Cleaning · Pricing
Pricing residential cleaning: hourly, flat rate and recurring
5 min read · Updated January 2026
Cleaning quotes go wrong in one of two ways: an hourly rate that punishes your fast cleaners, or a flat rate set before anyone saw the house.
Quote flat, estimate in hours
Give the customer a flat price per visit so they can budget, but build it from estimated cleaner-hours. If a two-person team needs three hours, that is six cleaner-hours times your loaded rate, plus supplies and margin.
Price the first clean separately
The initial deep clean often takes 1.5-2x a maintenance visit. Quote it as its own number and explain that recurring visits drop to the lower rate — this framing raises acceptance instead of causing sticker shock.
Adjust for the things that actually add time
- Pets (hair adds vacuum and dusting time)
- Number of bathrooms, not just square footage
- Clutter level and whether surfaces need clearing first
- Hard-water buildup and glass shower doors
- Stairs, high ceilings and unfinished basements
Reward frequency, not negotiation
Weekly customers should pay less per visit than monthly ones because maintenance cleans are faster. Publish that tiering so discounts feel like a policy rather than a haggle.
Re-time your routes twice a year
Compare actual visit duration against quoted time on your recurring accounts. Any home consistently running 20% long should be repriced at the next scheduled increase.
Frequently asked
- Is it better to charge hourly or flat rate for cleaning?
- Flat rate per visit is better for customers and for efficient teams — you keep the upside when your crew gets faster.
- How much should a deep clean cost compared to a regular clean?
- Typically 1.5-2x a maintenance visit, because it includes baseboards, appliance interiors, grout and other detail work.
Run this workflow in TradePilot
Quote, schedule, invoice and collect payment from one place — built for cleaning crews.