What Should You Charge for House Cleaning? 2026 Pricing Guide

Most cleaning businesses start with hourly pricing because it feels safe. You won't lose money on a job that takes longer than expected. But flat-rate pricing almost always earns more once you know your speed.

Here's why: a good two-person team cleans a standard 3-bed home in 2 hours. At $35/hr per person, that's $140. Flat-rate the same job at $165 and the client doesn't blink because they're comparing to the $180 they see on Google. You just gave yourself a $25 raise.

Hourly works for first-time jobs where you haven't seen the space. Flat-rate works for everything after that. The winning move is to quote hourly on the first visit, then offer a flat-rate package for recurring service. You already know how long it takes. The client gets price certainty. You get margin.

One exception: post-construction and heavy-duty cleanups. Always hourly or per-square-foot. The variance is too high to flat-rate safely.

Per-square-foot pricing is the industry standard for commercial cleaning and a smart baseline for residential. The math is simple: measure the space, multiply by your rate, apply a minimum.

Residential rates run $0.08–$0.15/sq ft for standard cleaning, $0.15–$0.25 for deep cleans. Commercial is lower per foot ($0.05–$0.10) because the spaces are bigger and usually less cluttered.

Always set a minimum. A 600 sq ft studio at $0.10/sq ft comes to $60. That's not worth your drive time. Set your floor at $80–$100 for residential, $120 for commercial.

The calculator below uses these rates. Plug in a square footage and service type to get a starting range, then adjust for your local market.

A cleaning proposal that wins the job has six things. Skip any of them and you look like every other "I'll send you a quote" text message.

First: scope of work. List every room and what you'll do in it. "Clean the kitchen" is vague. "Degrease stovetop, clean inside microwave, wipe cabinet fronts, mop floors" is specific. Specific proposals close.

Second: frequency and schedule. Weekly? Biweekly? What day? What time window?

Third: pricing with a breakdown. Don't just say "$175." Say "$175/visit: kitchen and bathrooms deep cleaned, all other rooms standard, supplies included." Clients want to know what their money buys.

Fourth: what's not included. Laundry, dishes in the sink, pet waste, interior windows. Spell it out now or argue about it later.

Fifth: your cancellation and rescheduling policy. 24-hour notice is standard. Without this in writing, clients cancel day-of and you eat the lost revenue.

Sixth: insurance and bonding info. One sentence. "We carry $1M general liability and are bonded through [provider]." If you don't have this yet, get it. It costs $400–$800/year and pays for itself in the first commercial contract.

Residential cleaning is higher margin per hour but harder to scale. Commercial is lower margin but steadier and bigger.

A residential deep clean might net you $60–$80/hr. A commercial contract for an office building might net $35–$45/hr. But that commercial contract runs 5 nights a week, 52 weeks a year. One commercial client can replace 15 residential ones in revenue.

The catch: commercial clients require proof of insurance ($1M minimum, sometimes $2M), background checks for your team, and evening or weekend availability. Some require W-2 employees, not subcontractors. The upfront cost to compete is real.

If you're starting out, residential pays the bills. Once you have 2–4 employees and proper insurance, commercial is where the real money lives. Price your proposals accordingly.