How Much Does It Cost To Paint A House Interior? (2023 Estimates)

How Much Does It Cost To Paint A Home?

When talking about painting costs for a particular painting project, it all comes down to the size of the home (square footage) and how much prep work it requires to do the job right.

So for the sake of this article, we're going to break down the typical costs you'll incur if you're doing the paint job yourself, as compared to the typical cost of hiring a professional painter.

Average Cost To Paint The Interior Of A House If You Do It Yourself?

If you're a DIY fan and you want to paint the interior of your home yourself, it's typically going to be much less expensive than hiring a professional painter.

However, there are some other painting costs you'll incur that you wouldn't have to if you hired someone else. These things go above and beyond the actual cost of painting such as drop cloths, painter's tape, paint brushes or paint rollers, paint trays, and painting safety equipment.

If you have these things on hand already, then your total cost will likely just include the gallons of paint you'll need to buy to do the job. 

But, I'm going to go through and make an itemized list of the average price of all these items below so you can get a sense of how much to budget for your painting project:

• Drop Cloths - $10
• Painter's Tape - $7
• Paint Roller Frame - $7
• Paint Roller Covers - $10
• Paint Tray - $6
• Paint Brushes (For Detailing) - $10
• Disposable Painter's Masks - $20 
• Disposable Painting Gloves - $8
• Safety Goggles - $12
• 1 Gallon of Behr Paint - $36
• 1 Gallon of Sherwin Williams Paint - $40
• 1 Gallon of Primer - $36

Now, obviously you probably won't need to purchase everything on this list if you've painted before, and you'll likely need between 7-10 gallons of paint to cover the entire home's interior based on the average 2,300 square foot home size in the U.S. 

That said, the estimated total cost of painting supplies for house painting:

$350 - $450

This range is based on the assumption that you'd need to buy all of the painting supplies, plus primer and 7-10 gallons of paint. However, if you plan on priming too that'll add about $100 or more to the total cost.

Your final cost will ultimately depend on how big your room is and any other project costs you might have.

For instance, your cost of paint may vary if you choose a high-end type of paint or need multiple paint colors for things like accent walls, so just keep that in mind when coming up with a price estimate for your project.

However, the good news is even with the prep work and supplies, painting your room yourself is still probably less expensive than it would be to hire a professional painter even if you buy the highest quality of paint.

And the better news is that once you buy the painting supplies the first time, the project costs for every future painting project will be less!

Painting is one of the few home improvement skills that is fairly easy to learn (though it is time-consuming) and can save you a lot of money in the long run as long as you can get the hang of it and don't end up needing to repaint everything.

Important Note: If your home was built in 1978 or sooner, it's important to take precautions as some of the paint could be lead paint. Make sure you follow all safety protocols before sanding any old paint as you could expose yourself to harmful lead dust.

Read More >> How Do You Avoid Lead Paint Poisoning?

Average Cost To Paint A Room If You Hire a Professional Painter?

Now let's talk about how much it'll cost you to hire a professional painter to paint a home interior.

One thing to note here is that every professional painting company prices their work differently and charges different rates. 

So for the sake of this article, I'm going to price this out based on the national average cost per square foot, and I'm going to base the total on the national average size of a home's interior which is about 2,300 sq ft.

Keep in mind, if you're hiring someone to paint a significantly larger home or a home with high ceilings throughout, it'll cost more. And, if you're looking to hire a painting contractor to do your entire house, they might price that out differently since it's a larger job.

The national average cost for painting per square foot ranges from $2-$6.

This means your total project cost will likely range from $4,600 to $13,800 for an average-sized home.

This is usually how a professional painters charge, rather than giving you an hourly rate. This is because pricing by the linear foot gives them more insight into the total interior painting cost and the cost of materials and labor for a given project. 

It's also important to note that labor costs for an interior paint job is usually much cheaper than exterior painting because when working with interior walls, they don't need to worry about weatherproofing and exterior durability.

Read More >> How Do You Paint A Wall Like A Pro?

How Can You Save Money When Painting A Single Room?

Lucky for you, if you decide to go the DIY route there are several things you can do to lower your painting estimate and save money on your painting project, even if you go with a super high quality paint.

Types of Paint

One of the best ways to save money is to choose the type of paint you're using carefully.

Obviously, if you choose to go with multiple paint colors, your project will cost more because you'll need an individual paint can for each color.

If you're still set on creating that epic accent wall, though, I'd recommend buying your paint in quart sizes to save money. If you know you only need a little bit of that high-gloss blue to create that cool pattern, save your money and only buy one quart and then buy the gallons of paint for your main colors.

Another way to save money here is by choosing your paint finish carefully. Typically, high-gloss and semi-gloss paints cost more than matte paints or flat paints.

Also, latex paints are typically cheaper than oil-based paints, and if you're a beginner looking to DIY a single room in your own home, I'd recommend staying away from oil-based paints as they're harder to clean up and harder to dispose of.

Read More >> How Do You Paint Baseboards Near Carpet?

Renting vs. Buying Supplies

Did you know you can actually rent certain painting supplies rather than having to buy them?

Most Home Depot stores and Lowe's stores have a rental program where you can rent out certain painting and home improvement supplies. So if you know you'll only need those supplies for this particular project, that can be a much more cost-effective way to get the things you need.

Here's another thing that blew my mind when I learned it: some libraries rent out basic home improvement supplies!

Check with your local library to see if they have any tools like paint rollers and paint trays on hand that you can borrow. That'll save you lots of money on your painting project and you'll still be able to get the job done right.

Obviously, the cheapest route here is to see if any of your friends and family have some painting supplies they could lend you for the day.

Sales And Dented Cans

Another way you could try to save money on paint is by waiting for your local hardware store to run a sale. Even if they knock off a few dollars on a can of paint, this can save you a bunch of money if you know you have a bunch of square footage to cover.

You can also see if they have any dented or otherwise blemished cans that they could sell to you for less. 

Most people don't want to buy dented cans (just like ugly produce) but the paint inside is the same stuff, and if you can get it for a bit cheaper that's more money left over for you!

Hot Tip: One more place you can look for cheap paint is Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. This works best if you're not picky on color or you're going with a standard color like white. I've seen some people getting rid of a large amount of paint cans near their expiry date for FREE on those sites, so it might pay off to be a little thrifty.

Final Thoughts On Interior Painting Costs

Now that we've broken down the individual costs for painting the interior of your home, these cost estimates should give you a good starting point.

While every painting project is different, knowing the range of costs before you start is always helpful so you can find all the areas of the budget that you can cut back on.

Whether you're going to DIY a room in your house or plan to hire a professional painter, I wish you the best of luck on your painting project.

As always, happy painting!