Cleaning & janitorial
House Cleaning Cost Calculator
Price a house clean from the hours it actually takes, which condition drives far more than square footage.
Result
A planning estimate, not a quote. Access, the age of the equipment, what is found once it is opened up and local labour rates all move the real figure, sometimes a long way.
Get a Free Business AuditWhat moves the number
- Condition on arrival, which matters more than size on a first clean.
- Bathroom and kitchen count, since those rooms take disproportionate time.
- Whether it is a first clean or a maintained property on a recurring schedule.
Where this one goes wrong
Quoting a recurring price for a first clean. A property that has not been cleaned properly in months takes far longer than the same property will on the second visit, and quoting the ongoing rate for it guarantees a loss on the job that sets the relationship.
Before you quote
- Whether pets are present, which adds hair and time throughout.
- Whether the customer expects inside ovens, fridges or windows.
- Clutter level, since cleaners cannot clean surfaces they cannot reach.
Questions
About this calculator
Should the first clean be priced differently?
Almost always. A deep first clean can take two or three times a maintenance visit, and quoting the recurring rate for it means starting every customer relationship at a loss.
Price by hour, by room or by square foot?
Cost is incurred by the hour whichever way you quote. Flat pricing works when it is built from measured times on real properties, and fails when it is built from optimism.
How should clutter be handled?
Stated as an exclusion or a condition. Cleaners tidying before they can clean is time nobody priced for, and it is the most common cause of an over-running visit.
The formula
total = hours x people x rate + parts + call-out, then sales tax
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How to use this calculator
- Hours on site (h). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 3 h.
- People needed. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $55.
- Parts and materials ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $12.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $95.
- Sales tax (%). Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to estimated total, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Hours on site | 3 h |
| People needed | 1 |
| Labour rate charged | $55 |
| Parts and materials | $12 |
| Call-out or diagnostic fee | $95 |
| Sales tax | 0% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Estimated total main result | $272 |
| Labour | $165 |
| Before tax | $272 |
| Sales tax | $0 |
About $272: $165 of labour, $12 of parts and a $95 call-out.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only labour rate charged, this is what happens to estimated total. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Labour rate charged ($) | Estimated total |
|---|---|
| $28 | $191 |
| $41 | $230 |
| $55 example above | $272 |
| $83 | $356 |
| $110 | $437 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Hours on site (h)
- Measured in h, between 0 and 400, starting at 3 h.
- People needed
- A number, between 0 and 40, starting at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($)
- A money amount, starting at $55.
- Parts and materials ($)
- A money amount, starting at $12.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($)
- A money amount, starting at $95.
- Sales tax (%)
- Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Estimated total | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Labour | A money figure. |
| Before tax | A money figure. |
| Sales tax | A money figure. |
Time is the variable that bites
Pricing that works out on paper fails when the job takes longer than quoted. First cleans, heavily soiled sites and access problems all run over, so it is worth pricing the first visit separately from the recurring one.
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.