Free Guide

The Cleaning Pricing Playbook

This is exactly how we price house cleaning, built from real jobs and real numbers. No opt-in, no email gymnastics, just the cheat sheet. Read it here, use it today, and stop guessing on quotes.

The five steps

1. 1. Set your hourly rate

   Set a floor of at least $60 per cleaner, per hour, and do not quote below it. The words "per cleaner" matter: one cleaner at $60 an hour becomes $120 an hour the moment a second person joins and the job finishes in half the time.

2. 2. Learn how long each room takes you

   Time yourself, room by room, on real jobs. You are looking for your true pace, not a guess. Most owners land somewhere near the reference times below and adjust from there.

3. 3. Build the flat rate from time

   Add up the room times for a given home and multiply by your hourly rate. That is your standard one-time price. A home that takes about 4.5 hours at $60 lands around $270. Set a minimum price (we use $150) so tiny jobs still clear.

4. 4. Adjust for clean type and frequency

   A deep clean runs about a quarter more than standard for the detail work. A move-out runs higher still, since the home is empty and every surface is in play. For recurring clients, discount off the one-time rate: about 25% for weekly, 20% for every two weeks, 5% for monthly.

5. 5. Check your margins, then add add-ons

   Confirm the job clears a healthy margin (50 to 60 percent gross after labor, supplies, and gas) and that the business nets around 20 percent. In residential, keep labor around 35 to 45 percent of revenue. A fast gut check: charge at least $60 per labor hour, roughly two and a half to three times your loaded labor cost. Then price add-ons separately (inside the oven, inside the fridge, interior windows, changing linens) and send them with every quote.

Room-time starting points

Use these as a starting reference, then replace them with your own timed numbers. Your pace is what makes the price accurate.

Room	Typical time
Master bathroom	40 to 50 min
Half bathroom	15 to 20 min
Kitchen	30 to 40 min
Bedroom	10 to 15 min
Living / common area	15 to 25 min

What the math produces (real prices)

These are real one-time prices from our pricing model, shown as honest ranges. See every home size on the cost pages.

The mistakes that cost you most

• Charging what you would pay. Price for the client you want, not your own budget. The clients who value trust and convenience are not shopping on twenty dollars.
• Ignoring drive time. It never shows up on the invoice, but you pay hourly employees to sit in the car. Keep your radius tight. More in this guide.
• Inconsistent add-on pricing. Have a set add-on list and send it with the quote, so the "hey, can you also do the fridge?" moment never costs you.
• Never raising prices. Review every client once or twice a year. Costs rise annually, so prices must too. See how to raise prices without losing clients.

Common questions