How Much Does It Cost to Paint a Room? [2024 Data] | Angi (2024)

Factors Affecting the Cost to Paint a Room

For most homeowners, painting the interior of a home costs anywhere from $950 to $3,000, but a single room is generally much more affordable. It depends on factors like the size of the room to the quality and type of paint. Even something as seemingly inconsequential as a finish can add a few extra bucks to the budget. Here’s how the costs breakdown.

Size of the Room

Professional interior paint jobs are typically priced at $2 to $6 per square foot. The larger the room, the higher the cost—especially if you have tall ceilings that are difficult to reach. Bathrooms are usually the smallest room in the house and the least expensive to paint, while painting living rooms are usually the largest and more costly.

Height of Room

Another cost factor to consider when painting a room is its ceiling height. If you have high or difficult-to-reach ceilings, you can expect to pay an additional fee for labor and materials, due to the increased workload. Painting a ceiling typically costs an extra $1 to $2.50 per square foot, depending on the ceiling type and the painter’s rates.

Baseboard and Trim

Want to refresh your trim and baseboard paint? Giving home accents like trim, baseboards, crown molding, and windows a fresh coat of paint will cost about $1 to $3 per linear foot. Keep in mind that professional painters may charge extra for hard-to-reach accents, up to $6 per linear foot.

Room Type

The price of your painting project depends on the type of room in question. Check out the average cost range of painting everything from a bedroom to a stairway.

Paint Type and Finishes

Paint costs are dependent on brand, makeup, and finish. On average, you’ll pay $15 to $60 per gallon—and each gallon covers around 350 square feet. You can get a budget-friendly option from a big box retailer for as little as $10 per gallon or spend more than $100 per gallon on a designer brand or rare pigment.

Overall, oil-based paints cost slightly more than latex-based paints (though latex is by far the most popular for indoor use). On top of that, you’ll pay more the glossier the finish gets.

Location

It’s no secret that the cost to paint a room varies depending on where you live. If you live in an area with a higher cost of living, such as New York City, you will most likely pay more for room-painting services than if you lived in a lower-cost area, such as Columbus, Ohio.

Let’s look at a few examples. If you need to paint a room in Los Angeles, it will likely cost $1,300 to $3,700, whereas the cost to paint a room in Fargo, North Dakota is much lower, ranging from $640 to $2,100. However, it’s important to keep in mind that these are price estimates based on location, so it’s essential to get multiple quotes from painters in your area to determine an accurate price range.

Labor

If you decide to pay a house painter to paint your room, you’ll wind up spending $20 to $50 per hour. This is generally quoted as a per square foot price. You’ll typically spend less on a handyperson than you will a pro painter.

Additional Costs to Consider When Painting a Room

A typical paint job may come with a few extra costs. It’s not uncommon for homeowners to need minor repairs to walls or to choose an add-on, like texture. Here are some potential costs you may need to work into your budget.

Moving Furniture

You may need to move furniture out of the room you want to paint. In this case, your contractor will spend some extra time on prep, so it can slightly increase costs. If you have oversized furniture (think: a grand piano or grandfather clock), it might take an additional worker to move. Expect to spend $25 to $50 per hour on additional labor (though the cost will likely be wrapped into your per-square-foot estimate).

Accent or Textured Walls

Wall texture can transform the feeling of a room—whether it’s a combed texture, sand swirl, or orange peel. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, though some homeowners love it. Expect to spend a couple of dollars extra per square foot if you want to add or remove wall texture before the painting process:

• The cost of texturing your walls is $1 to $3 per square foot.

• The cost of skim coating drywall to remove texture is $1.10 to $1.30 per square foot.

Wall Repairs

You may need to repair your walls before you can paint them. The typical cost of drywall repair is between $300 and $900, but the average homeowner pays around $600. Alternatively, you can do small repairs DIY with a $10 to $30 drywall repair kit.

Time of Year

Fall and winter are typically the slowest months for painting companies because there aren’t as many exterior paint jobs. You can likely save some money by booking your contractor for an interior paint job during their off-season.

Lead or Asbestos Testing

Lead paint and asbestos were commonly used in homes built before 1980—and they require special care to remove. If testing finds lead or asbestos, you’ll spend even more on abatement. If your contractor needs to remove paint or alter the drywall, you might need to first test it for lead or asbestos:

• A lead inspection costs $200 to $400, though a lead risk assessment can cost up to $2,000.

• An asbestos survey costs $200 to $1,200.

How to Calculate the Cost to Paint a Room

You’re ready to breathe new life into your room—the next step is figuring out how to calculate the cost to paint a house interior.

1. To start, you need to use a tape measure and write down the length of all four sides of the room.

2. Then, measure the height of the walls from the floor to the ceiling.

3. Next, add up the lengths of the room, and multiply it by the height. That gives you the total square footage you need to paint.

4. On average, one gallon of paint can cover 350 square feet. So divide the total square footage of your room by 350 to find out how many gallons of paint you need for one coat.

5. In most cases, you’ll apply two coats of paint, so multiply that number by two.

If you’re planning on hiring a pro to do the job, expect to pay $20 to $50 per hour for labor. Some painters will quote you by the square footage, so doing this math can help you get the most accurate quote.

How Much Does It Cost to Paint a Room Myself?

Photo: FollowTheFlow / Adobe Stock

Here's the million-dollar—or hundred-dollar—question: can you paint a room yourself? In most cases, yes, you can paint your own room with a fair amount of time and patience. Just make sure you paint the walls, ceiling, and trim in the right order.

However, we'd leave this to the pros if your ceilings are particularly high, if you have sloped walls, or if you're renting. It's easy to drip paint on wooden floors and carpets, which can be a costly hassle to clean up.

Here's what you can expect from painting a bedroom yourself:

• Paint: $20–$100

• Paint supplies: Up to $100

• Ladder: $60–$200

• Paint brushes: $3–$20 each

• Paint roller: $10–$100 each

• Paint tray: $2–$5 each

• Drop cloth: $5–$30 each

• Painter’s tape: $3–$10 per roll

The highest cost of painting a room yourself isn’t in cash, but in time. While the room-painting process should take between four and six hours, be sure to add in the time to buy paint and supplies, move furniture, prep your room, and wait for the proper time between layers.

DIY vs. Hiring a Pro

With an average cost of $1,100 to paint a room, it’s tempting to DIY the project to save money, especially if you already have the materials on hand. However, as much money as you can save by painting your own home, without the skills and experience, you’ll spend more time doing it than a professional. A seasoned DIYer can paint a single room over the weekend without too much trouble, but large rooms with high ceilings or multiple rooms in a house might make it worth the cost to hire a local painter.

How to Save Money Painting a Room

Want to tighten your budget and cut on the cost to paint rooms? Saving on a painting job doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to roll up your sleeves and do it yourself—though if you’ve got a passion for DIY projects, go for it! Here are some ways you can shed a few dollars off your total painting costs.

• Skip the trim refresh: If the paint on your trim, baseboards, and ceiling are in good condition and you simply want to switch up the look of your room, only paint the walls. This exclusion will slash the price of the job in half.

• Purchase paint through your pro painter: If you’re using a contractor to paint your home, let them purchase the paint. Contractors can typically buy paint for around 50% less than a homeowner. The total cost should be what you expect from your painting estimate.

• Skip the designer materials: Like clothes, designer paints cost a lot more than your average can—but you’re paying for quality and vibrancy. These paints typically use natural coloring agents that look more vibrant than synthetic pigments. Nonetheless, you can still get some great colors by choosing a high-quality paint without the luxury label.

Mariel Loveland and Sara Coleman contributed to this piece.