A very common question we hear is, “How much does it cost to hire a cleaner?”. We know how difficult it can be to get answers to questions like these so we thought we would provide all the information you could want to know about house cleaning prices in Melbourne in one place.

The cost of hiring a house cleaner in Melbourne depends on a number of factors, including:

• Type of service
• Level of quality
• Agency or Private
• Location

What is the average hourly rate for cleaning in Melbourne?

The average hourly rate for house cleaning in Melbourne is around $30-35/hr however this price varies depending on who you engage. Private cleaners average closer to $25-30/hr whereas most cleaning companies average between $35-45/hr and often high-quality companies will average around $45-60+/hr.

Hourly rate services are the simplest service to book and they are usually the most flexible in terms of inclusions. Historically, cleaning companies would request to come to your property to view your needs and then would provide you an estimate on how much cleaning you would need with an attached hourly rate.

Nowadays, generally you can book your hourly rate service online and select how much time you need.

The benefits of hourly rate services are:

• You can fix the time and therefore fix your cost
• You can usually request cleaners to clean to your needs and priorities
• You can select specific areas of the house

However, there are also some drawbacks:

• You do not have control over the speed of work, so it can be hard to measure how much will be done
• Unprofessional cleaners will clean without regard for the time and try to overcharge you
• As it is time dependent rather than result dependent, the service often does not come with result guarantees

Hourly rate services will vary considerably depending on whether you choose to employ a cleaner privately or if you choose an agency. If you would like to book an hourly rate service or would like more information, feel free to check out Maid to Clean’s hourly rate services.

• Private Cleaners
  • Minimum – Approx. $15-20/hr
  • Average – $25-30/hr
  • Higher – $35-40/hr+

• Cleaning Agency
  • Minimum – Approx. $25/hr
  • Average – $35-45/hr
  • Higher – $45-60/hr+

Level of Quality – Going Private

The clear benefit of going with a private cleaner is the cost. Because the person will be working directly for you, there is no middle-man and therefore the price is significantly lower. The lower price does come with some risks. There are certainly a lot of highly skilled and honest private cleaners out there, however, as you do not have the reputation and security of a company behind them, you are a lot more likely to experience:

• Poor quality cleaning or inconsistent cleaning
• Low quality customer service
• Higher chance of theft/security problems
• No background checks
• No online reputation to keep the person accountable
• Less reliability

If you are on a budget and are willing to take a risk, then going with a private cleaner is definitely an option. If you are lucky, you may find a highly skilled worker who is able to commit for the long-term too, however, it is a bit of a lottery and in general you do get what you pay for.

Level of Quality – Cleaning Companies

The majority of cleaning services that are done are through companies/agencies and there are some clear reasons for this. The benefits of going with a company are generally the counterpoints to the reasons why you would go private:

• Quality of cleaning is generally consistent and higher
• Customer service reps are professional and have training
• Cleaners are insured, police checked and kept accountable for their work and behaviour
• Company normally has an online reputation that they will work hard to maintain
• There are quality control measures to ensure consistent cleaning

Naturally, the drawback of going with a company is the price. If you are looking for peace of mind with who you allow into your home, we would recommend going with a cleaning company.

Level of Quality – Cheap vs Expensive Cleaning Company

If you are going to dish out the extra cash and go with a cleaning company, it’s very important you go with the right one and not all are made the same! A lot of cleaning companies aim for the “cheapest possible service” and will send contractors out at minimum wage (or less) with very little or no training. The problem with this is that cleaning actually requires a fair bit of skill and a lot of hard work. Going with the cheapest company will mean they the lowest margins and the lowest paid staff. Low paid staff means low experience and often, low effort and poor results. What often happens is that customers are extremely unhappy with the results and the house is normally in worse condition than they found it.

The main reason cleaning companies have a bad reputation is that the majority of businesses aim for this “cheapest possible product” approach and do not value the skill and effort needed for high quality cleaning. This is a losing formula and companies who go down this route often wonder why they are unable to retain repeat business.

Unlike general building or commercial cleaning, high quality domestic house cleaning should not be a minimum wage job and if you want a great looking home, you will need to pay a little more than the minimum. At Maid to Clean, a huge percentage of our new customers are people who have tried the cheap options out there, found the results to be poor, and then have decided to give us a go. Currently just under 80% of our customers are recurring which is a huge testament to people finding value in the extra dollars spent!

Like wine, it is often worth spending a few extra dollars with your cleaning company to ensure you are sent an experienced professional, rather than just somebody with a mop and a bucket! The higher charging companies will usually:

• Care more about their reputation online and therefore do their best to ensure you are happy
• Pay their cleaners better and therefore attract the best cleaners
• Provide more extensive support and systems to their staff
• Have more rigorous recruitment and safety systems to ensure reliability

So, if you have decided to go with a company rather than a private cleaner, we strongly recommend you pay the little bit extra and go with a high quality company.

How much does it cost to clean your entire home?

The average price to get a whole home clean depends on the size and condition of your home, however on average a 3 bedroom home will cost around $120-160 for a general home clean. For a full list of average prices based on the size and condition of your home, see the table below.

It is possible to get your entire home cleaned via an hourly rate option (as above) or alternatively you can hire cleaners on a “flat rate” basis. Flat rates usually involve cleaners performing a fixed list of tasks throughout your home.

Type of Service – Flat Rate

There are a lot of benefits of going with a flat rate service:

• You know exactly what is included before paying
• You are guaranteed a fixed result and the service does not depend on the speed of the worker
• There are usually guarantees that come with the service
• There are usually options to add extras on top of the usual inclusions

There are also some drawbacks:

• Flat rates have fixed lists so you cannot remove items from the cleans
• The service may be more expensive as will usually include the whole house
• You will now know how long the service will take

Generally, flat rates are the best approach if you are looking for a full house clean and proper spring cleaning. If you are looking to book a flat rate service, feel free to check out our flat rate pricing and options.

In terms of average costs to clean an entire home, the below table is applicable. Please note these prices are for a general clean. If homes needed deeper cleaning (i.e. they had not been cleaned for a long time) extra costs would apply:

Type of Service – Hourly Rate

How much it costs to clean your entire home will depend:

• Size of your home
• Condition of your home

If you decide on cleaning your entire home via an hourly rate rather than a flat rate, on average, the following table is a great resource for estimating how long it will take to clean your home based on the condition and the number of bedrooms you have.

Please note that the following table provides an estimate for doing all general cleaning as per our flat rate checklist that can be found here. This does not include doing less frequent items such as inside appliances, inside cabinets, windows etc.

Once you have worked out how long it will take to clean your home, you can then multiply it by one of the hourly rates in the hourly rate section above. Working off an hourly rate of $40-50/hr, you can see that in general an entire home clean for a well maintained house can vary from $80-100 for a 1 bedroom home all the way up to $200-300 for a large 6 bedroom home and considerably more than this when the home has not been cleaned for more than 1 month.

How much does it cost to clean a bathroom?

The average cost to clean a bathroom in Melbourne is around $15-25, however the price will depend on the size and condition of your bathroom. The following table can be used to work out the time required, then you can use the information in the “Hourly Rate” section above to work out the cost.

You can also find more information about our bathroom cleaning services here. 

As you will see from the table below, it generally will take 30-60 mins to take a bathroom, unless it’s exceptionally large/neglected. Based on an hourly rate of $40-50/hr, you would be therefore looking at $20-50 to get a bathroom cleaned.

How much does it cost to clean a kitchen?

The average cost to clean a kitchen in Melbourne is around $20-30, however the price will depend on the size and condition of your kitchen, as well as what you want included. Let’s assume we are doing all the general cleaning which does not include inside fridges, ovens and cabinets.

The table below can be used to work out the time required, then you can use the information in the “Hourly Rate” section above to work out the cost.

You can also find more information about our kitchen cleaning services here.

As you will see from the table below, it generally will take 30-60 mins to take a kitchen, unless it’s exceptionally large/neglected. Based on an hourly rate of $40-50/hr, you would be therefore looking at $20-50 to get a bathroom cleaned.

If you are interested in prices and times for other services such as ovens, fridges and inside cabinets, please head over to our additional servies page where you can find more information.

How much do End of Lease cleans cost in Melbourne?

The cost for end of lease cleaning will vary considerably depending on the size of your home and what you need included. On average, the cost for an end of lease clean for a 3 bedroom home will be between $220 and $570+. The lower end of these prices would be for a limited service with a budget company whereas the more expensive range would include all extras, steam cleaning and with a high quality company.

End of lease cleans require a very thorough clean of a property to ensure they are left in the same standard as before the tenancy. Most prices will include your standard extras required such as inside all cabinets and inside oven cleaning. Often, other extras will be needed such as inside windows, walls, steam cleaning and more which can make the cost significantly higher.

Due to the wide variety in prices with end of lease cleaning, it’s easy to fall in to the trap of going with the cheapest company in order to save money. This often backfires leading to poor quality work and issues with estate agents as well as last-minute price inflations by the companies who originally quote the cheaper price. End of lease cleaning requires a high amount of labour and it’s worth paying the correct price for a job well done. For more information, jump over to our End of Lease Cleaning Services page here.

*The table above gives an indication of average prices in Melbourne. These prices assume inside cabinets and oven, but not other extras. If your home requires steam cleaning, expect to pay between $100-300+ on top of the above prices.