How to price house cleaning jobs
Most cleaners guess, then discover months later that their favourite client is their worst-paying one. Here is the arithmetic that stops that.
The formula
Price = labour + supplies + travel + overhead share, then a frequency discount,
then never below your minimum.
1. Labour — the honest hourly rate
Work backwards from what you need to earn. If you want $55,000 a year and can bill 25 hours a week, that's 1,250 billable hours. But you also pay tax and carry costs, so add roughly 30%:
$55,000 × 1.3 ÷ 1,250 = about $57/hour
That is your rate, not your take-home. Charging $35 because it "sounds fair" is how people work full-time for part-time money.
2. Estimate hours by room, not by feel
| Room | Typical minutes (standard clean) |
|---|---|
| Bedroom | 20 |
| Bathroom | 30 |
| Kitchen | 30 |
| Living / other area | 15 |
Then multiply by the job type: standard ×1.0, deep clean ×1.5, move-out ×1.75. Adjust these to your own pace after a few jobs — that is the whole point of measuring.
3. Supplies, travel and overhead
Supplies per visit is usually $4–8. Travel is both directions — 8 miles each way is 16 miles, and the IRS mileage rate is a fair proxy for what driving actually costs you. Overhead (insurance, phone, software) divided by jobs per month gives you a per-job share. Most people forget these three entirely, which is exactly where the missing money goes.
4. A minimum price
Below a certain number a job is not worth leaving the house for. Set that number and refuse to quote under it, no matter how small the condo.
Worked example
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 kitchen, 1 living area. Standard clean, weekly, 8 miles away. At $50/hour, $6 supplies, $0.76/mile, $200 monthly overhead over 40 jobs:
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Hours: (3×20 + 2×30 + 30 + 15) = 165 min | 2.75 hrs |
| Labour 2.75 × $50 | $137.50 |
| Supplies | $6.00 |
| Travel 16 mi × $0.76 | $12.16 |
| Overhead $200 ÷ 40 | $5.00 |
| Subtotal | $160.66 |
| Weekly discount 15% | −$24.10 |
| Quote | $136.56 |
And the number that matters most: that weekly client is worth about $7,100 a year. Quote like you know that.
House Cleaning Pricing Calculator $14
This is the calculator that does the above in about two minutes — using your rates, not national averages. It warns you when a quote falls under your minimum, prints a client-facing quote, and logs quoted-vs-actual hours so you find out which jobs really pay.
See what's inside →