How Much Does It Cost to Paint the Interior of a House? [2024 Data]

Cost Factors

There are a few key factors to consider if you want to get the most accurate estimate for painting the interior of your home.

Type of Room

You can determine the estimated cost to paint a room by measuring the square footage of each room. However, remember that this per-room painting cost can change based on the presence of obstacles, such as sinks, toilets, and closets. Your pro will need to avoid these obstacles with their paint roller, which can drive up labor costs.

Type of Surface 

There are varying painting costs associated with different surfaces. Whether you're planning to refresh your walls, revive your ceilings, or give your trim a new lease on life, knowing the average expenses per surface type can help you budget effectively.

Paint Type

While browsing the paint aisle or speaking with your pro, you’ll probably notice that paint costs about $15 to $40 per gallon, depending on the brand and paint finish. If you have your heart set on a specific brand name or type of paint, it can raise the price pretty quickly. Long-lasting paint, high-gloss paint, and stain-blocking or mold-resistant paint will usually cost more and can push up your material costs.

The average home needs about 6 gallons of paint per coat, excluding primer, so keep that in mind before filling up your cart.

Ceiling Height

Another important thing to consider is your ceiling height. Walls under standard 8-foot ceilings will be the most affordable to paint. Taller walls, especially those under cathedral ceilings, will often require scaffolding and additional safety equipment to paint. These can drive up your labor costs even beyond what the additional coverage will add.

Cost to Paint the Interior of a House by Square Foot

Across the country, the average cost to paint the interior of a house is $2.75 per square foot. If you include walls, trim, and ceilings, the cost per square foot is $4.70. To get the most accurate quote, have your square footage ready when speaking with a pro. For reference, an average room is 10-by-12 feet.

If you’re embarking on a whole-house interior painting project, check out the cost to paint a home interior by square footage, ranging from $2 to $6 per square foot:

Additional Factors Affecting the Cost of Interior Painting  

There are some other factors to consider while budgeting for your painting project. For example, you may need to remove existing wallpaper or repair walls. Here are some additional cost factors to keep in mind. 

Labor

Professional painters include the cost of labor in the total estimate, which often accounts for between 75% and 95% of the total cost. While there’s no substitute for a professional paint job, you can cut down on labor costs by patching and prepping your walls so they’re ready for painting when the pros arrive.

Site Prep 

If a wall requires sanding and patching (perhaps you recently had a DIY mishap while trying to mount your TV), the cost for wall prep is between $0.50 and $0.75 per square foot. This prep work is vital for a smooth finish on your wall so a pro can apply paint flawlessly. 

Some paint contractors bundle the prep work into their hourly or per-square-foot charges. If a room requires drywall fixes before the paint can glide on, drywall repair costs can add an average of $600 to your budget, depending on the severity.

Materials

Aside from purchasing the paint for each room, if you plan on tackling this project yourself, you’ll need paintbrushes and rollers, paint pans, painter's tape, and drop cloths. The cost of these materials will add an average of $200 to $300 to your budget. Depending on the room you’re tackling, you may also need a ladder and a paint sprayer.

If you hire a painting company, they may roll this into your per-square-foot fee or add an equipment fee that tends to be smaller than if you bought these materials yourself.

Priming

You may need to use a primer prior to painting your walls, especially if you’re painting over a dark shade with a light shade. Paint primer helps the paint adhere more effectively, resulting in longer-lasting paint jobs and reducing how often you need to paint your home. Primer costs around $10 per quart and covers around 100 square feet with a single coat. Depending on your walls, you might need multiple coats of primer.

Wall Repairs

If your walls are a bit worse for wear, you may need to do some repairs to provide a clean slate for painting. Scratches, dents, and water stains are common issues you can tackle with spackle and a putty knife. Again, taking on this task yourself can save money over having your painter do the work.

Accent Walls

The rule when adding an accent wall is to increase the budget for the room by 20% to 30% to cover the cost of additional paint and materials. Choosing to add an accent wall will also require additional taping and drying time, so the cost to paint an accent wall will sit higher than a wall that will match the others in your home.

Textured Walls

Adding textured walls to create a richer look can hide paint flaws and add some depth to your space, but prepare to increase your painting budget by up to 50% for this premium technique. Textured walls can require double the amount of paint as a smooth wall. Before hiring a professional painter, ensure that they offer this specialized service.

Wallpaper Removal

Removing wallpaper costs around $3 per square foot. In a 12-by-12-foot room, expect to pay about $535 to tear down wallpaper.

Popcorn Ceiling Removal

Expect to pay between $1 and $2 per square foot to de-pop a popcorn ceiling. Once your professional removes your popcorn ceiling, extra costs for texture, painting, or other refinishing options will add to the final total. Contact a popcorn ceiling removal pro near you for assistance. 

Unique Architectural Features

If the interior of your home features unique architectural designs such as archways or columns, painting these will affect the cost. Due to the complexity of the areas, the increase in cost is labor-focused, as it takes more keen attention to detail to make them shine.

Moving Furniture

The last thing you want is to get paint on your furniture, so you’ll want to move your beautiful velvet couch either to the center of the room (covered) or out of the room completely. To reduce labor costs when hiring a painter, move the furniture (if you can safely lift it!) before they get started. 

Location

The cost of painting the interior of your home varies with your location. Painting costs go mostly toward labor, so prices will vary based on the local cost of living to ensure painters earn a fair wage.

How to Calculate the Cost to Paint the Interior of Your Home

Measuring the square footage of each room you plan to paint is an essential part of the process. To calculate square footage, multiply the length of the room by the width in feet: 

Length x Width = Area in square feet.

If the space isn't a perfect shape, section off the room to make squares or rectangles and measure each section at a time. Add the square footage areas together to get the total square footage of the room.

How Much Paint Do You Need?

As a general rule of thumb to know how much paint you need, 1 gallon of paint is required per 300 to 400 square feet. If you have textured walls or choose thinner paint formulas, your project may require more materials.

To err on the side of caution, overestimate by purchasing 1 gallon per 300 square feet. To get a general estimation, use this equation: 

Total square footage / 400 = Number of gallons of paint. 

For example, if your house is 2,400 square feet, you would need 6 gallons of paint (2,400 / 400 = 6). 

DIY Interior Painting vs. Hiring a Pro

Interior painting is a pretty simple job that most homeowners should be able to tackle, and you’ll save an average of between $1,700 and $1,800 by doing the work yourself. Most DIY painters can expect to pay $200 to $300 in painting supplies when grabbing paint, primer, tape, brushes, drop clothes, and other odds and ends.

However, while hiring a professional is expensive, you’ll save yourself hours of time and also get a professional appearance in your home that’s hard to achieve as a DIYer. For the best results, hire an interior painting company in your area. 

Doing so will also land you with a warranty for the work in most cases, which you’ll never get with a DIY job, and you’ll often get recommendations on colors and sheens. If you’re considering a whole-home color palette or need some interior decorating advice, definitely consider enlisting the help of a professional painter.

Angi Tip

Oil-based paints contain higher volatile organic compounds (VOCs) than latex paints. To limit your exposure to VOCs while painting indoors, keep the area well-ventilated, wear respiratory protection, and avoid the painted area for at least 72 hours once finished.

Diana Bird

Editor

Cost of Common Interior Painting Add-Ons

While you’re budgeting for an interior refresh, you might want to consider the following add-on services to maximize the impact and increase home value even further.

• Cost to replace light fixtures: $150 to $1,000

• Cost to install crown molding: $600 to $2,100

• Cost to refinish wood flooring: $1,100 to $2,700

• Cost to replace interior doors: $360 to $1,200

• Cost to replace windows: $3,400 to $11,700

• Cost to replace kitchen cabinets: $2,000 to $11,000

How to Save Money While Painting a Home’s Interior

Whether you decide to DIY your interior painting or hire a professional painter, you can use the tips below to reduce your overall costs.

• Do the prep work yourself. Save on setup and cleanup by tarping off furniture and fixtures and tapping off the area ahead of time.

• Carry out drywall repair if possible. Reduce the time painters spend on repairs by fixing holes or scratches in the walls before they arrive.

• Paint trim and ceilings at the same time. You’ll spend more up front for these added services, but you’ll save overall since the painters will already be on-site for your walls.

• Buy the materials yourself. Some painters might mark up materials, especially if they need to take a special trip to buy them. Purchase materials yourself instead to save a bit of money.

• Be discerning about what you paint. Sometimes, it makes sense to paint the entire interior of your home, but you can also hire a pro to tackle only the main areas to get the biggest bang for your buck. You can then tackle the bedrooms that guests won’t see on your own.

How Angi Gets Its Cost Data

Home is the most important place on earth, which is why Angi has helped more than 150 million homeowners transform their houses into homes they adore. To help homeowners with their next project, Angi provides readers with the most accurate cost data and upholds strict editorial standards. We’ve surveyed over 30,000 real Angi customers about their project costs to develop the pricing data you see, so you can make the best decisions for you and your home. We pair this data with research from reputable sources, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, academic journals, market studies, and interviews with industry experts—all to ensure our prices reflect real-world projects. 

Want to help us improve our cost data? Send us a recent project quote to costquotes@angi.com. Quotes and personal information will not be shared publicly.