Pricing guide
How Much Does It Cost to Paint a House?
Painting is priced by the project, driven mostly by surface area, prep work, and the number of coats. Interior and exterior are costed apart below, along with the prep that most quotes bury inside a single line.
Founder, Smarfle · Published June 26, 2026
Average interior room
$300 to $800
Per room, depending on size, prep, and coats. A whole-house interior runs $2,000 to $6,000 and an exterior $3,000 to $10,000 or more.
Quick answer
Painting a single interior room typically costs $300 to $800, a whole-house interior $2,000 to $6,000, and a house exterior $3,000 to $10,000 or more. By area it is roughly $2 to $6 per square foot.
House Painting price list
| Service | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Interior room | $300 to $800 |
| Whole-house interior | $2,000 to $6,000 |
| Exterior (house) | $3,000 to $10,000+ |
| Cabinet refinishing | $1,500 to $5,000 |
| Trim and doors | $1 to $3 / linear ft |
| Per square foot | $2 to $6 |
Prices are typical U.S. ranges and vary by region, scope, and condition. Always get a written quote.
Interior painting cost by room
| Room | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Bedroom / office | $300 to $700 |
| Living room | $500 to $1,000 |
| Kitchen | $400 to $900 |
| Bathroom | $200 to $500 |
| Whole-house interior | $2,000 to $6,000 |
Exterior painting cost by home size
| Home size | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft | $2,000 to $5,000 |
| 1,500 sq ft | $3,000 to $7,000 |
| 2,500 sq ft | $5,000 to $10,000 |
| 3,500+ sq ft | $8,000 to $15,000+ |
What affects the cost
Surface area
More square footage and higher ceilings mean more paint and labor, so price scales with the size of the job.
Prep work
Patching, sanding, priming, and repairs are where painting jobs go over budget. Heavily damaged or previously poor surfaces take longer.
Number of coats and color
A dramatic color change or covering dark walls needs more coats, raising paint and labor.
Paint quality and height
Premium paint and hard-to-reach areas (high walls, multi-story exteriors) add cost.
What you are actually paying for
The parts of a painting quote that never appear as a line item, from the side of the business that has to cover them.
The first hours produce nothing you can see
Moving and covering furniture, masking edges, filling and sanding is a large share of the labor on an interior job and leaves the room looking untouched. A bid that comes in noticeably low is usually buying that time back, and it is the part you notice a year later rather than on the day.
Paint is a small slice of what you are paying
Against a painter median of $49,400, the labor on a repaint dwarfs the cost of the paint itself. Upgrading to a better product barely moves the total and often reduces it by covering in fewer coats, so the product is rarely where a quote can sensibly be cut.
Small jobs get priced to fill a gap in the schedule
Painters sequence work to keep a crew busy, because an idle day is unrecoverable. A room that happens to fit between two larger jobs can be quoted keenly, while the same room as a standalone visit carries its own setup and travel. Asking about their schedule is a fair question.
Where the money goes
Labor is most of a paint job; paint and materials are a smaller share. That is why prep matters so much: it is labor-intensive and the main reason one bid is higher than another. A cheap bid often skimped on prep or coats, which shows within a year.
Should you DIY or hire a pro?
Interior painting is one of the more DIY-friendly home projects if you have the time and patience for prep. Hire a pro for exteriors (height and weather), high ceilings, cabinet refinishing (a sprayed finish is hard to match by hand), and large jobs where speed and a clean finish matter.
How to save on painting
- Move the furniture and do the light patching yourself. The invisible hours are a large share of the bill.
- Have several rooms done at once so setup and travel are paid for once.
- Do not cut the paint budget. It is a small share of the total and better product often covers in fewer coats.
- Ask how many coats and how much prep the number assumes, then compare bids on that basis rather than on price.
- Have exterior work done in dry, mild weather so none of it has to be redone.
What the federal data shows
BLS puts the national painter median at $49,400 for May 2025 across 326,900 jobs, with 3% growth projected to 2035. Paint and sundries are a small share of a repaint, so that wage is most of what you are paying for, and it is why a quote that looks cheap usually means fewer coats or less prep rather than a better deal.
Run a painting business? Here is what to charge
If you run a painting business, itemize prep, labor, and materials separately and price the prep honestly, that is where your margin lives. Clear estimates and before-and-after photos win the job.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to paint a room?
How much does it cost to paint a house interior?
How much does it cost to paint a house exterior?
Why do painting quotes vary so much?
How much does cabinet refinishing cost?
More pricing guides
Where these numbers come from
The dollar ranges on this page are our own editorial estimates, not survey data. We build them from the federal wage figures cited below, which set the labor floor for the trade, plus the typical job scopes we see in the field. Materials, permits, access and local demand move every one of them. Treat the ranges as a starting point for a conversation with a contractor, not as a quote.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Painters, Construction and Maintenance (May 2025)National median painter wage of $49,400, the labor half of any quote; paint and materials are the other.
Last reviewed September 2026.
Price jobs right, get paid faster
Smarfle helps painting businesses estimate, invoice, and collect payment in one place, so you quote with confidence and never chase a check.
Start your 14-day free trial