How much to charge for pressure washing

Three ways pressure washing gets priced

Almost every pressure washing quote is built one of three ways, and most owners end up using all three for different jobs.

Watch which square footage a quote means. Siding is often priced by the home's living space, while driveways and decks are priced by the surface you actually clean. Mixing the two is the easiest way to quote a job at half what it should be.

Typical prices by surface

These are published ranges, not price lists - your market, the surface's condition and the height of the home all move the number.

Estimating sites can come in higher. Homewyse, for example, puts the basic cost at $0.43-$0.53 per square foot¹ - a useful check that the low end of the per-square-foot ranges leaves little room once fuel, chemicals and your time are counted.

What to charge for a 2,000 sq ft house

This is one of the most searched pricing questions, so here is the math with the published numbers.

• House wash only: 2,000 sq ft of living space × $0.15-$0.30 = $300-$600.³
• Add a 600 sq ft driveway: 600 × $0.10-$0.25 = $60-$150, for $360-$750 together.³
• Two stories: expect to sit at the top of the range or above it - you need more time, more reach and more care around windows.

In Canada, a siding wash on its own is commonly $250-$700+ CAD,⁷ so a 2,000 sq ft home with a driveway usually lands in the middle-to-upper part of the $150-$600+ range for a whole job.⁵

How to quote a pressure washing job

1. Measure before you price. Satellite map tools give you driveway and roof areas in a minute; the listing or the client gives you living space.
2. Ask about condition. Oil stains, rust, moss and years of mildew take longer and may need different chemicals than a yearly rinse.
3. Ask about height and access. A second story, a steep yard or no outdoor tap changes the job. Ask whether there's water you can use.
4. Get photos. They answer most of the above and stop surprises on arrival.
5. Set a minimum. Small jobs still cost you the drive, setup and pack-up. A minimum charge keeps them worth doing.
6. Price the travel. Either build it into your rates or add a charge for jobs outside your normal area.

If clients book online, you can collect most of this up front: driveway size, patio size and home height as choices that change the price, and photos through a quote request for anything unusual.

Should you charge by the hour?

Hourly pricing is common for odd jobs and starting out. Published US rates run $50-$160 an hour.² In Canada, Taskrabbit reports an average of about $45 an hour for pressure washing tasks⁶ - a marketplace rate that sits well below what most established companies charge per job.

The catch with hourly pricing is that it punishes you for getting faster. A better approach: track how long each type of job takes for a few weeks, then set per-square-foot or flat prices that hit the hourly figure you want. The calculator above shows what any price works out to per hour.

Pricing pressure washing in Canada

If you're searching "how to price a pressure washing business in Canada", the main differences from US advice are the currency, the season and tax.

• Quote in CAD. Canadian guides report most jobs at $150-$600+,⁵ with per-square-foot rates from $0.50 to $1.10 across the country.¹⁰ Don't convert US price lists - Canadian costs and rates are their own market.
• City matters. Toronto power washing commonly runs $250-$600, with many homeowners spending around $450;⁹ Vancouver driveways run $150-$400 and siding $300-$800.⁸
• The season is shorter. Most of the year's work fits between spring and fall, so your rates have to carry the slow months.
• GST/HST. Once your taxable revenue passes $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, you need to register and charge GST/HST. Quote prices before tax, and say so.

Starting out: your costs set your floor

Equipment is the first cost to cover. Consumer Reports figures quoted by Thumbtack put homeowner-grade machines at $250-$600 for gas and $100-$380 for electric⁴ - professional rigs, surface cleaners and soft-wash systems cost more. Add chemicals, fuel, insurance and your vehicle, and divide by the jobs you expect to do. That is the least each job has to bring in before you've paid yourself.

New businesses often underprice to win the first clients, then struggle to raise rates. It's usually easier to start near the middle of your local range and offer a first-job discount than to climb up from the bottom.

Pricing mistakes that cost pressure washers money

• Quoting a two-story house the same as a one-story house.
• Using living-space square footage for a driveway, or the other way round.
• No minimum charge, so a quick patio rinse costs you more than it pays.
• Forgetting travel on jobs at the edge of your area.
• Leaving out add-ons clients often want while you're there: gutters, walkways, fences, a second patio.

Common questions

Sources

1. Homewyse, Cost to Pressure Wash Per Sq Ft
2. Bark, Pressure washing prices in 2026: Complete cost guide
3. Southeast Softwash, Pressure Washing Pricing Calculator (published rates of one pressure washing company)
4. Thumbtack, 2026 Pressure Washing Prices | Pros Explain Power (equipment prices citing Consumer Reports)
5. HomeStars (Canada), How Much Does Pressure Washing Cost?
6. Taskrabbit Canada, How much do pressure washing services cost?
7. Biller.ca (Canada), How much to charge for pressure washing in Canada.
8. Rain City (Vancouver), Pressure Washing Cost in Vancouver (2026 Guide) (published rates of one Vancouver company)
9. Silverlight (Toronto), [Price Guide] Power & Pressure Washing Cost in Toronto (Toronto price guide from one company)
10. Bark Canada, How Much Does Pressure Washing Cost 2025

Prices are what these sources published as of September-October 2026. Rates vary by city, season and the job itself - use them as a starting point, not a rule.

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