4 bed, 2 bath | 2,300 | $165 | $255 | $320 |
| 4 bed, 3 bath | 2,300 | $185 | $290 | $355 |
| 5 bed, 3 bath | 2,750 | $210 | $325 | $400 |
Small homes sit at the $120 minimum because the drive, setup and pack-up take the same time whether the home is small or large. If your area pays cleaners $16 an hour, the whole list drops about 15%; at $25 it rises about 20%.
Where the numbers come from
Every price is minutes, times cost per minute, plus travel, divided by one minus the margin. The minutes for one cleaner on a standard clean of an average home:
| Part of the home | Minutes |
|---|---|
| Kitchen and living area | 50 |
| Each bedroom | 20 |
| Each bathroom | 30 |
| Each 500 sq ft above 1,000 | 15 |
A 3 bed, 2 bath home of 1,850 sq ft is 50 + 60 + 60 + 2 × 15 = 200 minutes, or 3.33 cleaner hours. At $27.11 a cleaner hour that is $90.38, plus $8.40 of travel: $98.78 of cost. Divided by 0.70 for a 30% margin, $141.11, rounded up to $145.
A deep clean multiplies the minutes by about 1.6 (detail work, build-up, edges and fixtures; the inside of the oven and fridge stays an add-on); a move-out by about 2.0 (empty cabinets, inside everything, walls). A heavy-condition home adds another 30%.
Add-on prices
Price add-ons from minutes and materials too, at the same margin, instead of a round "$25 extra" that may or may not cover the time.
| Add-on | Minutes | Your cost | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inside oven | 30 | $14.56 | $25 |
| Inside fridge | 30 | $14.56 | $25 |
| Baseboards, whole home | 45 | $20.84 | $30 |
| Inside kitchen cabinets | 45 | $20.34 | $30 |
| Pet hair, whole home | 20 | $9.54 | $15 |
| Laundry, per load | 15 | $6.78 | $10 |
| Interior window, each | 5 | $2.26 | $5 |
Recurring prices
Recurring clients usually get 15% off weekly, 10% off every two weeks and 5% off every four weeks. That works only because a home cleaned every two weeks takes less time than one cleaned once. The usual pattern is a first visit priced as a deep clean, then recurring visits priced from the standard clean less the discount. For the 3 bed, 2 bath home: first visit $220, then $135 every two weeks (the $145 standard less 10%, rounded up to $5).
If a recurring home keeps taking as long as the first visit, the discount comes straight out of your margin. Track the real hours for recurring clients and re-quote the ones that run long.
When to raise the list
- Pay goes up. Every $1 an hour of cleaner pay adds about $1.60 per cleaner hour to the price at a 30% margin.
- Your calendar is full. A full schedule and few cancellations mean your price is below what the market will pay.
- Jobs keep running long. Your minutes per room are too low. Time a few cleans and update them before changing the margin.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I charge for a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house?
With cleaner pay of $20 an hour and a 30% margin, about $145 for a standard clean, $220 for a deep clean and $275 for a move-out. Higher local wages or a larger home move those numbers up; build them from your own minutes per room.
Should I charge by square foot?
Square footage is a useful size check but a poor price on its own, because bathrooms and kitchens take most of the time. Price from rooms first and add time for large square footage, as in the minutes table above.
What is a good minimum price for house cleaning?
Set the minimum so the smallest job still covers the drive, setup and at least two cleaner hours at your target margin. With the numbers in this guide that is about $120.
How do I price a first clean for a new recurring client?
Price the first visit as a deep clean, then quote recurring visits from the standard clean less the recurring discount. Tell the client both numbers up front so the first bill is not a surprise.
