How much should window washers charge?
Window washing is usually quoted as a flat price for the whole job (interior + exterior), not an hourly rate the client sees — but you should still know your effective hourly rate so a big or dirty house doesn't quietly become an underpaid job. Set your real hourly rate here and use the default visit length as a starting point for a typical single-story home.
Estimate your rate
A starting point for window washing — adjust to your own numbers.
~$187.20 / visit
Based on a 180-minute visit at an effective rate of ~$62.40/hour. Formula: (target income + expenses) ÷ (billable hours/week × 50 working weeks), converted to a per-visit price. This is a starting estimate, not a guarantee — adjust for local market rates.
What moves the rate
- Window count and size — most solo washers price per window ($8-16 each, or $4-8 per pane) and then translate that into a flat job quote
- Interior + exterior vs. exterior-only — doing both sides roughly doubles the time and price versus an exterior-only job
- Stories/height — anything above the second floor needs extra equipment (extension poles, water-fed systems) or ladder safety gear and commands a real premium
- Window condition — hard water spots, construction residue, or screens/tracks that need cleaning add time beyond a standard wash
- One-time vs. recurring — quarterly or semiannual recurring contracts are common and typically carry a 10-20% discount per visit versus a one-off job
- Local cost of living and competitor rates
- Travel time between jobs and minimum job fee (most solo operators set a $100-250 minimum so small jobs stay worth the trip)
baseHourly of $60 sits in the middle of the commonly-cited $45-75/hr solo window-washing rate, and the 180-minute (3-hour) default visit length models a typical single-story home's full interior+exterior clean, landing the calculator's default output near the lower-middle of the $150-450 typical total-job range (national average is roughly $250 for a full in/out clean) — actual jobs should be quoted per-window or per-job using the factors above, with this calculator mainly protecting against underpricing large or dirty homes. The $2,400/yr expense default reflects a lean, non-high-rise solo setup using a personal (not dedicated commercial) vehicle: basic equipment (poles, squeegees, buckets, scrapers, ~$300-800 to start, with ongoing replacement) plus a mid-tier water-fed pole system amortized over a few years, general liability insurance (commonly cited around $900/yr for this trade), and scheduling/invoicing software (~$300-400/yr) — notably lower than vehicle-dependent professions like lawn care or pool service since window washing doesn't require a dedicated trailer, tank, or commercial auto policy at this scale.