Cost Guides · Interior Painting
Interior Painting Cost in 2026: Price Per Room and Per Gallon
Interior painting cost broken into two numbers: what a gallon costs at the brands that post a price, and what two real painting companies charge to paint a bedroom, a living room, or a whole house.
In a hurry? Turn a photo into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds.
What does interior painting cost per room?
It splits into paint and labor. A gallon runs $54.27 to $108.99. Labor runs $270 for a bedroom’s walls alone up to $750 for the room done start to finish, and $530 to $2,000 for a living room. A real estimate needs both numbers, priced by room.
How much does a gallon of interior paint cost?
Two brands post a price, direct or through a dealer.
| Product | Sheen | Per gallon | Publisher | Captured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherwin-Williams SuperPaint Interior Acrylic Latex | Flat (Deep Base) | $54.27 | Sherwin-Williams, direct | Sept 5, 2026 |
| Sherwin-Williams Emerald Interior Acrylic Latex | Satin (Extra White) | $67.27 | Sherwin-Williams, direct | Sept 5, 2026 |
| Benjamin Moore Regal Select Interior | Eggshell | $68.94 | JC Licht, Benjamin Moore dealer | Sept 5, 2026 |
| Benjamin Moore Regal Select Interior | Eggshell | $84.99 | Benjamin Moore, direct | Sept 5, 2026 |
| Benjamin Moore Aura Interior | Matte | $94.54 | JC Licht, Benjamin Moore dealer | Sept 5, 2026 |
| Benjamin Moore Aura Interior | Matte | $108.99 | Benjamin Moore, direct | Sept 5, 2026 |
What does it cost to paint a bedroom?
A 12 by 12 bedroom is the benchmark room in most price lists. CertaPro’s Naperville guide itemizes it: walls at $270, ceiling at $110, baseboards at $55, and $40 per door side, near $515 combined. Paint Medics, a Northeast Ohio company, quotes the same room at $300 to $750 all in.
What does it cost to paint a living room?
CertaPro’s large 18 by 24 living room prices walls at $530, ceiling at $200, and baseboards at $100. Two doors bring that to near $910. Paint Medics puts a living room job at $600 to $2,000, a wider band set by size and trim work.
| Publisher | Room or basis | Price | Captured |
|---|---|---|---|
| CertaPro Painters, Naperville, IL pricing guide | Standard 12 by 12 bedroom, walls only | $270 | Feb 2, 2025 |
| Paint Medics, Parma, OH | Bedroom, full job | $300 to $750 | Mar 3, 2026 |
| CertaPro Painters, Naperville, IL pricing guide | Large 18 by 24 living room, walls only | $530 | Feb 2, 2025 |
| Paint Medics, Parma, OH | Living room, full job | $600 to $2,000 | Mar 3, 2026 |
Why do two painting companies quote such different prices?
CertaPro prices walls only, line by line. Paint Medics quotes one number for the finished room: prep, coats, trim, and cleanup folded in. Neither is wrong; a walls-only number reads lower because it is missing pieces the full-job number already counts.
Turn a room photo into an itemized estimate, free →
How do I estimate interior painting cost for a whole house?
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Measure the room and convert to square feet
Wall area is perimeter times ceiling height, minus doors and windows. A phone camera and a room-scan app beat a tape measure on an odd-shaped room.
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Pick a price model: per room or per square foot
Some companies quote a flat rate per room; others price by the square foot. Ask which model a quote uses before comparing bids.
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Add paint, trim, and prep as separate lines
A gallon covers roughly 350 to 400 square feet per coat. Two coats on a bedroom needs about one gallon; a living room needs two.
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Get the crew’s rate on top of materials
Paint is a small share of the bill. Labor and overhead make up the rest, priced by the job, not the gallon.
What does the painting crew actually get paid?
Painters, construction and maintenance earn a $26.64 mean and $23.75 median hourly wage, $49,400 a year at the median (BLS OEWS, May 2025). That is wages paid to an employee, not a contractor’s billing rate. Overhead and margin ride on top, the same way our contractor hourly labor rates by trade page explains for other trades.
SimplyWise Cost Estimator for interior painting cost
SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a room photo into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds. Paint, prep, trim, and labor lines are all editable. Send a branded quote the client signs to approve. It is $29.99/mo or $239.99/yr, about $20/mo on annual, with a 7-day free trial.
Keep reading
Sources
- Sherwin-Williams, SuperPaint Interior Acrylic Latex, captured 2026-09-05.
- Sherwin-Williams, Emerald Interior Acrylic Latex, captured 2026-09-05.
- JC Licht, REGAL Select Interior Paint, captured 2026-09-05.
- Benjamin Moore, Regal Select Interior, Eggshell, captured 2026-09-05.
- JC Licht, Aura Interior Paint, captured 2026-09-05.
- Benjamin Moore, Aura Interior, Matte, captured 2026-09-05.
- CertaPro Painters of Naperville, pricing guide, captured 2026-09-05.
- CertaPro Painters, interior cost blog post, updated 2026-08-24.
- Paint Medics, interior painting cost, published 2026-03-03.
- BLS OEWS, May 2025, 47-2141 Painters, Construction and Maintenance, verified 2026-08-31.
- SimplyWise Cost Estimator, App Store, 4.8 rating, verified 2026-08-06.
Frequently asked questions about interior painting cost
The price
How much does interior painting cost in 2026?
Paint runs $54.27 to $108.99 a gallon across Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore lines. Labor runs $270 for a bedroom’s walls alone up to $750 for the room done start to finish. A living room runs $530 to $2,000, per two real painting companies’ posted prices.
What is the average cost to paint a 12 by 12 bedroom?
CertaPro’s itemized guide prices the walls, ceiling, baseboards, and two doors at roughly $515 combined. Paint Medics quotes the same room type at $300 to $750 as a single all-in price.
The paint
How much paint do I need for a room?
A gallon covers roughly 350 to 400 square feet per coat. Two coats on a bedroom uses about one gallon; a living room needs closer to two.
Estimating the job
Can I measure a room with my phone camera instead of a tape measure?
Tape or wheel a room, or let SimplyWise Cost Estimator turn a room photo into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds. On a Pro iPhone, the room scan captures measurements with LiDAR, and every line stays editable.
Does SimplyWise Cost Estimator price interior painting jobs?
It builds paint, prep, trim, and labor as separate line items with a unit, quantity, and price per unit. Send a branded quote the client signs to approve. Pricing is $29.99/mo or $239.99/yr, with a 7-day free trial.
Get your interior painting cost right before the crew starts.
Snap a photo and get an itemized estimate with editable paint and labor lines. Send a branded quote before you book the job. Free to try, then $29.99/mo or $239.99/yr after a 7-day trial.