How to Price House Cleaning Jobs: A Simple Formula

To price a house cleaning job, start with one base price for a standard clean of a small home, add a set amount for each extra bedroom and bathroom, multiply for deep and move-out cleans, take a little off for regular clients, and price extras on their own. Write those numbers down once and every quote after that takes seconds.

If you've ever sat at the kitchen table at 11 pm trying to work out what to charge for a 3-bedroom deep clean, this is for you. Below is the exact formula we build into The AI Office Manager, a worked example, and what other cleaners are charging in 2026 so you have something to compare against.

Key takeaways

• Know your costs first. Your price has to cover your time, supplies, travel and taxes before anything else.

• One base price plus room add-ons keeps every quote consistent. In our example: $110 base, $20 per extra bedroom, $15 per extra bathroom.

• Multipliers handle bigger jobs: about 1.5 times for a deep clean and 1.8 times for a move-out clean.

• 2026 pricing guides put a standard house cleaning visit at roughly $100 to $320, depending on the home and the area.

What house cleaning costs in 2026

Before you set your own prices, it helps to know the range. These numbers come from pricing guides published by cleaning software companies, so treat them as a rough benchmark, not a rule:

• Standard clean: $120 to $280 per visit (Housecall Pro), $110 to $320 (Method), $100 to $300 (Tidy).

• Hourly rate: about $35 to $75 per cleaner per hour (FieldCamp).

• Per square foot: about $0.10 to $0.30 (FieldCamp).

The ranges are wide because prices depend heavily on your area. A clean in a big city costs more than the same clean in a small town. The best check is still local: look at what a few cleaners near you charge, then decide where you want to sit. Sources: Housecall Pro, Method, Tidy and FieldCamp.

Step 1: Know your costs before you set a price

Method's pricing guide points out that labor is the biggest driver of house cleaning prices, so start there. Decide what an hour of your time needs to earn after costs. Then add up what each job really costs you: supplies, gas, insurance, any helper you pay, and the money you set aside for taxes.

A quick floor check: if a standard clean of a small home takes you 2 hours and you want to earn $35 an hour after costs, the job can't go below $70 plus your costs for that visit. Your base price can be higher than the floor, but it should never be lower.

Step 2: Set one base price

Pick a price for your most common job, like a standard clean of a 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom home. Everything else builds on this one number, so take your time with it. In the example below we use $110.

Step 3: Add a set amount for each extra room

Decide what each extra bedroom and each extra bathroom adds. For example, $20 per extra bedroom and $15 per extra bathroom. Bathrooms often take longer than people expect, so some cleaners charge more for them than for bedrooms. Use the numbers that match how long the rooms take you.

Step 4: Use multipliers for deep and move-out cleans

• Standard clean: your base price plus rooms

• Deep clean: that price × 1.5

• Move-in or move-out clean: that price × 1.8

Multipliers keep you consistent. A deep clean of a big home and a deep clean of a small one follow the same rule, so you never have to guess. If you're not sure what each type of clean should include, write it down first. A clear list of tasks makes the higher price easy to explain.

Step 5: Take a little off for regular clients

Regular clients fill your calendar with work you can plan around, so a small discount is usually worth it. A simple version: 10% off for monthly visits, 15% off every two weeks, and 20% off weekly. Apply it to the standard clean only, so deep and move-out cleans keep their full price.

Step 6: Price extras on their own

Inside the fridge, inside the oven and windows take real time. List them as add-ons with a fixed price each, for example $30 for the fridge, $30 for the oven and $40 for windows. When extras have a price, clients ask for them instead of assuming they're included.

Step 7: Round to the nearest $5

$167.50 looks like guesswork. $165 looks like a price. Rounding makes your quotes feel confident and easy to remember, and it saves you from sending odd numbers by text.

A worked example: pricing a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home

Say Maria uses the example numbers above: $110 base, $20 per extra bedroom, $15 per extra bathroom. A client asks about a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home.

1. Standard clean: $110 + (2 × $20) + (1 × $15) = $165

2. Deep clean: $165 × 1.5 = $247.50, rounded to $250

3. Move-out clean: $165 × 1.8 = $297, rounded to $295

4. Every two weeks: $165 − 15% = $140.25, rounded to $140 per visit

That whole quote takes under a minute once the numbers are written down. You can try your own numbers in our free house cleaning price calculator. It does this math for you and writes a quote text you can copy and send.

Hourly, flat rate or per square foot?

There are three common ways to price, and each has a place:

• Flat rate (the formula above): clients know the price up front, and getting faster at a job doesn't lower what you're paid for it. Most solo cleaners use this for homes.

• Hourly: simple and fair when you can't predict the job, like a very cluttered home. The downside is that clients may watch the clock.

• Per square foot: common for large homes and commercial spaces. It's harder for clients to check, so it can lead to more questions.

You can mix them. Many cleaners quote a flat rate for regular homes and switch to hourly for unusual jobs.

When and how to raise your prices

Check your prices at least once a year, or sooner if your costs go up. Give regular clients plenty of notice, at least 30 days is a common courtesy, and keep the message short and kind. Something like: "Thank you for being such a wonderful client. Starting [date], my price for your clean will be $[new price]. My costs have gone up and I want to keep the same quality you're used to." You'll find more messages like this in our post on text message templates for cleaning businesses.

Frequently asked questions

How much should I charge to clean a 3-bedroom house?

It depends on your area and your costs. Using the example numbers in this guide, a standard clean of a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home comes to $165. Recent 2026 pricing guides put most standard visits between about $100 and $320, so check local prices before you settle on yours.

Should I charge by the hour or a flat rate?

Most solo cleaners use a flat rate for homes because clients like knowing the price before you arrive. Hourly works better for jobs you can't predict, like heavy clutter or post-construction cleaning.

How do I quote a cleaning job without seeing the house?

Ask for the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the type of clean and how often they want it. That's enough for the formula. Tell clients the price is based on the home being in normal condition, and that you'll let them know before the clean if anything changes it.

Should the first clean cost more?

Often, yes. Many cleaners book a deep clean for a new client's first visit because it takes longer, then switch to the standard price for regular visits after that.

Write your numbers down once

Once your prices are written down, a quote is just counting rooms and picking the type of clean. The Quote Calculator in The AI Office Manager does it with your own prices, saves every quote next to the client, and writes the text for you too. If you're still looking for clients to quote, start with our 15-minute-a-day system for getting cleaning clients.