How to Price Pressure Washing Jobs: Per Square Foot, Minimums and Add-Ons

Most pressure washing businesses price by square foot with a minimum job charge: roughly $0.10 to $0.30 per square foot for flat concrete, about $0.15 to $0.40 per square foot of siding for house washing, and higher rates for wood decks, fences and roofs that need more care. Add-ons like stain treatment, gutter brightening and sealing are priced separately. Adjust for your market, your equipment and how dirty the surface is.

Step 1: Know your cost per hour

Before any per-square-foot rate, work out what an hour of your business costs: labor, fuel, chemicals, equipment wear, insurance, vehicle and overhead, plus profit. Then time how many square feet you actually clean per hour on each surface. Your rate per square foot is your hourly target divided by that production rate. See how to calculate your labor burden rate.

Step 2: Price by surface

• Concrete driveways, walkways, patios: the fastest surfaces with a surface cleaner, so the lowest rate per square foot. See driveway pressure washing cost.
• House washing (soft wash): priced by siding area or by house size and stories. See house pressure washing cost.
• Wood decks and fences: lower pressure and more care; price higher per square foot, and quote staining or sealing separately. See deck staining and fence staining.
• Roofs: soft wash only, with higher risk and chemical use; price accordingly.

Step 3: Set a minimum charge

A minimum protects you on small jobs where setup and travel take as long as the washing. Set it to cover travel, setup and a profitable first hour, and show it on every quote.

Step 4: Price add-ons and conditions

• Rust, oil and paint stain treatment
• Gutter face brightening
• Heavy mildew or algae needing extra dwell time
• Second-story or steep access
• Water source issues requiring your own supply

Step 5: Bundle

A house wash plus driveway plus walkway package at a small discount closes more often than three separate prices and raises your average ticket.

Quote from photos

Pressure washing is easy to quote remotely. Ask for photos of each side of the house and each concrete area. Fast Snap Pro turns those photos into an itemized quote priced with your own rates, so you can reply the same day. See the pressure washing estimate app guide.

Example: turning an hourly target into per-square-foot rates

Say your business needs $120 per crew-hour to cover costs and profit. If your surface cleaner does about 700 sq ft of driveway per hour including setup, and you soft wash about 450 sq ft of siding per hour:

Line item	How it's priced	Example
Concrete	$120 ÷ 700 sq ft/hr	≈ $0.17 per sq ft
Siding (soft wash)	$120 ÷ 450 sq ft/hr	≈ $0.27 per sq ft
Wood deck (slower, 250 sq ft/hr)	$120 ÷ 250 sq ft/hr	≈ $0.48 per sq ft
Minimum job charge		Travel + setup + first hour

Illustrative numbers only. Use your own rates, production times and local costs.

Recalculate whenever your costs change or your equipment speeds you up.

Frequently asked questions

How much should I charge to pressure wash a house?

Many companies charge by siding area or home size, commonly landing in the few-hundred-dollar range for an average single-story home, more for two stories. Use your own production rate and costs.

Should I charge by the hour or by the square foot?

Per square foot or flat-rate packages are easier for customers to accept. Use hourly internally to check that your per-square-foot rates hit your targets.

How do I price commercial pressure washing?

By square foot with volume discounts for large areas, plus after-hours, water reclamation and access requirements where they apply.