See what painting a room will really cost, the paint itself, and a painter's labor if you hire one. Quick answer: for a normal bedroom, the paint is the small part (about $80), labor is most of the bill.
Step 1: Type the room size, wall height, doors and windows.
Step 2: Choose ceiling yes/no and how many coats, then type the paint price per gallon.
Step 3: Hiring a painter? Add their labor rate. Doing it yourself? Leave labor blank, your paint cost is the full cost.
Paint cost = gallons to buy × price per gallon. Gallons come from the same math as our Paint Calculator: paintable area × coats ÷ 350 sq ft per gallon, rounded UP to whole gallons.
Labor cost = paintable area × labor rate. Painters charge on the wall area one time, the rate already covers the coats.
Example, 12 × 10 room, 8 ft walls, 1 door, 1 window, 2 coats: paintable area 317 sq ft, exact paint 1.81 gallons, so buy 2 gallons. Paint: 2 × $40 = $80. Labor at $2 per sq ft: 317 × $2 = $634. Total with a painter: $714. Painting it yourself: just the $80.
Money rule on this page: every money total is rounded to the nearest dollar, the way a quote looks. The math uses the full numbers, not the rounded ones shown.
Paint at $40 per gallon, labor at $2 per sq ft, 2 coats, walls only (no ceiling). Totals rounded to the nearest dollar.
| Room size | Paint cost | Labor cost | Total with painter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 10 ft | $80 (2 gallons) | $570 | $650 |
| 12 × 10 ft | $80 (2 gallons) | $634 | $714 |
| 12 × 12 ft | $80 (2 gallons) | $698 | $778 |
| 15 × 12 ft | $120 (3 gallons) | $794 | $914 |
1. Counting only the paint. With a hired painter, labor is most of the bill, in the example above, $634 of the $714 is labor. The paint itself is the small part.
2. Planning one coat for a color change. A new color over an old one almost always needs 2 coats. One coat is only for repainting the same color in good condition.
3. Forgetting the ceiling and trim. Ceilings add a lot of area, and doors/trim often use a different paint. Price them separately.
4. Buying the cheapest paint to save money. Cheap paint covers less, so you buy more gallons and add a coat. Mid-price paint is usually cheaper for the whole job.
Often about $2–$6 per sq ft of wall area, depending on the city and the painter. Get two quotes, this calculator lets you test each rate before you decide.
Much cheaper, you pay only for paint and basic tools. A 12 × 10 room costs about $80 in paint (example above) instead of $714 with a painter. The trade is your time: most people finish a room in a weekend.
On new drywall, stained walls, or a big color change, yes, primer is a separate cost, about one gallon for the same area as a coat of paint. On a clean repaint of the same color, usually no.
Painters quote the job per sq ft of wall, and the rate already assumes normal coats. This calculator follows that way of quoting. If your painter charges per coat, double the rate before you type it in.
Roughly $20–$60 per gallon at big stores, cheap paint near $20, good paint $35–$50. Type the price of the paint you actually plan to buy.