Pricing is the lever that determines whether your cleaning business thrives or barely survives. Charge too little and you'll burn out working long hours for thin margins. Charge too much without the perceived value to back it up, and clients will go elsewhere.
This guide gives you the frameworks, formulas, and market data you need to set profitable rates — and the confidence to communicate them.
The Three Common Pricing Models
1. Flat-Rate Pricing
You quote a fixed price per job based on the home size, condition, and service type. This is the most common and client-friendly model.
Pros: Clients know exactly what they'll pay. Easy to automate with MaidCamp's invoicing system.
Cons: You absorb the risk if a job takes longer than expected.
Typical rates (2026):
- Studio / 1-bedroom apartment: $80–$120
- 2-bedroom home: $120–$180
- 3-bedroom home: $160–$250
- 4+ bedroom home: $220–$350
- Deep clean premium: Add 50–100% to standard rates
2. Hourly Pricing
You charge per cleaner per hour. Simple and transparent, but less predictable for clients.
Typical rates: $25–$50 per cleaner per hour, depending on your market.
3. Square-Footage Pricing
You charge based on the home's square footage. This works well for large homes and commercial properties.
Typical rates: $0.05–$0.15 per square foot for standard cleaning.
How to Calculate Your Minimum Profitable Rate
Before setting client-facing prices, you need to know your floor — the minimum you can charge and still make money.
Formula:
Minimum hourly rate = (Labor cost + Overhead) × Profit margin
Example:
- You pay a cleaner $18/hour
- Overhead per labor hour (supplies, insurance, gas, software): $7
- Desired profit margin: 30%
($18 + $7) × 1.30 = $32.50 per labor hour minimum
If a 3-bedroom home takes your team 3 hours, your minimum price is $97.50. Anything below that and you're losing money on the job.
How to Price Competitively Without Undercharging
Research your local market
Search "house cleaning [your city]" and request quotes from 5 competitors. This gives you a realistic price range for your area.
Position on value, not price
Clients who choose the cheapest option are the hardest to retain. Instead, compete on reliability, quality, professionalism, and convenience.
Value signals that justify premium pricing:
- Bonded and insured
- Background-checked cleaners
- Online booking and card-on-file payments
- Automatic reminders and follow-ups
- Digital checklists for quality assurance
- Satisfaction guarantee
MaidCamp helps you deliver all of these automatically, which makes it easier to justify rates that are 15–20% above the market average.
Offer tiered packages
Give clients three options:
- Standard Clean — Kitchen, bathrooms, floors, surfaces
- Deep Clean — Everything in Standard plus oven, fridge, baseboards, windows
- Move-In/Out Clean — Top to bottom, including inside cabinets and appliances
Tiering anchors clients to the middle option and increases average ticket value.
When and How to Raise Your Prices
You should raise prices at least once per year to keep up with labor costs, supply costs, and inflation.
How to communicate a price increase:
- Give 30 days notice
- Explain the reason briefly (increased costs, improved services)
- Emphasize the value they receive
- Offer to lock in current rates for annual prepayment
Example email:
"Hi [Name], starting [date], our standard cleaning rate will increase from $150 to $165. This reflects increased costs for supplies and our continued investment in team training and technology to deliver a better experience. As always, your satisfaction is our top priority. If you have any questions, just reply to this email."
With MaidCamp's automated communication, you can send rate change notifications to all affected clients at once.
Pricing Mistakes to Avoid
- Not accounting for drive time — Factor commute time into your per-job cost
- Giving discounts without a strategy — Discounts should be temporary and tied to a specific goal (first clean, referral, annual commitment)
- Quoting without seeing the home — Always do a phone or video walk-through before quoting deep cleans or large homes
- Charging by the hour for regular cleans — Flat rate is almost always better for client satisfaction and your margins
Tools That Make Pricing Easier
- Use MaidCamp's booking forms to show pricing tiers during the booking process
- Use MaidCamp's revenue reports to track average job value and profitability by service type
- Use MaidCamp's invoicing to automate billing so you never forget to charge
Key Takeaways
- Know your minimum profitable rate before setting prices
- Position on value and professionalism, not lowest price
- Offer tiered packages to increase average ticket value
- Raise prices annually — communicate clearly and confidently
- Use software to automate the billing and tracking side
Pricing is a skill that improves with practice. Start with data, adjust based on market response, and never be afraid to charge what you're worth.