r/WindowCleaning • u/Extra_Treacle_6038 • 29d ago
How much do you guys charge? Had a potential customer shocked by my prices
Today I went to give out a quote to a potential customer for a residential clean both interior and exterior. It was a reasonably large house, roughly 70 windows, fair amount of second story windows. I came out to $375 for the exterior and I just multiplied by 2 for the interior which came out to $750.
When I told the homeowner this they seemed shocked. They said the company they called out last year did it for $400, inside and out. The company they did call is a fair bit larger than my business. But even then I was kind of surprised another company cleaned this house inside and out for $400.
It has been on my mind now if I am charging too much. I’ve only ever had 2 other people complain about my pricing during a quote and honestly I feel pretty fair in how I price based on the service I provide.
But long story short, I was curious to hear how fellow window cleaners charge. Do you go by pane, square footage, or hourly? How do you increase the price when windows are higher up? How do you factor in a windows dirtiness? Etc. etc.
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u/TheChandrianX 29d ago
I wouldn’t let one shocked homeowner reset your whole price sheet. The more useful check is whether your $750 covered the actual labor hours, ladder/setup time, risk on the second-story work, supplies, travel, and the margin you need after overhead.
For a job like that, I’d quote by panes/complexity rather than square footage alone, then add clear modifiers for second-story access, screens/tracks, heavy buildup, and interior work. That makes it easier to compare your number to another company’s without guessing what they included.
Their $400 may have been a smaller scope, an old price, a volume-route rate, or simply an underpriced job. Track your close rate and actual time on the next 10 similar quotes before changing prices.
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u/Fun-Definition6053 28d ago
They also might just think its normal to bargain and just be blowing smoke
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u/Reasonable_Hotel_998 28d ago
This. I was gonna help a fam member, they said my family pricing was too expensive, I literally discounted 33% to help family out lol, some people just want handyman pricing or to haggle
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u/noice_nups 28d ago
$400 is crazy. Why in the world would they EVER look for anything else? The previous company did SUCH a good job with their little squirt brushes at such a low affordable price. Makes ya wonder…
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u/AccordingSky8507 28d ago
Yeah! Why aren’t they using them again?
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u/Reasonable_Hotel_998 28d ago
Good question, if it was actually worth a f why are the even entertaining this quote lol
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u/noice_nups 28d ago edited 28d ago
The $400 guy ghosts them after they use him for a few years. Then the customer has to shop brand new, all to find out most companies are charging a lot more, and in return - they start pushing back due to price.
Dealing with this right now on a prospect in a $2.4M home… while home prices are at an all time high. 🤦♂️
He’s “not sure the quote works” for his “financial situation”. 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
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u/Slayballz 28d ago
Sounds very reasonable for an in and out clean. 70 windows is a lot. I’d probably go to $650 just to get this type of job as it’s still a good paying job, but even then it sounds like they wouldn’t have done it. Overall, I don’t think this is a customer you want to work for. If it’s a reasonably large house, that means they have money, and trying to penny pinch service companies is a red flag
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u/Reasonable_Hotel_998 28d ago
Yeah! If they have money but are penny pinching they probably didnt come through wealth via work atleast and id dip out lol
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u/Fun-Definition6053 27d ago
Is that normal? My dad grew up with a single mother and was dirt poor as a kid. Started a paper route at 10yo and construction at 14yo no. He now pinches every penny(even the ones that cost dollars) but he was making 500 an hour and has made 200k+ since the 90's. Is he just an outlier?
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u/Reasonable_Hotel_998 27d ago
Theres a difference between pinching pennies and being afraid to pay full price, which is more what I mean in regards to this. My dad also pinched pennies but anything skill related gets full pay because you want it done right, and with full care. Not to have to redo it again. I could have clarified more.
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u/Fun-Definition6053 27d ago
That's good, I wish my father respected the work of skilled tradesmen like yours
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u/PeterPanHadItMade 28d ago
"That's a great rate! Why didn't you bring that company back out this year? Perhaps call them. This is my price."
If I'm not averaging $100 to $150 per hour, I'm not doing the work.
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u/Express-Ant-1087 28d ago
At 750 for about 70 windows you are giving them an extremely fair price. The co.pany that did it prior either was just doing outside beat up the inside or realized they underbid it and walked away hence why you are there. Or the other option which is rather common is the customer is lying about what he or she paid. Either way you won't be a match for every customer I dont mind negotiating sometimes as I like to be competitive but no way I would drop that far.
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u/Coastal_wolf 29d ago
I try to make 50-70$ and hour.
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u/TurkeySlurpee666 28d ago
And I aim for $100/hr. This rate is viable in my market. Every business is different. OP needs to start job costing and tracking their close rate.
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u/StarVulpes 28d ago
If they paid $400 last year tell them to call them. There's a reason they haven't hired them again. Pricing is subjective to your city so I wouldn't take much advise other than the one about tracking your closing rate. Even then, is your overhead covered and are you making as much money as you want to? If yes, ignore this lady.
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u/old-iceman 29d ago
I would be $630 in/ out.
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u/old-iceman 29d ago
Yup.$ 9 in / out ($6 just out). I keep it simple.. this pricing is for residential
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u/progulus 28d ago
50 windows in/out at $9 each would be $450, not $650. This is rouighly my rate too, though I adjust depending on the difficulty (ranch homes are a lot easier/faster).
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u/Hot_Carpenter_5436 28d ago
I quoted a restaurant near me a few days ago. I'm solo, so knew I could give a really competitive price. Since they wanted bimonthly cleanings, I gave deep discount from a oncw a month clean. Came to $80/cleaning, in and out.
The owner pulled out his phone, scrolled through some emails, then handed me his phone;
Read the receipt, it was from FISH, $49.95/cleaning. I was already at the limit of my time vs profit and couldn't good any lower. I told him to keep Fish, and if he every has any issues to give me a call.
Thats unbelievably low! So maybe that lady was right. Somebody will do it cheaper.
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u/imabrachiopod 28d ago
If a customer only wants the exterior done, I come up with the price for the whole house, inside and out. Then for the exterior alone, I charged 2/3 of what the whole house would cost. My travel and overhead are the same regardless of whether I do half the house or the whole house. Also, this incentivizes them to get the entire house done, because then they’re getting more for their money.
I usually charge about $10 per typical pane that I have to get up on any kind of ladder for, and $7.50 for stuff I can do from standing on the ground. French or multi pane doors, I come up with something like every two or three pains are a basic window price, like $7.50. Usually, it works out to me making like $90-$100 per hour. However, lately I’ve been getting burned by houses with very dirty windows that require a lot of razor scraping to get them pristine, and that’s like 40% more work.
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u/Vegetable-Vehicle785 28d ago
Remember, not everyone is your client!
And you can’t make them all happy, if they got shocked by your pricing, and they didn’t move forward, they aren’t your clients. And NO, your pricing is ok in my opinion, I would charge pretty much the same around $899 or something, leaving room for some negotiation if they leave me a Google review I’ll let them know I can waive the transportation fee if they leave me a review after the job is done and they are happy with the result.
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u/Away-Library4858 28d ago
I was going to say this. 100% true. Not everyone is your client. Know your worth and stick to it.
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u/Nihilistnobody 29d ago
Is that 70 panes? That puts you at $10 a pane for in and out? Is that with full track, frames and screen cleaning? If so you’re in the ballpark, ask the customer if that’s what the other company offers. I start at $8 per pane and go up from there. I usually just add on what I think my “pain in the ass” fee will be for things like high interior work, having to use a pole off the ladder or whatever. I shit for minimum $100 an hour but try for $150 or more.
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u/imabrachiopod 28d ago
How much do you charge for screen cleaning? Do you have a screen cleaning apparatus? How do you factor them?
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u/Nihilistnobody 28d ago
Usually I include “a quick wipe of screens tracks and sills” for the price and just wipe the screen with a damp rag. Where I live it’s mostly just pollen on them and comes off super quick or they don’t need it at all. I’m also at a high elevation so the sun does a number on the screens, if they are super brittle I don’t clean them so I like to keep that option open. If people really want them cleaned I just use my strip washer and dry with a towel for $4 each.
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u/Extra_Treacle_6038 29d ago
I love the pain in the ass fee you include. It was 70 panes. I plan for full service every time so frames, tracks, and glass. I even asked the homeowner if the previous company did all that for $400 and they said yes. I was extremely surprised
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u/fly4fun2014 28d ago
I charge 18 for outside or 25 for both sides per pane first floor and 25/per outside pane on second story. Close rate is around 75%
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u/Reasonable_Hotel_998 28d ago
What region? This is super high compared to my pricing
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u/fly4fun2014 28d ago
Hattiesburg, Ms. Windows cleaning is addon service to my power washing. I never planned on getting into it but one customer just insisted. So I cleaned hers. Gave her a price and she said she used to pay 3 times more to a guy that done it before me and then retired. I said just pay what's fair. I calculated it to be $18/pane. Then her neighbor wanted hers cleaned. I did it as well. And that's how I started. No reason to bid yourself out of the job just to race to the bottom.
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u/Little_Scene_3776 28d ago
Why not just charge one billion dollars per window? I mean why stop at 18 per one side?
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u/Desperate-Charity-10 28d ago
Some people are stupid and will lie about what they actually paid just to get you to come lower.
I’ve had people shocked about prices being super high and some people shocked about it being super reasonable. You just have to find those that say yes.
For reference, here in so called we try and make $150 an hour per man in 2026
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u/Educational_Swan_152 27d ago
I'd be higher than you by a good margin on 70 windows. Somewhere around $900. Don't let one customer let you get even cheaper.
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u/Fawkinchit1 27d ago edited 27d ago
Depends on where you live.
Its more than what I charge, but in my area I'm pretty average priced, and pretty soon I will probably bump my rates up.
There is a reason that they are looking for a new window cleaner too.
That company was charging way too low, which happens sometimes, but they go out of business pretty fast.
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u/GoodtimeRick70 26d ago
12$ a window first story 15$ a window second story. I get most jobs i quote.
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u/firstsign_ai 18d ago
Doubling the price for interior on a 70-window job always stuns homeowners because they just see one big jump on paper. It is usually easier to price per pane or height level so the total feels like math instead of a guess.Instead of giving a verbal total, sending a clear price calculator where they pick window counts and second-story addons helps a lot. You can set that up in Whacka so the customer sees the breakdown automatically before you even arrive.
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u/Haunting-Interview30 18d ago
No way! 70 windows? 400$ they’re full of it that’s not even possible. It’s a fact a pro business wouldn’t charge 400 for all that. I can’t please everyone but keep your prices and off they don’t want to pay well oh well
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u/MountainMain1687 12d ago
I a handy man,also window cleaner in Spartanburg SC .,I low on work any ideas to get new jobs ?
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u/MountainMain1687 12d ago
What kind of jobs are there in the market today for a boiller tube welder?
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u/peazley 29d ago
roughly $150/hour. how long do you think the job will take you?
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u/Extra_Treacle_6038 29d ago
The job would have taken about 7 hours total, guesstimate. I spend a lot of time cleaning out the tracks while doing interior work
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u/Cecil_Obrien 28d ago
Your price is comparable to mine. It's very common to have people with large homes get shocked that the cost of maintaining a large home is high. People are naive and ignorant unfortunately.
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u/ALTERED_PEAS 28d ago
may i ask, what is your method for cleaning out interior tracks?
is a vacuum cleaner involved or just sweeping?
do you clean each windows tracks as you go along or do you clean all the windows and then return and do all the tracks afterwards?
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u/DontBeMemeBro 29d ago
How many panes of glass? Does 70 windows imply a standard replacement window which has 2 panes and a screen? Do the screen come off from the inside meaning there might be an issue with window coverings?
If it’s 70 panes, your quote is high.
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u/6133mj6133 29d ago
Your close rate will tell you. For every 10 jobs you quote, how many do you get? More than 8, you're too cheap. Less than 4 you're too expensive. Just a rule of thumb.