If you're new to pressure washing — or you've been doing it for years and still aren't sure if your prices are right — you're in the right place. This post is the actual numbers. Not generic "calculate your costs" advice. Real Florida-tested rates for 2026, broken out by job type, with the math underneath each one.

Pressure washing pricing is unusual. Customers can Google "average pressure washing cost" in 30 seconds and find a number. So you have to be defensible — but you also can't race to the bottom. The companies making real money in pressure washing aren't the cheapest in town. They're the ones who learned to charge $400 for a job their competitor charges $200 for, and back it up with actual quality.

This post is what I've learned from running residential pressure washing in Southwest Florida and from comparing notes with operators in other markets. Your prices may need to flex up or down based on local cost of living, but the structure works everywhere.

The four ways pressure washers price their work

1. Per square foot

The standard residential rate runs $0.10-$0.50 per square foot, depending on what you're cleaning. Driveways and concrete tend to be on the lower end. Vinyl siding (soft wash) is mid-range. Roof soft washing is at the top.

Per square foot pricing is the most defensible — customers can verify the math — but it requires you to actually measure jobs. Don't eyeball it. Use a rolling measuring wheel or a satellite measurement tool.

2. Flat rate per job

"Standard driveway: $200. Standard house wash: $350." This is the simplest from the customer's perspective and most efficient for you to quote. Works best when your jobs are reasonably standardized.

Most operators use this for repeat residential work after they've done a few jobs in a neighborhood and know the typical sizes.

3. Per hour

Avoid this. Pressure washing customers hate it (they have no idea what their bill will be), and you get penalized for being efficient. The only time hourly works is for unusual commercial cleanup jobs where you genuinely can't predict scope.

4. Tiered packages

"Driveway only: $200. Driveway + walkway: $300. Full property package: $550." This is underused and very effective. Customers self-select up to the package that best fits their situation. You get bigger average tickets without negotiating.

2026 baseline rates by service type

These are the rates you should benchmark against. Adjust up for major metros (Miami, NYC, San Francisco can charge 30-50% more), adjust down slightly for very rural areas. Florida residential is roughly the national median.

House wash (soft wash, vinyl/stucco/painted siding)

Soft washing requires chemicals (sodium hypochlorite mixed with surfactants), more skill than driveway pressure washing, and some real safety considerations. Don't underprice it just because it's "easier" than concrete cleaning. The chemistry knowledge is worth money.

Concrete driveways

Driveways are competitive — every weekend pressure washer can do them. Differentiate by including post-treatment (efflorescence remover for stained concrete, sealer for premium customers).

Paver driveways and patios

Pavers are higher-margin than concrete because customers know they're harder to maintain and expect to pay more. Sealing is where the real money is — premium sealers (like Foundation Armor SX5000 WB or H&C Concrete Sealer) cost $80-150 in materials per 500 sq ft and you can charge $1.50-2.50/sq ft for sealing alone.

Roof soft washing

Roof cleaning is the highest-margin pressure washing service. Most operators won't touch it (height liability, harder chemistry, equipment needs). If you're certified for working at heights and willing to do it, charge accordingly. Premium pricing is justified here.

Decks and fences

Wood is finicky. Soft wood damages easily. Hardwood like ipe needs different treatment than pressure-treated pine. Charge for the expertise. Customers will pay more for a contractor who clearly knows what they're doing on their $5,000 deck.

Commercial pressure washing

Commercial work is volume-based. Lower per-square-foot rates than residential, but huge square footage and recurring contracts. The economics work because one truck and crew can do thousands of square feet in a few hours.

What to add to your job to increase ticket size

Most pressure washing companies leave money on the table by quoting only the obvious service. Here's what experienced operators add:

Concrete or paver sealing

After a driveway or patio cleaning, the concrete is bare and ready to be sealed. Customer is already on-site. Truck is already there. Adding sealing is mostly margin — material cost is low, labor is short, and you can charge $0.30-$2.50/sq ft on top of the cleaning.

Rust and battery acid removal

Specialty stain removal is a premium add-on. F9 Efflorescence and Calcium Remover or F9 BARC for rust runs about $30-60 per gallon. You use very little per stain. Charge $40-100 per stain area treated.

Gutter brightening

Black tiger stripes on white gutters are a high-visibility eyesore. Cleaning them is fast (15-30 minutes for a typical home) and the chemistry is cheap. Charge $100-$200 as an add-on. Almost pure margin.

Pool deck cleaning

Concrete or paver pool decks accumulate algae and stains. Same chemistry as the rest of the property, but customers think of it as a separate service. Add $150-$300 per pool deck.

Window washing (exterior only)

If you're already on-site soft-washing the house, exterior windows are 30 extra minutes of work. You don't need to be a window cleaner — you're rinsing what's already been treated. Add $75-$150 per home.

How to write a quote that doesn't look cheap

The same quote can read as "cheap" or "premium" depending on how it's structured. Same dollar amount, very different customer perception.

Cheap quote (avoid)

"Pressure washing - $350"

One line. Customer has no idea what they're getting. Easy to compare to competitors purely on price.

Premium quote (use)

House Wash & Property Refresh Package — $450
Includes:
• Two-story vinyl siding soft wash with low-pressure surfactant treatment
• Driveway concrete pressure wash (1,200 sq ft)
• Front walkway and entryway cleaning
• Gutter brightening (front and side elevations)
• All work performed with our 12-month satisfaction guarantee

Same price range, but the customer sees what they're getting. The package format also makes it harder to compare to a competitor's "$200 driveway" because the scopes don't match.

The cost calculation underneath

For a typical $450 house wash + driveway combination job:

That's a healthy margin. If you're charging $300 for the same job, your margin drops to ~$60-70 (16%). One truck breakdown that month and you're losing money.

The difference between a stressful business and a profitable one is often $100-150 per job. You can usually find that in your pricing without losing a single good customer.

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Common pricing mistakes specific to pressure washing

1. Charging the same in summer and winter

Demand is wildly seasonal in pressure washing. In Florida, summer is brutally busy and winter is quieter. In northern markets, it's the opposite — summer is high season and winter is dead.

Charge accordingly. Premium during your high season. Modest discount during low season to keep cash flow steady. Don't lock yourself into one annual rate.

2. Discounting for "first-time customers"

"$50 off your first wash!" — this attracts the worst customers. They're shopping price, not relationship. They'll leave you the moment a competitor offers $60 off. You're starting your relationship at a loss.

Better strategy: charge full price, deliver outstanding work, ask for the review. Premium customers don't need a discount to try you. They need confidence.

3. Not having a minimum charge

"Just my front porch — like 50 square feet — what would you charge?" If your minimum isn't $150-200, you're losing money on small jobs. Drive time, setup, breakdown, and admin make tiny jobs disproportionately expensive.

Set a minimum. Tell customers upfront. The ones who balk weren't going to be profitable anyway.

4. Not pricing in your post-job follow-up

Building a referral and review pipeline takes work. Following up with happy customers, asking for reviews, sending occasional service reminders — that's marketing labor. It's not free. Build it into your pricing.

How this connects to performance and crew tracking

Pricing right is only half the equation. The other half is making sure your crew is delivering the value you're charging for. A $450 house wash isn't worth $450 if your tech rushed through it and left half the algae behind.

This is where tracking job-level performance matters. If you're charging premium prices, you need premium quality. Your A players deliver it consistently. Your C players don't — and a few callbacks per month from C-player work erodes the entire margin you built into the pricing.

I wrote a longer post on tracking field service performance without becoming a micromanager: How to Track Field Service Crew Performance Without Micromanaging. It's worth a read if you want to make sure your premium pricing is actually being delivered.

The bottom line

Pressure washing has more pricing flexibility than most home service trades. The work has visible outcomes (the customer can see the difference), customers tend to be reasonably affluent (they own a home and care about its appearance), and the cost of materials is low (most jobs are 70%+ profit at the right price).

Don't compete on being the cheapest. Compete on being the contractor who shows up when promised, does premium work with premium chemistry, and stands behind the result. That's worth $100-200 more per job to the right customer — and the right customer is the one you actually want.

If you've read this far and you're charging less than the rates above, your prices are probably wrong. Start with your next quote. Add 15-20% to whatever number you were going to give them. Watch what happens. Most owners who try this discover they were underpriced for years and never knew it.

For the universal pricing principles that apply across home service trades, see How to Price Field Service Jobs in 2026.