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Painting pricing calculator: what to charge for a paint job

The short answer

Divide the area by what a painter finishes in an hour, including prep and coats, then add paint, overhead and profit. Thumbtack’s national figures put a whole interior at $605 to $2,464, one room at $364 to $965 and two rooms at $679 to $1,787. It says color changes add about 16 to 18%, and moving furniture about 24 to 27%.

Most paint job prices are labor. Time a real room from prep to cleanup, and enter what you find: it’ll give you a better number than any rule of thumb.

The paint job

These numbers are examples, not going rates. Replace them with yours.

Walls, ceilings and trim you’re charging for.
Include prep and both coats. Time a real room from start to finish.
Their pay plus payroll taxes and insurance. If it’s you, what you want to earn.
Insurance, truck, phone, software, marketing. Add up a year and divide by your sales.

What to charge

$915.56

$0.76 per square foot. About 6 hours on site.

Labor, with drive time
$329.33
Paint and supplies
$220.00
Overhead
$183.11
Profit
$183.11
Brought in per hour the crew is tied up
$144.56

How it works

Price = (labor + supplies) ÷ (1 − overhead share − profit share). Dividing, rather than adding a percent, makes sure overhead and profit are the shares of the price you wanted.

Worked example: 1,200 square feet, two painters, using made-up numbers
LineAmount
Labor, with drive time (2 at $26 an hour)$329.33
Paint and supplies$220.00
Overhead (20% of the price)$183.11
Profit (20% of the price)$183.11
Price$915.56

What customers see

Thumbtack’s national ranges for interiors, updated November 2, 2026
JobRange
Whole interior$605 to $2,464
One room$364 to $965
Two rooms$679 to $1,787
Six rooms$1,929 to $5,038
Touch-ups$351 to $934

Source: Thumbtack’s house painting costs (opens in a new tab). It says it doesn’t have reliable data to price interiors by the square foot, so a per-foot “going rate” is one to be careful with.

Work out how many gallons with the paint calculator, then send it on a painting estimate.

Common questions

How much should I charge to paint a room?
Time your own work and enter it above. Thumbtack’s national figure for one room is $364 to $965, depending on size, prep and the job.
How do painters estimate a job?
Measure the area, estimate the hours for prep and each coat, add paint and supplies, then add overhead and profit. The calculator follows those steps.
Should I charge per square foot or per room?
Whichever you can quote accurately. Per room is easy on the phone. Per foot needs measuring. Thumbtack says it doesn’t have reliable per-foot data for interiors, so check against your own past jobs.
How much extra for a color change?
Thumbtack’s page says color changes add about 16 to 18%, since they may need more coats. Moving furniture adds about 24 to 27%.

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