How Much to Charge for Painting?

Price off measured area, then quote one job number. $2 to $6 per square foot of floor area for interior walls, ceilings, and trim; $1 to $3 per square foot of wall area for walls only; $1.50 to $4 per square foot of surface for exterior.

Good for fast residential quotes. $300 to $800 per average room walls-only, plus ceilings and trim. Customers understand it instantly, but measure first so a big room doesn't blow your number.

A painter hourly rate of $40 to $90 per hour depending on solo vs crew. Use it for wallpaper removal, repairs, and jobs where the prep is unpredictable. Most painters keep an hourly rate in their back pocket and quote by the job up front.

Supply the paint and mark it up 20 to 50 percent over cost. You control quality and color matching, and you earn margin on the material. Customer-supplied paint means no coverage warranty and a labor-only premium.

Charging cost-only is the most common rookie mistake. See Pricing mistakes.

Prep is most of the job. Bill patching, sanding, caulking, and priming as separate lines so the customer sees the value:

• Wall patching and sanding: $1 to $3 per sq ft of repair area
• Priming bare or patched areas: add 25 to 50 percent of the coat price
• Wallpaper removal: $1 to $4 per sq ft

• Dark-to-light or light-to-dark color change: add a coat (25 to 40 percent)
• Deep accent colors that need extra coats: price the gallons honestly
• Tall walls, stairwells, vaulted ceilings: ladder and scaffold premium

Moving and covering furniture, masking floors, and working around a family is real time. An occupied home runs more than an empty one. Build it into the quote rather than eating it on site.

• Rate: $2 to $4 per sq ft interior, or $40 to $65/hr on prep-heavy work.
• Quote by the job, not the hour. Customers hate an open-ended clock; you want credit for being efficient.
• Mark up paint at the low-to-mid end (20 to 35 percent). You don't carry a warehouse.
• Charge for prep separately. It is the work that protects you when a wall hides surprises.

• Rate: $4 to $7 per sq ft interior. It has to cover labor plus overhead plus profit.
• Full markup on paint (35 to 50 percent). You carry float, sundries, and warranty.
• Day-rate your crew internally so a fast team turns into margin, not just speed.
• Minimum job size. Mobilizing a crew for a single room loses money.

An eyeball number on a big room is how painters lose a weekend for free. Measure the area and price off it, every time.

You sourced it, color-matched it, and you warranty the coverage. Mark it up. 20 percent minimum.

If prep is invisible on the quote, the customer thinks they're paying too much for paint. Itemize patching, sanding, and priming so they see the work.

Dark over light, deep accents, and bare drywall all need extra coats. Price the gallons and the hours honestly or the job eats your margin.

A handshake quote disappears the moment a customer changes their mind. Send the price in writing, by text or email, before you open a can. When the customer adds a room or a color mid-job, put that in writing too: a change order template records the new scope, the price change, and both signatures before you paint it.