PaintBidPainting Estimate Calculator for Contractors
Price interior and exterior painting jobs by room, coverage and labor — then add your markup and see your true cost and the client quote side by side.
Built for painting business owners, not homeowners: your costs stay on your side of the page, and the quote generator turns the final number into a clean customer quote. Everything runs in your browser — no sign-up, and your draft auto-saves on this device.
Surface condition adjusts prep and labor time: good ×1.0, fair ×1.2, poor ×1.45. Paint quantity is the same — rough surfaces mostly cost you time, not extra gallons.
Rates & pricing
Production rates estimate labor hours from painted area (including coats). You can override the hours on any room or wall — leave the hours box empty to use the estimate.
Job summary
| Paintable area (all coats) | 0 sq ft |
| Material cost | $0 |
| Labor cost | $0 |
| Your cost | $0 |
| Markup | $0 |
| Quote price | $0 |
How the estimate is built
Area first. For each room the calculator works out wall area from length, width and wall height, adds the ceiling if you tick it, and multiplies by coats. Exterior walls are priced by facade — length × height × stories — so a two-story gable end is one line, not a ladder-climbing guessing game.
Paint from coverage. Total painted area divided by coverage gives gallons. Most interior latex paints cover about 350 sq ft per gallon per coat on smooth walls; rough or porous surfaces cover less, so adjust the coverage number to match the paint and surface you actually use.
Labor from production rate. Hours are estimated from painted area and your production rate, and exterior walls in fair or poor condition get a prep-time factor. If you already know a room takes your crew three hours, type it in — your number wins.
Cost, then quote. Material plus labor is your cost — the number most underpriced jobs never actually compute. Markup is added on top to produce the client quote. The two are always shown separately here, and the printable quote your customer gets never shows your cost or markup.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate a painting estimate?
Measure each surface (room walls and ceilings, or exterior walls), multiply by the number of coats, and divide by your paint coverage — about 350 sq ft per gallon for most latex paints. That gives gallons and material cost. Estimate labor hours from your production rate (sq ft per hour), multiply by your labor rate, then add material and labor for your true cost. Your quote is cost plus your markup.
What is the difference between markup and the price I quote?
Your cost is what the job costs you: paint, materials and labor. Markup is the percentage you add on top of cost to cover overhead and profit. A 25% markup on a $2,000 cost gives a $2,500 quote. PaintBid keeps the two numbers separate so you always know your cost before the customer sees a price.
How many gallons of paint do I need per room?
A typical 12 × 12 ft room with 8 ft walls has about 384 sq ft of wall area. At 350 sq ft per gallon, that is roughly 1.1 gallons per coat — about 2.2 gallons for two coats, plus about 0.6 gallons if you include the ceiling. This calculator does that math room by room and adds it up.
Is PaintBid free for contractors?
Yes. The full estimate calculator — interior and exterior modes, markup, and the quote generator — is free with no sign-up and no watermark. A one-time Pro upgrade is planned for branded PDF quotes, saved customers and follow-up reminders.
Does PaintBid store my estimates online?
No. Everything runs in your browser and your draft is saved only in this browser on your device. Nothing is uploaded, so your pricing stays private.