Exterior Painting Cost Calculator
Exterior Painting costs $3,575 to $5,400 for a typical 1,800 sq ft job in 2026, against a national benchmark of $4,350. Labor runs 34.1 crew hours at $33.74 an hour. Enter a ZIP code to apply that area's measured wages for this work and its regional price level.
What makes up the price
Cost by size
National averages, before any local adjustment. Computed from the same model as the calculator above, so the two always agree.
| Home size | Sq ft of wall | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft | 1,200 | $2,650 | $2,175 to $3,275 |
| 1,450 sq ft | 1,740 | $3,600 | $2,950 to $4,475 |
| 1,800 sq ft | 2,160 | $4,350 | $3,575 to $5,400 |
| 2,450 sq ft | 2,940 | $5,750 | $4,700 to $7,125 |
| 3,050 sq ft | 3,660 | $7,025 | $5,750 to $8,725 |
The number is about preparation, not paint
Paint is the cheapest thing in an exterior paint job. Twelve gallons covers an average house in wood siding, and even at the top of the shelf that is around $600 of a $4,350 job. Everything else is labor, and most of the labor happens before a single can is opened.
That is why two quotes on the same house can differ by half and both be honest. The cheap one washes the siding and paints it. The expensive one scrapes every failing edge back to sound wood, sands the transitions flat, spot primes the bare patches, caulks the joints that have opened and replaces the trim that has gone soft. Same paint, same color, same crew size. One lasts four years and one lasts twelve.
You cannot tell from the sidewalk which one you bought. The week it finishes, both look new.
What drives the price
The condition of what is already there
This is the largest single thing in the quote, and it is the one most estimates leave vague.
- Sound — the existing paint is tight everywhere, no chalk, no bare patches. Wash, caulk, paint. This is the baseline.
- Some scraping — patches lifting on the south and west walls, usually under the eaves and around the windows. Scraped, sanded, spot primed. About 30% more.
- Peeling or bare wood — paint failing across whole walls, or siding that has been down to bare wood long enough to go gray. Scraped back, filled, fully primed. About 60% more, and on a badly gone house more than that.
If a painter does not walk the house and press a scraper into the siding before quoting, they are guessing at the biggest number in their own estimate.
Height
A single story is mostly worked from the ground or a short ladder. The upper half of a two story house is worked from an extension ladder, which means every few feet of progress involves climbing down, moving the ladder and climbing back up. That is about 25% more. Three stories, or a house on ground too steep to foot a ladder safely, means staging — 50% more, and sometimes a lift.
What the siding is made of
This moves two things in opposite directions, which is why it is its own question rather than a single surcharge.
- Wood lap or shingle — the most hand work, because every lap edge and every piece of trim is brushed. Paint covers about 350 square feet a gallon. The baseline.
- Vinyl or fiber cement — smooth, wide and already sealed, so there are long uninterrupted runs, almost nothing to scrape, and about 400 square feet a gallon. The cheapest of the three to repaint. Vinyl can be painted with an acrylic rated for it, but a dark color on vinyl holds enough heat to warp the panel, so the color choice is narrower than it looks.
- Stucco or masonry — sprayed, so the wall itself goes quickly, but a textured surface has far more real area than its dimensions and drinks close to twice the paint. The masking is heavier too. It comes out more expensive than wood despite being faster to apply.
Trim
The figures here cover the body and the trim, which is what a normal exterior quote covers. The body is the fast part: long runs of siding, a sprayer or a roller, few edges. Trim is the slow part — fascia, rake boards, corner boards, window casings and sills are all cut in by hand, all at the top of a ladder, and in a second color they have to be masked as well.
A quote covering the body only is a different job, and should be perhaps 15% cheaper. Ask which it is, in those words, because "paint the house" means different things to different painters. Doors and shutters are usually separate again.
How long it should last
On wood siding, properly prepared, with two coats of a quality acrylic: eight to twelve years on the shaded walls and five to eight on the south and west, which take the sun. Stucco and fiber cement go longer. Wood that was previously bare or badly weathered goes shorter no matter what is done to it.
The walls failing at different rates is normal, which is why a house often wants two walls done at year six and the rest at year ten. Doing the two is perfectly reasonable and much cheaper, as long as the color still matches — keep the paint code.
Two coats, and when one is enough
Two coats is the standard and what nearly every manufacturer requires for its warranty. One coat is defensible in exactly one case: the same color in the same sheen going back by spray over a sound, clean existing finish. Anything else — a color change, bare spots, chalked siding, a change of sheen — needs two, and a single coat over any of them will show the old surface through within a year.
If one quote is noticeably cheaper than the others, count the coats before concluding anything about the painter.
Spray, roll, or both
- Sprayed is fast and leaves the most even film on rough surfaces like stucco and textured fiber cement. It needs serious masking, and it puts less paint on the wall than it looks like it does.
- Rolled and brushed works paint into the surface and into the lap joints, which is where water gets in.
- Back-rolling — spraying, then immediately rolling the wet paint — is the usual professional answer, and on wood siding it is the right one.
On a windy site spraying is not an option at all, which is worth knowing before you wonder why the crew went home at ten.
When to do it
Paint needs the surface and the air above roughly 50°F, and it needs them to stay there overnight while the film cures — a warm afternoon followed by a 40°F night is a failed coat. It also needs the siding dry, which after rain means a day or two.
That makes late spring through early fall the window in most of the country, and the shoulders of it the cheapest time to book. High summer is fine except on walls in direct sun, where the paint skins over before it flows out; a good crew follows the shade around the house through the day.
Questions worth asking
- What preparation is included? Pressure wash only, or scraping, sanding, filling and spot priming?
- How many coats, and what happens at the bare spots?
- Which paint, by product name? The difference between a builder-grade exterior and a premium one is a few hundred dollars across the house and several years of service.
- Is the trim included? And the doors, the shutters, the soffits?
- Who replaces rotten boards if any turn up, and at what rate?
- Certificate of insurance — liability and workers' compensation, from the insurer rather than from the painter.
- If the house was built before 1978, is the crew EPA RRP certified? Disturbing lead paint without containment is a legal problem and a real one.
Common questions
How much does it cost to paint the exterior of a house?
Around $4,350 for a 1,800 sq ft single story house in wood siding needing some scraping, covering body and trim, with most jobs that size falling between $3,575 and $5,400. That works out at roughly $2.00 per square foot of siding. Siding in sound condition is nearer $3,350 and vinyl around $2,925, while a two story house of the same floor area is about a quarter more.
Why do exterior painting quotes vary so much?
Because preparation is most of the work and none of it is visible afterwards. A quote that washes the siding and paints it, and a quote that first scrapes every failing edge back to sound wood, sands, fills, caulks and spot primes, can differ by half on the same house. Both look identical the week they finish. One lasts four years and one lasts twelve.
How much of the cost is the paint?
Around a fifth, and less than that on wood. An average house in wood siding takes about twelve gallons, which even at premium prices is roughly $600 of a $4,350 job. The rest is labor, and most of the labor happens before a can is opened. Choosing the cheaper paint saves a couple of hundred dollars and costs several years of service.
Is stucco more expensive to paint than siding?
Yes, by about a quarter, and for a reason that is easy to miss. Stucco is sprayed, so the wall itself goes on faster than wood does — but a textured surface has far more real area than its dimensions, and it drinks close to twice the paint. On a 1,800 sq ft single story house in sound condition, stucco runs around $4,175 against $3,350 for wood and $2,925 for vinyl.
Can vinyl siding be painted?
Yes, with an acrylic rated for vinyl, and it is the cheapest of the common sidings to repaint because it is smooth, wide and already sealed. The restriction is color: a dark color absorbs enough heat to warp the panel, so you can generally go the same shade or lighter but not darker. The paint manufacturer publishes which of its colors are vinyl-safe, and that list is the one to choose from.
How long does exterior paint last?
On properly prepared wood siding with two coats of a quality acrylic, eight to twelve years on the shaded walls and five to eight on the south and west, which take the sun. Stucco and fiber cement go longer. The walls failing at different rates is normal, and repainting the two bad ones at year six is both reasonable and much cheaper than the whole house — keep the paint code so the color still matches.
Do I need two coats?
Nearly always. Two coats is what manufacturers require for their warranties. One coat is defensible only when the same color in the same sheen is going back over a sound, clean existing finish. A color change, a change of sheen, chalked siding or bare spots all need two, and one coat over any of them will show through within a year.
Is spraying or rolling better for exterior paint?
Back-rolling, which is spraying and immediately rolling the wet paint, is the usual professional answer and the right one on wood siding: it has the speed of a sprayer and still works the paint into the lap joints where water gets in. Spraying alone suits stucco and heavy textures. Spraying is not possible at all on a windy day, which is worth knowing before you wonder why the crew went home at ten.
What is the best time of year to paint a house?
Late spring through early fall in most of the country. Paint needs the surface and the air above about 50°F and needs them to stay there overnight while the film cures, so a warm afternoon followed by a 40°F night is a failed coat. It also needs dry siding, which after rain means a day or two. The shoulders of that window are the cheapest time to book.
Does the trim cost extra?
The figures here already cover body and trim, which is what a normal exterior quote covers. A body-only quote is a different and smaller job — perhaps 15% less — and doors and shutters are usually separate again. Trim is the slow part: it is cut in by hand along every edge of the house, mostly from a ladder, and in a second color it has to be masked too. Ask in plain words what a quote covers, because "paint the house" means different things to different painters.
What preparation should be done before painting?
Wash the siding and let it dry. Scrape everything that is lifting back to a sound edge and sand the transitions flat so they do not telegraph through the new paint. Fill and repair what is damaged, replace boards that have gone soft, caulk the joints that have opened, and prime every bare patch. On a house in good condition that is a day; on one with failing paint it can be most of the job.
What about lead paint on an older house?
Houses built before 1978 may have lead paint under the current finish, and sanding or scraping it releases it. Contractors disturbing painted surfaces on those homes are required to be EPA RRP certified and to contain and clean up the debris. Ask for the certification. It adds some cost in containment and disposal, and skipping it puts lead dust in the soil your household walks through.
Can I paint my own house?
The painting, yes. The question is the ladder work and the preparation. A single story is reasonable for a determined homeowner over a couple of weekends; the upper half of a two story house is a long time on an extension ladder with a full gallon in one hand, and that is where the injuries happen. The preparation is also the part most likely to be skipped when it is your own weekend, which is exactly the part that decides how long the job lasts.
Where these numbers come from
Nothing here is copied from a contractor directory. Labor is priced from what the trades are actually paid, materials from published producer prices, and both are adjusted to your area using federal cost-of-living data.
- Painting and wall covering contractors, United States: $33.74/hour, August 2026 (BLS CES CES2023832003)
- Exterior paint: $48.00 per gallon (price recorded October 2026, not index-adjusted)
- Exterior primer: $32.00 per gallon (price recorded October 2026, not index-adjusted)
- Caulk, filler, masking and washing: $0.10 per sq ft of wall (price recorded October 2026, not index-adjusted)