Whole-House Interior + Exterior Paint Cost

Doing the inside and the outside? Add your two estimates into one number. Enter your interior total and your exterior total — or reuse the results from the interior and exterior cost tools — for a single whole-house budget.

Planning estimate: this is a planning estimate from the numbers you enter — not a bid or a contract. Paint quantity and price depend on wall texture, porosity, color change, number of coats, prep and patching, trim and ceilings, height and access, and local labor. Get itemized written quotes from licensed, insured painters before you commit.
Your result
Combined total$13,469.00
Interior estimate$8,800.00
Exterior estimate$4,669.00

A full repaint is the sum of the interior ($8,800.00) and exterior ($4,669.00) estimates — about $13,469.00. Enter each, or reuse your interior and exterior tool results.

Calculator inputs

$
Your total from the interior painting cost or cost-to-paint-interior-of-house tool.
$
Your total from the exterior house painting cost tool.

A full repaint is really two projects with one checkbook. The cleanest way to budget it is to price each half properly — the interior with its own area and rate, the exterior with its own — and then simply add them. This tool keeps the addition honest and the two halves visible, so a swing in one does not quietly hide in the total.

Price the interior with the cost-to-paint-interior-of-house tool and the exterior with the exterior house painting cost tool, then bring both totals here. Because each half already carries its own labor, add-ons and contingency, this step is a plain sum — no double-counting, no hidden assumptions.

Formula

The whole house is the sum of the two halves:

total = interior_total + exterior_total

  • interior_total — your finished interior estimate (area × $/sq ft + labor + add-ons, with contingency).
  • exterior_total — your finished exterior estimate, built the same way.

Keep each half’s contingency inside that half so you do not buffer twice.

Worked example

Suppose the interior tool gave you $8,800 (4,000 sq ft at $2.00 with 10% contingency) and the exterior tool gave you $4,669 (2,358 sq ft of siding at $1.80 with 10%):

$8,800 + $4,669 = $13,469

So the whole-house repaint plans at about $13,469. Because each half was priced on its own area and rate, the total reflects the real difference between painting inside walls and weather-exposed siding.

Measure first, avoid re-orders

Price each half first, then add. The temptation is to guess one whole-house number; resist it. Interior and exterior have different areas, different rates and different prep, and averaging them buries exactly the detail that makes a budget useful.

  • Buffer once. Each source tool already adds contingency — do not add another layer here.
  • Sequence the work. Many owners do the exterior in dry weather and the interior anytime; splitting the totals lets you stage the spend across seasons.
  • Watch the overlap. Trim, doors and porch ceilings can appear in both estimates — count them in one half only.

Frequently asked questions

How do I estimate painting the whole house inside and out?
Price the interior and the exterior separately — each has its own area, rate and prep — then add the two totals. This tool does the addition and keeps both halves visible so you can see the split.
Where do the interior and exterior numbers come from?
From the interior painting cost / cost-to-paint-interior-of-house tool and the exterior house painting cost tool. Build each estimate there with your real prices, then bring both totals here.
Why not just use one whole-house rate?
Because interior and exterior differ in area, coverage, prep and access. A single blended rate hides that and tends to be wrong in both directions. Two honest halves add up to a budget you can defend.
Should I add contingency again here?
No. Each source estimate already includes its own contingency. Adding another buffer at the sum double-counts it — keep the buffer inside each half.
Is the total a bid?
No. It is a planning estimate from figures you enter. Get itemized written quotes from licensed, insured painters before you commit.