Pricing guide
Commercial Cleaning Prices UK — 2026 Rates
What commercial cleaning actually costs per hour, per square metre and per month in the UK — with the arithmetic shown, so you can check any quote you're given.
Last reviewed August 2026
Most cleaning companies won't publish prices. That's not because every building is different — it's because a published number can be undercut. Here are ours, and the reasoning behind them, so you can hold any supplier (including us) to a straight answer.
Every commercial cleaning price in the UK is built from the same three parts: hours × hourly rate + consumables and periodic work. If you know your floor area and how often you need cleaning, you can estimate all three in about a minute — or use the office cleaning cost calculator to do it for you.
Hourly rates by region (2026)
Charge-out rate ex VAT, not the cleaner's take-home pay.
| Region | Hourly rate | Why |
|---|---|---|
| London | £15.50 – £22.00 | Highest wage floor and travel cost |
| South East | £14.00 – £19.00 | Reading, Brighton, Kent commuter belt |
| Midlands | £13.50 – £18.00 | Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham |
| North of England | £13.00 – £17.00 | Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle |
| Scotland & Wales | £13.00 – £17.50 | Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff |
Monthly office cleaning cost by size and frequency
UK average region, ex VAT, standard office specification.
| Premises | 1× week | 3× week | 5× week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small office, up to 100 m² | £70 – £120 | £190 – £310 | £300 – £480 |
| 200 m² (approx. 20–25 staff) | £100 – £160 | £270 – £430 | £430 – £690 |
| 400 m² (approx. 45 staff) | £150 – £240 | £420 – £660 | £670 – £1,050 |
| 800 m² (single floor, 90 staff) | £260 – £420 | £740 – £1,150 | £1,180 – £1,850 |
| 1,500 m² (multi-floor) | £460 – £740 | £1,340 – £2,080 | £2,150 – £3,350 |
Price per square metre by sector
| Sector | Typical rate | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| General office | £1.60 – £2.60 per m² per month (5 days) | Baseline. Desks, bins, kitchen, washrooms, vacuuming. |
| Retail / showroom | £1.40 – £2.30 per m² per month | Large open floor cleans fast; glass and fitting rooms add time. |
| Warehouse / industrial | £0.70 – £1.40 per m² per month | High output rates, but machine sweeping and welfare areas add cost. |
| Healthcare / clinical | £3.20 – £5.50 per m² per month | Colour-coded equipment, infection control, audit trail, trained staff. |
| Education | £1.80 – £3.00 per m² per month | High touch-point load, term-time intensity, safeguarding checks. |
| Gym / leisure | £2.40 – £4.00 per m² per month | Changing rooms and equipment sanitising dominate the hours. |
The five things that actually change your price
- Washroom density. Washrooms take twelve minutes each, every visit, and cause most complaints. Four washrooms on a small floor can add more time than the offices themselves.
- Access hours. Pre-6am and post-9pm attract a premium. Daytime cleaning usually saves 5–10% and cuts energy use.
- Frequency. Cost is not linear. Going from one to five visits a week roughly quadruples the fee, not quintuples it, because mobilisation and travel are shared.
- Specification quality. "Daily clean" is meaningless. A proper spec sets task frequency room by room — see our free specification template.
- TUPE. If you already have a contractor, their staff transfer on existing terms. This is the single biggest reason a real quote differs from an online estimate.
How to check a quote in two minutes
Ask three questions and the picture clears immediately:
- How many cleaner-hours a week is this? Divide the monthly fee by 4.33, then by the hours. If the implied rate is under £13, the hours or the pay aren't real.
- What's included as periodic, and what's extra? Get carpets, windows and hard floors priced separately.
- What's the notice period? Anything longer than three months on a standard office contract is protecting the supplier, not you.
When you're ready to compare properly, read how to get an office cleaning quote, and download the free UK cleaning contract template before you sign anything.
Frequently asked questions
How much does commercial cleaning cost per hour in the UK?+
Between roughly £13 and £22 an hour depending on region and sector, with £15.50–£22 typical in London and £13–£17 across the North. That figure is not the cleaner's wage — it covers pay, employer National Insurance, holiday and sickness cover, insurance, equipment, chemicals, supervision and margin. A rate below about £13 an hour anywhere in the UK is a warning sign.
What does commercial cleaning cost per square metre?+
For a five-day-a-week office clean, expect £1.60–£2.60 per m² per month. Warehousing is cheaper per m² because output rates are far higher; clinical space is two to three times an office because of infection-control procedure.
Is it cheaper to hire an in-house cleaner?+
Rarely, once you cost it properly. A directly employed cleaner on £12.50 an hour costs roughly £16.50 fully loaded with employer NI, pension, holiday and sick pay — before equipment, chemicals, COSHH compliance, insurance and the cost of covering absence. Below about 25 hours a week, a contract is almost always cheaper and always lower risk.
Why do quotes for the same building vary so much?+
Almost always because the hours differ, not the rate. One supplier has scoped four hours a night, another two. Ask every supplier to state cleaner-hours per week on the face of the quote and the comparison becomes obvious in seconds.
Should periodic work be included in the monthly fee?+
Ask for it priced separately, then decide. Carpet cleaning, hard floor treatment, internal windows and kitchen deep cleans are genuinely periodic; bundling them into a monthly figure makes suppliers look expensive and makes it impossible to check whether the work actually happened.
Is VAT charged on commercial cleaning?+
Yes. Any VAT-registered cleaning contractor charges standard-rate VAT at 20% on top of the fees above. All prices on this page are quoted excluding VAT, which is the industry convention.
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