Everything is worked out in your browser. What you type is not sent, saved or logged. Close the tab and it is gone.
Every rate, price and time on this page is a box you type. We put no typical numbers in, so nothing here is a suggestion of what to charge.
The job
Add a line for each part of the work. Type how much of it there is and how much your crew does in one hour.
Give each surface its own line, since each is washed at its own pace. Measure in square feet (length × width, or one number). Add a line for anything else you price.
Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
Line 4
Your costs
What the visit costs you. Leave a box empty if it does not apply.
Your price
Choose how you set the price. The calculator does the arithmetic; the numbers are yours.
Price = cost ÷ (1 − margin). Margin is the share of the price that is profit.
Service plans
Type the percent you take off each visit for a plan. Leave a box empty for no discount.
Add-ons
Extras the customer can order on top of a visit. They are priced on their own and never change the visit price.
In the margin method, leave the price empty to see the price at your margin.
Price sheet for your customer
A one-page sheet with what each visit covers, the price per visit, the plans and your add-ons, in English, Spanish or both. It uses only the numbers above.
Payment terms, how to book, what is not covered. You write it; we add nothing.
Type the numbers above until there is a price per visit.
Need a website to go with it? See Digital Works Forge website packages. A small San Antonio studio that builds sites for local businesses.
How to work out a pressure washing job price in six steps
- List the surfaces. Add one line for each surface on the job: the driveway, the house siding, a deck or patio, a fence. Each surface goes at its own pace, so each gets its own line.
- Type the size of each one. Measure each surface in square feet. Type one number if you already know it, or type length and width and the page multiplies them.
- Type your own pace. For each line, type how many square feet your crew cleans in one hour. The box starts empty because the pace is yours. Hours for the line are your amount of work divided by your units per hour.
- Type your costs. Enter the people on the crew, what one hour of one person's work costs you, your setup and cleanup minutes, and your travel, fuel and supplies for the visit.
- Choose how to set the price. Start from your cost and the margin you want, from your hourly rate, or from a price per square foot. Add a minimum charge for small jobs, and add-ons such as oil stain or rust treatment.
- Read the result and print the sheet. You see the time, the cost, the price, the profit, the margin and the markup. Then type your business name and download the price sheet as a PDF.
How the page works out a pressure washing price
This page helps the owner of a small pressure washing business answer three questions: how long will this job take, what will it cost me, and what do I charge for it. It uses only the numbers you type. It has no built-in rates, no default pace and no suggested price.
The chain is simple. Every surface is a line, and the hours for a line are its amount of work divided by the units you clean in one hour. Add the setup and cleanup minutes and you have the time on the clock. Multiply by the people on the crew for labor hours, then by what an hour of one person's work costs you. Travel, fuel and supplies go on top. From that total cost you choose how to arrive at a price, and the page shows the profit, margin and markup.
Measure each surface in square feet
Pressure washing is usually sized by area. A driveway, a patio, a stretch of fence and a wall of siding can each be reduced to square feet. For a flat rectangle, length times width gives the area. If you already have the figure from an earlier visit, type that single number instead.
Keep surfaces apart. A driveway and a set of house walls are not cleaned at the same speed, and a fence is not cleaned like a deck. Lump them under one number and a fast surface hides a slow one, so your hours come out wrong. You can have up to 12 lines, rename them in English and Spanish, and use "Add a line" for anything the starting lines do not cover.
Find your own pace, setup time and costs
The most important box is units per hour, and it starts empty. To fill it, time real jobs. Next time you clean a driveway, note the square feet and the minutes of actual washing, then divide. Do the same for siding, for a deck or patio, and for a fence. After a handful of jobs you have a number for each surface that comes from your equipment, your crew and your customers.
Setup and cleanup are separate from washing. Loading, laying out hoses, moving furniture or planters, rinsing up and packing away take minutes once per visit, large job or small. Time one visit from arrival to departure, subtract the washing, and what is left is your setup and cleanup.
Then add the costs that do not depend on washing time, per visit:
- Cleaning solution and other supplies used up on the job.
- Fuel for the machine, and for the truck there and back.
- Disposal, if you pay for it.
- One hour of one person's work: wages plus payroll costs, checked against your records.
The page knows none of these. Look at your receipts and payroll and type what you actually pay.
Price, margin and markup
There are three ways to set the price. "From my cost and the margin I want" uses price = cost ÷ (1 − margin). "From my hourly rate" multiplies labor hours by the price for one hour of one person's work. "From my price per unit" gives each line a price per square foot and adds up amount times unit price.
Margin and markup sound alike and are not the same. Margin is profit as a share of the price. Markup is profit as a share of the cost. With a cost of $100 and a 40% margin, the price is $166.67, the profit is $66.67 and the markup is 66.7%. A 50% margin on the same cost is a 100% markup, which is why adding 50% to your costs does not give a 50% margin.
A table on the page shows price = cost ÷ (1 − margin) at 15%, 20% and on up to 50%, with the matching markup. It is arithmetic, not a suggestion. If your price comes out below your cost, the page says by how much.
Minimum charge, add-ons and optional plans
Small jobs are where a visit can lose money, because setup, cleanup and travel cost the same whether you wash a little or a lot. The minimum charge covers that: if the price works out lower than the number you type, the visit is charged at the minimum. Check your records for the smallest visit that still covers your costs.
Add-ons are extras with their own price and cost, such as an oil stain or rust treatment. They are never part of the visit price. Use "Add an add-on" for each, up to 8. In the margin method, an add-on with a cost and no price is shown at your target margin.
Most pressure washing is a one-off visit, so the plans table matters less here. It is optional. If you offer repeat visits, type a percent off per visit for every week, every 2 weeks or every month. The page uses 52, 26 and 12 visits a year. The cost per visit stays the same, so a discount lowers your margin, and the table shows by how much.
The price sheet for your customer
Type your business name and any notes, in English and Spanish. The page builds a one-page letter: what each visit covers, the price per visit, plans if you filled them in, add-ons with prices, the minimum charge and your notes. It uses only the numbers you typed.
Print it in English, Spanish or both, and download it with "Download the price sheet (PDF)". The Spanish on the sheet addresses your customer formally, while the tool speaks to you in the familiar form. There is no sending, invoicing or tax calculation: you share the file yourself.
Your numbers stay with you
This page is free, with no sign-up, no watermark and no limit. Everything is worked out in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, saved or logged. Close the tab and your numbers are gone, or use "Start over" to clear them sooner. Download the sheet if you want to keep a result.
Frequently asked questions
How do I price a pressure washing job?
Work out your time, then your cost, then choose how to set the price: from the margin you want, from your hourly rate, or from a price per square foot. The page does the arithmetic with your numbers.
Why are all the boxes empty?
Every pace, cost and price is yours to type. The page has no default numbers, so nothing on it can be mistaken for advice or a price list.
How do I find my own production rate?
Time real jobs. Note the square feet of a surface and the minutes of actual washing, then divide to get square feet per hour. Repeat for each surface.
Why does each surface get its own line?
Each is done at a different pace. One shared number would hide a slow surface behind a fast one and make the hours wrong.
How do I count setup and cleanup?
Type the minutes per visit spent on loading, hoses, moving things and packing up, apart from the washing. They are counted once per visit.
What is a minimum charge?
It is the least you charge for a visit. If the price works out lower, the page uses the minimum. It protects you on small jobs.
What is the difference between margin and markup?
Margin is profit divided by the price. Markup is profit divided by the cost. With a cost of $100 and a 40% margin, the price is $166.67 and the markup is 66.7%.
Where do I put oil stain or rust treatment?
Use "Add an add-on". Each add-on has its own price and cost and stays apart from the visit price. You can add up to 8.
Do I need the plans table?
Only if you offer repeat visits. Most pressure washing is a one-off visit, so you can leave the plans empty.
Is my information saved or sent anywhere?
No. The page runs in your browser, there is no account, and nothing you type is uploaded, saved or logged.