Move Out Cleaning Cost Calculator
Estimate a move-out clean for your apartment or house, including the inside of appliances and cabinets.
| Home | Sq ft | Hours | Our estimate (US average) | Thumbtack US range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 bed | 750 | 4 | $150 – $195 | — |
| 2 bed | 1,000 | 4.75 | $175 – $225 | — |
| 3 bed | 1,600 | 6.5 | $240 – $315 | — |
| 4 bed | 2,400 | 8.25 | $300 – $395 | — |
| 5 bed | 3,200 | 10 | $360 – $470 | — |
| 6 bed | 4,000 | 12 | $440 – $570 | — |
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The move out cleaning cost calculator estimates what a move-out clean of your home will cost. It shows a price range based on home size, bedrooms, bathrooms, condition and optional extras. The page opens set to Move-out with the oven, fridge and cabinets already ticked, so you can change any detail and see a new range right away. The tool is free, runs in your browser, and needs no account or sign-up.
Use it to plan a budget before you book, to check a quote against a rough benchmark, or to estimate move in and move out cleaning when you are planning both ends of a lease. The result is an estimate based on average rates, not a quote from a local company, so compare it with written quotes before you choose a cleaner.
How to use the Move-Out Cleaning Cost Calculator
- Enter the Home size in square feet.
- Set Bedrooms, Full bathrooms and Half bathrooms.
- Check Cleaning type. It opens on Move-out. Change it only if you want to compare Standard or Deep.
- Set Condition to Light, Average or Heavy. Choose the option that matches how dirty you expect the home to be.
- Set Cleaners to the number of people who will work on the job. More cleaners do not change the price, but they shorten the visit.
- Choose your State from the menu. Pick “US average” if you are not sure.
- Tick Pets in the home if pets live or stay in the home. This adds 10% to the time.
- Review the Extras. Inside oven, Inside fridge and Inside cabinets are already ticked. Add Interior windows, Wipe walls, Baseboards, Laundry or Garage sweep if you need them.
- Read the Estimated price box for the price range, cleaner-hours and time on site.
- Scroll down to the receipt to see how the hours were calculated, and to the table to compare your estimate with the national range for your bedroom count.
The receipt is the place to check each part of the total.
The Print button prints the result. The Copy link button shares or bookmarks the exact estimate, because your settings are stored in the page address.
How much does a move-out cleaning cost?
A move-out clean for a 1,000 sq ft, 2-bedroom, 1-bath home with the oven, fridge and cabinets included is estimated at $255 to $335 at the US average rate. The same job comes to 7.00 cleaner-hours. Thumbtack’s national range for move-out cleaning is $200 to $286, so the estimate sits above that range because the extras are added on top.
The price is cleaner-hours multiplied by a company rate of $36 to $48 per cleaner-hour. The state menu adjusts that rate using the state’s median cleaner wage.
What does a move-out clean include?
A move-out clean is a full clean of the inside of a home, done so the place is empty and ready for inspection. The tool treats it as the most time-consuming of its three cleaning types, at 1.40 times the time of a standard clean. Extras sit on top of that base time, each with a fixed number of hours. Inside oven adds 0.75 hours, Inside fridge adds 0.5 hours and Inside cabinets adds 1 hour. Interior windows and Wipe walls add 1 hour each, Baseboards and Laundry add 0.5 hours each, and Garage sweep adds 1 hour.
Is move-out cleaning worth it to get my deposit back?
It can be, when a cleaning charge taken from your deposit would cost more than hiring a cleaner. Under many state laws, a landlord can use a deposit to cover cleaning beyond normal wear and tear. Compare the estimate of $255 to $335 with any deduction the landlord lists. Check your lease and your state rules before you decide. This is general information, not legal advice.
Who pays for move-out cleaning, tenant or landlord?
It depends on the lease. Some leases require the tenant to return the unit clean, while others leave cleaning to the landlord. Read the cleaning and condition sections of your lease, and check your state rules as well. The calculator does not decide who pays. It only estimates what the clean would cost, so you can plan for either outcome.
How long does a move-out clean take?
The tool estimates time in cleaner-hours and time on site. A standard clean is built from 1.5 hours per visit, plus 0.0008 hours per sq ft, 0.25 hours per bedroom, 0.6 hours per full bath and 0.3 hours per half bath. A move-out clean multiplies that base by 1.40, and the extras add their hours after that. Dividing the cleaner-hours by the number of cleaners gives the time on site. For the 7.00 cleaner-hour example, two cleaners would work for about 3.5 hours on site.
Frequently asked questions
Does the state I live in change the move-out cleaning cost?
Yes. The State menu scales the estimate by the state’s median cleaner wage, relative to the national median of $17.07 per hour. California’s median is $20.51 and Texas’s is $14.26, so the same home gets a higher estimate in California. Mississippi, at $12.19, has the lowest median. The result is still an estimate, not a local quote.
How does the condition setting change the price?
Condition adjusts the total time. Light takes 10% off the base time, and heavy adds 25%. Choose the option that matches what you expect to find, and check the receipt to see the effect on the hours.
Why is my quote from a cleaning company different from the estimate?
The calculator uses the US average company rate of $36 to $48 per cleaner-hour. Each company sets its own prices based on its costs, travel, supplies and local demand. Use the estimate as a benchmark, and compare it with several written quotes that list what is included.
Should I keep the oven, fridge and cabinets ticked?
They are ticked when the page opens because many move-out cleans include them. Keep them ticked if your landlord or lease expects the inside of the appliances and cabinets to be cleaned. Untick them to see the estimate without those extras, then tick them again to compare the two totals.
Can I send my estimate to someone else?
Yes. Click Copy link to copy the address of the page with your exact settings. Anyone who opens that link will see the same estimate.
Related tools
- House cleaning cost calculator: Use it for a general estimate of regular house cleaning when you are not planning a move-out.
- Deep cleaning cost: Use it when you want a thorough clean that goes beyond a standard visit.
- Carpet cleaning cost: Use it to budget for carpet cleaning separately from the rest of the home.
- Window cleaning cost: Use it to estimate the cost of cleaning windows inside and out.
- Cleaning estimate template: Use it to set up a written estimate you can fill in for a client or a job.
- House cleaning rates per hour: Use it to compare hourly rates for house cleaning across services.