How to Price Window Cleaning Jobs: Per Pane, Per Window or Hourly

Short answer: To price window cleaning, pick one base unit (per window for most homes, per pane for divided-light glass, hourly for unclear jobs), set a minimum charge, then add fixed prices for screens, tracks, hard water and height. A typical US residential job costs around $266, according to Thumbtack. Turn those rates into a simple price list so customers can book online without waiting for a callback.

Most window cleaners lose money in two places: underpricing awkward windows and spending unpaid time on quotes over the phone. This guide fixes both. You’ll set a base rate from your own costs, price the extras, and shape it all into a price list a customer can use on your website.

How do you price window cleaning?

You price window cleaning by choosing a base unit (per window, per pane or per hour), multiplying it by the size of the job, then adding a minimum charge and fixed add-on prices. Most residential window cleaners quote per window, because customers can count their own windows.

The best method is the one your customer can understand before you arrive. Here’s how the three common methods compare, using 2026 US ranges from Housecall Pro’s window cleaning pricing guide:

Method	Typical US range	Best for	Watch out for
Per window	$8–$16 inside and out; $4–$8 exterior only	Standard homes with double-hung or sliding windows	Picture and bay windows need their own price
Per pane	$4–$8 per pane	French, divided-light and older windows	Customers find panes hard to count
Hourly	$45–$75 per cleaner per hour	Post-construction work, heavy buildup, unclear scope	Customers can’t predict the bill, so fewer book online

If you’re still deciding between hourly and flat pricing across all your services, our guide on how to price cleaning services covers the trade-offs.

What do customers expect to pay for window cleaning?

Most US homeowners pay between $184 and $387 for residential window cleaning, and a typical job costs around $266, according to Thumbtack’s 2026 window cleaning cost data. Hourly rates average about $50.

Thumbtack also breaks prices down by job size:

Number of windows	National average range
1–5	$99–$194
6–10	$127–$249
11–15	$168–$330
16–20	$187–$368

Use these figures as a sanity check, not as your price. Local wages, competition and drive times vary a lot, and your own costs set your floor.

How to price window cleaning jobs, step by step

Work out what an hour of your time costs, time a standard window, then convert that into a per-window rate with your margin built in. Every other price (panes, add-ons, minimums) is a multiple of that base rate.

1. Know your cost per hour. Add wages, insurance, fuel, supplies, equipment and admin time for a month, then divide by your billable hours.
2. Time a standard window. Clean ten standard windows inside and out, including ladder moves and setup, and note the average time.
3. Set your per-window rate. Divide your target hourly rate (cost plus margin) by the windows you clean per hour. At $90 an hour and 8 windows an hour, your base rate is about $11 per window.
4. Price special windows as multiples. Count a large picture window as two standard windows, price French and divided-light windows per pane, and give skylights a fixed price.
5. Set a minimum charge. It covers travel and setup on small jobs. Housecall Pro reports minimums of $75–$250.
6. Add fixed add-on prices. Screens, tracks, hard-water removal and height each get their own line (see the next section).
7. Review after ten jobs. Compare quoted time with actual time and adjust the base rate, not individual quotes.

Step 7 matters most. A rate that’s 10 minutes off per job adds up fast across a busy spring.

Which window cleaning add-ons and surcharges should you charge for?

Charge separately for anything that adds time or risk: screens, tracks, hard-water stains, skylights and windows above the first story. Listing these as fixed add-ons keeps your base price competitive while protecting your margin.

Add-on	Typical US price
Screen cleaning	$2–$5 per screen
Track cleaning	$2–$5 per window
Hard-water stain removal	$10–$30 per window
Skylights	$20–$30 each
High or specialty access	+15–30% surcharge

Source: Housecall Pro.

Height deserves its own price. OSHA’s portable ladder guidance says ladder falls “are one of the leading causes of occupational fatalities and injuries” (OSHA Quick Card). Charge for the extra setup and safety gear on second-story windows, and send roof, rope-access or high-rise work to a manual quote.

How do you turn your window cleaning prices into an online price list?

An online price list works when the customer can answer every pricing question themselves: how many windows, which types, inside or outside, how many stories and which extras. Each answer maps to one line on your price sheet.

Ask these questions on your booking form:

• Number of standard windows, with a photo showing what counts as one
• Number of large, French or divided-light windows
• Inside and out, or exterior only
• Number of stories
• Add-ons: screens, tracks, hard-water removal
• Frequency: one-time, quarterly or monthly

Show a “from” price that includes your minimum, and route anything unusual (post-construction, third story and up, commercial glass) to a “request a quote” option. Here’s what a simple residential price list can look like, using the example rates from the steps above:

Weather is the other thing to plan for. Rain-day rescheduling and lockouts should be covered in your cleaning business cancellation policy before customers start booking themselves. For the full booking setup, see Online Booking for Cleaning Businesses: A Setup Guide, and if you’re choosing between tools, read Cleaning Booking Software vs a WordPress Plugin.

Cleannetic, the upcoming WordPress booking plugin from Wpfinity, is built for exactly this mix. Window cleaning sits alongside residential, deep cleaning, carpet, pressure washing and custom service types, so one WordPress site can take bookings for every service you offer.

Should you offer recurring window cleaning discounts?

Yes. A recurring discount of 10–20% off the single-visit price is common, according to Housecall Pro, and it usually pays for itself. Repeat customers on a set route cut your drive time, quoting time and marketing cost.

Keep the discount simple: one rate for quarterly visits and a slightly bigger one for monthly. Offer it on the booking form and on every invoice after a one-time job. Recurring window clients are also a strong base for the referral ideas in how to get more cleaning clients.

Window cleaning pricing FAQ