Pricing guide · 8 min read
House cleaning prices: how to price a cleaning business in 2026.
The right house cleaning prices protect your margin, win the jobs you actually want, and make follow-up effortless. This guide breaks down residential and commercial benchmarks, the formula pros use to quote jobs, and the operational habits that turn quotes into paid invoices.
2026 house cleaning price benchmarks
Real-world ranges across U.S. metros. Use these as a sanity check, not a quote — your true price depends on cost, demand, and competition in your local market.
| Service | Hourly | Flat-rate |
|---|---|---|
| Standard residential clean | $35 – $55 / hr | $120 – $240 / visit |
| Deep clean (move-in / move-out) | $45 – $75 / hr | $280 – $550 / visit |
| Recurring weekly maid service | $30 – $45 / hr | $95 – $180 / visit |
| Small commercial office | $40 – $65 / hr | $0.08 – $0.18 / sq ft |
| Post-construction clean | $55 – $90 / hr | $0.30 – $0.50 / sq ft |
The 5-step cleaning pricing formula
Calculate your real hourly cost
Add labor + payroll taxes + supplies + transportation + insurance + a slice of your monthly overhead. Divide by billable hours per cleaner to get your true cost per hour.
Set a target profit margin
Healthy cleaning businesses target 20–30% net margin. Multiply your hourly cost by 1.25 – 1.43 to back into a price that protects the margin.
Pick hourly or flat-rate
New customers prefer flat-rate quotes — they remove sticker shock. Use hourly only for unpredictable scopes (hoarding, post-construction, biohazard).
Price by job, not by hour
Use square footage, number of bedrooms/baths, pets, and frequency as inputs. A 2,000 sq ft / 3-bed / 2-bath standard clean should land near $180 in most U.S. metros.
Always follow up on the estimate
Most contractors lose 30–50% of estimates simply because nobody follows up. Automated reminders close 2–3× more jobs without sounding pushy.
Residential vs commercial pricing
Residential cleaning is priced by the job — homeowners want a clear number before you arrive. Commercial cleaning is usually priced per square foot on a recurring contract, because property managers compare apples-to-apples bids. If you do both, keep two separate price lists; don't try to make one rate sheet fit both worlds.
When (and how) to raise prices
- Raise rates for new customers first — existing customers can move 90 days later.
- Give 30 days' notice in writing, and explain the why (wages, supplies, insurance).
- Pair a price increase with a small upgrade — new checklist, eco-friendly products, satisfaction guarantee.
- Plan for ~5% churn on a 10% increase. The remaining 90% pay for the loss several times over.
The hidden lever
Pricing right is half the battle. Following up is the other half.
Cleaning businesses lose more revenue to silent estimates and forgotten invoices than to any pricing mistake. BizChaser is the invisible office employee that follows up every quote, chases every overdue invoice, asks for the 5-star review, and reactivates the customer you cleaned for last spring — automatically.
Try BizChaser free