How to Price House Cleaning Services (The Right Way)
For cleaning business owners with 5–20+ employees who are still quoting jobs from memory or a spreadsheet that hasn't been updated in six months.
You quoted a 3,000-square-foot deep clean last week. The client said yes. Your cleaner showed up, spent four hours, and you invoiced $180.
You made money on paper. But after paying your cleaner, covering supplies, and factoring in drive time, you cleared about $11. On a four-hour job.
That's not a pricing problem you notice right away. It's the kind that bleeds you out over months. You stay busy. The phone keeps ringing. But your bank account doesn't reflect the work.
Most cleaning business owners have been there. The issue isn't that you don't know how to clean. It's that nobody taught you how to price.
The problem
Why Most Cleaning Businesses Underprice Their Services
Underpricing usually starts the same way. You looked at what other cleaners in your area charge, picked a number in the middle, and started quoting.
That's not pricing. That's guessing with extra steps.
Competitor rates aren't your costs
Busy isn't profitable
Pricing is your biggest lever
The framework
How to Price Cleaning Jobs by Square Footage
Hourly pricing is where most cleaners start. It's also where most margin problems start.
When you charge by the hour, you're penalizing your best cleaners. The faster and more efficient your team gets, the less you make per job. That's backwards.
Square footage pricing fixes this. The home doesn't change size. Your price doesn't change based on who you send or how fast they work. And your client knows what they're paying before anyone shows up.
- Cleaning Type
- Standard cleaning
- Price Per Square Foot
- $0.10 – $0.16
- Cleaning Type
- Deep cleaning
- Price Per Square Foot
- $0.15 – $0.25
- Cleaning Type
- Move-in / move-out
- Price Per Square Foot
- $0.20 – $0.35
- Cleaning Type
- Post-construction
- Price Per Square Foot
- $0.25 – $0.40
| Cleaning Type | Price Per Square Foot |
|---|---|
| Standard cleaning | $0.10 – $0.16 |
| Deep cleaning | $0.15 – $0.25 |
| Move-in / move-out | $0.20 – $0.35 |
| Post-construction | $0.25 – $0.40 |
Where you land in that range depends on your market, your costs, and the condition of the home. A 2,000-square-foot standard clean in a mid-income ZIP code might land at $240. The same home in an affluent suburb might be $320.
Beyond sq ft
What Actually Affects Your Cleaning Price
Square footage is the foundation. But it's not the whole picture. Five things move the number:
Your local market
The type of clean
Frequency
Condition of the home
Pets
Benchmarks
What Cleaning Prices Actually Look Like by Home Size
Here's a realistic range for residential cleaning prices. These assume a mid-market area. Your numbers will shift based on local rates.
- Home Size
- 1,000 sq ft
- Standard Clean
- $120 – $160
- Deep Clean
- $180 – $250
- Move-Out
- $220 – $300
- Home Size
- 1,500 sq ft
- Standard Clean
- $180 – $240
- Deep Clean
- $270 – $375
- Move-Out
- $330 – $450
- Home Size
- 2,000 sq ft
- Standard Clean
- $240 – $320
- Deep Clean
- $360 – $500
- Move-Out
- $440 – $700
- Home Size
- 3,000 sq ft
- Standard Clean
- $360 – $480
- Deep Clean
- $540 – $750
- Move-Out
- $660 – $900
| Home Size | Standard Clean | Deep Clean | Move-Out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft | $120 – $160 | $180 – $250 | $220 – $300 |
| 1,500 sq ft | $180 – $240 | $270 – $375 | $330 – $450 |
| 2,000 sq ft | $240 – $320 | $360 – $500 | $440 – $700 |
| 3,000 sq ft | $360 – $480 | $540 – $750 | $660 – $900 |
If your current prices are significantly below these ranges, you're probably leaving money on the table. If you're above them, make sure your service justifies the premium. Either way, knowing where you stand is the first step.
Recurring clients
How to Use Frequency Discounts Without Killing Your Margins
Discounts for recurring clients make sense. But only if you structure them intentionally.
A weekly client costs you less per visit than a one-time client. Less quoting time. Less back-and-forth scheduling. Less marketing spend to acquire them. A small discount reflects that reality without giving away your margin.
- Frequency
- Weekly
- Typical Discount
- 10–15%
- Frequency
- Biweekly
- Typical Discount
- 10%
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Typical Discount
- 5%
- Frequency
- One-time
- Typical Discount
- 0%
| Frequency | Typical Discount |
|---|---|
| Weekly | 10–15% |
| Biweekly | 10% |
| Monthly | 5% |
| One-time | 0% |
The mistake is offering discounts without knowing your baseline. If you haven't priced the full-rate job correctly, discounting it just accelerates the bleed. Get the base price right first. Then discount strategically.
The pattern
How to Quote Cleaning Jobs Confidently
The real cost of bad pricing isn't the individual job. It's the pattern.
You underprice a quote because you're afraid of losing the client. The client says yes. You send a cleaner. You invoice. You realize you barely broke even. But you're already booked for next week. Now you're locked into a rate that doesn't work, and raising it feels like you're going to lose the client you just won.
That cycle is what keeps cleaning businesses stuck at $10–15K in monthly revenue with nothing to show for it.
Bottom line
The Real Question Isn't "How Much Should I Charge?"
It's "Do I actually know if my current pricing is profitable?"
Most cleaning business owners can't answer that question with a specific number. They know revenue. They know they're busy. But they don't know their margin per job, per cleaner, per client.
That's the gap. And closing it starts with pricing that's built on real data instead of gut feel.
See how Allison helps cleaning businesses price, schedule, and manage their teams from one place. Book a free demo.
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