How much does it cost to hire a painter for one room?

There is no fair average for your room, because the price comes from the work, not from the floor area alone. What moves it is the size of the walls and ceiling, how much filling, sanding and caulking the surfaces need, whether woodwork, doors and trim are included, how many coats it takes, whether you are changing from a dark colour to a light one, and who supplies the paint. Moving furniture and protecting floors also take time. Ask two or three painters to look at the room and give a written estimate or quote for the same scope, then compare them line by line.

Do painters charge per square foot, per hour or per day?

All three exist, and so does a fixed price for the whole job. In the US, painters often quote per square foot or per room for interiors. In the UK, a painter and decorator often works out a day rate and multiplies it by the days they expect the job to take. Whatever the method, what you should compare is the final written price and what it includes: preparation, number of coats, primer, ceilings, woodwork, materials and clean-up. A low rate with little preparation is not a cheaper job. It is a different, shorter job.

Does a painter need a licence?

In the US, it depends on your state and sometimes your city or county. Some states require a contractor licence for jobs above a certain value, others have no licence for painting at all. Check with your state licensing board and ask for proof of general liability insurance. If your home was built before 1978 and the work will disturb old paint, the firm needs EPA lead-safe certification. In the UK, no licence is needed to work as a painter and decorator. Check public liability insurance, references and photos of finished work instead.

Should I pay a painter upfront?

Paying the whole price before work starts is risky and usually unnecessary. A deposit to cover paint or materials ordered for your job is common, and you can ask what it covers. Agree the payment schedule in writing before work begins. On a longer job, staged payments tied to finished areas are reasonable. Keep the final payment until you have walked through the finished rooms together, the snags have been fixed and you have an invoice or receipt. Avoid paying cash with no paperwork, because it leaves you nothing to point to if something goes wrong.

Can I find a painter through Hirovo?

You can post a painting job on Hirovo for free, describe the rooms or the exterior, add photos and choose your area, and painters nearby can apply or message you in the app. Be aware of its limits. Hirovo is still a small platform in the US and the UK, so in some areas replies may be slow or may not come at all, and it is worth using other ways to find local tradespeople too. Hirovo does not verify painters, does not check identity or work history, and is not an employer, agent or party to the job. Run the checks in this guide on anyone who replies.

How to Hire a Painter: What Sets the Price, Prep Work and Questions to Ask

If you are working out how to hire a painter, you probably have a room, a hallway or the outside of the house in mind and a colour you like. The colour is the easy part. What decides how the paint looks in a year is the preparation underneath it, and that is also where most of the cost, and most of the difference between quotes, comes from.

This guide covers the United States and the United Kingdom. In the US the trade is usually called a house painter and the price is an estimate. In the UK it is a painter and decorator and the price is a quote. It explains how painters price work, why prep matters, licences, insurance and lead paint in each country, the questions to ask, and what to check before you pay the balance.

How painters price a job

Painters use a few different pricing methods, and comparing them directly can mislead you. What matters is what each price includes.

Whatever the method, compare the final written price and its scope, not the rate.
Pricing method	Common where	What to check
Per square foot	US, mostly interiors and exteriors of whole houses.	Whether it is wall area or floor area, and whether ceilings, trim and doors are extra.
Per room	US and UK, for standard bedrooms and living rooms.	What a ‘room’ includes: ceiling, skirting or baseboards, door, window frames.
Day rate	UK painters and decorators.	How many days they expect, and what happens if the job runs over.
Fixed price for the job	Both, especially larger or exterior jobs.	A written scope listing every surface, the prep steps and the number of coats.

What moves the price

Surface area: walls, ceilings and how broken up they are by windows, doors and built-ins.
Condition: cracks, holes, flaking paint, stains and damp patches all need treating first.
Woodwork: doors, frames, skirting or baseboards and stair spindles are slow, careful work.
Coats and colour change: going from dark to light, or onto fresh plaster, needs primer or extra coats.
Paint: who supplies it, which brand and finish, and how much is allowed for.
Access: high ceilings, stairwells and exteriors may need towers, ladders or scaffolding.

Why prep work is most of the job

A good painter spends more time preparing than painting. Furniture is moved or grouped and covered. Floors, fittings and switches are protected and masked. Holes and cracks are filled, then sanded smooth. Gaps between walls and woodwork are caulked so the line looks clean. Bare wood, repairs and new plaster are primed so the top coat sticks and dries evenly. Only then does the colour go on.

This is why one quote can be much cheaper than another for the same room. Cheap quotes often skip or rush the prep. The paint goes over dents and dust, the filled patches show through, and the finish starts peeling or cracking sooner. When you compare quotes, ask each painter to describe their preparation step by step.

Interior and exterior are different jobs

Exterior painting depends on the weather. Paint needs a dry surface and suitable temperatures to cure, so a painter may move dates around rain or cold. Exteriors also need safe access: ladders, towers or scaffolding, and sometimes space on a neighbour’s side or the pavement. Ask who arranges access equipment and whether it is in the price.

If you rent, check your tenancy agreement or ask your landlord before painting anything. Many agreements require written permission, and some require you to return the walls to the original colour when you leave.

Planning a painting job?

Posting a job on Hirovo is free. Describe the rooms or the exterior, add photos, choose your area, and painters nearby can apply or message you in the app. You compare them and decide who comes to look at the job.

Post a free job →

How to hire a painter in the United States

License

Licensing for painters varies by state. Some states require a contractor license once a job goes above a certain value, some license painting as a specialty trade, and others have no license for it at all. Rules can also differ by city or county. Check with your state licensing board before you hire, and look up any license number yourself.

Insurance

Ask for a certificate of general liability insurance, so damage to your home or property is covered. If the painter has employees, ask about workers’ compensation too. A painter who falls from a ladder on your property is a real risk on exterior jobs.

Homes built before 1978: the lead paint rule

Lead paint was banned for homes in the US in 1978. If your home was built before then and the work will disturb painted surfaces by sanding, scraping or cutting, the federal EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule requires a lead-safe certified firm. The firm should give you the EPA’s lead information pamphlet before work starts and use lead-safe methods, such as containing dust and cleaning up properly. Ask to see the firm’s certification.

How to hire a painter in the UK

No licence, so check other things

No licence is needed to work as a painter and decorator in the UK. Instead, ask for public liability insurance, references and photos of finished work similar to yours. Membership of a trade body or TrustMark, the government-endorsed quality scheme, is a useful extra signal.

Lead paint in older homes

Lead paint was common in UK homes until around the 1960s, and it may still be under later layers on woodwork, windows and doors. Disturbing it creates toxic dust. A careful decorator will test old paint and avoid dry sanding or burning it off, using wet methods or chemical strippers instead. Ask how they will handle it.

VAT

If the decorator is VAT-registered, VAT may be added to the price. Ask whether the quote includes VAT, so you compare like with like.

Questions to ask a painter

Can I see photos of recent jobs like mine?
What preparation will you do, step by step?
How many coats, and will you prime?
Who supplies the paint, and which brand and finish?
Are ceilings, woodwork and doors included?
Who moves the furniture and protects the floors?
US: is a license needed for this job here, and is this home covered by the lead paint rule? UK: does the quote include VAT?
Can I see your insurance certificate?
How long will it take, and how do you deal with bad weather on exterior work?

How hiring a painter works, step by step

Site visit: the painter looks at the surfaces, measures and asks about colours.
Written estimate or quote: every surface, the prep, primer, number of coats, paint, start date and how extras are priced. Ask each painter to quote the same scope.
Agreement: confirm the price and the payment schedule in writing. A deposit for materials is normal; paying everything upfront is not.
The work: agree any changes in writing before they are done.
Walkthrough: inspect the finish together, list snags, and pay the balance once they are fixed and you have an invoice.

What to check at the final walkthrough

Look at each wall in daylight and with a lamp held to the side. Coverage should be even, with no patches where the old colour shows through. Cutting-in lines, where walls meet ceilings and woodwork, should be straight. Check for drips, runs, brush marks and paint on glass, sockets or floors. Ask the painter to leave some leftover paint, labelled with the room and colour, for future touch-ups.

Tip: take photos of the walls before work starts, especially any existing cracks or damage. If there is a disagreement later about what was done, those photos settle it quickly.

If painting is part of a bigger renovation, our guide on how to hire a contractor covers contracts and stage payments in more detail. Planning a new bathroom too? See how to hire a tiler.

In short

The colour is the easy part. Preparation decides how the paint looks and lasts, and it is where cheap quotes cut corners. Compare written estimates or quotes for the same scope, not rates. In the US, check your state’s licensing rules, liability insurance and, in homes built before 1978, lead-safe certification. In the UK, check public liability insurance, ask how old paint will be handled and whether VAT is included. Pay the balance after the walkthrough, not before.