What house painting costs per square foot in 2026
Interior prices below are per square foot of floor. Exterior prices are per square foot of wall.
| Job | HomeGuide | Fixr | This calculator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interior, per sq ft of floor | $3 to $7 | $5.75 to $10.70 | $3 to $10.70 |
| Exterior, per sq ft of wall | $1.50 to $5.00 | $2.84 to $5.28 | $1.50 to $5.28 |
| Interior, per sq ft of wall surface | $1 to $3 | ||
| Trim, per linear foot | $1 to $4 interior | $2.15 to $3.99 exterior |
HomeGuide's exterior total of $3,000 to $10,000 is for an average 2,000 sq ft house, not 2,000 sq ft of wall. This calculator uses the per-square-foot rows above. HomeGuide's whole interior is $3,500 to $10,000.
A 2,000 sq ft interior is $6,000 to $8,000 in HomeGuide's size table and $11,498 to $21,400 at Fixr's $5.75 to $10.70. Fixr's whole-interior range is about $12,648 to $23,540.
Stories, coats and trim
Neither guide publishes a separate dollar rate for a second story or a third coat. Stories and coats move this result inside the published range.
Two coats is the default. Trim is its own line: HomeGuide at $1 to $4 per linear foot inside, Fixr at $2.15 to $3.99 outside.
One room is a different job
This page is the whole house. One room, with its own wall area, ceiling and minimum, is the cost to paint a room calculator.
HomeGuide puts interior commercial painting at $2 to $6 per square foot. That is a different building from a house, and the other guide does not publish a matching commercial rate.
Pricing a house as a painter
Sample numbers to show the math. Use your own costs, crew rate and margin.
Take a 2,000 sq ft interior, walls only, two coats, one story, no trim line:
| Line | How it's figured | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Paint | About 30 gallons at $45 | $1,350.00 |
| Supplies | Tape, covers, caulk | $150.00 |
| Labor | 80 hours at $45 an hour, fully burdened | $3,600.00 |
| Cost | $5,100.00 | |
| Price at a 20% margin | $5,100 divided by 0.8 | $6,375.00, about $3.19 per sq ft of floor |
Sample figures, not from the sources above.
That is just inside HomeGuide's $3 to $7 per square foot of floor, and inside the $6,000 to $8,000 for a 2,000 sq ft interior. How to bid a painting job walks through production rates. The painting estimate template has lines for coats, prep and trim.
Questions about house painting cost
What do painters charge per square foot?+
HomeGuide puts interior work at $1 to $3 per square foot of wall surface, or $3 to $7 per square foot of floor. Fixr puts interior work at $5.75 to $10.70 per square foot of floor. Exterior wall painting is $1.50 to $5.00 (HomeGuide) or $2.84 to $5.28 (Fixr).
How much is house painting labor per square foot?+
HomeGuide says labor is about 70 to 85 percent of an interior paint job, and prices interior labor at $1 to $3 per square foot of coverage or $3 to $7 per square foot of floor. The hourly range on that page is $20 to $50 for smaller interior work, and $25 to $75 for exterior work.
What are commercial painting prices?+
HomeGuide puts interior commercial painting at $2 to $6 per square foot. The rate depends on the size of the space and on whether it is new paint or a repaint.
How do I price exterior house painting?+
Measure the wall area, not the floor area, and use $1.50 to $5.28 per square foot, the combined range above. Add trim by the linear foot, and say how many stories the crew will work from.
How this calculator works
The price range for the size of the job comes from the published guides below, from the lowest low to the highest high where they differ. Where your job lands inside that range is our method: each answer that makes the work harder or slower moves it toward the top, and each that makes it easier moves it down. Extras use each guide's published price for that item, and the likely price uses the middle of the extra's range.
This result is a planning estimate, and permits, codes and utility rules vary by location.
- HomeGuide, Cost to Paint the Interior of a House
- HomeGuide, Cost to Paint a House Exterior
- Fixr, Interior House Painting Cost
- Fixr, Exterior House Painting Cost
Prices checked October 16, 2026.