Painter hourly rate calculator: what each painter hour costs
A painting rate per hour is your year of pay, vehicle, insurance and overhead spread over the hours that get billed, then lifted by your profit margin. With the example inputs below, $87,000 over 1,400 billable hours is a $62.14 break-even and $73.11 an hour at a 15 percent margin. Use your own figures, then check your square foot prices against the rate.
Worked example at the example inputs
Yearly costs for one painter and one vehicle, plus your margin. The answer is per billable painter hour. Every box starts with an example input so the math is visible. These are not market data or what painters charge where you work, so replace them with your numbers.
| Input | Example value |
|---|---|
| Wages or owner pay | $60,000 |
| Billable hours | 1,400 hours |
| Overhead | $12,000 |
| Vehicle | $9,000 |
| Business insurance | $6,000 |
| Profit margin | 15% |
| Break-even rate | $62.14 an hour |
| Recommended rate at a 15% margin | $73.11 an hour |
The formula
($60,000 pay + $12,000 overhead + $9,000 vehicle + $6,000 insurance) = $87,000 a year. $87,000 / 1,400 billable hours = $62.14 break-even. $62.14 / (1 - 0.15) = $73.11 an hour, with $10.97 profit in every billed hour. The interactive calculator on this page recomputes the rate as you type your own numbers.
Turn the hourly rate into a bid
Most painting is bid by the room or the square foot. Build that price from this rate: estimated painter hours for the job times the rate, plus paint and sundries at your markup. Then divide by the square footage to see what your square foot price really is.
How to find each input
Wages or owner pay
Your pay as the owner-painter, or a painter's wage plus payroll taxes. For a crew, add every wage and every person's billable hours.
Billable hours
Hours you are paid for on jobs. Color consults, estimates, paint store runs, rain days on exterior work and touch-up return trips come out first.
Overhead
Sprayer and pump repairs, ladders and planks, drop cloths that wear out, lead-safe certification renewals, software, phone and marketing.
Vehicle
Van or truck payment, fuel, upkeep and commercial auto coverage, plus the ladder rack.
Business insurance
General liability and workers comp if you have a crew. Exterior work on ladders and lifts can change the premium, so ask your agent for the yearly total.
Profit margin
The part of each dollar you keep after costs. It is what pays for a new sprayer without dipping into your own pay.
Where the hours go
Prep is billable, if you bid it
Patching, sanding, caulking and masking can take as long as the paint. If those hours are not in your bid, they are unbilled hours the rate has to carry.
Exterior season is short
Rain, cold and wind cut the exterior calendar. If your year mixes exterior and interior, use the hours you actually billed across both.
Touch-up trips
The walkthrough punch list and the return for a scuffed wall are paid time with no invoice attached. Count them as unbilled.
Rate factors for painting contractors
Square foot prices hide the hourly rate
If you bid by the square foot, divide the labor share of a recent job by the hours it took. If that number is below this rate, the square foot price is too low for how fast your crew really works.
Production rate
How many square feet a painter rolls and cuts per hour on your jobs is the bridge between this rate and a square foot price. Track it by surface: walls, ceilings, trim and doors all run differently.
Crew mix
A lead painter and a helper at different wages need a blended rate. Put both wages and both sets of billable hours in the calculator to get it.
Paint is not in this number
This rate is labor. Paint and sundries go on the estimate as materials with your markup, so a customer who picks a premium line pays for it.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a painter charge per hour?
Work it out from your own costs: a year of pay, overhead, vehicle and insurance divided by billable hours, then divided by one minus your margin. The example inputs on this page give a $62.14 break-even and $73.11 an hour at 15 percent.
I price by the square foot. Why do I need an hourly rate?
Because the square foot price only works if it pays for the hours the job takes. Check a few finished jobs: labor dollars divided by hours spent should come out at or above your rate. If it does not, the square foot price is too low.
Should prep time be billed at the same rate?
Yes. Prep is painter time and costs you the same per hour as rolling walls. Bid it as its own line so the customer sees it and you do not give it away.
How do I set a rate for a two-painter crew?
Add both wages to the pay box and both painters' billable hours to the hours box. The answer is a blended rate per painter hour, which is what you multiply crew hours by on a bid.
How much does Staxen cost for painters?
Staxen is $59 per month per AI employee, or $149 per month for all three. Say the rooms and the square footage out loud and Eddie drafts a priced estimate from your rates, ready to text for e-signature.