Updated November 2026 US, UK, Canada and Australia Free calculator
Painting a room is mostly not painting. Moving furniture, filling holes, sanding, masking and cutting in around every edge take more time than rolling the walls, and that preparation is what customers are really paying a professional for. Price only the rolling and you will lose money on every job.
For the walls of a standard bedroom, two coats with ordinary paint included, charge $410–$900 in the US, £290–£480 in the UK, C$360–C$800 in Canada and A$250–A$680 in Australia. Ceilings, trim, repairs and big colour changes all add to that, and the calculator below shows by how much.
Set the job details to get a price to quote, then check what that price leaves you per hour once driving, supplies and tax are counted.
sq ft
Length times width of the floor. A 12 by 12 ft bedroom is 144 sq ft.Length times width of the floor. A 3 by 4 m bedroom is 12 m².Length times width of the floor. A 12 by 12 ft bedroom is 144 sq ft.Length times width of the floor. A 3 by 4 m bedroom is 12 m².
We only publish going rates for the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Enter the price you plan to charge and the calculator shows what it pays you per hour, and the lowest price you should accept.
Charge about
$600
per room, paint included, for 150 sq ft
Budget$410Typical$600Premium$900
$
per room, paint included, in your own currency
What you really keep
$57an hour in your pocket at the typical price
Adjust the numbers above to match your job.
The price is built as a base fee plus a rate for the size of the job, then adjusted for the options you pick. Time is an estimate for one person working alone; change it if you know your own pace.
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Price list
Painting a Room prices by job size
Job
United States (USD)
United Kingdom (GBP)
Canada (CAD)
Australia (AUD)
Small room or bathroom
$250–$450about 60 sq ft of floor
£200–£300about 6 m² of floor
$280–$410about 60 sq ft of floor
$250–$410about 6 m² of floor
Standard bedroom
$410–$900about 150 sq ft
£290–£480about 12 m²
$360–$800about 150 sq ft
$250–$680about 12 m²
Large bedroom or dining room
$520–$1,250about 220 sq ft
£370–£660about 18 m²
$460–$1,100about 220 sq ft
$310–$960about 18 m²
Living room
$710–$1,800about 330 sq ft
£510–£960about 28 m²
$610–$1,570about 330 sq ft
$410–$1,420about 28 m²
Hourly rate
$25–$80what working pros bill
£22–£40what working pros bill
$35–$75what working pros bill
$45–$90what working pros bill
Minimum charge
$250smallest job worth the trip
£180smallest job worth the trip
$280smallest job worth the trip
$250smallest job worth the trip
Prices are per room, paint included in local currency, from a fair budget price to an established operator in a higher-cost area.
United States: Per-square-foot rates are quoted two different ways, by wall area and by floor area, and the numbers are very different. Always say which one you mean. Rooms with ceilings over 9 ft need a higher price.
United Kingdom: Decorators usually work to a day rate, commonly £180 to £300 outside London, and quote a room as one to two days. Most room prices include emulsion on walls and ceiling, with woodwork in gloss or satin as an extra.
Canada: Prices in Toronto and Vancouver run well above the national figures. Customers generally expect the quote to include paint, and two coats as standard.
Australia: Room prices normally cover walls and ceiling together, so choose that option for a like-for-like comparison. Painting work above a set value needs a licence in most states, so check your state's threshold before quoting bigger jobs.
Method
Ways to price painting a room
01Per room
One price for the room after you have seen it. This is what homeowners expect and it is the easiest quote to win. Base it on the room's size, then add for ceilings, trim, repairs and anything awkward.
02By area
A rate per square foot or square metre. Fair and consistent, and the only sensible method for a whole house or an open-plan space. The calculator on this page uses floor area, because that is the number customers know.
03Day rate
A fixed amount per day, with the customer buying the paint. Standard in the UK and useful anywhere for jobs with a lot of unknown repair work. Give an estimate of the number of days so the total is not a shock.
04Labour only
The customer supplies the paint and you charge for your time and sundries. Your price drops by the cost of the paint, but so does your risk if they choose something expensive. Still charge for rollers, tape, filler and sheets.
Price factors
What changes the price
01Preparation
Filling nail holes and cracks, sanding, washing greasy walls and sealing stains can take as long as the painting. Walk the room with the customer and point at every repair before you quote, so the prep is in the price and not a surprise.
02Ceilings and trim
A ceiling adds about a third to a walls-only price. Baseboards, window frames and door casings are slow brushwork and add about as much again. State in writing which surfaces your price covers.
03Colour change
Going over a similar shade takes two coats. Covering a dark colour with a light one, or fresh plaster, needs a primer or a third coat. That is a day of extra drying and labour, so charge about a quarter more.
04Ceiling height and awkward spaces
Standard ceilings are reached from a small step. High ceilings, stairwells and vaulted rooms need ladders, planks or a tower, and every cut-in line takes longer. Stairwells are the classic job beginners underprice.
05Furniture and floors
An empty room is far quicker than a furnished one. If you are moving wardrobes and covering carpets, charge for the time. If the customer clears the room first, that is worth a small discount.
06Paint quality
Good paint covers in fewer coats and is quicker to work with. If you supply it, pass on the cost with a modest markup for collecting it. If the customer insists on bargain paint, warn them it may need an extra coat at extra cost.
Worked examples
Real quotes, step by step
United States
Bedroom walls, same colour family
A 12 by 12 ft bedroom with sound walls, repainted from beige to off-white. Walls only, two coats, paint supplied by you.
This is the bread-and-butter job. Once you can do a clean bedroom in a day, price it as a flat rate and offer a discount for each extra room on the same visit.
Base price, 144 sq ft
$582
Quote, rounded
$580
Going range
$390–$870
Time, with 15 min driving
6.5 hours
Supplies and fuel
− $92
Set aside 25% for tax and overheads
− $122
You keep
$56 an hour
United Kingdom
Living room, walls and ceiling, dark to light
A 20 m² living room going from deep red to white, including the ceiling. Some filling needed around old picture hooks.
A strong colour change with a ceiling is a two-day job. If you priced it like a simple one-day repaint you would work the second day for nothing.
A 12 m² bedroom: walls, ceiling, skirting and window frame, plus the door. The owner has already bought the paint.
Labour-only jobs still need rollers, tape and filler, so only take about 15 percent off, not the full retail cost of the paint.
Base price, 12 m²
$418
Walls, ceiling and trim
× 1.6
The customer does
× 0.85
Paint a door and its frame
+ $80
Quote, rounded
$650
Going range
$420–$1,010
Time, with 15 min driving
11 hours
Supplies and fuel
− $39
Set aside 25% for tax and overheads
− $153
You keep
$42 an hour
Your costs
What it costs you to do the work
Painting has one of the lowest start-up costs of any trade. Paint for each job is covered in the calculator, so these are the tools and running costs.
Item
USA (USD)
UK (GBP)
Canada (CAD)
Australia (AUD)
Brushes, rollers, trays and extension poleBuy good brushes. Cheap ones shed bristles and leave lines.
$80–$200
£60–£160
$100–$260
$110–$280
Dust sheets, masking tape and filler, per month
$30–$90
£25–£70
$40–$110
$40–$120
Step ladder and work platform
$100–$300
£80–£250
$130–$380
$140–$400
Sander and scrapers
$60–$200
£50–£160
$80–$260
$90–$280
Paint for a standard bedroom, two coats
$60–$130
£35–£80
$80–$150
$80–$170
Liability insurance, per yearCovers spills on carpets and furniture, which do happen.
$400–$1,200
£70–£200
$500–$1,300
$400–$900
Avoid these
Pricing mistakes that cost beginners money
Pricing only the painting time
Rolling two coats on a bedroom takes a couple of hours. Getting the room ready, cutting in, waiting for coats to dry and cleaning up takes the rest of the day. Price the whole day.
Not writing down what is included
Customers assume the ceiling, the inside of the cupboard and the door are part of 'paint the room'. List the surfaces and the number of coats in the quote, and add extras at a stated price.
Absorbing the cost of paint
Good paint for one room can cost as much as two hours of your labour. Either include it clearly in the price or have the customer buy it. Never leave it out of your sums.
Quoting from a photo
Photos hide cracked plaster, damp stains, glossy old paint and high ceilings. See the room, or give a range and confirm the price on arrival before you open a tin.
Questions
Common questions about painting a room prices
How much should I charge to paint a room?
For the walls of a standard bedroom with paint included, charge $410–$900 in the US, £290–£480 in the UK, C$360–C$800 in Canada and A$250–A$680 in Australia. Add about 30 percent for the ceiling and about 60 percent for ceiling and trim together.
How much should I charge per square foot to paint a room?
Published rates run about $1.50 to $4.50 per square foot in the US and $2 to $5 in Canada with paint included, but guides differ on whether that means wall area or floor area. Always confirm which one a rate refers to. In Australia interior rates are usually $18 to $30 per square metre of surface painted.
How long does it take to paint a room?
One person takes about a day for the walls of a standard bedroom, including preparation and two coats. Allow a day and a half to two days with the ceiling and trim, or when there are repairs or a strong colour change.
What is a fair hourly rate for a painter?
Painters bill about $25–$80 an hour in the US, £22–£40 in the UK, C$35–C$75 in Canada and A$45–A$90 in Australia. In the UK it is more usual to quote a day rate of roughly £180 to £300.
Should the price include paint?
Most homeowners expect it to. Include ordinary paint in your price and say which brand and finish. If the customer wants a premium or designer paint, either add the difference or let them buy it and charge labour only.
How much should I charge for labour only?
Take about 15 percent off a paint-included price for a standard room. Do not take off the full retail price of the paint, because you still supply the rollers, tape, filler and sheets, and you carry the same labour.
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Where these numbers come from
The rates on this page were set in November 2026 from the published price guides below, then checked so that the calculator, the price list and the examples all agree. How we work out prices.