Enter the square footage, pick what you’re painting — interior walls, walls with trim and ceilings, ceilings only, cabinets, or exterior siding — add heavy prep or two-story access if the job needs it, and get a competitive 2026 price range in seconds. Then hand the customer a branded estimate before they call the next painter.
Painting costs $2–$6 per square foot for interior walls in 2026 and $1.50–$4.50 per square foot for exterior siding, with a full interior of walls, trim, and ceilings running $3–$7 per square foot. Ceilings add $1–$2 per square foot, cabinets and built-ins run $5–$11 per square foot of face, heavy surface prep adds $0.50–$1, and two-story or high-ceiling access adds $0.75–$1.25, while large commercial jobs price about 15% lower per foot at scale. A standard 12×12 room of wall area lands around $300–$1,000, and a typical 2,000–2,500 sq ft house exterior runs roughly $3,800–$9,200. The calculator below prices it instantly by square footage and surface, and QuoteIQ turns the result into a sendable, branded estimate — or an online self-quote your customers run themselves. Plans start at $29.99/mo.
Painting jobs are priced by the square foot: the area times a per-foot rate for the surface, plus add-ons for prep and access. The formula: area × surface rate × scale factor = base price. The surface you paint is the biggest lever — a ceiling and a cabinet face can differ by more than 5× per square foot — and the surface’s condition is the wildcard, because patching, sanding, caulking, and priming all add cost before the finish coat goes on. The calculator above uses the 2026 U.S. market ranges below; your paint grade, coat count, and local labor decide where you land inside each band.
| Surface / add-on | Typical 2026 rate (per sq ft) |
|---|---|
| Interior walls only | $2 – $6 |
| Interior walls, trim & ceilings | $3 – $7 |
| Ceilings only | $1 – $2 |
| Cabinets & built-ins (per sq ft of face) | $5 – $11 |
| Exterior siding | $1.50 – $4.50 |
| Heavy surface prep & repair (add-on) | $0.50 – $1 |
| Two-story / high-ceiling access (add-on) | $0.75 – $1.25 |
Prep is the silent margin killer. Bidding a finish coat over walls that need patching, sanding, caulking, or priming — without pricing that prep as its own line — is how a sharp-looking repaint turns into a break-even job. Quote the prep, or the sandpaper eats the profit.
Three factors move every quote beyond the surface itself: condition (peeling, stained, or previously glossy surfaces need more sanding, patching, and priming before paint will hold), coats and color (covering a dark wall with a light color, or any deep accent, can mean an extra coat that adds real labor), and scale — large commercial and whole-house jobs price about 15% lower per square foot because mobilization, material, and crew costs spread across more area, which is why the calculator’s Commercial toggle applies a 15% reduction. For benchmarks on managing job costs and margins, the U.S. Small Business Administration is blunt: price from your costs, not your competitors’.
A $5,000 whole-house repaint isn’t $5,000 in your pocket. Paint and primer, caulk and patching compound, tape and masking, sprayer and sundries, labor, and the second coat all come out first — and painting margins live or die on prep time, coat count, and crew speed, not on any single quote. The SBA’s guidance on managing finances is blunt: track cost per job, not per month.
If the calendar is full but the bank account isn’t growing, the quotes weren’t the problem — under-priced prep and an unbudgeted extra coat were. QuoteIQ Job Costing attaches paint, labor, and prep time to every job so you see real margin per job, not a guess.
Painting is a trust game: the contractor who shows up with a clear, professional number usually wins the job. Inside QuoteIQ, the price you just calculated becomes a branded estimate sent from the job site, a slot on the schedule, and an invoice that collects card payment the day the last coat dries — and customer self-quoting puts this same square-foot logic on your website so homeowners price their own rooms and book while you’re on another job.
Review Multiplier turns finished repaints into Google reviews automatically — the social proof that sells the next job. QuoteIQ serves painting contractors among 50+ home service industries — and if you run other services too, try the free lawn care, pressure washing, and tree removal calculators, the detailing price list template, or browse all our free tools.
Comparing platforms before you commit? QuoteIQ’s painting software runs measurement, tiered interior/exterior quotes, and crew scheduling in one app, and the top scheduling software for painting contractors compares how the leading platforms keep multi-day jobs on track.
Turn this estimate into a branded, sendable quote in about 60 seconds — or put this calculator’s logic on your own website with customer self-quoting, then run the schedule, the invoice, and the review request without leaving QuoteIQ. Plans start at $29.99/mo.
“My company is Exodus Exterior solutions LLC I have used QuoteIQ for the past 7 months as my company’s Main CRM and I absolutely love it.”
Verified App Store ReviewInterior painting costs $2–$6 per square foot for walls in 2026, or $3–$7 per square foot for a full interior of walls, trim, and ceilings; exterior siding runs $1.50–$4.50 per square foot. Ceilings add $1–$2 per square foot, cabinets and built-ins run $5–$11 per square foot of face, and labor is typically 70–80% of the bill. Heavy surface prep adds $0.50–$1 per square foot and two-story or high-ceiling access adds $0.75–$1.25. Enter your square footage and surface in the calculator above and the range updates instantly, then send it as a branded quote through QuoteIQ.
Painting a standard 12×12 room costs about $300–$1,000 in 2026, with a national average near $600 for walls only. At roughly 400 square feet of wall area, walls alone price about $800–$2,400 before discounts, and adding the ceiling ($1–$2 per square foot) and trim raises it toward a full-room repaint. Dark-to-light color changes, patching, and a second coat are the usual reasons a room quote climbs. Price your exact room in the calculator above.
Exterior house painting costs $1.50–$4.50 per square foot in 2026, so a typical 2,000–2,500 square foot home runs roughly $3,800–$9,200 for a complete professional job. Siding type, the amount of scraping and prep, paint quality, number of stories, and your region all move the number — coastal and high-cost metros sit at the top of the band. Labor is usually 70–85% of an exterior bill. Choose Exterior siding in the calculator above to price your home.
Painting kitchen cabinets costs $5–$11 per square foot of door and face area in 2026, which works out to roughly $30–$60 per linear foot or about $2,000–$6,500 for a full kitchen. Cabinets price higher per foot than walls because they need degreasing, sanding, priming, and a hard, smooth finish — often sprayed — and prep is most of the labor. Choose Cabinets & built-ins in the calculator above and enter the face area to price it.
Painting a ceiling costs $1–$2 per square foot in 2026, so a 12×12 room ceiling runs about $150–$300. Textured or popcorn ceilings, multiple coats to cover stains, and high or vaulted ceilings push toward the top of the range, and high-ceiling access can add $0.75–$1.25 per square foot for staging. Ceilings are the cheapest surface per foot because they are flat and uninterrupted. Select Ceilings only in the calculator above to price yours.
Painters price by the square foot: area times a per-foot rate for the surface, plus add-ons for prep and access. The formula is area × surface rate × a scale factor, with extras for heavy prep ($0.50–$1 per square foot) or two-story and high-ceiling access ($0.75–$1.25). Large commercial and whole-house jobs price about 15% lower per square foot because fixed costs spread across more area. If you are setting your own rates, build from your costs — paint, sundries, labor, insurance — then check against the market table on this page and track real margin per job with QuoteIQ Job Costing.
QuoteIQ is the best software for painting contractors because it runs the whole job from one app: customer self-quoting puts a square-foot price calculator on your website so leads book themselves, quotes send from the job site, jobs land on the schedule, invoices collect card payment when the last coat dries, and Review Multiplier turns finished repaints into Google reviews automatically — all rated 4.7 stars across 4,100+ reviews and built for painting businesses among 50+ home service trades. Plans start at $29.99/mo, below comparable Jobber and Housecall Pro tiers and a fraction of ServiceTitan. Book a free demo to see it on your own pricing.
Yes — the calculator on this page is free to use and works on any phone or tablet, which helps when you are quoting a job standing in the customer’s living room. Enter the square footage, pick what you’re painting, add prep or access if the job needs it, and get an instant range; the first time you download or print an estimate, enter your first name and email once and it is unlocked on this device for good. When you are ready to send branded quotes and collect payment, QuoteIQ offers a 14-day free trial on every plan, and a credit or debit card is required to start. Start a trial or keep using the calculator as often as you like.
Free Tools
Every QuoteIQ tool is free — price the job in seconds, then send it as a branded estimate.
Lawn Care Cost Calculator
Pick your services, enter the area, get an instant price range.
Open the Tool → FREEBasement Waterproofing Cost Calculator
Get an instant cost range for basement waterproofing jobs.
Open the Tool → FREEAuto Repair Invoice Template
Fill and download a clean, itemized auto repair invoice.
Open the Tool → FREEArtificial Turf Cost Calculator
Get an instant installed-cost range for artificial turf.
Open the Tool → FREEAir Duct Cleaning Cost Calculator
Get an instant price range for air duct cleaning jobs.
Open the Tool →One quick step
Pop in your first name and email and your PDF & PNG downloads unlock instantly — on this device, for good.
Please enter your first name and a valid email.
We’ll send occasional tips for running your painting business. Unsubscribe anytime.
Estimates
Create and send professional estimates.
Invoicing
Send, track and collect invoices.
QuoteIQ Cam
Capture and document every job with ease.
Scheduling
Schedule jobs to your calendar in seconds.
Inspection Forms
Create and complete inspection reports.
MapMeasure Pro
Measure and price properties instantly.
Business Analytics
Real-time insight into your performance.
EmployeeHub
Assign, schedule & pay employees.
Virtual Call Team
Never miss a call with 24/7 AJ, assistant.
ClientHub
Send and keep messages inside QuoteIQ.
InstaQuote
Allow customers to create estimates themselves.
InstaSchedule
Let clients schedule appointments themselves.
Facebook User Group
Connect with and get advice from other QuoteIQ users.
Competitor Comparisons
See how QuoteIQ compares to it’s top competitors.
QuoteIQ Partners
Work with trusted partners that support your growth.
Earn 40% commissions by sharing QuoteIQ with others.
Press & Media
Brand assets and coverage about QuoteIQ’s journey.
