Typical prices for carpet cleaning
These are consumer-facing figures from 2026 cost guides, not rules. They show where the market sits so you can tell whether your price is far above or below it.
| What is priced | Published 2026 range |
|---|---|
| Per room (Angi) | $40 – $180 for one room up to 200 sq ft; most pay $123 – $242 overall |
| Per room (Housecall Pro) | $40 – $125 |
| Per square foot (Angi / HomeGuide / Housecall Pro) | $0.20 – $0.90 / $0.25 – $0.50 / $0.20 – $0.40 |
| Steam cleaning, per room (Angi) | $40 – $90 |
| Dry cleaning, per room (Angi) | $60 – $130 |
| Shampooing, per room (Angi) | $80 – $150 |
| Bonnet cleaning, per room (Angi) | $30 – $90 |
| Whole house, 1,000 – 1,500 sq ft (Angi) | $200 – $1,350 |
| Small home, 2–3 rooms / medium, 4–6 rooms (Housecall Pro) | $160 – $200 / $230 – $345 |
| Minimum service charge (Angi / Housecall Pro) | $75 – $125; up to $250 on small jobs |
| Hourly labor (Angi) | $25 – $65 |
| Stairs (HomeGuide / Angi) | $2 – $5 per step, $45 – $65 per staircase |
| Stain removal (Angi / Housecall Pro) | $40 – $300 depending on severity |
| Odor removal and deodorizing (Angi) | $20 – $40 per room |
| Protectant treatment (Angi) | $10 – $40 per room |
| Moving furniture (HomeGuide) | $25 – $75 per room |
| Area rugs (Housecall Pro) | $2 – $8 per sq ft, depending on material |
| Same-day service (Housecall Pro) | $50 – $100 extra |
| Recurring contract (Housecall Pro) | about 18% less per visit than one-time |
The sources overlap but do not match. Angi's per-room average is far wider than the per-room method prices, because it includes bigger rooms and specialty carpets (wool $100 – $400 per room in Angi's table). Compare several sources and your local competitors.
Per room, per square foot, or whole home
- Per room. Fast to quote on the phone and the usual choice for homes. Say how large a room can be (the sources use roughly 200 to 250 sq ft) and whether closets, hallways and stairs count as rooms.
- Per square foot. Better for open floor plans, oversized rooms and offices. Housecall Pro's example of a 2,000 sq ft quarterly contract uses $0.22 one-time and $0.18 recurring.
- Whole-home package. A bundle of rooms at a lower per-room price. Angi lists $200 to $1,350 for small to medium homes.
What moves the price
- Method. Bonnet and steam are the cheapest per room; dry cleaning, shampooing and encapsulation cost more.
- Carpet material. Angi lists nylon at $60 to $300 per room and wool at $100 to $400.
- Soil level, pets and stains. Traffic lanes and pet accidents need pre-treatment and sometimes a second pass.
- Access. Stairs, furniture that has to be moved and long carries add labor.
- Job size. Small jobs fall under the minimum charge. Bigger jobs often get a lower rate per square foot.
- Market. Urban and high-cost areas run higher.
Check the price against your costs
Estimate on-site time plus drive and setup time, multiply by your hourly cost, then add solution, fuel, equipment wear, insurance and overhead. Setup and drive time are the same for one room or five, which is why a minimum charge exists. See how to calculate labor cost and your overhead rate, and use the hourly rate calculator to find your floor.
A worked quote
A steam cleaning job for four bedrooms and a staircase, using example rates (yours will differ). Rooms at $50 each is 4 × $50 = $200.00. Stairs of 13 steps at $3 is 13 × $3 = $39.00. Pet odor treatment in one room at $30 is $30.00.
| Steam cleaning, 4 rooms × $50 | $200.00 |
| Stairs, 13 steps × $3 | $39.00 |
| Pet odor treatment, 1 room × $30 | $30.00 |
| Total | $269.00 |
|---|
Check it against the market: $50 per room sits inside Angi's $40 to $90 steam range, $3 per step sits inside the $2 to $5 range, $30 sits inside the $20 to $40 odor range, and the total is above the $75 to $125 minimum charge. Housecall Pro's own example is similar: 5 rooms at $55 plus pet odor in 2 rooms at $30 comes to $335. These figures are examples, not recommended prices.
Common mistakes
- Skipping a minimum charge, so a one-room job loses money after drive and setup time.
- Not defining what counts as a room, then arguing over a 400 sq ft living room.
- Giving stairs, stain treatment and furniture moving away instead of listing them.
- Skipping a written estimate. Read how to write a contractor estimate for what to include.
Turn the numbers into a quote
Build the quote with the free estimate and invoice maker: list rooms, stairs and treatments as separate lines and save a PDF. No sign-up.
Sources
- Angi, How Much Does Carpet Cleaning Cost? [2026 Data] (angi.com).
- Housecall Pro, Carpet Cleaning Price Guide 2026 (housecallpro.com).
- HomeGuide carpet cleaning cost data (homeguide.com), read via the summary at cleaning.twupro.com and Bella FSM, not directly.
Prices are published averages read in October 2026 and vary by region. For planning only. This is not accounting, tax or legal advice.