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Free painter rate check

Painter hourly rate calculator

Prep is the job, and it is the easiest thing to underbill. Add ladders, sprayers, drop cloths, and insurance and your real rate is higher than you think. Find out where yours lands.

Truck, insurance, tools, phone. Everything that bills you whether you work or not.

What goes into a painter's real rate

Painting lives and dies on prep, which is exactly the part painters give away when they quote a low hourly number. Add the ladders and sprayers, the tape and plastic, the cleanup, and the weeks between jobs, and your true rate is well above your wage. This calculator puts a number on all of it so your price covers the whole job, not just the rolling.

  • ✓Ladders, sprayers, and drop cloths
  • ✓Consumables: tape, plastic, brushes
  • ✓Prep and cleanup time
  • ✓Insurance and vehicle costs
  • ✓Unbilled quoting and slow weeks

QuoteMate does this on every job, not just once. Answer a few questions on the call and read out a price that protects your margin, with a peer benchmark showing what other painters near you charge.

Painter rate questions

How much should a painter charge per hour?
There is no single right number. Your rate depends on your overhead, your billable hours, and the margin you want to keep. Most painters who price off their wage alone land below their true break-even once you add ladders, sprayers, and drop cloths and consumables: tape, plastic, brushes. The calculator above finds your real number in about a minute.
What should a painter's hourly rate cover?
Everything that costs you money whether you are on a job or not: ladders, sprayers, and drop cloths, consumables: tape, plastic, brushes, prep and cleanup time, insurance and vehicle costs, unbilled quoting and slow weeks. If your rate only covers your wage and materials, those costs come straight out of your profit.
How do I know if I am undercharging as a painter?
Work out your true break-even — your wage plus overhead spread across your billable hours — and compare it to what you charge. If you are at or below break-even, every hour is costing you. The calculator above shows the gap and what you would earn at a proper margin.

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