How Cleaning Prices Are Actually Calculated

Ask for a cleaning quote for the first time and you expect a price list. What you get instead is questions. That is not a sales tactic: the price of a clean is not read off a table, it is built. This guide explains how, so that when a proposal lands you can read it, understand why the figure is what it is, and spot a badly written quote straight away.

Price is time, not square metres

Underneath every calculation there is only one real variable: how many working hours the job takes, and with how many people. Everything else simply pushes those hours up or down. That is why two flats that look identical on a floor plan can get very different offers: one has two bathrooms and a dog that sheds, the other has one bathroom and no pets.

Size and layout

Square metres matter, but less than people assume. An extra bathroom weighs more on the hours than twenty square metres of hallway, because a bathroom means limescale, vertical surfaces, sanitaryware and detail. Internal stairs count too, along with delicate flooring such as parquet, natural stone worktops that need specific products, and the sheer number of objects to move and put back. A pared-back home cleans far faster than one full of ornaments, books and picture frames.

How often the visits happen

Regular cleaning, weekly or fortnightly, costs proportionally less than a one-off visit: the home never returns to its starting state, so each visit takes less time than the one before. A one-off clean, before a party or after a move, starts from scratch and is priced accordingly. If you think you will need ongoing help, say so at the start: it changes how the offer is put together.

The starting condition

There is a big difference between freshening up a home that is already well kept and rescuing an apartment that has been closed up for months, a kitchen with layers of built-up grease, or a bathroom with years-old limescale. The first visit to a neglected home is almost always the most demanding, and an honest quote flags it upfront as a separate deep clean rather than adding surprises once the work is done.

Access, floor and time constraints

Practical details count as well: a fourth floor with no lift, tricky parking, the need to work within specific time slots, or pets in the house. None of it is insurmountable, but carrying equipment up three flights of stairs is time, and time is the main line item in the quote. The same goes for access that is only possible in two precise hours of the afternoon.

One-off versus recurring

These are two different logics. A single visit is paid for what it is: a block of hours, products and travel, worked out on a home nobody has seen before. A recurring service is built around a rhythm, with the same person who knows the home and a task list that settles down after the first few visits. If you are comparing two offers, make sure they are the same type: a one-off and a subscription are not comparable.

What should be included

Before you look at the figure, look at what it covers. A complete service usually includes products and equipment, cloths kept separate by room, travel, insurance cover and a replacement if your regular cleaner is ill. Almost always outside it, and quoted separately, are exterior windows above a certain height, deep treatment of rugs and sofas, removing bulky waste, post-renovation cleaning and ironing. That is not sharp practice: those jobs need different tools and different amounts of time.

How to compare quotes

The lowest price is not always the best deal. Before choosing, check whether the offers are actually comparable:

• Does the quote list the rooms and tasks included, or does it stay vague?
• Are products and equipment included, or do you need to supply them?
• Is whoever does the work insured against damage?
• Is the price final, or “subject to inspection,” with possible extras added at the end?
• What happens if you are not happy with the result?

A reliable provider puts everything in writing: what it does, when it does it, with which products, and under what conditions. If you get an offer over the phone in thirty seconds, without a single question about your home, be wary: no one can properly estimate a job they have not seen.

What a proper quote should include

A good quote is not just a number. It should include a room-by-room description of the tasks, the estimated duration, who supplies products and equipment, insurance coverage, and payment terms. It should also state clearly whether it is a one-off visit or a recurring service, and how to cancel or change it.

Our advice: always ask for at least two or three quotes, but compare them line by line, not just the total. An incomplete service that later needs topping up almost always ends up costing more than a complete, clear one from the start.

Why a site visit changes the estimate

Ten minutes inside is worth more than half an hour of description. On site you can see the real state of the grout, whether the shower screen has baked-on limescale or just water marks, how high the ceilings are, where a bucket can be filled, whether there is a lift and how big it is. That is where an estimate that holds comes from, instead of a figure that has to be revised halfway through the first visit.

Where to ask for a proposal for your home

This guide explains the method, not your numbers: those depend on your home. For a concrete proposal, the right page is pricing and subscriptions: you describe the situation, we ask a few targeted questions and, where it helps, we stop by for a free on-site visit. Within 24 hours you receive a written quote with no obligation.

In short

The price of a clean depends on size and layout, frequency, starting condition, access and the type of service: anyone who gives you a figure without knowing those things is guessing. Take the time to compare complete, written quotes line by line. When you are ready for a proposal for your own home, ask for one here: we reply within 24 hours, every day.