What should I charge for house cleaning?

Cleaning is quoted per home, but your year is built on hours: cleaning time, driving between houses, supplies, and the weeks clients cancel around holidays. Price a clean from the hours it really takes plus a markup for those costs, so the per-home number holds up on a tight route.

Price a clean the way contractors actually do it: add up what the clean costs you, then add a markup for your overhead and profit. Fill in your numbers — your bid updates as you type.

What this clean costs you

Materials & supplies ($) — your cost for everything you'll buy for this clean

Other direct costs ($) — fuel, equipment rental, disposal fees, permits

Your labor

Not sure what to charge for your time? Employed house cleaners earn a median of about $17.07/hr (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A self-employed labor rate is typically higher — roughly $25–$35/hr (about 1.5–2×) — because it also has to cover self-employment tax, the benefits an employer would otherwise pay, and the hours that cannot be billed.

Hours this clean will take

Your hourly labor rate ($) — what your time is worth per hour; e.g. $25–$35

Hired help ($) — paid to a helper or subcontractor; leave blank if solo

Your markup — overhead & profit

This is where your business actually makes money. Industry standard is roughly 20–30% overall for contractors; solo operators often need the higher end to cover insurance, tools, truck, admin time, and slow weeks. Adjust to fit your business.

Markup on your costs (%)

Materials & supplies	$0
Your labor (0 hrs × $0)	$0
Hired help	$0
Other direct costs	$0
Your costs (subtotal)	$0
Markup (30% — overhead & profit)	$0
Bid price	$0

Pricing method and standard percentages from contractor-industry sources (Angi, Buildern, NAHB): overall contractor markup 20–30%, materials markup 7.5–35%, labor markup 25–50%, recommended profit margin 15–25%. A markup is a percentage of your costs; the resulting margin (share of the bid that's profit) is lower — both are shown above. These are general benchmarks, not a guarantee for your market.

What your markup has to cover

The markup in your bid covers the costs no single job shows. For house cleaning, your overhead typically includes cleaning supplies and equipment, fuel between homes, liability insurance and bonding, booking/payment app fees, and uniform/laundry costs. None of that appears on one job, but all of it is paid out of the markup added to every job. Published contractor guidance (Angi, NAHB) puts a typical overall markup at 20–30%.

Be realistic about your hours

Travel between homes typically adds 20–40 unpaid minutes per job. Three 2-hour cleans is an 8-hour day. Price per home = your hourly rate × (cleaning hours + travel share), which is why per-home flat rates beat hourly billing for tight routes.

House Cleaner pricing FAQs

Should I charge hourly or flat-rate per home?

Flat-rate per home is usually better once you know a house: you keep the upside of your own speed, and clients prefer a predictable price. Use your hourly labor rate to set the flat rate, and re-quote if the home’s condition changes.

How much more should a deep clean or first-time clean cost?

First-time and deep cleans typically run 1.5–2× the standard visit price — they take twice the time and more product. Never give a recurring-clean price until the first deep clean is done.

Do solo house cleaners need insurance?

Liability insurance (and ideally bonding) costs a few hundred dollars a year and is increasingly required by clients and property managers. Include it in expenses here; it also makes your quote more credible than an uninsured competitor’s.