Painting a room costs $300 to $1,000 in 2026 with the national average around $624, an exterior repaint of a typical single-family home lands near $3,200, and a whole-house interior runs close to $10,000. The margins are thin, about 6 percent for the average contractor, because labor is 80 percent of the job and most owners price the walls and forget the prep, the trim, and the second trip.
This guide gives you a starting price for every surface, explains what pushes the number up or down, and walks one exterior quote from the walkthrough to the deposit. The typical column matches the list Zeemy is adding for painting accounts, so you can start from it and adjust for your market.
2026 house painting price table
Twenty services most painting contractors quote, with the 2026 national low and high and a typical price you can start from. Paint is included unless noted.
| Service | Low | Typical | High | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interior room, walls only | $300 | $450 | $700 | 12 by 12, two coats, nail holes patched. |
| Interior room, walls and ceiling | $450 | $650 | $1,000 | National average about $624 per room. |
| Ceiling only, per room | $150 | $250 | $400 | Flat ceiling paint, two coats. |
| Trim and baseboards, per room | $125 | $175 | $250 | $1 to $4 per linear foot. |
| Interior door, per door | $75 | $100 | $150 | Both sides plus jamb. |
| Exterior door | $135 | $190 | $300 | Prep and paint one entry door and frame. |
| Accent wall | $150 | $200 | $300 | One wall, contrasting color. |
| Kitchen cabinet painting | $2,000 | $3,500 | $6,500 | Degrease, sand, prime, spray. $30 to $70 per linear foot. |
| Bathroom vanity painting | $300 | $450 | $700 | One vanity, sprayed finish. |
| Exterior siding, per 100 sq ft | $150 | $275 | $400 | $1.50 to $4 per square foot. |
| Exterior trim, whole house | $1,000 | $1,500 | $2,500 | Fascia, soffits, window and door trim. |
| Exterior shutters, per pair | $80 | $120 | $180 | Remove, paint, rehang. |
| Garage door painting | $200 | $300 | $450 | Two-car door. |
| Deck staining, per 100 sq ft | $200 | $300 | $400 | $2 to $4 per square foot, cleaned first. |
| Fence staining, per 100 linear ft | $400 | $600 | $1,000 | Both sides of a 6-foot fence. |
| Power wash prep | $250 | $350 | $600 | Before any exterior job. |
| Drywall repair before paint, per patch | $75 | $150 | $350 | Small patches low, texture match high. |
| Wallpaper removal, per room | $423 | $500 | $1,192 | National average $793 for a larger room. |
| Popcorn ceiling removal, per room | $300 | $550 | $900 | Scrape, skim, sand, prime. |
| Color consultation | $100 | $150 | $250 | In-home, with sample boards. |
"Typical" is the price Zeemy preloads for a new house painting account, so a new owner can quote on day one and adjust for their market. Low and high are the 2026 national ranges from the pricing guides listed at the end.
What moves the price
Prep is half the job
Washing, scraping, sanding, caulking, patching, and taping take as long as painting on most jobs and longer on old houses. Price prep as its own lines, including power washing and drywall repair, so it never comes out of your paint price.
Square feet, then height and detail
Walls are priced by area at $2 to $6 a square foot inside and $1.50 to $4 outside. Ceilings over nine feet, stairwells, and rooms full of trim and windows take longer per square foot. Walk every room and adjust the flat price for the hard ones.
Coats and color change
Two coats is standard. Going from dark to light, or covering a bold color, is three, and the estimate should say so. A customer who understands why the red dining room costs more does not argue about it.
Paint grade
Contractor-grade paint and premium paint differ by $30 a gallon or more. Quote a grade, name it on the estimate, and price the upgrade as a line. Many customers take the better paint when they can see the difference in dollars.
Deposits and change orders
Painting jobs run days, not hours. A deposit of 25 to 50 percent on approval covers materials and protects your schedule. Anything the customer adds mid-job, from one more room to a color change, gets its own approved estimate before the brush touches it.
A worked quote
A homeowner wants the exterior repainted before selling. The walkthrough shows about 2,400 square feet of siding, trim and shutters that need attention, and green growth on the north side. Here is the quote, built room by room on the walkthrough and sent before you leave the driveway.
Exterior repaint, the Alvarez house
Siding is priced at $1.75 a square foot for a mid-grade exterior paint, trim is the whole-house figure, and shutters are per pair. The power wash is its own line because it is its own trip and its own morning. Nothing is buried in a single number the customer cannot check.
On approval, send a deposit invoice for half. Invoice the balance the afternoon you finish, from the truck, while the customer is looking at the house. Painters who invoice the same day get paid in days. Painters who invoice next week get paid next month.
Pricing tips from the field
Itemize by room and surface
A whole-house quote as one number invites haggling. Room-by-room lines let the customer drop the guest bedroom instead of asking for 10 percent off everything.
Charge for the third coat
Dark to light, bold colors, and raw drywall need three coats. Put it on the estimate as its own line with the reason. It is the most common place painters lose a day of labor for free.
Get a deposit on every job over a day
Half down on approval is standard and fair. It buys the paint and commits the customer to the dates. Invoice it the moment they approve.
Price cabinets like the specialty job they are
Cabinet painting is prep, spraying, and a week of drying racks. At $2,000 to $6,500 it is the highest-value line on the list. Never quote it as a per-square-foot wall job.
Invoice the day you finish
Walk the customer through the job, fix the two things they point at, and send the final invoice before you drive away. Same-day invoicing is the single biggest cash-flow improvement a painting company can make.
Questions house painting owners ask about pricing
How much should I charge to paint a room?
In 2026, $300 to $1,000 per room with the national average about $624 for walls and ceiling. Walls alone run $2 to $6 per square foot. Trim, doors, and repairs are separate lines.
What is a fair price for exterior painting?
$1.50 to $4 per square foot of siding, or roughly $1,800 to $4,500 for a typical single-family home, with most landing near $3,200. Trim, shutters, and power washing are quoted on top.
How much should I charge for cabinet painting?
$2,000 to $6,500 for an average kitchen, or $30 to $70 per linear foot. It is prep-heavy, sprayed work with days of drying, so price it as a specialty job.
Should I ask for a deposit?
Yes. 25 to 50 percent on approval is standard for any job longer than a day. It covers materials and holds the dates. Send the deposit invoice the moment the estimate is approved.
How do I handle changes mid-job?
Stop and send a new estimate for the added room or color change, get it approved on their phone, then continue. Approved changes are paid work. Verbal ones become disputes.
Sources
National ranges come from NerdWallet, Knapp Painting, and Fiaxlo interior and exterior painting cost guides for 2026, plus Angi and HomeGuide guides for trim, doors, cabinets, deck staining, and wallpaper removal, and Thumbtack and HomeAdvisor deck staining data. Prices are 2026 US figures and vary by region; use them as a starting point and adjust for your market.