House Painting Cost Calculator
House painting cost calculator for a whole home inside, outside or both. Prices labor and paint by floor area, stories, siding type and how much prep it needs.
By CalcBuilt Editorial TeamUpdated September 9, 2026Formulas checked against manufacturer specs, see how we calculate.
Results
- Painting cost range
- $12,000 to $22,100
- 2,000 sq ft home, both, some prep prep, mid paint
- Cost per square foot of floor
- $6 to $11 per sq ft
- Painters quote a whole house this way, so it is the number to compare bids against
- Interior
- $8,486 to $14,736
- Walls, ceilings, trim and doors, about 8,000 sq ft of surface at two coats
- Exterior
- $3,523 to $7,370
- About 1,923 sq ft of smooth siding on a 206 ft perimeter, 1 story
- Paint to buy
- 61 gallons
- $3,123 at $50 to $58 a gallon. Buy 5 gallon buckets where a color runs over 3 gallons: cheaper, and no color shift between batches
- Labor share
- 82%
- Paint is the small half of a pro job. Upgrading the paint barely moves a contracted total, and it moves a DIY total a lot
- Prep included
- Some prep
- Scraping, spot patching, caulking and spot priming through the house. A quote that does not describe its prep is not comparable to one that does
- Planning estimate only
- Get three local quotes
- Painting labor rates vary more by metro area than by anything on this page, and the condition of the surface is only known up close
House Painting Cost formula
Interior wall surface = Floor area x 3, counting both faces of interior partitions
Interior labor = Floor area x rate for the scope x Prep multiplier
Exterior surface = 4 x square root of Footprint x 1.15 x 10 ft x Stories, less 15% for openings
Exterior labor = Surface x $1.20 to $2.80 x Story multiplier x Prep multiplier x Siding multiplier
Total = Labor, less any share you do yourself, plus paint at the grade you pickWorked example
A 2,800 sq ft two story house, exterior only, stucco, peeling badly so it needs heavy prep, premium paint, all of it contracted out.
The footprint is 1,400 sq ft, so the perimeter is about 172 ft and the walls wrap 3,220 sq ft of stucco after openings. Heavy prep at 1.6, the two story premium at 1.2 and the stucco premium at 1.25 compound to 2.4, so labor alone runs $9,300 to $21,600. Stucco covers only 175 sq ft a gallon, so two coats take 37 gallons, about $3,100 of premium paint. The job lands near $12,400 to $24,800. The three multipliers more than doubled it, and none of them are the size of the house.
Quick reference
| Work | Basis | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Interior walls, two coats | Per sq ft of floor area | $1.20 to $2.40 |
| Walls and ceilings | Per sq ft of floor area | $1.70 to $3.40 |
| Walls, ceilings, trim and doors | Per sq ft of floor area | $2.40 to $4.90 |
| Exterior, two coats | Per sq ft of siding | $1.20 to $2.80 |
| Some prep multiplier | Scrape, patch, caulk, spot prime | 1.25x |
| Heavy prep multiplier | Peeling, chalky or damaged | 1.60x |
| Two story exterior | Ladders and staging | 1.20x |
| Stucco exterior | Texture, spray and back roll | 1.25x |
| Interior paint | Per gallon, builder to premium | $30 to $75 |
| Exterior paint | Per gallon, builder to premium | $38 to $85 |
Prep is the variable, not the paint
Labor is 75 to 85 percent of a contracted paint job, and prep is most of the variation within it. Washing, scraping, sanding, patching, caulking and spot priming a normal repaint adds about a quarter to the labor, and a house that is peeling or chalking adds about 60 percent. That is where two quotes on the same house diverge by thousands, and it is why the cheapest bid is often the one that is not doing it.
The corollary is that paint grade barely matters to a contracted total. Upgrading a 2,000 square foot house from builder grade to premium adds a few hundred dollars against a five figure job. On work you do yourself the ratio inverts: materials become most of the cost, and the better paint is the easy call because it covers in fewer coats and holds its color.
Inside and outside are two different jobs
Interior work is priced off the floor area, but the surface is about three times it once both faces of every partition are counted. A 2,000 square foot house has roughly 6,000 square feet of wall. Ceilings and trim then roughly double the labor over walls alone, because trim is cut, taped and enameled one piece at a time rather than rolled. A walls-only bid will always look cheaper than a full one, so check that they are describing the same scope.
Exterior work is priced off the siding, and the surface texture drives it twice. A gallon covers 350 square feet of smooth lap but only 160 of bare brick, and the rough surfaces also take longer to coat. Height compounds on top of that, because a second story needs ladders and staging. Season matters too: most exterior latex needs a surface above 50 degrees that will not drop below it overnight, which closes the window for months in much of the country.
What this calculator leaves out
Repairs found during prep: rotten siding and trim, failed caulk joints, drywall damage, water stains that need a stain blocking primer, and window glazing. It does not price cabinets, a deck or fence, a garage floor, wallpaper removal, popcorn ceiling removal, lead or asbestos testing and abatement, or the containment a pre 1978 house needs under the EPA rule. Specialty finishes, accent walls, staining rather than painting, spray lift rental on a tall house, and moving or covering furniture beyond normal masking also sit outside it. Interior wall surface is estimated from floor area at a typical layout, so an open plan house with few partitions will come in under this and a chopped up one over it.
Code limits that apply
- EPA 40 CFR 745.82
Lead rule applies to pre 1978 housing above 6 sq ft interior or 20 sq ft exterior disturbed
If you miss it: An uncertified crew sanding old paint spreads lead dust through the house and the yard
- EPA 40 CFR 745.84
The lead pamphlet goes to the owner and occupants before work starts, with a signed receipt
If you miss it: This is the most commonly cited violation of the rule, and it is paperwork, not work
- EPA 40 CFR 745.85
No open flame burning, no torching and no heat gun above 1,100 F on lead paint
If you miss it: Burning lead paint puts lead fume into the air people are breathing indoors
- EPA 40 CFR 745.89
The firm is EPA certified and assigns a certified renovator to the job
If you miss it: An uncertified firm cannot legally do the work and its insurer may decline a lead claim
- OSHA 1926.1053
Ladders extend 3 ft above the landing and are set at a 4 to 1 ratio
If you miss it: Falls from ladders are the leading cause of injury in painting work
Rows marked checked produce a warning in the results when an entry crosses the limit. The others are on the plans or on site and this calculator does not test them. Local amendments can be stricter; the adopted edition and the inspector govern.
Mistakes that cost money
- Comparing quotes that describe different prep. The cheap bid is usually cheap because it is washing and painting where the other is scraping and priming.
- Assuming better paint fixes a bad surface. Paint bonds to what is under it, so a premium coat over chalk peels the same as a cheap one.
- Pricing the inside off the floor area and forgetting that wall surface is about three times it.
- Leaving ceilings and trim out of the comparison. They are close to half the interior labor, so a walls-only bid will always look better.
- Painting the exterior in the wrong season. Most latex needs a surface above 50 F that stays there overnight, which closes the window in much of the country.
- Hiring an uncertified firm for a pre 1978 house. The EPA lead rule sets the work practices, and the homeowner lives with the contamination if they are ignored.
Key facts
- Painting a 2,000 sq ft one story house inside and out, walls, ceilings and trim, typically costs $12,000 to $22,100, which is $6 to $11 per square foot of floor area.
- Interior wall surface runs about three times the floor area once interior partitions are counted on both faces, so a 2,000 sq ft house has roughly 6,000 sq ft of wall.
- Labor is 75 to 85 percent of a contracted paint job, which is why upgrading from builder grade to premium paint barely moves the total.
- Ceilings and trim roughly double the interior labor over walls alone, because trim is cut, taped and enameled piece by piece.
- A gallon of exterior paint covers about 350 sq ft of smooth lap siding but only 160 sq ft of bare brick.
- The EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting rule applies to any home built before 1978 when the work disturbs more than 6 sq ft of interior or 20 sq ft of exterior paint.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to paint a 2000 square foot house?
Inside and out with walls, ceilings and trim, typically $12,000 to $22,100 at normal prep with mid grade paint, which is $6 to $11 per square foot of floor area. Interior only is roughly two thirds of that and exterior only about a third.
How much do painters charge per square foot?
Interior runs $1.20 to $2.40 per square foot of floor area for walls, and $2.40 to $4.90 with ceilings and trim. Exterior runs $1.20 to $2.80 per square foot of siding before the prep, height and texture multipliers.
Is it cheaper to paint a house yourself?
Yes, because labor is 75 to 85 percent of a contracted job. Interior walls are realistic for a homeowner. A second story exterior, spray work and heavy scraping usually are not, and a fall or a failed coat costs more than the saving.
Does expensive paint actually save money?
On a contracted job it barely changes the total, because paint is the small half. On work you do yourself it is most of the cost, and premium paint covers in fewer coats and holds color longer, so it usually pays.
Sources and references
- Paint calculator and coverage per gallon (Sherwin-Williams)
- Paint calculator for walls, trim and doors (Benjamin Moore)
- Renovation, Repair and Painting Program, lead safe work practices (US EPA)
- Painters, Construction and Maintenance, Occupational Outlook Handbook (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Next steps for this project
The usual order for a paint & walls project. See all paint & walls calculators.
Results are estimates based on standard formulas and typical product specifications. Confirm quantities with your supplier and local code before ordering.