Starting a Pressure Washing Business: How to Set Your First Prices
Set your first pressure washing prices from real costs: startup and insurance numbers, an hourly target, a job minimum, and per-square-foot rates to defend.
By the AboveYard team · Updated October 28, 2026 · 6 min read
Most new pressure washing owners set prices the same way: they look at what the guy on Facebook charges and go a little lower. That works until the first month of bills shows up. This guide walks through setting your first prices from your own costs, then checking them against published market ranges, so the number you quote is one you can live with.
Step 1: Know what you spent to open the doors
Your prices have to pay back your startup spend and keep paying for insurance, fuel, and chemicals. Here is a published startup breakdown.
| Item | Published cost |
|---|---|
| Business license and registration | $75–$400 Jobber |
| Business insurance | $700–$1,500+ Jobber |
| Pressure washing equipment | $800–$3,000+ Jobber |
| Software | $300–$600 Jobber |
| Website and business cards | $150–$500 Jobber |
| Uniform, boots, safety gear | $50–$250+ Jobber |
| Total without a truck | $2,000–$6,000+ Jobber |
| Total with a truck purchase | $12,000–$36,000 Jobber |
Housecall Pro gives a wider range of $500 to $15,000 Housecall Pro, which tells you how much depends on whether you start with a borrowed trailer or a new hot-water skid.
You do not need to recover all of this on the first job. But write the number down. If you spent $5,000 and want it back in your first season, that is a cost you spread across every job.
Step 2: Add up your monthly overhead
Overhead is everything you pay whether or not you wash anything this week. Insurance is the biggest recurring line for most new operators. Insureon's averages for pressure washing businesses:
| Policy | Average monthly | Average annual |
|---|---|---|
| General liability | $73 Insureon | $879 Insureon |
| Business owner's policy | $142 Insureon | $1,699 Insureon |
| Commercial auto | $262 Insureon | $3,143 Insureon |
| Workers' comp (once you hire) | $147 Insureon | $1,761 Insureon |
A solo owner might carry only general liability and commercial auto at first. Add your phone, software, truck payment, equipment payback, and marketing, and you have a monthly overhead number.
Now turn that into an hourly number. Jobber's formula is total monthly overhead divided by billable hours per month Jobber. Be honest about billable hours. Driving, quoting, and buying chemicals are not billable. A new owner who works 40 hours a week may bill 20 of them.
Example: $1,200 a month of overhead ÷ 80 billable hours = $15 per billable hour before you pay yourself anything.
Step 3: Set an hourly target
Your hourly target is overhead per hour plus what you want to earn per hour plus profit. Then check it against the market. Published residential rates run $50 to $100 per hour, and commercial rates $50 to $150 per hour Housecall Pro. Jobber cites the same $50 to $100 residential range Jobber.
If your math says you need $90 an hour, you are inside the range. If it says $140, you either need to bill more hours, cut overhead, or move toward commercial work. Do not just quote $60 because it "feels safe."
Step 4: Translate the hourly target into per-square-foot rates
Customers rarely buy hours. They buy "clean my driveway." So you need per-square-foot rates that hit your hourly target at the speed you actually work.
Published ranges for the common residential jobs:
| Job | Per sq ft | Typical job total |
|---|---|---|
| Driveway | $0.20–$0.40 Jobber | $100–$350 Jobber |
| House wash | $0.10–$0.50 Jobber | $213–$449, national average about $312 Housecall Pro |
| Deck | $0.25–$0.50 Jobber | $100–$500 Jobber |
| Fence | $0.30–$0.50 Jobber | $100–$300 Jobber |
| Commercial flatwork, basic | $0.10–$0.35 Housecall Pro | Flat fees $200–$3,000+ Housecall Pro |
How to check a rate against your hourly target. Time yourself on your first few driveways, from unloading to rolling up hoses. Then:
Required rate per sq ft = hourly target × hours on site ÷ square feet
Example: You need $90 an hour. A 700 sq ft driveway takes you 1.5 hours with setup and cleanup. $90 × 1.5 ÷ 700 = about $0.19 per sq ft. That is just below the published driveway range, so quoting $0.25 to $0.30 leaves room for chemicals and drive time.
If the math tells you that you need $0.60 on a driveway, the problem is your speed or your equipment, not the market. A surface cleaner usually fixes that before a price increase does.
Step 5: Set a minimum charge
Small jobs cost almost as much to show up for as big ones. A minimum charge covers the drive, setup, and breakdown.
Build it from your own numbers: your hourly target × the shortest realistic job time, door to door. If a tiny patio still takes you 1.5 hours including the drive and you need $90 an hour, your minimum is $135. Many owners round that up to a clean number. Look at published job totals for comparison: the low end of most residential job ranges in the table above is around $100.
Put the minimum on your website and your quote. It saves you from driving 30 minutes to wash a 150 sq ft walkway for $40.
Step 6: Add profit on top, the right way
Overhead and your wage are costs. Profit is what is left after both. Jobber suggests aiming for 10 to 20 percent of overall project value Jobber.
Use the markup formula from Jobber's pricing guide: price = cost ÷ (1 − profit margin) Jobber. In their worked example, an 800 sq ft driveway at $0.20 per sq ft is $160, plus $8 overhead and $25 materials for $193 of cost; at a 30 percent margin the price is $276 Jobber.
Note the formula. Adding 30 percent to $193 gives $251, which is only a 23 percent margin. Dividing by 0.70 is what gets you a real 30 percent.
Step 7: Measure before you quote
Every rate above depends on an accurate square footage. Guessing a driveway at 500 sq ft when it is 800 costs you 37 percent of the job.
You can measure most flatwork from satellite imagery before you ever visit. Our free Driveway Square Footage Calculator traces the slab on a map, and the Pressure Washing Price Calculator applies your rates to the result. For the full remote-quote process, see how to quote a pressure washing job without a site visit.
A first-season price sheet
Here is what a starting price sheet might look like for a solo owner who needs $90 an hour. Every rate sits inside the published ranges above.
| Service | Your rate | Minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Driveway / patio / walkway | $0.25 per sq ft | $135 job minimum |
| House wash (soft wash) | $0.20 per sq ft of footprint, two-story as a separate line | $250 |
| Deck | $0.35 per sq ft | $135 job minimum |
| Fence | $0.35 per sq ft of face, per side | $135 job minimum |
Review it after your first 20 jobs. Compare actual time on site to what the rate assumed. Raise the rates that are losing money before you lower anything.
Common first-year pricing mistakes
- Pricing from competitors only. Their overhead and speed are not yours.
- Forgetting drive time. It is not billable, but you still pay for it.
- Quoting hourly to homeowners. They compare totals. Quote a flat price built from your rate. Our pressure washing estimate template shows a clean layout.
- Adding profit as a markup instead of a margin. Use cost ÷ (1 − margin).
- No minimum. Small jobs quietly eat your best days.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to start a pressure washing business?
- Jobber puts the startup cost at $2,000 to $6,000 or more without a truck, and $12,000 to $36,000 if you buy one. Equipment alone runs $800 to $3,000 or more in that estimate.
- What should a beginner charge per hour for pressure washing?
- Published residential rates run $50 to $100 per hour. Do not start at the bottom by default; work out your overhead per hour first, add what you want to pay yourself, then see where that lands in the range.
- What per-square-foot rate should a new pressure washing business use?
- Published ranges are about $0.20 to $0.40 per square foot for driveways and $0.10 to $0.50 for house washing. Pick a rate inside the range, then test it against your hourly target on your first few jobs.
- Should a new pressure washer charge less to win jobs?
- Underpricing wins jobs you cannot afford to keep doing. Price from your costs and margin, and compete on fast replies and clear quotes instead of the lowest number.
- What profit margin should I aim for?
- Jobber suggests aiming for 10 to 20 percent of project value as profit, and its worked example prices a driveway at a 30 percent margin. Use the markup formula cost divided by (1 minus margin) so the margin is real.