Now, if you’re anything like me, you’d be more than a little suspicious reading this article. On the one hand, yes, this is information you need. Although commercial cleaners all have their own ways of pricing their services (us included), you don't want to go into a conversation with a potential commercial cleaner about budget completely blind.
On the other hand, can you trust me—a commercial cleaner—to give you the truth, rather than a version of the truth that really is geared more toward lining my own pockets? The answer is yes, you can. I don’t expect you to believe that right off the bat, of course—trust is earned and should never be assumed.
But I want to at least acknowledge that I understand where you’re coming from:
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Whether you’ve had a disappointing experience with a cleaner or this is your first go at calculating a commercial cleaning budget, my purpose here is the same. You deserve for this process to be as transparent and easy to understand as possible. For more than 30 years, as the co-founder of In-Tec Commercial Cleaning (along with my wife, Anne), I’ve been through enough conversations to know that too many organisations start these discussions with incomplete information.
That’s not fair to you, and it doesn’t help anyone build a partnership based on trust. Yes, I run a cleaning business, and yes, I’d love to earn your business. But you deserve to have clear, unbiased information. Because it doesn't matter if you work with us or another provider, the worst outcome is walking away with regrets because you weren’t given the tools to make a confident choice.
The truth is, we can’t give you a one-size-fits-all answer or a fixed dollar range for your commercial cleaning budget—there are simply too many variables. But what we can provide is a clear breakdown of the key factors that influence cleaning costs, the information you’ll need to gather for accurate estimates, and the strategic considerations that will help you approach this process confidently.
As someone who runs a commercial cleaning company, it probably won’t surprise you to hear that I consider cleaning essential—of course, I do. But I’d wager that many of you view cleaning as more of a discretionary expense—something that can be deferred or even skipped entirely when budgets get tight. And that perspective is fair.
While we see cleaning as essential, just like you may see things like legal advice or certain types of insurance as non-negotiable, it’s understandable that not everyone sees cleaning in the same way.
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So, is cleaning an essential expense or a discretionary one? The honest answer is it’s both. It’s easy to see cleaning as discretionary—something you can dial up or down depending on your budget. But when you zoom out and look at the bigger picture, cleaning isn’t just about making a space look nice.
In working together, our collective goal is to create an environment where your staff can work safely, where your customers feel confident doing business with you, and where you’re meeting the standards your industry expects. Ignore those things, and the costs of not cleaning properly—low morale, lost productivity, failed audits—can quickly outweigh whatever you saved by cutting corners.
So yes, cleaning is essential. The key is understanding what level of clean you need to support your goals and finding a partner who can deliver that without wasting money on unnecessary extras. That’s what this guide is about—helping you strike the right balance between the essentials and the discretionary.
Pricing for commercial cleaning isn’t as simple as pulling a number out of a hat—it depends entirely on your site, your requirements, and the level of service you’re after. What I can do, though, is walk you through the main factors that influence costs.
By understanding these variables—and the ranges I’ll outline—you’ll get a much clearer idea of what to expect and why high-quality cleaning services are priced the way they are.
Some cleaners can offer rates that seem unbelievably low ("budget-friendly") because they’re underpaying their workers or, worse, engaging in illegal practices like sham contracting. Even when everything’s done properly, we’ve all got their own overheads, different ways of structuring prices, and how we manage labour. That’s why simply comparing quotes at face value doesn’t work—you’ve got to dig into what’s actually behind the numbers.
What I can tell you is, as of writing this, our hourly rates range from $78.50 to $94.20 (excluding GST). This covers good-to-best quality service levels and gives you a clear starting point for what fair commercial cleaning pricing might look like. Of course, there’s more to the story—like what goes into those rates and why they matter—but these figures should help you start to frame your expectations.
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Not all cleaning tools, equipment, chemicals, and materials are equal. For instance, your traditional mop and bucket may make your floors look and smell clean. In reality, however, all you're doing is spreading dirt around your floor. That’s why we use advanced equipment like the iMop, which actually lifts grime off the floor and gets into those tight corners and hard-to-reach places.
Depending on your site (size, complexity, needs, compliance requirements), the upfront cost for equipment can range anywhere from $7,500 for a simple setup to $35,000 for more complex facilities. It’s not cheap, but that’s the standard if you’re serious about providing more than just a surface clean. We don’t cut corners, and we don’t settle for “good enough”—our focus is on getting it right every single time.
Getting a quality clean isn’t as simple as sending a team to site and crossing your fingers. Supervision is critical to keeping standards high. Without it, things can easily start slipping. On larger or more complex sites, we’ll even have an on-site supervisor to make sure everything’s up to scratch.
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We also run nightly checklists and carry out regular audits—often weekly—so the work matches the standards of clean we set. That kind of oversight isn’t free, but it’s how you get the results you’re paying for. Consistency and accountability are what drive everything we do, every single time.
Different industries come with their own sets of standards, and some are more demanding than others. If you're a healthcare facility, you have strict protocols to protect patient safety and prevent cross-contamination. Food manufacturing? HACCP compliance is a must.
These requirements cannot be ignored, and they come with extra costs for specialised equipment, more frequent cleans, and dedicated training. Sure, these needs drive up costs, but they’re absolutely critical for keeping your business safe, compliant, and respectable.
Like your organisation, our commercial cleaning company is a business. That means, behind the scenes, there’s payroll, compliance, managing people and culture, and keeping the business running smoothly. It’s not flashy, but it’s essential to making sure our team stays organised, your account is properly managed, and we deliver consistent, compliant service.
If a cleaning company’s offering you a rock-bottom quote, chances are they’re skimping on this operational backbone (and in other areas). And when that happens, it’s only a matter of time before it affects you—whether it’s missed cleans, poor communication, or regulatory headaches.
Every business needs to make a profit to survive, and we’re no different. But you want your cleaner to have a healthy profit margin. It’s what allows us to reinvest in the business—whether that’s paying our staff fairly, upgrading equipment when needed, or providing ongoing training to keep standards high.
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Profit isn’t about squeezing out every dollar; it’s about being able to deliver the quality you’re paying for, now and in the future. When you work with us, you’re not just hiring someone to clean your floors—you’re partnering with a company that will grow with you, far into the future.
There's only one thing you'll need (at least at first) to start a substantive conversation about commercial cleaning pricing for your organisation is an estimate of the time needed to clean your site.
"What if we don't know? What if we don't know exactly how much time it takes ... or should take?"
That's OK. We do not expect you to be the cleaning experts who know precisely how long a space takes to clean. But a simple educated estimate will get a potential commercial cleaner pointed in the right direction to give you a quote you can count on. If you have any historical data of how long your site has taken to clean in the past, that's great.
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For example, "Our previous cleaners were on-site five days a week, with five cleaners, for three hours per week," is very helpful. Now, we may validate this time estimate or invalidate it, depending on what we find during our initial consultation and walkthrough of your worksite. But still, your estimate is informative and helps us understand what your baseline is.
A trained cleaner can typically cover 250 square metres of office space per hour, excluding toilets and amenities. But here are a few examples of our clients, who represent different industries and a diverse range of needs that may guide you.
Roughly 1,500 square metres in size, this site employs approximately 80 team members. We support them with a daily clean—a full amenities clean, hard floors scrubbed, complete vacuum each evening, removing cups from decks, and so on. On average, this site requires five to six hours to clean every night.
Although we don't have an exact measurement of this site, a good guess would be around 2,000 square metres. We provide a complete daily clean, but there are no extras, such as picking up cups and other kitchen items from employee desks. This site takes (on average) five hours every night.
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Whilst the areas we clean are not large, as the site is older and the areas are spread out, I am unable to give you a guideline on actual sizing. There is an administration area, features small offices spread about, toilets across the site, and two shower blocks to clean. This site takes (on average) three-and-a-half to four hours to clean every night.
Again, my goal in this article wasn’t to hand you a single number or tell you exactly what your budget should be—that would be impossible without us having a conversation. Instead, it was about giving you the knowledge to have better conversations with potential cleaners—conversations that lead to clear, transparent quotes and, more importantly, better results for your business.
When it comes time to talk to commercial cleaners about your budget, here are three key questions to ask—and what you should listen for in their answers:
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By asking the right questions and paying attention to the answers, you’ll quickly see which cleaners are serious about delivering quality and which ones are just making promises they can’t keep. Building a cleaning budget isn’t glamorous, but it’s essential so your business stays safe, compliant, and ready for whatever comes next.
Whilst the process might feel overwhelming, the right cleaning partner will make it easier—not just by providing a quote, but by helping you understand what’s behind the numbers and why they matter. At the end of the day, it’s not just about finding the lowest price. It’s about finding a partner who’s reliable, transparent, and capable of delivering the results you need.
If you're interested in learning more on how to choose the correct commercial cleaning partner for your organisation, you can download our guide, 10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Commercial Cleaning Company. Or you can contact us at any time with your questions, or to start a conversation about how we may be of service to you.