# Interior Painting Cost in 2026: Price Per Room and Per Gallon Canonical URL: https://www.simplywise.com/blog/interior-painting-cost/ Plain text: https://www.simplywise.com/blog/interior-painting-cost/llms.txt Publisher: SimplyWise, Inc. (https://www.simplywise.com) Published: September 17, 2026 Updated: October 27, 2026 Category: Project Cost Guides Summary: Interior painting cost per room and per gallon from posted brand and painter prices, plus the BLS wage. Price your job with SimplyWise Cost Estimator. --- Log in (https://simplywise.com/login) ## 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. Add SimplyWise as a preferred source (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=simplywise.com) Room floor area (sq ft) Labor $ per sq ft of floor Materials $ per sq ft of floor $0 before markup Labor$0 Materials$0 Defaults: a SimplyWise Cost Estimator run, October 13, 2026, a 12 by 12 ft bedroom, walls and ceiling: $924.00 labor, $137.94 materials. Interior painting cost, at a glance 1. A gallon runs $54.27 to $67.27 from Sherwin-Williams (SuperPaint, Emerald) and $68.94 to $108.99 from Benjamin Moore dealers (Regal Select, Aura). 2. A 12 by 12 bedroom prices at $270 walls only (CertaPro) up to $300 to $750 all in (Paint Medics). 3. A living room runs $530 walls only up to $600 to $2,000 for a full job with ceiling and trim. 4. CertaPro’s national average interior project came to $3,842.14 over the past year. 5. Painters earn a $26.64 mean, $23.75 median hourly wage, $49,400 a year at the median (BLS, May 2025). That is pay, not the bill. 6. Trim, ceilings, and a second coat ride on top of any walls-only number. ## What does interior painting cost per room? Interior painting cost 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. Paint runs $54.27 to $108.99 a gallon. ## 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 | Honest note: Sherwin-Williams hides prices behind an account, so its figures are single-source. Benjamin Moore’s come from an independent dealer and Benjamin Moore’s own site, and they disagree. ## What does it cost to paint a bedroom? CertaPro’s Naperville guide itemizes a 12 by 12 bedroom: 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. | 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. A walls-only number just leaves pieces out. ## How do I estimate interior painting cost for a whole house? 1. 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. 2. 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. 3. 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. 4. 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). Overhead and margin ride on top, as our contractor hourly labor rates by trade (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/contractor-hourly-labor-rates-by-trade/) page explains for other trades. ## SimplyWise Cost Estimator for interior painting cost SimplyWise Cost Estimator (https://www.simplywise.com/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. It is $29.99/mo or $239.99/yr, about $20/mo on annual, with a 7-day free trial. ## Keep reading - Cost to Paint a House (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/cost-to-paint-a-house/). - Painting Contractor Pricing Guide (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/painting-contractor-pricing-guide/). ## Sources - Sherwin-Williams, SuperPaint Interior Acrylic Latex (https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/products/superpaint-interior-acrylic-latex), captured 2026-09-05. - Sherwin-Williams, Emerald Interior Acrylic Latex (https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/products/emerald-interior-acrylic-latex-paint), captured 2026-09-05. - JC Licht, REGAL Select Interior Paint (https://jclicht.com/products/regal-select-interior-paint), captured 2026-09-05. - Benjamin Moore, Regal Select Interior, Eggshell (https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/product/N549), captured 2026-09-05. - JC Licht, Aura Interior Paint (https://jclicht.com/products/aura-interior-paint), captured 2026-09-05. - Benjamin Moore, Aura Interior, Matte (https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/product/N522), captured 2026-09-05. - CertaPro Painters of Naperville, pricing guide (https://certapro.com/naperville/interior-pricing-guide/), captured 2026-09-05. - CertaPro Painters, interior cost blog post (https://certapro.com/blog/interior-house-painting/how-much-does-it-cost-to-paint-a-house-interior/), updated 2026-08-24. - Paint Medics, interior painting cost (https://www.paintmedicsinc.com/how-much-does-interior-painting-cost/), published 2026-03-03. - BLS OEWS, May 2025 (https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), 47-2141 Painters, Construction and Maintenance, verified 2026-08-31. - SimplyWise Cost Estimator, App Store (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/simplywise-cost-estimator/id6670619664), 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. Smart tools for contractors - Log in (https://simplywise.com/login) - New Business Program (https://www.simplywise.com/#program) - About (https://www.simplywise.com/about) - Support (https://www.simplywise.com/support) - Privacy (https://www.simplywise.com/privacy) - Terms (https://www.simplywise.com/terms) - Blog (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/) --- ## About SimplyWise SimplyWise, Inc. (New York, NY) builds mobile apps for contractors, tradespeople, and small business owners. The SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a job site photo into an itemized estimate with labor and material costs in about 6 seconds, and the client signs the branded quote to approve it. It is rated 4.8 on the App Store. It is free to try with a 7-day free trial, then $29.99 per month or $239.99 per year (about $20 per month on the annual plan), and one subscription includes every app in the SimplyWise suite. - Download: https://www.simplywise.com/download - App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/simplywise-cost-estimator/id6670619664 - Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.simplywise.costestimator - Every SimplyWise page as plain text: https://www.simplywise.com/blog/llms.txt