This is the first question almost every business owner asks, and it's also the question that's hardest to answer honestly with a single number. Anyone who quotes you a flat commercial cleaning price without seeing your space is guessing — or lowballing to win the contract and making it up later. Here's what actually drives cost, and how to think about it.
Square Footage Is Only the Starting Point
Larger spaces obviously take more time to clean, but square footage alone doesn't determine cost. A 3,000 sq ft open-plan office with a kitchen and two washrooms is a very different job than a 3,000 sq ft space with a dozen private offices, a server room, and a boardroom with glass walls. Layout, the number of washrooms and kitchens, and how much of the space is high-touch versus open floor all factor into how long a proper clean actually takes — which is what pricing is really based on.
Frequency Changes the Math Significantly
Daily cleaning costs more in total than weekly cleaning, obviously, but the per-visit cost often drops as frequency increases, since crews are maintaining a baseline rather than catching up from a bigger gap. A space cleaned once a week often needs more time per visit than the same space cleaned daily, because more has accumulated between visits. The right frequency for your space — as covered in how often an office should really be cleaned — is part of getting an accurate price, not a separate decision from it.
Scope Is the Biggest Variable
This is where quotes vary the most between providers, because "commercial cleaning" means different things to different companies. Does the quote include floor care, or is that a separate add-on you'll discover later? Does it include periodic deep cleaning, or only regular maintenance? Are washroom supplies included, or billed separately? A low quote that excludes half of what you actually need isn't a better price — it's an incomplete one that costs more once you add back what's missing.
Typical Ranges — And Why We Won't Give You a Fake One
You'll find websites that publish a per-square-foot range as if it applies universally. In practice, the range for a small office with light traffic and the range for a busy retail space or an industrial facility with locker rooms and washrooms are different enough that a single number is more misleading than helpful. What we can tell you is that pricing scales with square footage, frequency, and scope — and that a real quote requires seeing your space, not applying a generic formula to it.
Why Cheapest Isn't Best
The lowest quote in a batch of cleaning bids is often the one missing something — less time allotted per visit, no supervisor oversight, no liability insurance, or a scope that's vaguer than it looks on paper. That gap tends to show up within a few months, either as declining quality, missed visits, or an uninsured incident that lands back on you as the client. The right comparison isn't lowest price — it's price against a fully documented, insured, supervised scope of work. Two quotes that look similar on price can represent very different levels of actual service.
What Drives a Fair Price
- Total square footage and layout complexity
- Cleaning frequency (daily, weekly, or custom schedule)
- Full scope — regular maintenance, floor care, and periodic deep cleaning
- Specialized requirements — clinics, gyms, industrial facilities with distinct standards
- Insurance, WCB compliance, and supervisor oversight built into the service, not billed as extras
Getting a Real Quote From ShiftClean
We don't quote a price over the phone without seeing your space, and we don't think you should accept one from anyone who does. Our process is a free walkthrough where we assess your space, document what it actually needs, and send a written estimate with a clear scope — so the number you get is the number you can hold us to, not a placeholder that grows once service starts. No long-term contract is required to start, and there's no obligation from a walkthrough.
If you want an honest number for your specific space, book a free estimate and we'll have it to you within 48 hours of the visit.