Painter Quote Checker
Got a bid? Turn it into a dollars-per-square-foot number you can judge. Enter the quote total, the paintable area and the job type to see whether it lands below, within, or above a labeled sanity band.
A $6,000.00 quote for 2,500 sq ft works out to $2.40/sq ft — within the labeled band. A low number can mean skipped prep, a high one premium paint or hard access; this only compares YOUR quote to a labeled band — always get itemized written quotes from licensed, insured painters.
Calculator inputs
A quote by itself is hard to judge — $6,000 is a bargain on one house and a stretch on another. The fix is to normalize it: divide the price by the paintable area to get a $/sq ft you can compare against a labeled band. This does not tell you the bid is right or wrong; it tells you which direction to ask questions.
Interior repaints typically land around $2–4 a square foot all-in, exterior around $1.50–4.50, and cabinet work is priced per square foot of face at a much higher $4–10. A number below the band can mean thin prep or a low-ball; above it can mean premium paint, tricky access or careful masking. The band is a conversation starter.
Formula
Normalize the quote, then compare:
derived $/sq ft = quote_total ÷ area_sqft
The result is flagged below, within, or above the labeled band for the job type:
- Interior — ~$2.00–4.00 / sq ft all-in.
- Exterior — ~$1.50–4.50 / sq ft all-in.
- Cabinets — ~$4.00–10.00 / sq ft of face.
Worked example
A $6,000 interior quote for 2,500 sq ft of paintable surface:
$6,000 ÷ 2,500 = $2.40 / sq ft
That is within the labeled interior band of $2–4 — a reasonable place to be. If the same area came back at $1.20/sq ft you would ask what prep and how many coats are included; at $5.50/sq ft you would ask about paint grade, access and masking.
Measure first, avoid re-orders
Compare like with like. The area must be the surface this quote covers — interior walls for an interior bid, siding for an exterior bid, face area for cabinets. Mixing them is the fastest way to a misleading flag.
- A low number is not automatically a win. Skipped prep, one coat instead of two, or no primer can all shrink a price and the paint job’s lifespan with it.
- A high number is not automatically a rip-off. Two-story access, heavy patching, premium paint and careful masking cost real money.
- Always get it itemized. The band flags a question; a written, itemized quote answers it.
Reference table
Labeled $/sq ft sanity bands by job type — a conversation starter, not a bid.
| Job type | Typical $/sq ft |
|---|---|
| Interior repaint (walls/ceilings/trim) | $2.00–$4.00 |
| Exterior repaint | $1.50–$4.50 |
| Cabinet paint (per sq ft of face) | $4.00–$10.00 |