How to Price a House Cleaning Job: The 2026 Formula
The short answer: Calculate your true cost floor first — burdened labor plus supplies plus overhead per job — then divide by (1 minus your target margin). Never price below the cost floor. Everything in this article is about getting that number right and building a pricing system around it. Use our free Cleaning Price Calculator to run the numbers for any job.
Most cleaning businesses underprice by 15–25%
Because they calculate cost wrong before they price anything
Pricing is where most cleaning businesses either win or slowly bleed out. The operators who stay profitable for decades share one habit: they know their numbers before they quote anything.
The operators who struggle have a different habit: they quote what they think clients will pay, hope it works out, and discover two years later that their busiest clients are their least profitable ones.
This article gives you the actual formula — with real numbers — so you can price from a foundation of math, not intuition. We cover the cost floor calculation, the flat rate vs hourly debate, how to price by property type and cleaning frequency, and how to raise prices without losing your book.
What is the formula for pricing a cleaning job?
The correct formula has three steps: calculate your cost floor, apply your target margin, then sanity-check against your local market. Here is each step in full.
Step 1: Calculate burdened labor cost per hour
Your cleaner's wage is not your labor cost. Once you add employer obligations, the true cost is 20–22% higher. According to the IRS employer tax requirements, you owe FICA at 7.65% of wages, plus state unemployment tax (averaging 2–4%), workers compensation (roughly 5% for residential cleaning under NCCI code 9014), and general liability insurance allocation (1–2%).
Burdened Labor Cost Example — $18/hr Cleaner
| Cost Component | Rate | $/hr |
|---|---|---|
| Base wage | — | $18.00 |
| FICA (employer share) | 7.65% | $1.38 |
| State unemployment (SUTA) | 3.0% | $0.54 |
| Workers compensation | 5.0% | $0.90 |
| GL insurance allocation | 1.5% | $0.27 |
| Total burdened cost | +21.15% | $21.09 |
For a more complete breakdown of how these costs compound across your client book, see our article on why 1 in 5 cleaning clients costs you money.
Step 2: Add supplies and overhead
Supplies (cleaning products, microfibers, mop heads) run $3–8 per residential visit depending on the products you use. Overhead includes your software, insurance (the company policy, not per-employee), vehicle costs, and admin time. Divide your monthly overhead by your total monthly jobs to get a per-job overhead number. Most residential cleaning companies see $4–12 per job in overhead allocation.
Using our example: a 2.5-hour clean at $21.09/hr burdened = $52.73 labor + $5 supplies + $7 overhead = $64.73 cost floor.
Step 3: Apply your target margin
Healthy net margin for a residential cleaning company is 15–25% after owner salary. To hit 25% margin: price = cost floor / (1 − 0.25) = $64.73 / 0.75 = $86.31. Round to a clean number: $89 or $90. That is your minimum quote for a 2.5-hour clean at this wage level in this market.
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the median hourly wage for maids and housekeeping cleaners is $14.98 nationally, with wide regional variation. Your local labor market sets your cost floor — and your pricing must follow.
Should I charge flat rate or hourly for house cleaning?
Flat rate wins for most residential cleaning businesses. Here is why: hourly pricing creates a perverse incentive where your most efficient cleaners generate your lowest revenue. If a skilled two-person team finishes a home in 1.5 hours instead of 2, you just lost 25% of your expected revenue for that job with no corresponding cost savings.
Flat rate eliminates that problem. You price the job based on the home, the client gets a predictable number, and your team is rewarded for working efficiently. It also avoids the uncomfortable client conversation when a job runs long because of unusual conditions.
Flat Rate vs Hourly — When Each Makes Sense
| Pricing Model | Use When | Avoid When |
|---|---|---|
| Flat Rate | Recurring residential, predictable homes, experienced crew | First-time deep cleans with unknown condition |
| Hourly | Deep cleans, hoarder/restoration, move-in/move-out with unknowns | Recurring maintenance cleans, team-based jobs |
Many experienced operators use a hybrid: flat rate for all recurring work, hourly (with a minimum) for first-time and specialty cleans. Once you have cleaned a property twice, you know exactly how long it takes and can quote flat rate with confidence.
How do I price by room type and home size?
Per-room pricing is a useful mental model for quoting quickly, but always validate against your time estimate. The following ranges reflect national averages from Angi's 2026 cleaning cost data:
Per-Room Pricing Benchmarks (Standard Clean)
| Room Type | Price Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bedroom | $20–35 | Primary bedroom at high end |
| Bathroom | $30–50 | Most time-intensive room |
| Kitchen | $40–60 | Appliances add time |
| Living room / dining | $15–30 | Per area, not per room |
| Basement / bonus room | $15–25 | If finished and furnished |
A 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home under this framework: (3 beds × $27) + (2 baths × $40) + kitchen $50 + living $25 = $216. Cross-check against your time estimate and cost floor. If it is above your minimum, quote it. If not, you either need to raise the per-room rate or the job is not right for your business at this stage.
Use the free JobFlowly Pricing Calculator to run this calculation instantly for any home type and frequency combination.
How much more should I charge for a deep clean or move-out?
Deep cleans and move-out cleans are distinct service tiers and should be priced accordingly:
- Standard recurring clean: Your base rate. Assumes the home is maintained between visits.
- First-time clean: 1.3–1.5x the recurring rate. Takes longer to establish a baseline on a new property.
- Deep clean: 1.5–2x the recurring rate. Includes interior appliances, baseboards, window sills, light fixtures — everything a standard clean skips.
- Move-out clean: 1.8–2.5x the recurring rate. The highest standard, often photographed for deposit purposes, all surfaces and fixtures must be spotless.
Never quote a deep clean or move-out at the same rate as your recurring maintenance clean. The time difference is real — a standard 2-hour recurring clean often takes 4–5 hours for a deep clean of the same property.
How does cleaning frequency affect pricing?
Frequency discounts are a tool for locking in recurring revenue — not a charity. The discount must still leave you above your cost floor at the reduced rate. A standard frequency discount structure:
Frequency Discount Framework
| Frequency | Discount vs. One-Time | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 15–20% off | Lowest effort per visit, predictable revenue |
| Biweekly | 10–15% off | Standard recurring anchor |
| Monthly | 5% off or none | Homes get dirtier; lower routing density |
| One-time | Full rate + 20–30% premium | No long-term commitment, unknown condition |
How do I raise my cleaning prices without losing clients?
Before raising prices across the board, use a per-client profitability analysis to identify which clients you are already underpaying on. Raising prices on a 35% margin client carries almost no cancellation risk. Raising them on a 5% margin client with a long drive and high complaint frequency is probably overdue regardless.
The Client Profitability Analyzer calculates true margin per client including drive time and burden costs, so you can see exactly who needs a price increase and by how much before you send a single notice.
For the mechanics: give 30 days written notice, keep the message brief and confident, and do not negotiate unless the client asks. Studies on service business pricing show that most clients absorb increases under 12–15% without cancelling when communicated professionally.
Skip the blank page
Use the free Price Increase Letter Generator to get a copy-ready email, printed letter, or text message in under 60 seconds — tailored to your company, client, and reason.
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Open the Free Pricing CalculatorFrequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate the price for a house cleaning job?
Start with your burdened labor cost per hour (wage plus 20–22% employer taxes and insurance), multiply by your expected job time, add supply costs (typically $3–8 per visit), add your overhead allocation per job, then divide by (1 minus your target margin). For example: $24/hr burdened cost × 2.5 hours = $60 labor + $5 supplies + $5 overhead = $70 cost floor. At a 30% margin: $70 / 0.70 = $100 minimum price.
Should I charge flat rate or hourly for house cleaning?
Flat rate is better for most residential cleaning businesses. It eliminates the awkward conversation about how long you took, incentivizes efficiency, and makes your pricing predictable for clients. Hourly works when you are cleaning properties with highly variable condition or size where you cannot reliably estimate time. Most professional cleaning companies switch to flat rate within their first year.
How much should I charge per room for cleaning?
A common per-room pricing framework: bedrooms $20–35 each, bathrooms $30–50 each, kitchen $40–60, living areas $15–25. These ranges vary by market, property size, and service frequency. A 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house would price at $130–210 under this model. Always test rates against your local market — run your numbers through a pricing calculator to confirm the margin before quoting.
How much more should I charge for a deep clean vs a standard clean?
Deep cleans typically take 2–3x longer than a standard maintenance clean and should be priced at 1.5–2x your standard rate. Most cleaning companies charge $200–400 for a deep clean on a 3-bedroom home versus $100–160 for a recurring standard clean. Move-out cleans carry an additional premium (1.8–2.5x standard) because of the level of detail required and the one-time nature of the booking.
How do I raise my cleaning prices without losing clients?
Give 30 days written notice, explain the reason briefly (supplies cost, insurance, fuel — clients understand real cost increases), and frame it as your commitment to keeping service quality high. Research shows most cleaning clients absorb increases under 12–15% without cancelling. Identify your least profitable clients using a per-client profitability analysis first — a price increase to a high-margin client is very different from one to a barely-breakeven client.