Painting Cost Calculator

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Your Painting Estimate

Total Cost

$569.50

paint plus labor

Paintable Area

333

sq ft

Gallons

paint needed

Paint Cost

$70.00

materials

Labor Cost

$499.50

at $1.50/sq ft

Total Cost

$569.50

Estimate only. This is an estimate for a typical interior repaint. Heavy prep, patching, trim, primer, dark-to-light color changes, and high or textured walls add time and material — walk the job before you commit to a price.

Room Size

Length (ft)

Width (ft)

Ceiling height (ft)

Adds the ceiling area (length × width) to the paintable surface.

Doors & Windows

Doors

~21 sq ft each, deducted

Windows

~15 sq ft each, deducted

Deducted from wall area: 51 sq ft

Paint

Coats

Coverage (sq ft/gal)

Paint price ($/gal)

Labor

Labor rate ($/sq ft)

Typical interior labor runs $1–$3 per paintable square foot. Set 0 for a DIY materials-only estimate.

Send the estimate in minutes

Got your takeoff? Turn it into a professional, branded estimate. Invoicer helps painters create and send estimates and invoices and get paid faster.

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How to Estimate Painting Cost

Enter the room size

Measure the room's length, width, and ceiling height in feet. The calculator finds the wall area, and you can toggle the ceiling in or out.

Subtract doors & windows

Enter the number of doors and windows. Each is deducted from the wall area so you only pay for paintable surface, not openings.

Set coats, coverage & price

Choose how many coats, the paint's coverage per gallon, your paint price, and a labor rate per square foot. The tool rounds up to whole gallons.

Read the total & copy it

See paintable area, gallons needed, and paint plus labor cost. Copy the result into your records or turn it into a professional estimate.

Who Uses This Tool

Painting Contractors

Build fast, consistent room estimates on site so every quote uses the same takeoff math instead of a gut number.

Handymen & Remodelers

Add paint to a bigger scope of work and know the gallons and labor before you quote the whole project.

Property Managers & DIY

Budget a repaint and know how much paint to buy before you walk into the store or call a crew.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate how much paint I need?

Find the paintable area by adding up the wall area (the room perimeter times the ceiling height), plus the ceiling if you are painting it, then subtract roughly 21 square feet per door and 15 per window. Multiply that area by the number of coats, divide by the paint's coverage per gallon, and round up. This calculator does all of that for you.

How much paint does one gallon cover?

Most interior wall paints cover about 350 to 400 square feet per gallon on a smooth, primed surface for a single coat. Textured walls, deep colors, and bare drywall drink more, so coverage drops. The default here is 350 square feet per gallon — adjust it to match the label on your paint.

How many coats of paint do I need?

Two coats is the standard for a durable, even finish, which is why the calculator defaults to two. You may get away with one coat when repainting a similar color, but going dark to light, covering stains, or painting fresh drywall almost always needs two coats plus primer.

Why does the calculator subtract doors and windows?

You do not paint the glass or the door slab as part of the wall, so leaving them in would overstate both the paint and the labor. The tool deducts about 21 square feet per door and 15 per window from the wall area to keep the paintable surface honest.

What labor rate should I use?

Interior painting labor commonly runs $1 to $3 per paintable square foot depending on your market, prep work, and trim detail. The calculator defaults to $1.50. Set it to 0 if you only want a materials estimate for a DIY job.

Does this include trim, prep, and primer?

No. This is a clean estimate for walls (and optionally the ceiling) with a simple labor rate. Heavy patching, sanding, caulking, trim and door painting, priming, and ceiling-height or textured surfaces all add time and material. Walk the job and add those line items before you commit to a price.

Can I use this for the whole house?

It is built around one room at a time, which keeps the takeoff accurate. For a whole house, run each room and add the totals, or treat connected open areas as one larger room using the combined length and width.

Is this calculator free and is my data saved?

Yes, the calculator is completely free with no signup required. Your inputs are saved locally in your browser so they persist between visits — nothing is uploaded to a server. Clearing your browser data will erase your saved values.

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