Pricing guide
A house cleaning price list, worked through line by line
Most “price list” articles hand you a table of dollar amounts with no reasoning, which is useless the moment your market differs. This one does the opposite: a complete example list — the same demo pricing our calculator ships with — and the logic behind every line, so you can swap in your own numbers with confidence.
The example price list
| Line item | Example | Why it exists |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly labor rate | $45.00/hr | Converts estimated time into money; internal, not shown to customers. |
| Minimum job price | $120.00 | Keeps small jobs profitable after travel, parking, and setup. |
| Travel fee | $15.00 | Covers drive time and vehicle cost consistently instead of by mood. |
| Deep clean multiplier | ×1.35 | Detail work takes longer in every room; scale the whole estimate. |
| Move-in/out multiplier | ×1.5 | Empty-home turnovers include appliances, cabinets, and baseboards by default. |
These are demonstration numbers, not recommendations — a dense city and a rural route shouldn’t charge the same. The structure is the part to copy.
Add-on prices: flat where predictable, hourly where not
Flat-rate add-ons
- Inside fridge$25.00
- Inside oven$35.00
- Interior windows$40.00
Predictable time, so a fixed price is safe and fast to quote.
Hour-based add-ons
- Laundry (fold)0.5 hr
- Pet hair detail0.75 hr
Condition-dependent work is billed as added labor time at your hourly rate, so a light job and a heavy job both come out fair.
Turning the list into a quote
A price list is static; a quote applies it to one specific home. The sequence is always the same: estimate baseline hours from size, adjust for rooms and condition, apply the service multiplier, add extras, then check the total against your minimum and add travel. That arithmetic is exactly what the free calculator automates — set your own rates and it produces the finished number for any home in seconds.
FAQ
Can I copy this price list for my cleaning business?
Use it as a starting structure, not as your final numbers. The categories — hourly rate, minimum, travel fee, service multipliers, and add-ons — transfer to any market. The dollar amounts must reflect your local wages, drive times, and competition, so plug your own numbers into the same structure.
Why is the price list built on an hourly rate if customers see flat prices?
The hourly rate is internal: it converts estimated labor time into money. Customers see the flat result. Keeping the rate underneath means every quote — small condo or large deep clean — earns consistently, and you can defend any price by walking through the hours.
Should my price list be public on my website?
Publishing ranges or starting-at prices filters out mismatched leads before they call, which saves quoting time. Publishing exact totals for every scenario backfires — condition and scope vary too much. A public structure with private final numbers is the common middle ground.
How often should I update my price list?
Review it at least once a year, or whenever wages, insurance, or fuel move noticeably. Small annual adjustments are far easier to communicate to recurring clients than a big correction after three frozen years.
Keep reading
How to quote a cleaning job
The five-step quoting process: qualify, scope, price, present, and follow up without discounting.
Post-construction cleaning pricing
Price dust-heavy construction cleanup in phases, with the labor buffers and exclusions that protect you.
Cleaning business startup costs
What it actually costs to start a cleaning business — and which expenses to delay until revenue exists.
Ready to put a number on a job? Open the free calculator.