Office Cleaning Cost: How to Calculate What You’ll Really Pay

Most people figure getting a price for office cleaning is just a quick phone call. I wish it was that simple. You need to know which boxes to tick to avoid bill shock at the end of the month. Costs for cleaning an office aren’t just picked out of thin air. There’s math behind it, and a bit of experience helps you spot a fair deal.

The first numbers you’ll want to have are the office’s square footage and how often you want cleaning. A small office cleaned once a week is priced nothing like a high-traffic building with daily service. Cleaning companies have all kinds of rates—per hour, by the job, even per square foot. Knowing the lingo and your numbers gives you an edge. If you can give a clear picture of your space, you’re already halfway to working out a real estimate.

• Square Footage: The Foundation
• How Frequency Impacts Price
• What Services Are Included?
• The Hidden Factors That Change Your Quote
• Getting and Comparing Quotes
• Money-Saving Tips for Office Cleaning

Square Footage: The Foundation

This is the big one. Almost every cleaning company starts with your office’s size when working out your office cleaning cost. Think of square footage as the heart of any quote—the bigger your place, the more time and effort it takes, so your price rises as those numbers climb.

Cleaning rates by square foot usually fall between $0.07 and $0.25, but you might see higher or lower depending on where you live and your office’s condition. A fancy downtown office with glass walls and carpets will be at the top end, while a small, mostly empty space could be on the low side.

Bigger isn’t always more expensive per foot, though. A lot of cleaners drop the cost per square foot as you go up in size. This is called a tiered rate, and it’s worth asking about. If your office is 8,000 square feet, you should not be paying the same rate per foot as someone with a tiny 500-foot space.

Don’t guess your office size—double-check your lease or pull out a measuring tape. Even being off by a few hundred square feet can mean you’d pay hundreds more per year. And if you’re sharing a floor with another company, clarify what belongs to you. Bathrooms, kitchens, and shared spaces matter a lot in the final bill.

• Write down the total square footage to the nearest hundred.
• Count all regularly used areas, not just work desks. Meeting rooms, break rooms, even hallways count if you want them clean.
• Ask if the company charges for every square foot or only for spaces to actually be cleaned.

That square footage is your foundation—get it wrong, and the rest of the quote won’t make sense.

How Frequency Impacts Price

If you’re wondering what really changes the bottom line in office cleaning cost, it’s how often the crew shows up. Cleaning once a week versus every day makes a huge difference—sometimes it’s double, sometimes more. The more you want your workspace looking spotless, the less each visit costs individually, but the overall bill can stack up fast.

Here’s the deal: Most companies offer discounts for frequent service. Say you get your office cleaned five times a week instead of one, your price per visit drops, but your monthly spend climbs. This is because travel and setup time shrink when you’re on their regular route. Plus, dirt and dust don’t get a chance to pile up, so each clean is quicker.

• Weekly Cleaning: Suitable for low-traffic offices. Cheapest per month, but each visit is longer since more dirt builds up.
• Bi-Weekly or Daily Cleaning: Better for busy offices. Per-visit cost is lower, but the total monthly charge is higher.
• Multiple Shifts Per Day: Needed in big buildings or places open 24/7. These jobs almost always involve custom quotes and can cost significantly more.

These numbers are just ballpark, but they line up with what most small and mid-size offices see in 2025. If you’ve got a whole floor of 5,000 square feet, just multiply. Even if you’re tight on budget, sometimes cleaning more often keeps the place usable and cuts down on deep clean costs later. Run the numbers—sometimes the cheapest option isn’t the best for your team or clients.

What Services Are Included?

This is where most folks trip up when trying to figure out what they're actually paying for. Don’t assume every company does the same thing for the price—they don’t. A standard office cleaning package usually covers the basics: emptying bins, dusting desks and shelves, wiping down surfaces, vacuuming carpets, sweeping and mopping hard floors, and cleaning bathrooms.

If your office has a kitchen or break room, that’s often an add-on, not part of the main bundle. Same goes for things like deep carpet cleaning, window washing above the first floor, polishing floors, or cleaning blinds. Some places will sneak in extra charges for restocking toilet paper and soap, or even for weekends and late-night cleans.

• Office cleaning usually covers: dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, bathroom cleaning, emptying trash, and wiping down common surfaces.
• Extras often include: kitchen cleaning, interior window washing, carpet shampooing, polishing floors, and restocking supplies.

Double-check your contract or quote. If something’s not listed in detail, it’s probably not included. A few companies will offer a checklist, so you can see line-by-line what’s included. That’s how you avoid getting charged for something that should’ve been obvious, like a weekly fridge wipe or disinfecting high-touch areas like door handles—especially in flu season. If you need something special—say you just had a party in the office—mention it ahead of time so there are no surprises on your invoice.

The Hidden Factors That Change Your Quote

There’s more to pricing than just measuring the floor space and picking a frequency. Sometimes the little details in your office make a bigger dent in the cleaning cost than you’d expect. Stuff like how many desks are packed in, what kind of floors you’ve got, and even which part of town your office is in can all quietly drive up the price.

First up, layout matters a lot. Open-plan offices are simple for cleaners to race through, but if you have meeting rooms sliced up, glass everywhere, or three floors of cubicles, it takes more effort—and time—to get the job done right. Same goes for high-traffic kitchens, heavy use restrooms, or areas with a lot of electronic equipment that needs dusting but not spraying.

• Special surfaces—wood floors, marble, or glass walls—can mean more expensive cleaning products or extra time for proper care.
• Offices that allow food at desks or have pets (hey, like my dog Charlie loves to visit the office sometimes) usually need more deep cleaning, driving up the price.
• If your workspace needs evening or weekend cleaning, expect a higher rate for the after-hours crew.
• Even your location makes a difference. Offices in busy downtown areas or places that are tough to park will often see higher rates, thanks to travel time and parking fees.

One sneaky fee to watch: trash removal or recycling pickup. Not every cleaning company includes this in the first quote. You might pay extra if your building's set-up is tricky or you need them to handle larger bins.

According to ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association, "The most accurate office cleaning cost is based on your facility’s traffic patterns and unique needs—not just square footage."

The most accurate office cleaning cost is based on your facility’s traffic patterns and unique needs—not just square footage.
— ISSA, Cleaning Industry Association

Ask for a breakdown so you can see exactly what’s driving your total. If you want to lock down fair office cleaning prices, figure out the hidden factors before you sign on the dotted line.

Getting and Comparing Quotes

Getting a cleaning quote should be easy, but it usually isn’t. If you want to avoid confusion and random add-ons, make sure you’re comparing apples to apples. When you call or email cleaning companies, don’t just ask, “How much to clean my office?” Give them details: total square footage, number of restrooms, kitchens, how often you want it cleaned, and any special requests. The more info you give, the closer your quote will be to reality.

Here’s what I do every time before asking for a quote:

• Measure the office (don’t guess—companies charge by the square foot).
• Count number of rooms and restrooms.
• Note how many employees work there, especially if you have extra foot traffic.
• Make a list of "must have" services like window washing, trash pickup, or carpet shampooing.

Once you have all this info, call at least three different companies. Prices can swing a lot, even in the same city. Some cleaning companies might include wiping down keyboards; others might charge you extra. Ask them to break down the quote—what’s included, and what’s considered “extra”? Does it cover supplies and chemicals, or do you need to provide them?

Don’t be afraid to request a quote in writing and to see a sample checklist. A good company is upfront, and their paperwork matches what’s promised. Here’s a quick look at how cleaning cost estimates are typically broken down across the US (these are 2025 averages):

One sneaky thing to watch: some companies make their quote look cheap by leaving out taxes or service fees. Always ask for the “final” number, so you’re not hit with surprises later.

If getting the best office cleaning price is your goal, don’t just grab the lowest number. Look at what you get for your money and read real reviews online. A bargain quote is worthless if the job gets half-done or cleaners miss days. Take your time—it pays off in the long run.

Money-Saving Tips for Office Cleaning

It’s easy to burn through your cleaning budget without even realizing it. Here’s how you can keep office cleaning affordable without sacrificing results.

• Audit Your Space: Take a good look at your office. Are there areas that barely get used, like unused meeting rooms or storage closets? Ask if those spots can be cleaned less often, or only when needed.
• Bundle Services: If you need kitchen, restroom, and floor care, get a bundled package from your cleaning provider. Most companies offer discounts when they manage everything together, instead of charging separate rates.
• Adjust the Frequency: Daily cleaning sounds nice, but do you actually need it everywhere? Light traffic spaces may do just fine with a weekly tidy-up.
• Compare Quotes: Don’t go with the first price you get. Ask at least three companies for a written quote. Make sure the quotes list exactly what’s included—sometimes basic tasks like trash take-out or window sills cost extra with some providers.
• Cut Out Extras: Some services upsell on things like floor waxing or deep carpet cleans every month. You might only need these quarterly or twice per year.
• Supply Your Own Products: If your company can buy cleaning supplies in bulk, you might save big. Some cleaning companies charge a markup or tack on fees for supplies.

To show how this all adds up, check out this real-world cost table for a mid-sized office (3,000 sq. ft.), cleaned twice a week. Avg. industry numbers based on U.S. metropolitan rates:

Total savings by tweaking frequency and skipping unnecessary extras? Around $200 per month, which adds up to over two grand a year. And the office still stays clean—without you overpaying for services nobody really notices.

If you’re open with your cleaner, you can often find a win-win plan. They want your business long term, so don’t be shy about asking for bundled rates or simple ways to keep your office cleaning cost in check.