How much to charge to paint a room

Ask five painters and you'll get five methods. Benjamin Moore's contractor guide lists them: a flat $1.50–$2.00 per sq ft, 4–6× the paint cost, or hours plus materials. Only the last one knows how long the job takes.

Wall sq ft or floor sq ft?

Painters argue about it on r/paint because the two differ a lot. A 12 × 12 room has 144 sq ft of floor and 384 sq ft of wall at 8 ft high. A 10 ft ceiling adds 96 more sq ft of wall without changing the floor at all. If you quote per sq ft, say which kind.

The four-line price

1. Hours: each surface ÷ your production rate, plus prep and setup.
2. Labor: hours × what you pay yourself, loaded with taxes and insurance.
3. Overhead: hours × truck, insurance and phone per hour.
4. Margin: price = cost ÷ (1 − margin). That's 30% margin, not 30% markup (the difference).

Sanity checks before you send it

• Divide the price by the hours. If that's less than you'd take for a day job, the rates are flattering you.
• High ceilings, dark-to-light color changes and heavy patching go in as hours, not as hope.
• Win nearly every bid? You may be too cheap.

Sources

1. Benjamin Moore: How to Estimate a Paint Job
2. r/paint: “Quoting an Interior Painting Job”
3. PaintScout docs: Understanding Production Rates