How to Price a Cleaning Job: Per-Hour Method and Quote Checklist

The most common mistake new cleaners make is quoting a flat price they never tested. A job that looked fair at $80 turns into a 5-hour day once you add travel, supplies and the oven nobody mentioned. This guide shows a simple way to price jobs from your own numbers, so you know what you really earn per hour.

It is a planning guide, not legal or tax advice. Local licensing, insurance and tax rules differ, so check them before you take paid work.

Step 1: Decide your target hourly pay

Start with what you need to take home for every hour you work, including the hours you are not scrubbing. Then add an allowance for tax, supplies, fuel and insurance. If you want $20 an hour in your pocket and about 25% of income goes to costs and tax set-aside, you need to charge roughly $26 or more for each hour of work.

Step 2: Count every hour of the job

A job is more than the time on site. Count:

Travel to and from the client
Loading and unloading supplies
The cleaning itself, room by room
Photos, notes and messages afterwards

Time your first ten jobs with a stopwatch. Your honest average is worth more than any online price list.

Step 3: Use the per-hour formula

Estimated hours (including travel) x your target rate = labour price.
Add supplies and fuel for this job.
Round up to a clean number and write it as the quote.
After the job, divide the fee by the real hours. If the result is below your target, adjust the next quote.

Example: 3 hours on site plus 30 minutes of travel is 3.5 hours. At $26 an hour that is $91, plus $6 of supplies and fuel, so you would quote about $100.

Step 4: Know what a good quote includes

A clear quote prevents arguments. Put in writing the size of the home, the rooms covered, what is and is not included (oven, inside windows, fridge, laundry), how often you will visit, the price, and how and when you take payment. Ask the client to confirm by message so you have a record.

Step 5: Handle extras and surprises

Decide your extras before a client asks. Common add-ons are inside the oven, inside the fridge, interior windows, laundry and pet hair. Give each one a fixed price or a price per extra half hour. If a home is far dirtier than described, tell the client before you start, not after.

Step 6: Price rental turnovers differently

Vacation rental turnovers are usually priced per stay or per bedroom, because the work repeats and the owner passes the fee on to guests. Include laundry, restocking and a quick photo check in the price. If you also manage guest messages or check-ins, that is a separate service with its own rate. Our Vacation Rental Co-Host Business Starter Kit has a service menu and pricing worksheet for exactly this.

Step 7: Raise your prices on a schedule

If you are fully booked and getting no push-back, your price is probably too low. Review it every three months. Give regular clients notice of any increase, and keep your best clients happy by raising it a little at a time rather than all at once.

Keep records from the first job

Write down each job's date, hours, fee, supplies and mileage. After a month you will know which clients are worth keeping and which jobs lose money. The Cleaning Business Starter Kit (my own product) includes an hourly-rate calculator, a quote worksheet, a job log and income, expense and mileage trackers. For general bookkeeping, the Side Hustle Income & Expense Tracker is a printable year of logs.

All of our printables are listed on the shop page, and you can browse more guides in the blog.