Painting Estimate Template for Painters
Wall square footage, coats, gallons at 350 sq ft per gallon, prep hours, trim by the linear foot and doors by the each, in one clean PDF.
- Free, no signup
- PDF in about two minutes
- Works on a phone
What makes a painting estimate different
Paint is cheap; labor is not. On most residential jobs paint runs 10% to 20% of the price and prep and application make up the rest. That is why two painters can quote the same living room $800 apart. One fills nail holes and caulks trim, the other rolls over everything. A painting estimate earns trust by showing the prep, the number of coats and the paint line, so the client can see what the extra money buys.
You also have to decide how to price: by the square foot or by the room. Per-room pricing is fast for simple repaints. Per square foot of wall holds up better on mixed jobs, tall ceilings and anything the client might trim down later.
How to structure the line items
Keep prep, application and materials separate. Measure walls as perimeter times height, minus openings, and use gallons at about 350 sq ft per coat.
| Description | Quantity | Unit | Unit price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prep, patch nail holes, caulk trim gaps | 6 | hour | $65 |
| Walls, 2 coats, eggshell, labor | 1,400 | sq ft | $1.60 |
| Wall paint, premium acrylic | 8 | gallon | $62 |
| Interior doors, both sides | 5 | each | $95 |
| Baseboard, semi-gloss | 210 | linear ft | $1.50 |
For exteriors, the same pattern holds: pressure washing at $0.15 to $0.40 per sq ft, scraping and priming of bare wood by the hour, siding at $1.50 to $4.00 per sq ft depending on height and condition, and trim and shutters by the piece.
Worked example: three rooms and a hallway
A living room, two bedrooms and a hallway, 8 ft ceilings, same color on all walls. Measured wall area after openings is 1,400 sq ft. Ceilings total 520 sq ft and get one coat of flat white.
| Description | Qty | Unit | Unit price | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prep, patch nail holes, caulk trim gaps | 6 | hour | $65 | $390 |
| Walls, 2 coats, eggshell, labor | 1,400 | sq ft | $1.60 | $2,240 |
| Ceilings, 1 coat flat, labor | 520 | sq ft | $1.10 | $572 |
| Wall paint, premium acrylic | 8 | gallon | $62 | $496 |
| Ceiling paint, flat white | 2 | gallon | $45 | $90 |
| Interior doors, both sides | 5 | each | $95 | $475 |
| Baseboard, semi-gloss | 210 | linear ft | $1.50 | $315 |
| Furniture moving and floor protection | 1 | each | $150 | $150 |
| Subtotal | $4,728 |
The paint math: 1,400 sq ft times 2 coats is 2,800 sq ft, divided by 350 is 8 gallons. Ceilings: 520 sq ft at one coat is 1.5 gallons, rounded up to 2.
Free download
Painting estimate template, ready to edit
The worked example above as a file, with its line items and terms already filled in. Change the prices, add your details and send it.
Or skip the file: fill it in above and download a PDFAll trade templates
Who supplies the paint
Decide this before you price. If you supply the paint, list the product line and the gallons, as in the example, and build a small markup into the gallon price. If the client buys it, remove the paint rows, say "Paint supplied by owner, 8 gallons wall, 2 gallons ceiling, on site by start date," and add that a delay caused by missing or wrong paint is billed at your hourly rate. Client paint is the most common reason a crew stands around on day one, and one line moves that cost to the person who caused it.
Terms that belong on a painting estimate
- Validity: "Pricing valid for 30 days."
- Deposit: a deposit to schedule and buy paint, balance on completion and walkthrough. Check your state's home improvement rules; California caps the down payment at 10% or $1,000, whichever is less.
- Paint and colors: "Price includes paint of the line listed in client-selected colors. Colors to be chosen 5 days before start."
- Touch-ups: "Final walkthrough with client. Touch-ups noted at the walkthrough are included."
- Exclusions: wallpaper removal, drywall repair beyond nail holes and hairline cracks, moving heavy furniture or electronics, and lead abatement in pre-1978 homes unless listed.
The common dispute: the third coat
The client picks a deep red for the dining room over a light beige wall. After two coats it looks patchy, and they expect you to keep rolling until it looks right. You priced two coats. Now you are arguing about a third on the client's schedule.
Write the rule before the color is chosen:
"Price includes 2 finish coats. Deep or bright colors that need a tinted primer or a third coat are billed at $0.80 per sq ft. Color changes after work starts are billed as a change order."
Strong colors are the client's choice, and the estimate tells them up front what that choice costs.
Prices on this page are ballpark US figures in US dollars for early 2026. They show how a quote is put together, not a rate survey: price from your own costs and your local market.
How to use
Three things, then download
Your business name, the client and the line items are all a PDF needs. Tax, dates and terms are there when you want them.
- 01
Header with the rooms and surfaces
Business name, license number if your state requires one, phone, then the address, the rooms or elevations in scope and the year the house was built; put these details in the notes.
- 02
Separate prep, paint and labor
Prep as its own rows, walls and ceilings by the square foot, trim by the linear foot, doors by the each, and paint gallons on their own line.
- 03
State coats and sheen
Number of coats for each surface, the paint line and sheen, and whether the client or the painter supplies the paint.
- 04
Lock the terms
Validity, deposit, color-change rule, touch-up walkthrough and what is excluded, such as furniture moving or wallpaper removal. Download the PDF.
Use cases
Frequently asked questions
Residential painting estimates are almost always free. Commercial bids on large projects are also free but take longer, since they need a takeoff from drawings and a walk of the site.
Measure the wall area by multiplying each room's perimeter by its height and subtracting large openings, then price per sq ft, commonly $1.50 to $3.50 for walls with two coats. Some painters price per room instead, for example $400 to $900 for a 12 by 12 bedroom, which is faster to quote but easier to argue about.
Divide the square footage by 350 for one coat, then multiply by the number of coats. A room with 500 sq ft of wall at two coats needs about 3 gallons; rough or porous surfaces can drop coverage to 250 sq ft per gallon.
Yes, for every surface. "Two coats on walls, one coat on ceilings" is the line that keeps a client from expecting a third coat to cover a dark color for free.
Thirty days is common for residential work. Exterior estimates may also note that the start date depends on weather, since most paints need temperatures above 35 to 50 degrees and dry surfaces.
Yes, for homes built before 1978. Under the EPA RRP rule, paid work that disturbs more than 6 sq ft of painted surface inside or 20 sq ft outside must be done by a certified firm using lead-safe practices, which adds containment and cleanup costs that belong on the estimate.
Related tools
Estimate templates by trade
Each page loads the line items that trade actually bills, in the units it bills them. Ballpark US figures, there to show the structure.