Office cleaning prices per m² – how to price contract cleaning

Contents

1. The formula
2. Example 1: small office (all values are assumptions)
3. Example 2: medical practice (assumptions)
4. How strongly output drives the price
5. Setting output values realistically
6. What lowers output
7. Price extras separately
8. Common mistakes
9. Pricing checklist
10. Recalculating after eight weeks – an example
11. Presenting the price
12. Frequently asked questions

In short: Monthly price = (area ÷ output in m²/h) × visits per month × hourly rate, plus extras. Price per m² = monthly price ÷ area. What matters is a realistic output value per room type – from the site visit and the first weeks, not from generic tables. As of October 2026.

“What do you charge per square metre?” – as a cleaning company in Vienna we hear this in almost every first conversation. The honest answer: it depends on the site. An open-plan office with carpet is cleaned much faster per m² than a medical practice with many small rooms and washrooms. Anyone quoting a flat price per m² without seeing the site is guessing.

The formula

Hours per visit = Σ (area per room type ÷ output per room type) + set-up time

Monthly price = hours per visit × visits per month × hourly rate

Price per m² per month = monthly price ÷ total area

Count visits per month with 4.33 weeks: once a week = 4.33, twice = 8.66, three times = 12.99, five times = 21.65.

Example 1: small office (all values are assumptions)

At 2 visits per week (8.66 per month) and €34.62 net per hour from our hourly-rate example:

2.20 h × 8.66 × €34.62 ≈ €659.58 net per month → about €1.88 per m² per month.

With 2027 wages (contract cleaning €12.73 per the agreement; please check the current text) the same method gives an hourly rate of about €35.56 – and a monthly price of about €677 net. That is exactly why you need an adjustment clause: Collective agreement for building cleaning in Austria explained.

This is a calculation method, not a price recommendation. Your values depend on wages, site and specification.

Example 2: medical practice (assumptions)

5 visits per week (21.65 per month) × 1.80 h × €34.62 ≈ €1,349 net per month → about €8.43 per m² per month.

The price per m² is more than four times that of the office – because cleaning is more frequent and the rooms more demanding. That is why a “market price per m²” is almost useless as a benchmark.

How strongly output drives the price

For the office in example 1 (300 m² of office space), everything else equal:

Just 50 m²/h difference shifts the price by about 10 %. If you actually achieve 200 instead of 250 m²/h, you work about 2.6 hours a month for free – and your employee may be doing overtime with a surcharge: Working time, breaks and records in the cleaning industry.

Setting output values realistically

• Site visit with notes on furniture, floors and soiling: Writing a quote for contract cleaning – with service specification
• Compare with similar sites you already clean
• Track the first weeks precisely (time per site)
• Recalculate after 4–8 weeks and renegotiate or adjust the specification if needed

What lowers output

• Many small rooms, doors, steps
• Lots of furniture, cables, paper on desks
• Delicate floors (natural stone, oiled parquet)
• Heavy visitor traffic, dirt carried in during winter
• Long walks to sinks, water and bins
• Cleaning during business hours (interruptions)

Price extras separately

Windows, deep cleaning, carpet shampooing or post-construction cleaning don’t belong in the monthly flat rate. They have different output values, wage groups and equipment: Contract, deep and special cleaning – differences and pricing.

Common mistakes

• Copying generic output values from the internet
• Pricing washrooms and kitchens like offices
• Forgetting set-up and travel time
• Packing extras (windows, deep cleaning) into the flat rate
• Supplying consumables (paper, soap) without an agreement
• No recalculation after the first weeks

Pricing checklist

1. Area per room type from the visit or floor plan
2. Output per room type (estimate conservatively)
3. Set-up time per visit
4. Visits per month (weeks × 4.33)
5. Hourly rate from your own calculation
6. Surcharges (night, Sunday) if needed
7. Extras separately
8. Compare target vs actual after 4–8 weeks

Recalculating after eight weeks – an example

Assumption: for the office in example 1 you calculated 2.20 hours per visit. Time tracking over the first eight weeks shows an average of 2.55 hours.

Over a year that is about €1,260 missing. You now have three options: adjust the specification (e.g. desks only once a week), improve the process (equipment, route planning) or talk to the client about the price – using the time-tracking figures as evidence. Without recalculation you only notice at year-end.

Presenting the price

Clients understand a monthly price better than output values. What works: the monthly fee net and gross, a short summary (area, visits per week, areas included), extras as separate priced lines, and a note on the adjustment clause. Full quote structure: Writing a quote for contract cleaning – with service specification.

Frequently asked questions