Most new cleaning businesses set prices by looking at what the company down the road charges. That tells you what customers might accept. It doesn't tell you whether you will make money. Two businesses can charge the same price and one can be losing money on every visit because its cleaners drive farther, its supplies cost more or its jobs take longer.
This guide teaches the method: find your real cost per hour, add overhead and a profit margin, then turn that into the hourly, flat-rate or square-foot prices customers see. Every dollar figure below is an example to show the math, not a market rate. Use your own wages, insurance quotes and job times.
The formula in one line
Price = (labor + supplies + travel + share of overhead) ÷ (1 − target margin)
Everything else is working out those numbers honestly. Let's go through them one at a time with a made-up business, "Example Clean Co."
Step 1: Your real cost per labor hour
Start with what one hour of cleaning costs you, not what the cleaner takes home. If you have employees, add payroll costs: the employer share of payroll taxes, workers' compensation, any paid time off and benefits. Your payroll provider or accountant can give you the percentage for your state.
| Item (example numbers) | Per labor hour |
|---|---|
| Cleaner pay | $20.00 |
| Payroll costs at an example 12% of pay | $2.40 |
| Labor cost per hour | $22.40 |
If you clean yourself, still put a wage on your own hour. If you don't, you'll set prices you can't afford to hire anyone at, and the business can never grow past you.
Step 2: Overhead per billable hour
Overhead is everything you pay whether or not you clean today: insurance, phone, software, marketing, vehicle costs, accounting, equipment replacement. Add it up per month and divide by the hours you actually bill, not the hours you're available.
| Monthly overhead (example numbers) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Insurance | $250 |
| Vehicle and fuel | $900 |
| Phone, software and website | $150 |
| Marketing | $500 |
| Equipment replacement and accounting | $200 |
| Owner time on quotes, scheduling and admin, at the same $22.40 an hour (45 hours) | $1,008 |
| Total monthly overhead | $3,008 |
Say Example Clean Co. bills 400 cleaning hours a month across its team. Overhead per billable hour is $3,008 ÷ 400 = $7.52. Add that to labor: $22.40 + $7.52 = $29.92 total cost per labor hour.
Notice how sensitive this is to billable hours. At 200 billable hours, the same overhead adds $15.04 an hour. That's why a new business with few clients has a higher real cost than an established one, and why filling your schedule matters as much as your price.
Step 3: Time your jobs
You can't price a job without knowing how long it takes. Time real cleans, by home type, and keep timing them. Record total labor hours (two cleaners for two hours is four labor hours), not just time on site.
- Time at least three cleans of each home type you serve before you fix your prices.
- Separate first cleans from recurring cleans. A first clean in a home that hasn't been professionally cleaned in a while often takes much longer.
- Note what slowed you down: pets, clutter, stairs, parking, extra bathrooms.
- Re-check your times every few months. Jobs drift as homes and customers change.
Step 4: Add supplies and travel
Track supplies for a month and divide by the number of visits. Travel is labor too: if a cleaner drives 30 minutes to a job, you're paying for that half hour. Either build it into every price or set a travel charge for homes outside your core area.
Step 5: Choose your margin, and know margin from markup
Your margin is the share of the price you keep after all costs. It pays for slow weeks, mistakes, growth and your profit. Pick a target with your accountant based on your goals; the example below uses 25% to show the math.
Margin and markup are not the same, and mixing them up quietly costs money:
- Markup: Adds a percentage to your cost. A 25% markup on $100 of cost gives a $125 price.
- Margin: The percentage of the price you keep. To keep 25% of the price, divide cost by 0.75: $100 ÷ 0.75 = $133.33.
If you meant to keep 25% but added a 25% markup, you'd actually keep 20% ($25 of $125).
A worked example: a three-bedroom recurring clean
Example Clean Co. has timed an every-other-week clean of a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 3 labor hours. Supplies average $6 a visit, and travel is 30 minutes. All numbers are examples.
| Cost item | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaning labor and overhead | 3 hours × $29.92 | $89.76 |
| Travel | 0.5 hours × $29.92 | $14.96 |
| Supplies | per visit | $6.00 |
| Total cost per visit | $110.72 | |
| Price at a 25% margin | $110.72 ÷ 0.75 | $147.63 |
| Rounded price | $150 |
Now compare $150 with what others charge locally. If you're far above, look at your costs (is the drive too long? are jobs taking longer than they should?) before cutting price. If you're far below, you may be leaving money on the table, or your timing may be optimistic.
Hourly, flat rate or per square foot?
| Model | How it works | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly | A rate per cleaner per hour, sometimes with a minimum visit | Deep cleans and jobs you can't see first; new businesses still learning their times | Customers can't predict the bill, and faster cleaners earn you less |
| Flat rate | One price per visit based on home size and tasks | Recurring home cleaning; customers like knowing the price | Underpricing if your timing is off; scope creep ("could you also…") |
| Per square foot | A rate times the cleanable area | Commercial, move-out and post-construction work | Square footage hides the hard parts: bathrooms, kitchens, clutter |
| Per room | A price per bedroom and bathroom, plus add-ons | Simple online quotes | Large or unusual rooms |
A common approach is flat rates for recurring homes, quoted from your timed hours, with hourly pricing for one-off deep cleans and a written estimate range ("4 to 6 hours at $X per hour").
First cleans, add-ons and recurring discounts
- Price the first clean separately: If first cleans take longer, charge for that time. A cheap first clean that runs long trains you and the customer to expect the wrong number.
- List add-ons with prices: Inside the oven, inside the fridge, interior windows, cabinets, laundry. Time each one and price it with the same formula.
- Make recurring discounts earn their keep: Weekly homes are often faster to clean than monthly ones, and a full schedule lowers your overhead per hour. A discount for more frequent visits can make sense, but work out the new price with the formula, not a guess.
- Set a minimum: Small jobs carry the same travel and setup time as big ones. A minimum visit price protects you.
How to quote so the price holds
- Ask the same intake questions every time: bedrooms, bathrooms, rough square footage, pets, last professional clean, rooms to skip.
- Ask for photos by text for anything unusual. A photo of the oven settles the "inside the oven" question before you arrive.
- Write the scope into the quote: what's included, what costs extra, and that the first visit may be re-quoted if the home differs from the description.
- Give a time limit on the quote, so you can update prices for new customers without arguments.
Raising prices for existing customers
Costs go up, so prices will too. Re-run the formula once a year, give customers written notice before the new price applies, and say why in one sentence. A short text works:
"Hi Dana, a quick note from Example Clean Co.: starting with your first visit in March, your every-other-week clean will be $160, up from $150, to cover higher pay for our team and supply costs. Thank you for having us in your home. Reply with any questions."
How Chargezen helps
Good pricing starts with good intake, and intake starts with a phone that gets answered. To be clear about what it isn't: Chargezen doesn't book appointments, dispatch crews, write estimates or send invoices. Keep your scheduling and invoicing tool for that. Chargezen is the phone, text and AI layer that makes sure the customer reaches you in the first place.
- Quote requests answered: Concierge answers calls on your business number as an AI receptionist, asks the intake questions you give it (bedrooms, bathrooms, pets, last clean) and keeps the details in the customer's conversation for you.
- Photos by text: Customers can text photos to your business number, and they show up in the conversation in the team inbox, next to the rest of the history.
- Price-change notes from the business number: Send customers notice of a new price by text from the business number, not your cell. See business phone number.
Concierge Starter is $20 a month with 20,000 credits. Pro is $199 a month with 199,000 credits, or $1,990 a year. Phone and text charges are billed as used. SmartyTap, with the team inbox, starts at $20 a month. See pricing.
Related terms: product margin, COGS and MMS. Related guides: how to start a cleaning business, how to get cleaning clients and HVAC estimate template (the same cost-plus-margin method, for equipment jobs). For your phone line, see Concierge for cleaning companies.
Frequently asked questions
Should I charge by the hour or a flat rate?
Both come from the same cost-per-hour math. Flat rates suit recurring homes once you know how long they take. Hourly suits deep cleans and jobs you can't see in advance.
What is a good profit margin for a cleaning business?
There isn't one right number. It depends on your costs, your growth plans and your market. Set a target with your accountant and check your actual margin each month against it.
How do I price a home I haven't seen?
Ask the standard intake questions, ask for photos by text, quote a range or an hourly estimate for the first clean, and set the recurring flat rate after you've cleaned it once.
Should I match a cheaper competitor?
Only if your costs let you. Run the formula first. If their price is below your cost, matching it means paying to clean.
