Painting Cost Guide 2026: Interior, Exterior and Deck Prices, Compared
Seven painting projects, one dataset. Every price on this page comes from the HouseholdDecors 2026 Cost Index, our verified database of published national cost bands. Interior painting plans at $2 to $6 per square foot of paintable area, on a $2.75 walls-only anchor or a $4.70 full-scope anchor, and across the 3 painting records priced as whole jobs the median typical cost is $850. Start with the comparison, use the decision framework to fix your scope, then price the job with the calculators.
What painting costs in 2026
Interior painting runs $2 to $6 per square foot of paintable area. That rate is measured on the wall surface being painted, not on floor area, which is why our 2,000 square foot worked example lands at $4,000 to $12,000 per project, typical $8,000 for walls only. Inside that band, scope is the lever: plan on the $2.75 per square foot anchor for walls alone, or $4.70 when trim and ceilings are painted too. Single rooms price differently again: a bedroom runs $240 to $1,240 per room, typical $600, and ceilings run $1 to $3 per square foot, typical $2, or $150 to $350 for a single-room ceiling project.
Outside, an exterior repaint runs $1.50 to $4 per square foot of paintable exterior surface, typical $2.75, and the measurement basis changes with it: exterior bands are priced on the outside wall surface, with power washing, scraping, patching, caulking and priming inside the scope. For the deck, staining a typical 300 to 400 square foot deck runs $100 to $1,465 per project, typical $850, while the restaining tier of deck refinishing runs $2 to $4 per square foot when the boards underneath are still sound.
$850 per job
Median of the typical costs across the 3 painting records in the 2026 Cost Index priced as whole jobs (per room or per project).
$2.75 / $4.70 per sq ft
Plan interior walls on $2.75 per square foot for walls only, or $4.70 when trim and ceilings are in scope, inside the $2 to $6 planning range.
$4,000 to $12,000 per project
A whole 2,000 square foot house interior, walls only, is the biggest standard ticket in the painting category, typical $8,000.
Painting projects compared
Bands from the 2026 Cost Index, each quoted in the unit its record uses, with the job each project type is actually best at. The units differ on purpose: rooms and decks price as whole jobs, walls and ceilings price by the square foot.
| Project type | Typical cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Interior painting, whole home | $2 to $6 per sq ft of paintable area | A full interior refresh. Price it on paintable wall area, not floor area, and fix the scope first: the planning anchor is $2.75 per square foot for walls only and $4.70 when trim and ceilings join the job. |
| 2,000 sq ft house interior | $4,000 to $12,000 per project | Whole-house budgeting before you collect quotes: the Index interior rate applied to a standard 2,000 square foot paintable area, walls only, typical $8,000. |
| Bedroom painting | $240 to $1,240 per room | Single-room refreshes, rentals and guest rooms, priced per room at a typical $600 with paint and materials included. |
| Ceiling painting | $1 to $3 per sq ft | Ceilings only, at a typical $2 per square foot. A single-room ceiling project runs $150 to $350; vaulted or hard-to-reach ceilings run higher in the guide's splits. |
| Exterior house painting | $1.50 to $4 per sq ft of paintable surface | A full exterior repaint, typical $2.75 per square foot, with the prep that decides how long it lasts: washing, scraping, patching, caulking and priming are in scope. |
| Deck staining | $100 to $1,465 per project | A sound deck that needs color and protection, priced per project for a typical 300 to 400 square foot deck, typical $850, prep included. |
| Deck refinishing (restain tier) | $2 to $4 per sq ft | Decks whose finish has failed but whose boards are still sound. This is the first tier to price before resurfacing or rebuilding, which carry no verified national band. |
Resurfacing a deck or rebuilding it does not appear in this table because our sources publish no verified national range for either; the deck refinishing comparison guide says so explicitly and prices the tier that can be priced.
Which painting scope should you price?
Four decisions move a painting quote more than the paint brand does.
1. Interior or exterior?
The two jobs share a name and almost nothing else. Interior bands ($2 to $6 per square foot) are measured on paintable wall area inside the house. Exterior bands ($1.50 to $4 per square foot) are measured on paintable exterior surface, and the scope carries the weather work: power washing, scraping, patching, caulking and priming before any coat goes on. Neither rate is priced on floor area, and mixing the bases up is the most common reason a quote looks wrong. Price each side of the walls with its own calculator below.
2. Walls only, or walls plus trim and ceilings?
This is the scope decision inside every interior quote. Our method plans walls alone on a $2.75 per square foot anchor and the full scope, walls plus trim plus ceilings, on $4.70. On 2,000 square feet of paintable area those anchors work out near $5,500 walls only and $9,400 full scope (derived by simple multiplication of the anchors, not quoted project prices). Decide the scope before comparing quotes, because two painters pricing different scopes are not pricing the same job. The interior painting guide walks the scope line by line.
3. Do it yourself, or hire a pro?
Labor is most of a professional painting bill: the published labor context in our guides puts labor at 70% to 95% of a room painting cost, with the paint itself at $15 to $40 per gallon and primer at $10 per gallon. Doing it yourself removes the labor share and keeps the materials, so the saving is real on simple interior rooms. It shrinks fast where the pro price is buying something else: exterior prep at height, ceiling work, and the surface preparation that decides whether any coat lasts. Our bedroom painting guide and exterior painting guide carry the labor splits for their scopes, so you can see exactly which part of each quote is labor before deciding.
4. Deck faded, or deck failing?
If the boards are sound and only the finish has gone, staining ($100 to $1,465 per project, typical $850) or the restaining tier ($2 to $4 per square foot) restores color and protection for the smallest ticket in this category. Resurfacing and rebuilding answer a different problem, failed boards and frame, and our sources publish no verified national range for either, so that decision runs on the condition checks in the deck comparison guide and on local quotes, not on a national band.
Price the job with the painting calculators
Enter the area and the scope, and each calculator returns a planning range from the same verified Index bands used on this page. Use the interior calculator for rooms and whole-house interiors, and the exterior calculator for the outside of the house.
Painting projects, grouped
All 7 painting guides in the Index, organised by where the paint actually goes.
Interior
Walls, ceilings and single rooms inside the house, all planned on paintable area rather than floor area.
- How Much Does Interior Painting Cost in 2026?: The core record: $2 to $6 per square foot of paintable area, planned on the $2.75 walls-only anchor or $4.70 when trim and ceilings are in scope.
- Cost to Paint a 2000 Sq Ft House Interior: The worked whole-house example: $4,000 to $12,000 for 2,000 square feet of paintable area, walls only, typical $8,000.
- Bedroom Painting Cost Guide: $240 to $1,240 per room, typical $600, with paint and materials included in the professional price.
- Ceiling Painting Cost: $1 to $3 per square foot, typical $2; a single-room ceiling project runs $150 to $350.
Exterior and wood
The outside of the house and the deck, where prep work and weather decide the price as much as paint does.
- How Much Does It Cost to Paint a House Exterior in 2026?: $1.50 to $4 per square foot of paintable exterior surface, typical $2.75, with power washing, scraping, patching, caulking and priming in scope.
- How Much Does It Cost to Stain a Deck in 2026?: $100 to $1,465 for a typical 300 to 400 square foot deck, typical $850, prep included.
- Deck Refinishing vs Resurfacing vs Replacing Cost Guide: Restaining runs $2 to $4 per square foot when the boards are sound; the guide states plainly that resurfacing and full rebuild have no verified national band, and walks the condition checks that decide between them.
The data behind this page
All figures on this page come from the HouseholdDecors 2026 Cost Index, a verified dataset of published national cost bands, each one traced to cited sources and reviewed before inclusion. The painting records were last reviewed 2026-10-10. See where painting sits against every other project in the 33 projects ranked by installed cost, read the Cost Index methodology, or download the source CSV and check every number yourself. If you cite this data, cite it as: HouseholdDecors, 2026 Cost Index.
Limitations: these are national planning bands, not contractor quotes. Local labor rates, paint grades, surface condition and the scope you choose move final prices, sometimes well outside the typical point. Interior and exterior bands also use different measurement bases (paintable wall area versus paintable exterior surface), so compare each against its own project type. Use the bands to plan and to sanity-check quotes, not to replace them.
All painting guides
Ceiling Painting Cost
Painting a ceiling costs $1 to $3 per square foot ($2 typical); a painter charges $150 to $350 for one room ceiling. Bundling ceilings with walls and trim is the cheapest way to get them done.
$1.00 to $3.00 per square foot
Reviewed 2026-10-10 · 11 sources cited
Deck Refinishing vs Resurfacing vs Replacing Cost Guide
Restaining a deck costs $2 to $4 per square foot professionally, about $850 for a typical 300 to 400 sq ft deck. Resurfacing and full rebuilds are carpentry work with no verified national ranges, so get local quotes for those tiers.
$2.00 to $4.00 per square foot
Reviewed 2026-10-06 · 8 sources cited
Cost to Paint a 2000 Sq Ft House Interior
Professionally painting a 2,000 sq ft house interior costs $4,000 to $12,000, based on the published $2 to $6 per square foot rate. Painters price by paintable wall area, not floor area, so measure your walls and treat this as your starting frame.
$4,000.00 to $12,000.00 per project
Reviewed 2026-10-06 · 11 sources cited
How Much Does It Cost to Stain a Deck in 2026?
How much does it cost to stain a deck? $100 to $1,465 professionally in 2026 (an $850 average), or $2 to $4 per square foot. Fixr's published typical for a 14 by 18 foot deck is $750 including cleaning, minor repairs, staining, and sealing.
$100.00 to $1,465.00 per project
Reviewed 2026-10-22 · 8 sources cited
Bedroom Painting Cost Guide
A source-backed national planning guide for painting a bedroom: $240 to $1,240 per room professionally, with room-size tables, labor and material context, ceiling and trim add-ons, and cited sources.
$240.00 to $1,240.00 per room
Reviewed 2026-09-30 · 11 sources cited
How Much Does It Cost to Paint a House Exterior in 2026?
How much does it cost to paint a stucco house? $4,500 on average in 2026 (HomeAdvisor), most projects $3,600 to $7,200. The national exterior planning band is $1.50 to $4.00 per square foot of paintable surface, with siding, prep, and home-size factors, all source-backed.
$1.50 to $4.00 per sq ft of paintable exterior surface area
Reviewed 2026-10-22 · 8 sources cited
How Much Does Interior Painting Cost in 2026?
Interior painting runs $2 to $6 per square foot of paintable wall area in 2026, about $2.75 for walls only and $4.70 with trim and ceilings. Room-by-room planning ranges, prep costs, and the method behind the numbers.
$2.00 to $6.00 per sq-ft
Reviewed 2026-10-22 · 11 sources cited