Free calculator
House Cleaning Price Calculator
Find what a clean has to cost so it pays you: your break-even rate, your target rate and a quote for the job, with drive time and self-employment tax counted. Free, no sign-up.
- Your time on site$0
- Drive time (0 each)$0
- Vehicle$0
- Supplies$0
- Price floor, zero profit$0
How it works
Most cleaners divide the pay they want by the hours they work. That leaves out three things: the hours nobody pays for (driving, quoting, invoicing), the business costs that run every month, and self-employment tax.
This calculator grosses your take-home up for self-employment tax (15.3% on 92.35% of profit) and your income tax estimate, adds a year of business costs, and spreads the total over the hours customers actually pay for. That is your break-even rate. Your margin on top gives the target rate.
A job's price floor is your time on site and your drive time at the break-even rate, plus vehicle cost per mile and supplies. The quote adds your margin and rounds up to the next $5.
A worked example
A $52,000 take-home goal with a 12% income tax estimate needs $70,394 of profit before tax. Add $6,540 a year of business costs and you need $76,934 of revenue. At 48 weeks of 45 hours with 65% paid, that is 1,404 paid hours: a break-even rate of $54.80 and a target of $64.47 with a 15% margin. Pay divided by all hours would say $24.07. A standard 2-bed clean (2.5 hours on site, a 15-mile round trip, $8 of supplies) has a $183.79 price floor and quotes at $220, with $36.21 of profit inside it.
Price every job at once
The full Service Pricing Calculator workbook uses this same maths for Excel and Google Sheets: a quote builder, a printable price sheet for every job type, a job tracker that flags jobs below your floor, and 20 example jobs across 7 trades. $2.99, instant download.
Questions
How much should I charge to clean a house?
There is no single right price, because it depends on your pay goal, your costs and how many of your hours customers pay for. Enter yours above and the calculator shows the lowest price that covers them and a quote with your margin.
Why is my break-even rate so much higher than my pay divided by my hours?
Because part of every week is unpaid (driving, quoting, admin), your business costs keep running, and as a self-employed cleaner you pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare. Each of those raises the rate every paid hour has to carry.
Does it work for deep cleans and move-outs?
Yes. Pick an example job or type your own hours, crew size, supplies and miles. The example jobs are starting points, not market prices.
Is this tax advice?
No. It is a planning estimate. Ask your tax preparer for your real income tax rate.