This free calculator prices a paint job from wall area, number of coats, job type, and add-ons like heavy prep, trim, and ceilings. Loaded with the seeded example (1,200 sqft of wall area, 2 coats, interior, no add-ons) it totals $4,050: a $2,700 base ($2.25 per sqft) plus a $1,350 second-coat adjustment, the number shown the instant the page loads.
Paint jobs get underquoted more often on prep and coats than on the paint itself. This calculator prices by wall area and lets you set the number of coats (one, two, or three) and job type (interior or exterior), so a two-coat exterior job in rough shape does not get quoted like a one-coat touch-up on a wall that was already primed.
Heavy prep and patching carries its own flat charge instead of getting absorbed into the base rate, so the estimate reflects the actual condition of the walls, not just their square footage. Trim and baseboards, and ceilings, are priced per square foot on top of the wall area if included, and there is a built-in discount option if the client is supplying their own paint and you are only pricing labor.
Click "Calculate Estimate" for the number, then "Print Estimate" for a clean copy to leave with the client at the end of the walk-through, instead of following up later with a price that might not match what they remember discussing.
How it works
- 1 Enter wall area to paint (square feet) and your rate per square foot.
- 2 Select number of coats (1, 2, or 3) and job type (Interior or Exterior).
- 3 Toggle add-ons: heavy prep/patching ($150 flat), trim and baseboards, ceilings included, and client-provides-own-paint (labor-only discount).
- 4 Click "Calculate Estimate," then "Print Estimate" for a client-ready copy.
Ways to use it
Pricing a job at the end of the walk-through
Enter wall area and condition notes into the calculator while you are still standing in the room, and hand over a printed estimate before you leave instead of following up with a number later.
Accounting for prep condition, not just square footage
Two rooms of the same size do not cost the same to paint if one needs heavy patching first. The prep add-on keeps that difference visible in the number instead of buried in your head.
Quoting labor-only when a client supplies their own paint
Some clients want to buy the paint themselves. The client-provides-own-paint option prices labor only, so you are not stuck either eating the paint cost or quoting a number that doesn't match what they expect.