Price = break-even cost ÷ (1 − margin)
Add up what the job costs you. Labor comes first, drive included. Chemicals and fuel come next, then wear on the equipment, and a share of overhead. That total is your break-even. Divide it by 1 minus the margin you want to keep, which is 0.70 for a 30% margin. As an example, an 800 sq ft driveway that costs you $109.50 is a $156 quote at 30%. Then check that it clears your minimum and sits sensibly against the 2026 market ranges.
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Most pricing guides online come from software vendors, and they don't agree on the math. This one runs on a single formula and shows every step, then sends you to the guide for your kind of job, from driveways and house washes to roofs, decks and fences, gutters and commercial bids.
An 800 sq ft Driveway, Worked Out
The job is a two-car driveway of 800 sq ft, you work alone, and the round trip takes half an hour. These are example costs, the same ones the calculator starts with.
| Cost line | How it's worked out | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Labor | 1.5 hr on site + 0.5 hr drive = 2 hr × $30 | $60.00 |
| Chemicals | Pre-treat and post-treat for this job | $10.00 |
| Fuel and travel | Truck and machine | $12.00 |
| Equipment wear | 1.5 hr on site × $5/hr | $7.50 |
| Overhead | Insurance, phone, software, ads ÷ jobs per month | $20.00 |
| Break-even | What the job costs you | $109.50 |
| Price at 30% margin | $109.50 ÷ 0.70 = $156.43 | $156 |
Example numbers, not market data. Equipment wear = machine price ÷ the billable hours you expect to get out of it.
Where the $156 goes
| Part of the price | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Labor (incl. drive) | $60.00 | 38% |
| Chemicals | $10.00 | 6% |
| Fuel and travel | $12.00 | 8% |
| Equipment wear | $7.50 | 5% |
| Overhead | $20.00 | 13% |
| Profit you keep | $46.50 | 30% |
How to Price Any Pressure Washing Job, Step by Step
- Measure the surfaceFlatwork and siding go by square feet, and so do roofs. Fences and gutters go by linear feet. You don't have to drive out for any of it. Measure on a satellite map or in county records, or ask the customer for photos, and put "price confirmed on arrival" on the quote. How to quote without driving out.20 ft × 40 ft = 800 sq ft
- Estimate your time, drive includedHours on site = surface ÷ your production rate, plus setup, edging, rinse and pack-up. Then add the round trip. Owners on trade forums report roughly 1,050-1,500 sq ft an hour with small 3.5-4 GPM rigs, and the production rates page has the details and caveats.800 ÷ 1,000 sq ft/hr = 0.8 hr + 0.7 hr setup = 1.5 hr on site, + 0.5 hr drive
- Add up your costsCount labor for every hour and every person. Add chemicals and fuel next, then equipment wear per hour on site, then overhead per job (monthly fixed costs ÷ jobs per month). Pay yourself in the labor line, not out of the profit.$60 + $10 + $12 + $7.50 + $20 = $109.50 break-even
- Divide by (1 − margin)For a 30% margin, divide by 0.70. Multiplying by 1.30 is a markup, and it leaves you about 23%.$109.50 ÷ 0.70 = $156.43 → quote $156
- Hold your minimumIf the math comes in under your minimum, the minimum is the price. A small job carries the same drive and setup as a big one, and the same overhead. How to set a minimum charge.$156 is above a $150 minimum → quote $156
- Check it against the marketCompare with the 2026 ranges below. Far under? Recheck your hours and what you pay yourself. Far over? Say why on the quote (bigger, dirtier, harder access) or offer a smaller option.$156 vs. $100-300 typical driveway (Housecall Pro, 2026) → inside
Run Your Own Numbers
Pick the job type you do most and overwrite every field with your own hours and costs. The calculator starts from the driveway above.
Jobber Academy's pricing guide (updated Oct 22, 2024) gives the overhead formula as "Overhead costs for the job = Hourly overhead costs ÷ # of hours the job will take." That divides where it should multiply. With $10 an hour of overhead, a 2-hour job carries $20, not $5, and under the divided version a 4-hour job would carry only $2.50. Run any formula you copy through a job you already know.
2026 Price Ranges by Job Type
Build the number from your costs first, then hold it up against these. The spread is wide because local markets are.
| Job | Typical price | Per unit | Source | Our guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driveway | $100-300 | Flatwork $0.15-0.75/sq ft | Housecall Pro, Mar 2026 | Driveway pricing |
| Driveway (what homeowners are told) | Average $210, range $100-350 | $0.30-0.55/sq ft | HomeAdvisor, Jun 2026 | Driveway pricing |
| House wash, one story | $250-500 | n/a | Housecall Pro, Mar 2026 | House wash pricing |
| House wash, two story | $400-800 | n/a | Housecall Pro, Mar 2026 | House wash pricing |
| Roof soft wash | $250-600; Angi average $461 ($296-626) | $0.15-0.60/sq ft | HomeGuide, Apr 2024; Angi, Jul 2026 | Roof cleaning pricing |
| Deck | $150-500 | n/a | Housecall Pro, Mar 2026 | Deck and fence pricing |
| Fence | $150-400 | n/a | Housecall Pro, Mar 2026 | Deck and fence pricing |
| Gutter cleaning | One story $100-180, two story $150-275 | $0.80-2/linear ft | Housecall Pro, Jan 2026 | Gutter pricing |
| Gutter brightening | n/a | $1-3/linear ft | Housecall Pro, Jan 2026 | Gutter pricing |
| Commercial flatwork | Storefront $200-600 | $0.08-0.40/sq ft; parking lots $0.08-0.25 | Housecall Pro, Mar 2026 | Commercial bids |
| Minimum charge | $100-250 | n/a | Housecall Pro, Mar 2026 | Minimum charge |
Housecall Pro sells software to pressure washing companies; HomeAdvisor, Angi and HomeGuide are homeowner lead sites. Links in Sources.
HomeAdvisor tells homeowners that an 800 sq ft driveway runs $240-440 (Jun 2026), against $156 in our cost-based example. That gap should stop you before you send a quote. Customers are often ready for a higher number than yours, and the driveway guide compares the two size by size.
The Pricing Mistakes That Cost Owners the Most
Quoting Before You Know Your Hours
"I quoted it at between $250 and $350. Was that too cheap?"
r/pressurewashing post, undated snapshot via a public mirror
A $100-wide range is a guess. Without your hours and costs, nobody can tell you whether $250 pays you. Steps 2 and 3 above settle it in five minutes.
Dropping Your Price to Win the Job (and Next Year's)
A discount isn't a one-time cost, because it becomes the customer's reference price. Two owners described how that plays out in a 2025 thread:
"hey you did our other property for $3750… why isn't this one the same"
OhioFloMo, PressureWashingResource forum, Apr 11, 2025
"you did this for cheaper last year. Why is it double this year?"
Dallsheep, same thread, Apr 11, 2025
The fix is a smaller option at your rate, never the same job for less. Price shoppers and the $99 guys shows how to offer it.
Working Without a Minimum
"Am I charging too little? My Min is $125.00."
HeroesPowerWashing, PressureWashingResource forum, Mar 14, 2014
The minimums in that thread ran from $125 to $495, and the low end hurts because some costs don't shrink with the job. In the worked example, the drive ($15 of labor), fuel ($12), overhead ($20) and 0.7 hr of setup and pack-up ($21 labor + $3.50 equipment) add up to $71.50 before you clean a square foot. At a 30% margin that's $102 of price, and the job itself isn't paid for yet.
Flat Rate, per Square Foot or Hourly?
| Method | How it works | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per sq ft / linear ft | Area × your rate | Flatwork, roofs, commercial lots, fences, gutters | Small jobs fall under cost, so pair it with a minimum |
| Flat rate by size band | One price per band ("up to 1,800 sq ft") | House washes, phone quotes | Build each band from your costs, using the biggest house in the band |
| Hourly | Hours × rate | Unknown scope, time-and-materials extras | ResponsiBid's guide warns it "can punish efficiency," meaning the faster you get, the less you earn |
We work the price out from costs and then quote it flat or per square foot, which is also where ResponsiBid lands. Veterans who quote by phone do the same:
"90% of my residential quotes are over the phone using flat rates for SF ranges and service areas."
squidskc, PressureWashingResource forum, Apr 23, 2019
Markup Is Not Margin
A 30% markup on the $109.50 driveway is $142.35, which leaves you $32.85, or 23% of the price. A 30% margin is $156.43. The difference is $14.08 on every job, and nobody notices until year-end. Joist's pricing guide uses a 30% markup and Housecall Pro's uses margin, so check which one a guide means before you copy its number. The markup vs margin converter does the conversion both ways.
From a Number to a Quote the Customer Signs
A correct price still loses if it arrives as one bare number, so build the quote around it like this:
- Send options, not a discount. Driveway only; driveway plus walkway and steps; driveway, walks and house wash. The customer picks a level instead of haggling yours down. One veteran's bundle quote reads "A house, driveway and back patio usually runs about $850, give or take a $100." (BigJake, PressureWashingResource forum, Apr 24, 2019)
- Itemize it and say what's included. Name the surfaces and square footage, and say whether it's soft wash or a surface cleaner. State what's excluded, then add the "price confirmed on arrival" line. Our estimate template has those fields built in.
- Save your rates once. Your per-sq-ft rates and size bands go in a price sheet or your quoting app, along with the minimum, so the same house gets the same price every time.
"It's always better to be over than under. They dont have to say yes."
Sharpe, PressureWashingResource forum, Sep 13, 2018
Losing some bids at the right price is normal. The alternative is winning every one of them at a price that doesn't pay you.
If you're weighing QuoteIQ against Jobber or Housecall Pro, the software page sets them side by side.
Questions Owners Ask
What profit margin should a pressure washing business aim for?
Housecall Pro's 2026 guide suggests a target margin of 20-40%. Our examples use 30%, and that margin comes after you've paid yourself a wage in the labor line.
Should I charge by the square foot or a flat rate?
Work it out from costs, then quote whichever is easier to explain. Per square foot suits flatwork and roofs, and commercial lots too, while flat rates by size band suit house washes and phone quotes. Avoid straight hourly pricing for residential work, because ResponsiBid's guide notes it "can punish efficiency."
How much should my minimum charge be?
Housecall Pro lists $100-250 as typical, but your own floor is the better guide. Add drive time, fuel, overhead and setup for the smallest job you'd take, then divide by (1 − margin). With our example costs that floor is $102 before any cleaning, so a $150 minimum leaves room for the work itself. Full minimum-charge guide.
My price comes out higher than other quotes. Should I lower it?
Check your hours and costs first. If they're right, don't lower the price; offer a smaller option. One owner said he'd rather "have a 50-60 percent close rate at my prices vs a 80ish percent close rate with lower ones" (Dallsheep, PressureWashingResource forum, Sep 2023).
Sources
- Housecall Pro, "How to price pressure washing jobs", posted Mar 9, 2026: margin formula, 20-40% target margin, typical ranges by job type and minimum charge (software vendor).
- Housecall Pro, "Gutter cleaning prices", Jan 30, 2026: gutter cleaning and brightening per linear ft (software vendor).
- HomeAdvisor, "How much does it cost to pressure wash a driveway?", updated Jun 20, 2026: homeowner driveway ranges, overall and by size.
- HomeGuide, "Roof cleaning cost", written Apr 19, 2024: soft wash per sq ft and per job.
- Angi, "What does roof cleaning cost?", Jul 9, 2026: average and range per job.
- ResponsiBid, "How to price pressure washing jobs", Mar 17, 2026: hourly pricing "can punish efficiency"; flat rate recommended (software vendor).
- Jobber Academy, "How to price pressure washing jobs", updated Oct 22, 2024: overhead formula quoted above (software vendor).
- Joist, "Complete pricing guide for pressure washing businesses", updated Jul 15, 2026: 30% markup example (software vendor).
- PressureWashingResource, "Square feet per hour", 2014, and "How efficient is your surface cleaning set up?", Sep 2022: owner-reported production rates (anecdotal).
- PressureWashingResource forum threads quoted above (linked in each quote): Pricing residential jobs (2019), Minimum estimate (2014), Big pressure washing job (2025), First quote advice (2018), Pricing pressure (2023).