How do I estimate how much paint a job needs?

One gallon of interior paint covers roughly 350 square feet per coat. Divide your total wall area by 350, multiply by the number of coats, and round up to whole gallons. This calculator does that automatically and prices the paint at your cost per gallon.

Should I price painting by square foot or by the room?

Quote the customer a flat price per room or per job, but build it from your labor hours, the gallons of paint the area needs, your prep level, and your margin. Heavy prep, extra coats, ceilings, and lots of trim and doors all add hours, which is why pricing from area and hours beats a flat per-room guess.

Interior painting

Interior Painting Pricing Calculator

Q: How much should I charge for interior painting?

Interior painting commonly runs $2-$6 per square foot of wall area painted, or roughly $300-$800 per average room, depending on coats, prep, ceilings, and trim. The right number depends on your labor hours, paint cost, and target margin — this calculator builds it backward from those costs.

Price the job from wall area, coats, prep, trim, and the gallons it actually takes — then mark it to your margin. See the implied price per square foot and print a customer-ready estimate. Updated for 2026.

The space

How do you want to enter the area?

Wall area to paint (sq ft)

# Coats

Scope

Paint ceilings too?

Prep level patch, sand, caulk

# Doors + trim sections doors, window casings, big trim runs

Your costs

Labor cost ($/hour) you + any helper, loaded

Wall sq ft painted / hour your production speed

Paint cost ($/gallon) ~350 sq ft/gal coverage

Target profit margin

Price to quote

$ —

enter the job to see your number

Your cost

—

Your profit

—

Paint needed

—

at ~350 sq ft/gal

Effective pay rate

—

per labor hour, after paint

Interior painting typically runs $2–$6 / sq ft of wall area painted.

Prepare the customer's estimate

The customer sees a professional estimate — price and terms only. Your costs, margin, and breakdown stay private to this page.

Customer name autocompletes from your past estimates

Your business name remembered on this device

Your phone / email shown on the estimate

Extra line items optional — added below the calculated service

How to price an interior painting job

A solid painting price covers three things and then adds profit: your labor (the wall area divided by how fast you paint, scaled up for coats, prep, ceilings, and trim, × your loaded hourly cost), your paint (the gallons the area actually needs at your cost per gallon), and the margin that keeps the business running. This calculator estimates your hours from your own production speed, multiplies for the number of coats, raises it for heavier prep, and adds time for ceilings and for each door or trim section.

One gallon of interior paint covers about 350 square feet per coat, so the tool divides your wall area by 350, multiplies by coats, and rounds up to whole gallons. You quote the customer a flat price (per room or per job), but it's built from real area, hours, and material — and the result shows the implied price per square foot so you can sanity-check it against your market.

Typical interior painting rates (2026)

Scope	Typical rate	Notes
Walls, 2 coats	$2 – $4 / sq ft	standard repaint
Walls + ceilings	$3 – $5 / sq ft	more area, more cutting in
Heavy prep / repair	$4 – $6+ / sq ft	patching, sanding, priming
Average room (12×14)	$350 – $800	walls only, 2 coats
Doors / trim	$25 – $100 each	slower, detail work
Paint	$30 – $70 / gallon	~350 sq ft/gal coverage

Ranges reflect common US residential pricing; dark-to-light color changes, high ceilings, and premium paint push higher. Your market may differ — that's what the calculator's sanity check is for.

Price from area and hours, quote a flat number

Customers want a price per room, but a flat per-room number ignores the things that decide whether you make money: a third coat, heavy patching, painting the ceiling, and a stack of doors and trim. Build the price from your real production speed and the gallons the walls need — the fields above fold each of those into the number so the flat quote still clears your margin.

Also try: pressure washing pricing · junk removal pricing.

FAQ

How much should I charge for interior painting?

Interior work commonly runs $2–$6 per square foot of wall area, or about $350–$800 per average room, depending on coats, prep, ceilings, and trim. The right number depends on your hours and paint cost — enter them above to get yours.

How much paint will the job need?

A gallon covers roughly 350 sq ft per coat. The calculator divides your wall area by 350, multiplies by coats, and rounds up to whole gallons, then prices it at your cost per gallon.

By square foot or by the room?

Quote the customer a flat price per room or job, but build it from your labor hours, the gallons needed, your prep level, and margin — heavy prep, extra coats, ceilings, and trim all add hours.

Pricing estimates for educational purposes only — not financial or accounting advice. Market rates vary by region, surface condition, ceiling height, and paint grade; always sanity-check against your own costs.