Pressure Washing Prices: What to Charge (Driveways, Houses & Decks)

Pressure washing is one of the easiest trades to start and one of the easiest to underprice. The equipment is cheap, the barrier to entry is low, and there’s always someone on Facebook offering to do a driveway for $50. If you want to build a business instead of a hobby, you have to price off your costs and your results — not off the cheapest person in the comments. Here’s what to charge in 2026, by surface and by job.

Three ways to price a pressure washing job

• Per square foot — the most common method for flat surfaces like driveways, patios, and house siding. Easy to quote from a measurement or a satellite estimate.
• Per job (flat rate) — a single price for a defined scope (“driveway and front walk, $180”). Customers love the certainty, and it hides your hourly rate on fast jobs.
• Per hour — useful for messy, unpredictable work (heavy mildew, oil stains, commercial) where you can’t know the time until you start. Most pros use this as a floor, not the headline number.

Most one-person and small crews quote per square foot to themselves to size the job, then present a flat per-job price to the customer. You get accurate pricing; they get a clean number.

Pressure washing prices by surface (2026)

Typical U.S. residential ranges. Soft washing (low pressure plus detergent, used on roofs and delicate siding) sits at the higher end because of the chemicals and the care involved.

What raises (and lowers) the price

The square-foot number is a starting point. Adjust up or down for:

• Soil level — heavy mildew, algae, oil stains, or rust take chemicals and dwell time. A neglected driveway can take twice as long as a lightly dirty one.
• Surface type — delicate surfaces that need soft washing cost more than concrete you can blast.
• Access — second stories, long hose runs from the water source, gated backyards, and tight spaces all add time.
• Water and waste rules — some jobs require reclaiming runoff (especially commercial). If you have to recover water, price it in.
• Repeat / recurring work — it’s fair to discount a quarterly commercial account; the predictable schedule is worth real money to you.

Don’t price to win every job

The race to the bottom is the single biggest trap in this trade. If you’re winning every single quote, you’re too cheap — you’ve become the low-price option and you’ll attract the lowest-value, highest-hassle customers. A healthy close rate for pressure washing is roughly 40–60%. Losing some jobs on price means your pricing is doing its job: filtering for customers who value clean results over the cheapest hose in town.

Compete on professionalism instead — before-and-after photos, a tidy quote, on-time arrival, and an easy way to pay. Those win the customers worth keeping, and they don’t require you to work for $40 an hour.

A simple pricing worked example

A 600 sq ft concrete driveway with moderate algae:

Notice the customer never sees the per-foot math — they see one confident number. The breakdown is for you, so you know the job clears your minimum and carries its margin.

FAQ

How much should I charge to pressure wash a driveway?

Most residential driveways land between $130 and $300, or about $0.15–$0.35 per square foot. A standard two-car driveway (roughly 600–900 sq ft) with normal grime usually falls in the $150–$250 range. Heavy oil staining or algae pushes it higher.

How much should I charge to wash a house?

Whole-house soft washing typically runs $250 to $600 for a single-story to two-story home, depending on square footage, siding type, and how much mildew is present. Two-story homes cost more because of the access and the time.

Should I charge per square foot or a flat rate?

Use per square foot to size the job accurately, then quote the customer a flat per-job price. Flat pricing is easier to say yes to, removes any “the meter’s running” worry, and lets you keep the upside on jobs that go faster than expected.

What’s a good profit margin for pressure washing?

After fuel, chemicals, equipment wear, and your time, healthy net margins in pressure washing run 30–50% once you’re pricing off costs rather than competitors. If you’re below that, you’re either too cheap or skipping the job minimum.

Should I offer recurring or seasonal cleaning?

Yes — recurring work is where this business gets stable. Quarterly commercial accounts, annual house washes, and seasonal patio cleanings give you predictable revenue and let you fill slow weeks. A modest discount for a signed recurring schedule is almost always worth it.