The Essentials: Pricing a Cleaning Business's Services

How much should you charge for residential cleaning?

Most residential cleaners quote a flat rate per visit based on home size, condition, and frequency: roughly $100-$250 for an average home, with discounts of 10-20% for weekly or biweekly service. A first-time deep clean should cost more, often 1.5 to 2 times a standard visit, since it takes longer. Hourly pricing ($25-$50 per cleaner hour) is used for messy jobs or hard-to-scope homes, but flat rates are easier for clients to budget for and reward your crew for working efficiently. Adjust for bedrooms, bathrooms, pets, and clutter, since two homes with identical square footage can take twice as long.

How is commercial cleaning priced?

Commercial jobs are usually priced per square foot per month or as a flat monthly fee, commonly $0.05-$0.20 per square foot depending on frequency, floor types, restroom count, and local wages. Medical and specialty spaces price higher because of stricter protocols. Always walk the space, measure or verify square footage, count restrooms, and note floor surfaces and after-hours access. Convert your bid to an hourly rate as a check: if your monthly price divided by planned labor hours falls below your cost per hour plus margin, you are underbidding. Write scope into the contract and price add-on requests separately so scope creep does not erode margin.

What goes into your cost model before quoting?

Start with the loaded hourly cost of labor: wages plus employer payroll taxes (7.65% for Social Security and Medicare, plus federal and state unemployment), workers' compensation, and paid time off. Add supplies per job, insurance, software, vehicle costs, and unproductive drive time between jobs. Divide total costs by billable hours to find your break-even rate, then add a margin. Most owners set a target gross margin after direct labor and supplies that leaves room for owner pay, overhead, and profit, and the right number varies by market and model. A quote that only matches a competitor's advertised price without this math can lose money on every visit.

How should you handle price objections and increases?

When a prospect cites a lower quote, ask what it includes before matching it. Cheaper quotes often mean shorter visits, fewer tasks, or uninsured operators. Explain the specific value you provide: background-checked staff, bonding, insurance, and consistent crews. Plan annual increases for recurring clients, commonly 3-8% depending on wage and supply inflation in your area, announced 30 days ahead. Freezing prices for years quietly erodes margin on your oldest accounts.

How do you price add-ons and review margins?

List add-ons such as inside oven, inside refrigerator, interior windows, and laundry as separate priced items, commonly $25-$75 each depending on time. Review profitability by job type each quarter: recurring residential, one-time deep clean, small commercial, and large commercial. One category often subsidizes another, and only real time and cost data will show which.

What does a sample job cost look like?

Consider a 2,000 square foot home cleaned by two people in 2.5 hours, or 5 labor hours. At a loaded labor cost of $22 per hour, wages run $110. Add $8-$12 in supplies, $10-$20 for vehicle and drive time, and a share of insurance and software. If you charge $175, gross margin is roughly 20-25% before owner pay, which is thin. Raising the price to $200 or trimming the visit to 2 hours changes the picture quickly. Run this arithmetic for your own crew size, wages, and drive time before publishing a rate card, and repeat it whenever wages rise.

Should you offer packages, minimums, or cancellation fees?

Set a minimum visit charge, commonly $80-$120, so tiny jobs do not lose money after travel. Publish a cancellation policy, for example a 24 or 48 hour notice window with a fee up to 50% of the visit if missed, and require a card on file at booking. Offer recurring-frequency discounts rather than open-ended promotions, and price move-in and move-out cleans at a premium because they involve more labor and unpredictable condition.

How do specialty jobs change the price?

Move-out, post-construction, and heavily soiled homes are usually quoted per job or per hour instead of at the recurring rate. Post-construction cleaning involves fine drywall dust, adhesive removal, and window and track detailing, so many operators charge by square foot at a higher rate or by the hour with a two-person minimum. Airbnb and short-term rental turnovers are typically priced per turnover by bedroom count, with a linen and restocking fee. Commercial specialty work such as carpet extraction, floor stripping and waxing, and window cleaning is priced separately from your nightly janitorial contract because it needs different equipment and skills. Keeping these categories distinct stops you from discounting your standard rate to win a one-off job.

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