# Is a cleaning business profitable?

It can be, mainly because startup costs are low and many clients book on a recurring schedule. In ProfitDrawer's cleaning business guide example, a 3 hour recurring clean priced at $140 uses about $24.40 in supplies, driving and overhead, leaving about $115.60 for the cleaner's pay, taxes and profit. Twelve homes cleaned every two weeks at that price bring in about $3,640 a month. These are example numbers, not averages; your results depend on your prices and costs.

**The guide's worked example, per visit (example numbers only):**

| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Price per visit | $140.00 |
| Supplies | $6.00 |
| Driving, 12 miles at $0.70 | $8.40 |
| Share of insurance, phone, marketing | $10.00 |
| **Left for your pay, taxes and profit** | **$115.60** |

The price was built from a $30 hourly target pay for 3 hours ($90), plus those costs, plus 20% added to the cost for taxes and slow weeks (a 20% markup).

At 12 biweekly homes (12 x 26 visits a year x $140, divided by 12 months), revenue is about $3,640 a month. With about 26 visits a month at $24.40 each, roughly $3,000 is left before income tax and self-employment tax, which is 15.3% of net earnings for the 2026 tax year.

**What eats the profit:** jobs spread across town (unpaid drive time), prices set too low to win first clients, skipped insurance, and not saving for taxes. Track every job and expense monthly so you see your real number. General information, not tax advice.

- Source: [How to Start a Cleaning Business (ProfitDrawer guide)](https://profitdrawer.com/guides/how-to-start-a-cleaning-business.html)
- Updated: 2026-10-29
- Published: 2026-10-29
- Category: Start a business
- Canonical: https://profitdrawer.com/answers/is-a-cleaning-business-profitable.html
- Publisher: ProfitDrawer (https://profitdrawer.com)