How the estimate works
Cleaning time scales with three things: floor area, wet rooms, and condition. This calculator estimates labor hours as roughly one hour per 1,000 square feet, plus half an hour per bathroom and a quarter hour per bedroom, scaled by the condition factor — numbers that line up with how established residential companies quote sight-unseen over the phone. Then it prices those hours the only defensible way: burdened wages, the drive, supplies, overhead recovery, and margin applied to the price. If your team is faster than the model, congratulations — that's margin, not a reason to quote lower.
What do cleaning companies charge?
Typical U.S. residential rates land between $120 and $200 for a standard visit on a 2,000 sq ft home, with deep cleans commonly 1.5–1.8× standard and move-out cleans higher still. Companies quoting hourly usually charge $50–90 per cleaner-hour. Solo cleaners run lower — and the sustainable ones still price well above their wage, because insurance, supplies, drive time, and empty slots don't clean themselves. Full market-rate breakdown here.
Frequently asked questions
Is this calculator really free?
Yes. It runs entirely in your browser — nothing you type is sent to a server, stored, or shared. Your inputs are saved locally on your own device so they're still there next visit.
Should I charge hourly or flat rate?
Flat rate, built from hourly math internally. Customers strongly prefer a known number, flat pricing rewards efficient teams, and it ends the "she was only here two hours" conversation forever. The full trade-off is here.
Why is the first clean priced higher?
Because it is a deep clean wearing a standard clean's name. A home that hasn't had professional service carries months of buildup; charging standard rates for it subsidizes the customer's backlog. Quote the first visit at your deep-clean multiplier and the recurring price after that.
What about move-out cleans?
Highest multiplier in the book: empty homes show every flaw, landlords inspect against deposits, and there's no recurring revenue behind the job. Price them like the one-shot deep-detail work they are.