Spotless Margin
Free tool

Commercial Cleaning Bid Calculator

Turn the size of a building, how often you clean it and your own labor costs into a price per visit, a monthly price and a margin check. Every value is a starting estimate. Replace them with your own numbers.

Last updated: November 13, 2026

The building
sq ft

The floor area you will actually clean.

Use 0.5 for every other week. Monthly price uses visits × 52 ÷ 12.

sq ft/h

How many square feet one person cleans in one hour. This is an editable starting estimate, not market data. Real rates depend on the layout, floors, furniture and tasks. Time a few real visits to find yours.

Extra tasks (optional)

Floors and surfaces are covered by the production rate. Add time here for work that takes longer than that, such as restrooms. Leave at 0 to skip.

min

Starter estimate. Adjust to your own timings.

min

Total extra minutes per visit, for example emptying trash, restocking supplies or cleaning a kitchenette.

Your costs

Optionally fill the hourly wage with the May 2025 BLS OEWS median hourly wage for a U.S. state. These are occupational wages, not a recommended cleaning price and not a fully loaded labor cost. You can edit the wage after. Table and source.

Which OEWS occupation’s median wage to use when you pick a state.

What you pay a cleaner per hour before burden. Starter estimate.

Employer payroll taxes, workers' comp and similar, as a percent of wages. Starter estimate.

Supplies

Percent of loaded labor cost (wages plus burden). Starter estimate.

Insurance, equipment, vehicle, admin and so on, as a percent of labor plus supplies. Starter estimate.

Percent of the price you keep as profit. 0 to 90.

Check an offer (optional)

Leave blank to skip. If you enter a price, the results show the margin you would earn at that price.

Results also update as you type.

Your bid

Suggested price per visit —

Monthly price
—
Labor hours per visit
—
Cost per visit
—
Profit per visit
—
Margin at this price
—
Price per sq ft, per visit
—
Price per sq ft, per month
—
Cost per visit, step by step
Floor and surface time—
Extra tasks time—
Wages—
Payroll burden—
Supplies—
Overhead—
Your total cost—
Profit per month at this price—

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Planning estimate only. Defaults are editable starting estimates for planning. They are not market data, not a formal bid, and not financial advice. Visit the building, time the work and use your own numbers before you submit a price.

Transparent math

How this bid is calculated

This is a simple cost-plus model: estimate the time, cost that time, add supplies and overhead, then add your margin. Nothing here comes from a market survey. Every default is a round-number starting assumption for you to replace with your own timings and costs.

1. Labor hours per visit

Labor hours are person-hours. With two cleaners, the time on site is roughly half.

2. Cost per visit

3. Price, using margin (not markup)

Margin is a share of the price. Dividing by (1 − margin) is what makes the profit exactly that share of what the client pays. Because the price is rounded up to the cent, the margin shown can be a hair above your target. A month is treated as 52 ÷ 12 weeks, about 4.33.

The two price-per-square-foot figures divide the price by the cleanable area. One is per visit, the other per month. They are a quick way to compare a bid with others you have priced. They are not a statement about what other companies charge.

4. The margin check

If your target margin, or the margin at an offered monthly price, is below 20%, the calculator shows a warning. Twenty percent is a rule of thumb used here as a prompt, not a rule or a market figure. A thin margin leaves little room for a missed day, a re-clean, a wage increase or a late-paying client. Your own threshold may be different.

What the calculator leaves out

It does not include sales tax, income tax, travel time between sites, one-off start-up cleans, equipment purchases, payment fees or contract terms unless you build them into the wage, burden, supplies, overhead or margin. It also knows nothing about prices in your area. Treat the result as a floor to check your bid against, then use your own judgment.

Questions about commercial bids

What production rate should I use?

There is no single right number, which is why it is editable. It depends on the building (open floor plan or many small rooms), the floors, how much furniture there is, how often the space is cleaned and which tasks are included. The most reliable way is to time a few real visits and divide the square feet you cleaned by the labor hours you spent. Until you have timings, treat the default as a placeholder.

Is margin the same as markup?

No. Margin is the share of the price you keep as profit. Markup is the amount you add on top of cost. A 25% margin needs a 33.3% markup. If you add 25% to your cost instead, your margin is only 20%. This calculator uses margin: price = cost ÷ (1 − margin).

What is payroll burden?

It is the extra cost of an employee on top of their wage, such as employer payroll taxes, workers' compensation and similar items. It varies by location and situation, so check your own figures with your accountant or insurer. If you pay subcontractors, you may set it close to zero, but check how that works where you are.

Does the price include sales tax or insurance?

Only if you build those costs into your wage, burden, supplies or overhead percentages. The calculator does not add sales tax or any other tax, and it does not know your insurance or equipment costs. Overhead is where those costs belong if you want them in the price.

Also cleaning homes? The $49 Pricing & Launch Kit

To be clear: the kit is built for residential cleaning. It has a quote calculator spreadsheet, a service agreement template, checklists and client email templates for house cleaning. It does not include commercial bid templates. A commercial bid kit is not available yet. If you clean homes, it could save you time.

See the residential kit