Interior painting cost calculator
Painters charge about $1.50-$3.50 per square foot of floor area to paint a room's walls, or $3-$4 with the ceiling and trim, per Fixr. A 12 × 12 ft bedroom runs about $215-$505 for walls or $430-$575 for the whole room. Doing it yourself costs about $180-$300 in paint and supplies.
Updated · By the Interior Redesign AI editorial team · Sources cited on the page
Assumption: doors and windows are not subtracted from the DIY paint; that area roughly covers waste and touch-ups.
Hiring a painter
$215-$505
144 sq ft of floor × $1.50-$3.50 per sq ft (Fixr).
Doing it yourself
$180-$300
paint plus supplies
Paint
2 gal
2 coats at about 400 sq ft per gallon
| Wall area | 384 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Paint (2 gal × $15-$50) | $30-$100 |
| Brushes, rollers, tape, drop cloths | $150-$200 |
| DIY total | $180-$300 |
National planning ranges (Fixr, updated January 2025; supplies from Inch Calculator, 2023), not quotes. Prep, tall ceilings and color changes raise real bids.
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Key numbers
- Pro, walls only
- $1.50-$3.50 per sq ft of floor area (Fixr)
- Pro, walls + ceiling + trim
- $3-$4 per sq ft of floor area (Fixr)
- Pro, ceiling alone
- $0.50-$3 per sq ft (Fixr)
- Typical room, pro
- $990-$1,320, average $1,200 (Fixr national figures)
- Latex paint
- $15-$50 a gallon; about 400 sq ft per gallon per coat (Fixr)
- DIY supplies
- about $150-$200 for brushes, rollers, tape and drop cloths (Inch Calculator, 2023)
Worked example
A 12 × 12 ft bedroom with 8 ft ceilings
Two coats, priced walls only and as a full room (walls, ceiling and trim).
- Floor area: 12 × 12 = 144 sq ft.
- Pro, walls only: 144 × $1.50-$3.50 = $216-$504; full room: 144 × $3-$4 = $432-$576.
- DIY walls: 2 × (12 + 12) × 8 = 384 sq ft × 2 coats ÷ 400 = 1.92 → 2 gallons.
- DIY cost: 2 × $15-$50 + $150-$200 supplies = $180-$300.
A painter will likely quote about $216-$504 for the walls; doing it yourself costs about $180-$300.
How we calculate
Pro price: the room's floor area (length × width) times Fixr's per-square-foot rate, $1.50-$3.50 for walls only or $3-$4 for walls, ceiling and trim. Fixr's room-size table is laid out by floor area, which is why we price on the floor, not the wall.
DIY price: wall area (perimeter × height), plus the ceiling for a full room, times coats, divided by 400 sq ft per gallon and rounded up to whole gallons, times $15-$50 a gallon, plus $150-$200 of supplies once per project. We do not subtract doors and windows (an assumption: that area roughly offsets waste and touch-ups) and do not price trim paint separately.
Fixr's figures were last updated January 2025 and Inch Calculator's supply estimate in 2023; we checked both on October 26, 2026. Prep work (patching, stain blocking), tall ceilings, dark color changes and local labor rates push real quotes up, so treat the result as a range to compare bids against.
Estimates, sources
Planning estimates and published guidelines, not quotes, designs or code rulings. Figures were checked on each source on the date shown. Local prices, your home and your jurisdiction's adopted code decide the real answer.
- How much does it cost to paint a room? (updated Jan 31, 2025) (Fixr, as of Oct 26, 2026): average $1,200, typical $990-$1,320; $1.50-$3.50 per sq ft walls only, $3-$4 walls, ceiling and trim (table by room floor area, e.g. 144 sq ft: $215-$505 walls only, $430-$575 entire room); ceiling $0.50-$3 per sq ft; latex paint $15-$50 a gallon; about 400 sq ft per gallon per coat
- Cost to Paint a Room (updated Oct 5, 2023) (Inch Calculator, as of Oct 26, 2026): supplies such as brushes, drop cloths and tape about $150-$200; painters $20-$50 an hour; $1.50-$3.00 per sq ft of the wall, ceiling or trim area painted, not floor area
Cost to paint a room by size
Pro prices by floor area from Fixr's per-square-foot rates; DIY is two coats on 8 ft walls plus supplies.
| Room | Pro, walls only | Pro, full room | DIY, walls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 10 ft (100 sq ft) | $150-$350 | $300-$400 | $180-$300 |
| 12 × 12 ft (144 sq ft) | $215-$505 | $430-$575 | $180-$300 |
| 12 × 16 ft (192 sq ft) | $290-$670 | $575-$770 | $195-$350 |
| 15 × 20 ft (300 sq ft) | $450-$1,050 | $900-$1,200 | $195-$350 |
| 20 × 20 ft (400 sq ft) | $600-$1,400 | $1,200-$1,600 | $210-$400 |
What moves a painting quote
The per-foot rate covers a typical room. Quotes climb with:
- Prep: patching cracks, sanding, caulking and stain-blocking primer.
- Height: ceilings above about 9 ft or stairwells that need ladders or scaffolding.
- Color changes: dark to light, or a deep color that needs extra coats.
- Detail: lots of trim, built-ins, doors or two-tone walls.
- Furniture: moving and covering a furnished room takes time.
How to use this tool
Measure the room
Length, width and ceiling height; add the number of rooms of that size.
Pick the scope
Walls only, or walls, ceiling and trim.
Set coats
Two coats is standard for a color change.
Compare pro and DIY
Read the pro range against paint plus supplies, then get local quotes.
Questions
How much does it cost to paint a 12 × 12 room?
About $216-$504 for the walls by a pro and $432-$576 with ceiling and trim, using Fixr's per-square-foot rates. DIY is about $180-$300.
Do painters charge by wall area or floor area?
Both are common. Fixr's room table is by floor area, which this tool uses. Inch Calculator instead prices per square foot of the surface painted ($1.50-$3.00). Wall area is about 2.5 times floor area in a typical room, so that method gives a much higher total for the same room: check which one a quote uses.
Is it cheaper to paint a room yourself?
Usually much cheaper in cash: mostly paint and supplies. You trade it for a day or two of work and the prep a pro would do.
How much paint does a room need?
About 400 sq ft per gallon per coat. A 12 × 12 ft room with 8 ft walls is 384 sq ft of wall, so two coats take about 2 gallons.
What does the average room cost to paint?
Fixr puts the national average at about $1,200, with most jobs between $990 and $1,320.
Does the price include ceilings and trim?
Choose the scope. Walls only uses $1.50-$3.50 per sq ft; the full room uses $3-$4 for walls, ceiling and trim.
Numbers done. Now see it.
Same room, same walls and windows, new finishes. Upload a photo of your own room to compare looks before you buy anything.
