Cleaning Job Price Calculator

Enter your real labor, supplies, and overhead, and see what to charge per visit to hit the profit you want.

Price to charge per visit$0.00
Profit per visit$0.00
Your cost to do the visit$0.00
Hourly rate per cleaner$0.00

Price = (labor + supplies + travel) divided by (1 minus overhead percent minus profit percent).

How to price a cleaning job

Most cleaning companies underprice because they only count the cleaner's wage. A visit also costs payroll taxes, supplies, drive time, and a share of everything else it takes to run the business. If the price does not cover all of that, the profit you think you are making is not there.

1. Start with direct cost

Cleaners times hours times wage, plus payroll taxes, plus supplies and travel. A two cleaner, two hour visit at $18 an hour with 10 percent on top, $8 of supplies, and $10 of fuel costs $97.20 to deliver.

2. Add overhead and profit

Overhead and profit are both shares of the price, so divide by one minus their total. At 15 percent overhead and 20 percent profit, that $97.20 becomes $149.54, not the $131.22 you would get by adding 35 percent to cost.

3. Check it three ways

Look at the flat price, the hourly rate per cleaner, and the price per square foot. If any of the three looks wrong for your market, change your costs or your target, not your math.

Hourly, flat rate, or per square foot

Hourly is the safest when you cannot see the home first or the condition varies a lot. Flat rate is the easiest for a client to say yes to and pays you more when your crew is fast. Per square foot is a useful way to compare jobs and sanity check a quote, but square footage alone ignores how dirty the home is. Many owners quote a flat rate and use the other two as a check.

Whichever you choose, quote a price you worked out from your own costs. A number copied from another company's website does not know your wages, your drive times, or your overhead.

If you are also choosing software to run the schedule, see how the options compare in our guide to the best cleaning business software, or read about Zebu for cleaning companies.

Common questions

How do you price a cleaning job?

Add up what the visit really costs you, then price above it. That means labor (hours on site times each cleaner's wage, plus payroll taxes), supplies, and travel. Then add your overhead and a target profit as a share of the price. The calculator above does exactly that and gives you one number to quote.

Should I charge hourly, flat rate, or per square foot?

All three work if you start from your own cost. Hourly is simple and protects you on unpredictable homes. Flat rate is easiest for clients to approve and rewards a fast crew. Per square foot is a handy way to compare jobs. The calculator shows your price as a flat rate, an hourly rate per cleaner, and, if you enter square footage, a price per square foot.

What is overhead for a cleaning business?

Everything you pay that is not tied to one visit: software, insurance, vehicle costs, marketing, office help, and your own admin time. Divide a typical month of those costs by your monthly revenue to get an overhead percent, then enter it above.

What profit margin should a cleaning company aim for?

It depends on your market and how much of the work is recurring. Rather than copying a number from somewhere else, work backward from the income you need: set a margin, see the price, and check it against what clients in your area actually pay.

Is this calculator free?

Yes. It is free, needs no account, and runs in your browser. Entering an email is optional and only used to send you a copy of your numbers.

Quote cleaning jobs from your own price book.

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