$300 – $1,000That is the typical interior painting cost in 2026 to paint the walls of one room, and $600 to $2,000 when the ceiling and trim are included (HomeGuide). For a whole house, This Old House gives $1,800 – $10,000, or $1 to $4 per square foot of floor space. The guides disagree sharply, though: Fixr quotes $5.75 to $10.70 per square foot for a full job with prep and materials.
Painting is mostly labor. HomeGuide says labor makes up 70% to 85% of the cost of painting a room, so the price follows the hours a crew spends on your walls rather than the paint in the can. That is why the same room can be quoted at very different prices depending on whether the quote covers walls only, or walls, ceiling, trim and repairs. The tables below set three published guides side by side so you can see where they agree and where they do not.
Interior painting cost per room
| Room | HomeGuide | Fixr | This Old House |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small or half bathroom | $150 – $400 | $172 – $321 | $50 – $150 (20 sq ft half-bath) |
| Primary bathroom | $250 – $650 | — | $350 – $650 (70 sq ft) |
| Bedroom | $350 – $850 | $827 – $1,540 | $300 – $800 |
| Primary bedroom | $650 – $1,400 | — | up to $1,500 |
| Living room | $600 – $2,000 | $1,839 – $3,424 | $600 – $2,000 |
| Kitchen (walls) | $150 – $250 | $919 – $1,712 | $200 – $750 |
| Dining room | $300 – $1,000 (dining room or hallway) | $1,103 – $2,054 | $600 – $1,000 |
| Open-plan basement | $800 – $2,500 | — | — |
HomeGuide and This Old House land close together for most rooms. Fixr is much higher, and its kitchen figure ($919 – $1,712) is several times the others. Fixr says its per-square-foot prices include materials and standard sanding, caulking and patching, which may explain part of the gap, but the guides do not reconcile their methods. HomeGuide adds that some painters charge a $250 to $500 minimum project fee, which is why a tiny room never costs what a per-square-foot rate would suggest.
Estimate your interior painting cost
Our estimate: the published ranges above multiplied out for your inputs. Not a quote. Room and cabinet ranges from HomeGuide (February 2026). Fixr (January 2025) quotes higher room prices; This Old House (April 2026) is close to HomeGuide. Ceiling and trim are not included. State adjustment: BLS construction wages (May 2025), applied to an assumed 50% labor share. How we calculate
Interior painting cost per square foot
| Basis | HomeGuide | Fixr | This Old House |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per square foot, walls | $1 – $3 (labor, per sq ft of surface area) | — | $1 – $2 (per sq ft of surface area) |
| Per square foot of floor space, whole house | — | $5.75 – $10.70 (labor and materials) | $1 – $4 |
| Ceilings, per sq ft | $1 – $2 | — | $1 – $2.50 |
| Trim, per linear foot | $1 – $4 | — | $1 – $3 |
Check which square foot a quote means. A rate per square foot of wall surface is applied to a much bigger area than a rate per square foot of floor space, so the two numbers cannot be compared directly. To measure wall area, multiply the room’s perimeter by the ceiling height, then subtract 21 square feet per door and 16 per window; one gallon covers 300 to 400 square feet with one coat (HomeGuide).
Cost to paint the whole interior of a house
| Home size | HomeGuide | Fixr | This Old House |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,500 sq ft | $1,300 – $4,400 | $8,623 – $16,050 | $1,500 – $6,000 |
| 2,000 sq ft | $1,600 – $5,600 | $11,498 – $21,400 | $2,000 – $8,000 |
| 2,500 sq ft | $1,800 – $6,300 | $14,373 – $26,750 | $2,500 – $10,000 |
| 3,000 sq ft | — | $17,247 – $32,100 | $3,000 – $12,000 |
HomeGuide and This Old House overlap; Fixr’s whole-house figures sit above both, even at the low end. Fixr’s own guide states a national average of $12,648 to $23,540. Treat that as the high-scope end of the market, a full repaint with priming and sealing, rather than the typical walls-only job.
Our estimate: for a 2,000 sq ft home, the lowest low and highest high of the three guides above run from $1,600 (HomeGuide) to $21,400 (Fixr), a spread of more than thirteen times. Leaving out Fixr, the two other guides give $1,600 to $8,000. This is a range we combined from published figures, not a measured price.
What adds to the price
| Item | HomeGuide | This Old House |
|---|---|---|
| Interior door | $100 – $250 | $40 – $100 |
| Kitchen cabinets | $900 – $3,800 | $900 – $3,500 |
| Stairway | — | $15 – $30 per linear foot |
| Closet, nook or pantry | — | $50 – $150 |
| Wallpaper removal | $0.80 – $3.00 per sq ft | — |
| Popcorn ceiling removal | $1 – $2 per sq ft, before repainting | — |
| Major drywall repair | $300 – $1,500+ per crack | — |
Ceiling height matters too. HomeGuide says ceilings above 10 feet raise the cost by 10% to 50% or more. Fixr’s table for a 2,200 sq ft home shows the same direction: $11,001 – $20,474 with 8-foot ceilings and $14,816 – $27,574 with 12-foot ceilings (Fixr). HomeGuide also lists accent walls at 20% to 30% more than other walls, and primer at $15 to $30 per gallon against $15 to $50 for the paint itself.
Labor, paint and doing it yourself
HomeGuide puts painters’ labor at $20 to $50 an hour, or $400 to $1,100 per room, and a handyman at $50 to $80 an hour. It estimates 6 to 10 hours for an average room including prep and cleanup. For context on wages, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median of $23.75 an hour ($49,400 a year) for construction and maintenance painters in May 2025 (BLS). That is the pay a painter receives, not what a company charges you.
Doing it yourself costs $150 to $300 in paint and supplies for a typical 12’ x 12’ room, according to HomeGuide, with paint itself at $30 to $150 per room. The trade-off is time and finish quality. This Old House calls interior painting a DIY-friendly job, but warns that results can be inconsistent depending on equipment and experience (This Old House).
Older homes: test before you scrape
If you plan to remove old finishes or repair walls in an older house, testing may come before painting. HomeGuide lists asbestos testing at $250 to $850 and recommends it for homes built before 1986, and mold removal at $15 to $30 per square foot (HomeGuide). Our guides to black mold removal and asbestos removal cover those jobs in detail.
Painting as part of a bigger project
Paint is usually the last line of a remodel budget. If you are redoing a space, see the full costs in our guides to kitchen remodel cost, bathroom remodel cost and basement finishing cost. If you are sanding existing floors, see hardwood floor refinishing cost, and for new rooms that will need walls painted, home addition cost.
How to keep the bill down
- Paint several rooms in one job. HomeGuide says the price per room is about the same when painting multiple rooms, because labor is most of the cost.
- Clear the room and clean the walls first. HomeGuide notes that a room full of furniture and wall hangings takes more prep time than an empty one.
- Use fewer colors. This Old House says repeating colors lets you buy in bulk and spend less time switching paints.
- Schedule in fall or winter. HomeGuide says interior rates are often more competitive then.
- Get at least three in-person estimates, as HomeGuide recommends, and compare the same scope in each.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Does the price cover walls only, or also ceilings, trim and doors?
- Is the rate per square foot of wall surface or of floor space?
- Does the estimate include prep, primer, repairs and cleanup, and do you charge extra to move furniture?
- How many coats, which paint and finish, and who buys the paint?
- Are you licensed, bonded and insured, and is there a written warranty?
For more on vetting a painter, read how to find a contractor.
Sources
- HomeGuide, How Much Does It Cost to Paint a Room?, February 6, 2026.
- Fixr, How Much Does Interior House Painting Cost?, updated January 31, 2025.
- This Old House, How Much Does Interior Painting Cost?, updated April 20, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Painters, Construction and Maintenance, pay data for May 2025.
