What does it cost to paint a room?
The short answer: $300–$1,400 per room, depending on size, ceiling height, surface count, prep needs, and your local labor market. The long answer — the one that actually helps you price work or evaluate a quote — requires breaking the job into its components: materials, labor, and prep.
This guide provides room-by-room cost benchmarks, then shows you how to calculate a custom estimate for any room using the same math professional estimators use. For a deeper dive into each component, see our Painting Estimating Software Guide.
Room-by-room cost ranges
The table below shows typical cost ranges for interior painting. These assume walls and ceiling, two coats of standard-quality latex paint, basic prep (light patching, taping), and professional labor at mid-market rates. Trim, doors, and cabinets are listed separately because not every job includes them.
| Room Type | Typical Size | Ceiling | Cost Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bedroom (standard) | 12 × 12 ft | 8 ft | $400–700 |
| Master bedroom | 14 × 16 ft | 9 ft | $600–1,000 |
| Living room | 16 × 20 ft | 9 ft | $800–1,400 |
| Kitchen (walls only) | 12 × 14 ft | 9 ft | $500–900 |
| Bathroom | 8 × 10 ft | 8 ft | $300–500 |
| Hallway | 4 × 20 ft | 8 ft | $200–400 |
| Dining room | 12 × 14 ft | 9 ft | $500–850 |
| Home office | 10 × 12 ft | 8 ft | $350–600 |
What's included in these ranges
- Walls and ceiling — two coats of paint
- Basic prep: light patching (nail holes, screw pops), taping, drop cloths
- Standard-quality latex paint and primer where needed
- Setup and cleanup time
- Professional labor at $45–60/hr loaded rate
What's extra
- Trim and baseboard: Add $1.50–3.00 per linear foot
- Doors: Add $75–150 per door (both sides)
- Cabinets: Add $75–125 per cabinet door/drawer (painted, not stained)
- Extensive prep: Wallpaper removal ($2–4/ft²), heavy patching, skim coating
- Primer coat: Required for bare surfaces, stain blocking, or dramatic color changes
- Specialty finishes: Accent walls, faux finishes, metallic paints
How to calculate your specific room
Room-by-room ranges are useful for quick ballparks, but every room is different. Here's how to calculate a custom estimate using a 12 × 15 ft room with 9 ft ceilings as a worked example.
Step 1: Calculate paintable wall area
Gross wall area = 54 × 9 = 486 ft²
Openings = 2 windows (21 ft² each) + 1 door (19 ft²) = 61 ft²
Net wall area = 486 − 61 = 425 ft²
Step 2: Calculate ceiling area
Step 3: Calculate material cost
Using a coverage rate of 375 ft²/gal for smooth drywall (brush/roll), 2 coats, and 10% waste. For a full coverage reference by substrate, see our Paint Coverage Rates by Surface guide.
Ceiling paint = (180 ÷ 375) × 2 × 1.10 = 1.06 gal → 2 gallons (or 1 gal + 2 qt)
Material cost = 5 gallons × $40/gal = $200
Step 4: Calculate labor cost
Using production rates from our Painting Labor Rates Guide: walls at 175 ft²/hr, ceiling at 125 ft²/hr, plus 20 min setup and 15 min cleanup.
Ceiling painting = (180 ÷ 125) × 2 = 2.88 hr
Setup/cleanup = 0.58 hr
Total labor = 8.32 hr → rounded to 8.5 hr
Labor cost = 8.5 hr × $50/hr = $425
Step 5: Add prep
| Prep Task | Time | Cost (@ $50/hr) |
|---|---|---|
| Masking and protection | 1.5 hr | $75 |
| Light patching (nail holes) | 0.5 hr | $25 |
| Caulking baseboard (~50 LF) | 1.0 hr | $50 |
| Prep total | 3.0 hr | $150 |
Step 6: Total estimate
| Component | Cost |
|---|---|
| Materials (paint) | $200 |
| Labor (painting) | $425 |
| Labor (prep) | $150 |
| Subtotal (cost) | $775 |
| Margin (40%) | $310 |
| Selling price | ~$1,085 |
This 12 × 15 room with walls and ceiling, standard prep, and a 40% gross margin lands at roughly $1,085 — well within the master-bedroom range in the benchmark table above. Adjusting any input (coverage, labor rate, margin) shifts the price proportionally.
Factors that increase cost
- Color changes: Going from dark to light (or vice versa) typically adds a coat of tinted primer plus an extra finish coat — increasing both material and labor by 30–50%.
- High or vaulted ceilings: Ceiling multipliers of 1.15–1.4× apply to both wall and ceiling production rates, plus you may need specialty equipment.
- Poor wall condition: Extensive patching, skim coating, or wallpaper removal can double the prep hours.
- Specialty finishes: Faux painting, metallic coatings, or multi-color accent walls require more skill and slower application rates.
- Trim, doors, and cabinets: Each added surface type increases scope — a room with crown molding, 6-panel doors, and cabinet work can cost 50–100% more than walls alone.
Factors that decrease cost
- Spray application: On large, open rooms with minimal cut-in, spraying walls is 2–3× faster than rolling. The time saved on painting often outweighs extra masking.
- Multiple rooms on the same job: Setup/cleanup is amortized, paint can be bought in bulk (5-gal buckets), and crews stay in rhythm.
- Good existing condition: Walls that need only a light sand and two coats skip the expensive prep line items.
- Same color refresh: No primer needed, single coat may suffice, and coverage rates are at their highest with full hide on the first pass.
- Empty rooms: No furniture to move or protect eliminates 15–30 minutes of setup time per room.
Whole-house discount: When painting 5+ rooms on the same job, many contractors offer a 5–10% volume discount. The efficiency gains from bulk paint purchasing, reduced mobilization, and continuous workflow often cover the discount while maintaining margins.
Get an instant estimate
Rather than running these calculations by hand for every room, try our free painting calculator. Enter room dimensions, select surfaces, and get material quantities, labor hours, and cost estimates in seconds. It uses the same coverage and production-rate math described in this guide.
How PriceTable automates room-by-room estimation
PriceTable's site walkthrough lets you capture every room in a home — dimensions, surfaces, ceiling type, prep needs — and converts the walkthrough into a professional estimate with a single click. Materials are calculated per surface using your coverage rates. Labor is derived from your production rates with appropriate multipliers. Prep is scoped explicitly per room.
The result is a room-by-room estimate you can present on-site, adjust in real time, and convert to an invoice once the work is complete. No spreadsheets, no second trips, no guessing.
For a step-by-step guide to the full bidding process, see How to Bid a Painting Job.