Cleaning bid template with room-by-room pricing, scope, and payment terms. Real rates from $0.08/sq ft. Build one in BidMaker in under 2 minutes.
Most cleaning bids lose jobs not because the price is wrong, but because the scope is vague. Clients compare quotes side by side — a bid with specific room counts, clear inclusions, and a stated supplies policy beats a one-line quote every time, even at a higher price. The template below shows what a complete residential cleaning bid looks like, with line-by-line pricing that clients can actually understand.
Bid from
Clean Sweep Services
Prepared for
Jennifer & Mark Holloway
April 2026
Residential Cleaning Bid — 4BR/2BA Home
Weekly recurring cleaning for a 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom home (approx. 2,200 sq ft). Covers all living areas, kitchen, bathrooms, and bedrooms. Hardwood floors mopped, tile and carpet vacuumed, surfaces dusted and wiped.
Initial deep clean: $320 Weekly visits (4/mo): $165/visit ($660/mo) Biweekly visits (2/mo): $190/visit ($380/mo) All supplies provided. Green/low-VOC products available on request (+$15/visit).
Kitchen (deep clean + inside appliances): $75 Primary bathroom (deep scrub): $55 Second bathroom: $45 Master bedroom + 3 bedrooms: $90 Living room + dining room: $55 Total: $320
Interior oven cleaning (add $35), exterior windows, laundry, organizing and decluttering, moving items over 25 lbs, and pet waste cleanup. These are available as add-on services.
Preferred visit day: Wednesday mornings. Access via lockbox. 24-hour cancellation required or a $50 fee applies. Three consecutive skips without notice may void recurring pricing.
Due within 3 days of service via Zelle, Venmo, or check. A $25 late fee applies after 7 days. No credit cards at this time.
Build your own version of this bid in BidMaker — it takes under 5 minutes.
Create Your Free AccountFree forever — 3 bids/month, no credit card required
These ranges reflect common pricing in mid-tier U.S. markets. Rates vary by region, crew size, and job complexity.
| Service | Typical Rate |
|---|---|
| Studio/1-bed apartment | $85–$130/visit |
| 2BR/1BA house | $110–$160/visit |
| 3BR/2BA house | $140–$200/visit |
| 4BR/3BA house | $185–$270/visit |
| Initial deep clean premium | +40–60% over recurring rate |
| Move-in/move-out clean | $200–$400 flat |
The market rates above are calibrated to mid-tier metros. Use this guide to adjust before quoting in your area.
Major coastal metros (NYC, SF Bay, Boston, DC, Seattle)
+25% to +45% over the rates above. A 3BR/2BA recurring clean that's $170 in Atlanta is $220–$245 in Brooklyn. Crew labor and travel time drive the gap; supplies are roughly equal.
Mid-tier metros (Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, Denver, Minneapolis)
Use the rates above as-is. These are the markets the table is calibrated against. Adjust ±10% for higher/lower neighborhoods within the metro.
Smaller cities and Sun Belt suburbs (Tampa, Charlotte, Nashville, Boise, Indianapolis)
−10% to −20% off the rates above. Lower labor cost and less competitive pricing pressure. A 3BR/2BA that's $170 in Atlanta is often $135–$155 here.
Rural areas (1+ hour from a major metro)
−15% to −25% on hourly rates, but add a $20–$45 travel fee or set a higher job minimum. The minimum is what makes rural cleaning sustainable; without it, drive time eats the margin.
High-cost luxury markets (Aspen, Hamptons, Jackson Hole, parts of LA)
+50% to +100%+. Pricing here tracks client expectations, not labor cost. Per-room rates can hit $90 for a primary bedroom and $90+ for a primary bath. Don't import metro rates into these markets — you'll undercharge dramatically.
Not every house cleaning bid is the same shape. Six common job types and the specifics that matter for each.
Recurring residential clean
Returning client, weekly/biweekly/monthly cadence on the same home
One-time deep clean
Spring cleaning, post-renovation cleanup, prepping a home for guests, or a recurring client returning after a 2+ week gap
Move-in / move-out clean
Tenant moving out (security deposit driven), landlord prepping a unit for showings, homeowner closing a sale
Post-construction / post-renovation
Contractor handing off to homeowner, a remodel kitchen project, new-build punchlist
Vacation rental / short-term rental turnover
Airbnb / VRBO host with regular guest changeovers
Commercial office / small business clean
Independent office (5–20 desks), retail storefront, small medical/dental practice
Six mistakes we see often in house cleaning bids that cost jobs or margin. Each one is fixable in the bid itself, not after the fact.
⚠ One-line bids ('$150 to clean your house')
Fix: Specific scope wins against lower bids. Clients comparing three quotes choose the one that lists exact rooms and exact tasks more often than the cheapest. The bid is a sales document — make it harder to compare you on price alone.
⚠ Bundling deep clean into recurring rate
Fix: The first visit on a recurring contract takes 60–80% longer than a maintenance visit. If you bundle it into the recurring rate, you lose money on every new client. Quote the initial deep clean as a separate line — most clients accept it, and the ones who don't were never going to be profitable recurring accounts.
⚠ Vague supplies policy
Fix: Either 'all supplies provided' or 'client supplies preferred' — pick one and put it in writing. The middle ground (sometimes you bring, sometimes they do) creates day-one friction and changes your job cost estimate. Most cleaners should default to 'we provide,' price it in, and offer green/low-VOC as an upcharge.
⚠ No cancellation policy
Fix: Without a 24-hour cancellation policy, you'll lose 4–8 paid hours a month to last-minute cancellations once you have 10+ recurring clients. Standard: 24-hour notice, $50–$75 same-day cancellation fee, void recurring pricing for 3+ no-notice skips. Putting it in the bid (not after the fact) prevents 90% of the friction.
⚠ Pricing by hour instead of by room or by square foot
Fix: Hourly pricing penalizes efficiency and creates incentive misalignment with the client. A faster cleaner makes less per job; a slower cleaner makes more. Per-room or per-square-foot pricing rewards your skill, makes bids easier to compare, and reduces post-job disputes about how long it 'should' have taken.
⚠ No minimum job size
Fix: Driving 30 minutes for a $40 single-room clean is not a business — it's a $13/hour job after travel and supplies. Set a $90–$130 minimum (location-dependent). Reasonable clients understand it; the ones who push back self-select out before they become unprofitable accounts.
Price by room or by square foot, not by hour. Clients can't verify hours, but they know their room count. Per-room bids reduce disputes and reward your efficiency.
State your supplies policy in the bid. "All supplies provided" vs. "client supplies preferred" changes the job and the price. Leaving it ambiguous causes friction on day one.
The initial deep clean should be quoted separately and higher. It takes 60–80% longer than a recurring visit. Bundling it into recurring pricing just means your first job loses money.
Add a minimum booking clause. Driving 30 minutes to clean one bathroom for $40 is not a business. A $90–$110 minimum is standard and any reasonable client understands it.
Recurring clients cancel less when they see the discount math. Show the one-time price vs. the weekly price side by side. Most clients choose recurring when the number is in front of them.
At minimum: rooms and areas covered, specific tasks per area, your supplies policy, pricing per visit (and recurring vs. one-time rates), cancellation terms, and what is not included. The "not included" section prevents the most common disputes. Clients assume things are included until they're told otherwise.
Per-room pricing is the most common approach for residential cleaning. Common rates: $35–$55 per bedroom, $45–$65 per bathroom, $50–$75 for kitchen. Deep cleans run 40–60% higher than recurring visits. For large homes, you can also use square footage: $0.08–$0.12/sq ft for regular cleans, $0.12–$0.18/sq ft for initial deep cleans.
A bid focuses on price and scope — what you'll do and what it costs. A proposal adds the relationship layer: your business background, photos of past work, service guarantee, and terms. For residential clients who found you by referral, a detailed bid is often enough. For commercial cleaning contracts or any new relationship without trust established, a full proposal is worth the extra 10 minutes.
For one-time jobs under $200, no. For larger recurring contracts, a paid walkthrough is reasonable — $50–$75 for a 30-minute site visit, credited toward the first service if they sign. It filters out tire-kickers and signals you take your time seriously. If they won't pay $75 for a consult on a $600/month contract, they probably won't be a good client.
Specificity. A bid that lists exact rooms, exact tasks, exact supplies, and exact cancellation terms wins against a vague lower bid more often than most cleaners realize. Clients hiring for recurring service want certainty, not the cheapest number. If your competitor's bid says '$120' and yours says '$140 and here's exactly what you get,' many clients choose yours.
24-hour notice minimum, $50–$75 for same-day cancellations, and void recurring pricing for three or more consecutive no-notice skips. These aren't punitive — they reflect real costs. You've blocked the time, possibly turned down another booking, and had to reschedule a crew. Clients who see this in writing before signing accept it. Those who argue with it after the fact should not have signed.
BidMaker has house cleaning templates built in. Describe the job and AI writes a complete bid for you — line items, scope, terms, and all.
Or skip the AI. Start from a template and fill in the numbers yourself. Either way takes under 5 minutes.
Start for freeFree plan: 3 bids/month. No credit card.
Need a proposal template instead?
Bids are great for straightforward price quotes. For longer engagements or new client relationships, a full proposal with scope narrative and terms is more persuasive.
House Cleaning proposal template →Describe the job, and BidMaker writes a complete bid for you in under 2 minutes. Send it as a link or PDF and get notified when your client accepts.
Create Your Free AccountFree forever — 3 bids/month, no credit card required
Evaluating a tool to send these bids? We've written side-by-side comparisons against the software most service businesses consider.
Wage-backed rates and a calculator for house cleaning jobs — use to set the numbers in the bid above.
House Cleaning rates by state — BLS wage data calibrated for each market.