How Much Should You Charge for Cleaning an Apartment?

Residential cleaning businesses make up a large aspect of the cleaning market, and because of this, it can’t be ignored by anyone looking to get into the market. However, it does come with many questions, for example, “how much should you charge for cleaning an apartment?”

The average price that a professional cleaning company charges to clean an apartment is going to be between $110 and $180 per cleaning session.

This price however is going to vary based on the size of the apartment, the number of bathrooms, the services being offered, and the location of the apartment. 

The Size of the Apartment

The first and most obvious thing that is going to affect the cost for a residential cleaning company to clean an apartment is going to be the size of the apartment.  

How does the size of an apartment affect how much you should charge?

It’s a relatively simple and obvious idea that a larger apartment is going to cost more to clean than a smaller apartment. But this isn’t necessarily simply because the apartment is larger and thus there is more to clean, it actually has to do more with the fact that it is going to take longer to clean. Some cleaning services do charge a flat rate for their services, however, most do charge a per hour rate for their services. Because of this, a larger apartment is going to take longer to clean and will allow you to charge more in the long run.  

The Number of Bathrooms

This idea is one that is a bit foreign for most people, at least for those we haven’t worked for a cleaning business before. But trust me, there is an actual reason behind it. When cleaning a home or apartment, the bathroom takes up more time than anything else. Because of this, most cleaning services will base part of what they charge on the number of bathrooms in the home or apartment.

How much should you charge per bathroom?

Although it is very likely that a cleaning service won’t tell you how much they are going to add to your cost per bill, they do it anyway. It makes sense from the perspective of a cleaning service, as it is going to take you more time to clean these rooms than anywhere else in the residence, so an apartment with more bathrooms is going to increase the amount of time you are spending there significantly.

Because of this, like a cleaning service, you should charge around $50 per bathroom in a residence. So, if the apartment you are cleaning has two bathrooms, you should $100 for these two rooms. Or if the apartment has 4 bathrooms, you should add $200 to the bill. Either way, bathrooms take a significant amount of time to clean, and thus you should base part of your cost on the number of bathrooms you are being tasked to clean.

Check out this article to know what should be included in a basic house cleaning.

Services being offered

Offering different services like cleaning services is going to change how much you can charge. There are a number of services that are worth more than others, and thus, the amount you can charge for cleaning an apartment is going to change depending on what services that particular client chooses.

If you as a cleaning service want to be able to charge more for each job, you should offer more expensive services, a list of which we are going to detail below.

Most expensive services to offer as a cleaning service for an apartment 

Air duct cleaning

Cleaning air ducts is not something many homeowners think of, nor is it something that most can effectively do by themselves. This is especially helpful in those who are living in apartments, as shared ducts can carry a significant amount of dust and particles throughout the building. Offering this service can increase your profits significantly, so you should definitely think about it.  

Carpet cleaning 

Carpet cleaning is one of the most common reasons to hire a professional cleaning service, and if you offer carpet cleaning, you can charge $200 or more for this service.

Exterior window cleaning

Exterior window cleaning is something not many people actually take part in. However, doing so can allow more sunlight into an apartment or home and make everything seem warmer. Offering this service as a cleaner is going to be especially important to anyone who is living in an apartment, especially those who are on higher levels and cant reach these windows themselves. 

Deep cleaning

This service is a bit more general than the others but is still as important as the others. Deep cleaning is generally something someone would need when they’re home or apartment needs a bit more extra attention. Because it requires a bit more extra attention, you can effectively charge more for a deep cleaning than you would a normal one.

Check out this article to know what are the qualities you should possess if you are a housekeeper.

Location of the apartment

Location is an important part of business, and in the case of a cleaning company, the location of your client’s apartment can alter how much you are able to charge. There are two separate ways in which the location of your client’s apartment can affect how much you are able to charge them for your services. 

In order to get an understanding of how much you can charge based on the location of an apartment, we are going to go into depth on both ways.  

The standard of living in the area of the apartment

Different locations have different standards of living, some such as San Francisco, are incredibly high. Others, such as small rural towns in the midwest, have very low standards of living. The standard of living in an area not only affects how much essentials in that area, such as housing and food cost, but it also affects how much other additional services are going to cost. Thus, the standard of living in the area that the apartment you as a cleaning service are going to offer is going to affect how much you can charge. If the standard of living in the area is high, you can charge more than if the standard of living is low.

How far away the apartment is from your headquarters

When you as a cleaning service are being hired by a client, one important thing you should consider that you may not immediately think of is the distance to the client from your business headquarters. If the apartment that is hiring your services is far away from the headquarters of your business, you can add an extra fee to the bill. This will increase how much you can charge for your cleaning services and will end up making you more money. The specifics as to how much you are going to charge for the increased distance is completely up to you as a business owner.  

Frequently Asked Questions

How much profit does the average cleaning service see in a year?  

Cleaning services are very good sources of revenue for anyone who is looking to invest in starting one. Cleaning services generally have low costs and don’t require that much time to get off the ground. 

But how much money do they make once they are in operation? 

The average profit for a cleaning business within the first year or two of beginning operations is $30,000 to $50,000 a year. After the first couple of years, once you as a business have a good reputation as well as a list of clients lined up, your profits will start to increase and likely creep into the $50,000 to $70,000 range.  

Is there a way to increase profits for a cleaning business? 

While there are plenty of business tips and tricks that I could give you here in order to try and increase the amount of profit your business is making, there is one thing in particular that you can do to sharply increase your revenue. That is to simply specialize in commercial cleaning! Commercial cleaning businesses, although they do require a different set of skills, can rake in over $100,000 a year.

What cleaning services make the most money?  

Although this was partially covered in one of the sections above, that was restricted to the cleaning services for an apartment. There are plenty of other services however that can make a significant amount of money for a cleaning business that should absolutely be covered.  

Window cleaning

This is especially profitable if you live in an area with a lot of high rises or tall apartment buildings whos windows are not easily accessible.

Disaster cleaning and restoration

Natural disasters like hurricanes can tear towns apart, cleaning it up is part of the recovery process. This type of cleaning is especially popular in the Gulf Coast of the United States as they are consistently hit by hurricanes.

Pressure washing

Not many people have access to a pressure washer, but it is a great way to wash siding and porches. All you need to do in order to offer this service is to buy a pressure washer!

Sandblasting

Similar to pressure washing, sandblasting uses a stronger type of high-pressure device to void materials of rust and in some cases to bend metal! It is a very niche cleaning service, but it can be worth a significant amount to the right client. 

Ceiling and wall cleaning  

This type of cleaning is fairly simple, the only skill you need is to be able to reach high ceilings and walls!

To learn more on how to start your own cleaning business, check out my startup documents here.

Please note that the contents of this blog are for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Any action taken based on the information provided in this blog is solely at your own risk. Additionally, all images used in this blog are generated under the CC0 license of Creative Commons, which means they are free to use for any purpose without attribution.