Should I charge by square foot or by the hour?

Quote the customer a flat price (often expressed per square foot), but price it from your hourly cost and how fast you clean that surface. Flat pricing protects you when a job goes faster and reads cleaner to customers.

What profit margin should a pressure washing business target?

Many owner-operators target a 40-60% gross margin on a job after labor and supplies, which leaves room for equipment, fuel, insurance, and profit. Solo operators sometimes run higher; crews with payroll often lower.

Pressure washing

Pressure Washing Pricing Calculator

Q: How much should I charge for pressure washing?

Most residential pressure washing is priced between $0.10 and $0.35 per square foot, or $50-$100+ per hour of work. The right number for you depends on your labor cost, chemicals, drive time, and the profit margin you want to keep — this calculator works it backward from your costs.

Stop guessing. Enter the job and your costs to get a price that hits your profit target, see where every dollar goes, and print a customer-ready quote — updated for 2026.

The job

Area to clean (sq ft) driveway, siding, deck…

Surface type sets cleaning speed

Your costs

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

Supplies & fuel ($) chemicals, gas for this job

Drive + setup time (min)

Target profit margin

Price to quote

$ —

enter the job to see your number

Your cost

—

Your profit

—

Effective pay rate

—

per labor hour, after supplies

Time on the job

—

cleaning + drive/setup

Typical residential pressure washing runs $0.10–$0.35 / sq ft.

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 a pressure washing job

A good price covers three things and then adds profit on top: your labor (how long the job takes × your loaded hourly cost), your supplies (chemicals and fuel), and the drive and setup time you don't get paid for unless you build it in. This calculator estimates your cleaning time from the surface type — flat concrete cleans far faster per square foot than a wood deck or a roof soft-wash — then marks the total up to the margin you choose.

The result is a flat price to quote the customer and the implied price per square foot, so you can sanity-check it against what your market pays. If your number lands far outside the typical range, revisit your time estimate or margin rather than just matching a competitor.

Typical pressure washing rates by surface (2026)

Surface	Typical rate	Production speed
Driveway / flat concrete	$0.10 – $0.25 / sq ft	~1,500 sq ft/hr
House siding (soft wash)	$0.15 – $0.35 / sq ft	~1,000 sq ft/hr
Roof (soft wash)	$0.20 – $0.50 / sq ft	~600 sq ft/hr
Wood deck / fence	$0.15 – $0.40 / sq ft	~500 sq ft/hr

Ranges reflect common US residential pricing; your market may differ — that's exactly what the calculator's sanity check is for.

Charge flat, price by the hour

Customers want a single number, but you should build that number from your hourly cost. Quote flat so a faster job rewards you, and never let an unpaid 40-minute drive quietly eat your margin — the "drive + setup" field above puts it back in the price.

Also try: house cleaning pricing · lawn care pricing.

FAQ

How much should I charge for pressure washing?

Residential work commonly runs $0.10–$0.35 per square foot, or $50–$100+ per hour. The right number depends on your costs and margin — enter them above to get yours.

By square foot or by the hour?

Quote the customer a flat price (often shown per square foot), but build it from your hourly cost and your cleaning speed for that surface. Flat pricing rewards you when the job goes fast.

What margin should I target?

Many owner-operators aim for a 40–60% gross margin after labor and supplies, leaving room for equipment, insurance, fuel, and profit.

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