If you’re ready to start cleaning houses professionally, the next step is determining what you’ll charge your clients. Pricing might feel overwhelming, especially if you offer a range of services.
Fortunately, industry benchmarks can help you create prices that are both competitive and profitable. According to Thumbtack, house cleaners can charge:
- $50-55 per hour, based on the national average
- $170-$220 per home, for low-end cleaning jobs
- $370-$420 per home, for high-end cleaning jobs
Whether you’re looking for a quick reference on how much to charge for house cleaning, or want to learn how to price out your services yourself—you’ve come to the right place.
In this house cleaning pricing guide, you’ll learn the best ways to charge for various house cleaning services to ensure that every job is profitable.
How Much to Charge for Residential Cleaning Services (Pricing Chart)
Here’s how much you can typically charge for various types of cleaning services. In this chart, you’ll find calculations based on four different pricing structures:
| Cleaning Task | Hourly Rate | Flat Fee | Room Rate | Sq Ft Rate |
| House cleaning | $22–55/hour per cleaner | $110–220 | $100–160+ | $0.10–0.18/sq ft |
| Deep cleaning | $45–110/hour per cleaner | $220–440 | $130–180+ | $0.15–0.20/sq ft |
| Move-out cleaning | $45–110/hour per cleaner | $330–440 | $140–185+ | $0.17–0.22/sq ft |
| Construction clean up | $35–55/hour per cleaner | Up to $850 | $130–190+ | $0.12–0.55/sq ft |
Prices are in USD and courtesy of Thumbtack, and HomeAdvisor.
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How Much to Charge for Cleaning a House (Standard Residential Cleaning)
Standard house cleaning service includes tasks like dusting, wiping surfaces, vacuuming and mopping floors, and scrubbing bathroom fixtures.
Here’s what your cleaning business can charge for general home cleaning tasks:
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- House cleaning hourly rate: $22–55/hour per house cleaner, based on experience and team size
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- Flat fee: $110–220 weekly/biweekly for standard cleaning in a single-family home
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- Room rate: $100 for 1 bed/1 bath + $10–20 for each additional bedroom or bathroom
- Square footage rate: 0.10¢–0.18¢ per square foot for weekly or biweekly standard cleaning (note that the higher the square footage, the lower your rate should be)
How Much to Charge for Deep Cleaning a House
Deep cleaning involves a more thorough process than spot cleaning. This option might be recommended if the time between cleanings is more than several months.
With a deep clean, add an extra 30–50% to your normal cleaning rates. There are several ways to price deep cleaning for new and existing clients:
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- Deep clean hourly rate: $45–110/hour per house cleaner, based on team size and experience
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- Flat fee: $220–440+, depending on the size of the home (and your team)
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- Room rate: $130–180 for a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home
- Square footage rate: $0.15–0.20 per sq ft (at the lower end for larger homes, and the higher end for homes requiring more effort)
How Much to Charge for Move-Out Cleaning
Move-out cleaning is another form of deep cleaning. However, the home is usually empty and free of furniture and clutter. When move-out cleaning is required (in a rental, lease, or purchase contingency), the cleaning must meet specific criteria. As a result, this one-time house cleaning cost could be:
When to Adjust Your Cleaning Prices
Hourly and one-time service rates may change over time. When it comes to your business, making new price adjustments often depends on your specific services and business goals.
Here are a few scenarios in which it’s acceptable or smart to reframe your pricing structure:
- A requested cleaning job is outside of your normal scope of work (ex: a client has a mold or mildew problem that you normally don’t handle)
- A cleaning project requires more work than your initial terms of service stated
- The home or job site is outside of your local region, requiring more travel and gas
- You’re testing a marketing strategy by offering a group rate to a particular neighborhood or group of homes
- You want to offer discounts or special rates to repeat clients or referrals
- You’ve had to drastically change your workforce (making several new hires, or having multiple team members leave at one time)
We raised our prices this year alone, 15% because we wanted to encourage people to save their credit cards on file and auto charge, and we wanted to keep up with the credit card transaction fees and things like that.
Introducing price changes can be tricky, but most customers expect small changes over time.
Pro Tip: If you want to establish a predictable cleaning contract, perform an initial cleaning before signing. This step lets you know how much work to expect each time. It also ensures that you’re not locked in at a lower rate or longer cleaning time than you planned for.
By now, you’ve learned that there are a range of pricing methods you can use to establish house cleaning prices. Speciality services, transparent pricing sheets, and flexibility can help you adapt and excel.
As you grow, remember to revisit your pricing strategy to make sure it’s in alignment with your costs, availability, and profit goals.
By being proactive, you’ll attract more cleaning clients and set yourself up for long-term success.
Originally published on June 12, 2023. Last updated on September 26, 2024.
- Home sizes: The larger the home, the more you can expect to charge. You can determine home size based on square footage or the number of rooms. When planning your business, it’s wise to have a mix of home and project sizes to diversify.
- Home condition: When a home is poor shape, it will need more elbow grease to meet top cleaning standards. Regardless of condition, always invoice for your time and effort. Additionally, you might charge more for homes with pets, since pet hair or damage can require extra cleaning time.
- Home location: If you have to travel a long distance, charge more to cover time and gas for vehicles. You can also schedule clients in the same area on the same day, or use route optimization to cut down on commutes.
- Local demand: Check your area’s going rate for residential cleaning to make sure you aren’t over or undercharging. Even when there’s high competition, you can stand out by offering in-demand services that other providers don’t perform.
- Ideal clients: Make sure your rate is affordable for your ideal client while promoting the quality of the work you do. While you shouldn’t stereotype your clients, you should become familiar with their budget and how much they’re willing to pay for good value.
- Cleaning frequency: The more time and effort required for a cleaning job—for example, a deep clean versus regular weekly cleaning—the more you should charge. You might not have recurring work from one move-out cleaning job.
- Experience level: A more experienced cleaner can charge a premium based on their training, skills, and experience. If you’re less experienced or working to build a reputation, wait to charge a higher rate. With client testimonials and more jobs under your belt, you’ll soon be able to responsibly increase prices.
