Free Painting Estimating Software
Measure walls, ceilings, trim and doors, pick prep and coats from the library, and send a square-foot estimate the homeowner can accept from their phone.
The builder below opens with a sample painting job, interior repaint: walls, ceilings and trim: 8 lines, $4,640.83 in all. Labor is the BLS OEWS May 2025 U.S. median wage for painters, construction and maintenance ($23.75) plus 35% for payroll taxes, insurance and equipment, and overhead and profit is 20%, the same way our calculators price. Change any line. Nothing is saved until you choose to.
$32.06/hr: the U.S. median wage for painters, construction and maintenance ($23.75, BLS OEWS May 2025), plus 35% for payroll taxes, insurance and equipment. A ZIP switches to the local wage. Change it under More options.
$1,564.48
$557.14
$562.46
$420.50
$490.25
$498.66
$115.34
$432.00
Add from the painting list (42 items, estimated national prices)
The painting item library (42 lines)
Material per unit is our national estimate (estimated); labor hours per unit are crew-hour productivity figures. Both are defaults you overwrite with your own numbers.
| Item | Unit | Material | Labor hrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interior walls, 2 coats, roll and cut | sq ft | $0 | 0.012 |
| Interior ceilings, flat, 2 coats | sq ft | $0 | 0.014 |
| Ceiling, popcorn removal and skim | sq ft | $1 | 0.05 |
| Primer, new drywall | sq ft | $0 | 0.008 |
| Stain-blocking primer, spot | sq ft | $0 | 0.01 |
| Trim and baseboard, semi-gloss, brush | linear ft | $0 | 0.05 |
| Door, interior, both sides, spray | ea | $18 | 1 |
| Door, exterior, brush | ea | $25 | 1.5 |
| Window sash and frame | ea | $14 | 1.2 |
| Cabinet refinish, per door or drawer front | ea | $9 | 1 |
| Cabinet boxes, spray, per linear ft | linear ft | $6 | 0.35 |
| Accent wall, color change | sq ft | $0 | 0.015 |
| Wallpaper removal | sq ft | $0 | 0.03 |
| Wallpaper hanging, standard | sq ft | $1 | 0.05 |
| Drywall repair, nail pops and small holes | ea | $4 | 0.3 |
| Drywall patch, up to 12 in | ea | $16 | 1 |
| Caulk and fill, trim | linear ft | $0 | 0.02 |
| Sanding and prep, previously painted | sq ft | $0 | 0.008 |
| Exterior siding, wood, 2 coats, spray and back-brush | sq ft | $1 | 0.02 |
| Exterior siding, stucco, elastomeric | sq ft | $1 | 0.018 |
| Exterior siding, vinyl, 1 coat | sq ft | $0 | 0.014 |
| Exterior trim and fascia | linear ft | $1 | 0.06 |
| Pressure wash, exterior | sq ft | $0 | 0.004 |
| Scrape and sand peeling paint | sq ft | $0 | 0.03 |
| Lead-safe containment, pre-1978 | sq ft | $0 | 0.01 |
| Deck stain, semi-transparent | sq ft | $0 | 0.02 |
| Deck cleaner and brightener | sq ft | $0 | 0.008 |
| Fence stain, both sides | sq ft | $0 | 0.015 |
| Garage floor epoxy, 2 coat with flake | sq ft | $2 | 0.04 |
| Concrete porch, porch and floor enamel | sq ft | $1 | 0.02 |
| Metal railing, rust conversion and enamel | linear ft | $2 | 0.15 |
| Gutter and downspout, painted | linear ft | $1 | 0.05 |
| Shutters, per pair | ea | $22 | 1.2 |
| Front door, refinish, stain and spar varnish | ea | $60 | 5 |
| Ceiling beams, stain | linear ft | $2 | 0.12 |
| Masking and drop cloths | sq ft | $0 | 0.004 |
| Furniture moving and covering, per room | ea | $8 | 0.5 |
| Scaffold or lift, per day | ea | $180 | 0 |
| Color consultation | ea | $0 | 1.5 |
| Sample colors, 3 test patches | ea | $30 | 0.75 |
| Premium paint upgrade, per gallon | gal | $30 | 0 |
| Touch-up kit left with client | ea | $25 | 0.25 |
Local labor rate for painters, construction and maintenance
BLS publishes the median wage for painters, construction and maintenance by metro and state. Enter a ZIP to see the local figure the builder should be anchored to.
National median for painters, construction and maintenance (SOC 47-2141, BLS OEWS May 2025): $24/hr.
From the $23.75 national median for painters, construction and maintenance, add what your painting business pays on top of wages, its overhead and its profit to get the rate each billed hour has to carry.
Enter your payroll costs, overhead and profit to see the billed rate your numbers need.
Source: labor at $23.75/hr, the BLS OEWS May 2025 national median hourly wage for painters, construction and maintenance, SOC 47-2141. The builder adds 35% for payroll taxes, insurance and equipment.
How to price painting work
Paint is sold by the gallon and estimated by the square foot
The per-square-foot unit already assumes coverage (about 350 sq ft per gallon per coat) and the roll-and-cut productivity of a two-person crew. Two coats of wall paint at $0.32 material and 0.012 hours per square foot is the library default; premium paint adds a per-gallon upgrade line rather than changing every wall row. Measure walls as perimeter times height minus large openings; ceilings as floor area.
Prep decides the margin
Every failed painting estimate under-priced prep. Sanding, filling, caulking, stain-blocking primer, wallpaper removal and popcorn ceilings each have a line, and lead-safe containment for pre-1978 homes is both a legal requirement and a cost. Walk the job with the library open and add prep lines room by room.
Exterior work: substrate first
Wood, stucco and vinyl take different coatings and different hours; the library separates them. Pressure washing and scraping are priced per square foot of surface, scaffold or lift per day. Doors, shutters and railings are counted, not measured, which keeps the estimate readable.
Compared with spreadsheets and full suites
PaintScout and other painter-specific tools are strong on production rates and proposals. Generic tools like Jobber add scheduling. American Build Rate is the free starting point: a painting library with per-square-foot, per-door and per-foot items, local wage lookup and an accept link, with a paid tier only when you need more than five tracked sends a month. See our contractor software pricing page for the plans we've checked and when.
Pricing
Free: unlimited drafts, 5 tracked sends a month, PDFs with a one-line footer. Pro $13/mo or $130/yr: unlimited sends, no footer, 4 people on one price book, the website widget. Details on the pricing page.
Questions from painting contractors
Is paint included in the material figure?
Yes, at a mid-grade price per square foot. Use the "Premium paint upgrade" line per gallon for higher-end products or edit the material on each row.
How do I estimate cabinets?
Count doors and drawer fronts and use the per-front item; price the boxes per linear foot. Spray finishes are assumed; brushed work takes longer.
Can I charge a minimum?
Add a "Minimum job charge" line with your minimum as material and zero labor when the total comes in under it.
Related: Painting estimate template · all trades