Painting Cost Calculator

It is accurate as a budgeting range, not as a quote. The rates behind it are the ones we genuinely see across Greater Cincinnati in 2026, and for a straightforward job in sound condition the real price usually lands inside the range. What it cannot see is surface condition, how many coats your color change needs, access and staging, and trim volume — which together account for most of the variation between two houses of identical size. Treat the output as a budget, then get a written estimate.

Roughly $1.75–$2.50 per square foot for walls only, and $2.75–$4.00 per square foot once ceilings and trim are included. Those are square feet of floor area, not wall area. A 2,000 square foot home therefore runs about $3,500–$5,000 for walls and $5,500–$8,000 for the full interior, which matches the $3,000–$8,000+ range we quote for whole-home interiors.

Open-plan office space runs $1.25–$2.50 per square foot, retail and restaurant $2.00–$3.50, medical and senior living $2.25–$3.75, and warehouse or industrial $1.00–$2.25. The variation between them is not the painting — it is the scheduling, the low-VOC and infection-control requirements, and how much finish detail the space demands.

Measure length by width for the deck surface. For a fence, multiply length by height, and double it if both sides are being stained. Staining generally runs $2–$4 per square foot, with most residential decks landing between $1,000 and $3,500 all in. Railings and spindles add disproportionately to labor because they are all edges — a deck with heavy railing can cost more than a larger deck without.

Because prep is the price. On two houses of identical size, the one with a failing finish can cost 40–60% more, and that difference is labor hours rather than materials. The low end of every range assumes a sound surface needing a wash and two coats; the high end assumes real scraping, sanding, priming and repair. Until someone has walked the property, both ends are genuinely possible, and any contractor who gives you a firm price over the phone is guessing at one of them.