Painters price guide

How much does a painter cost?

Most Australian painters charge around $65–$100 an hour or $550–$850 a day, but usually quote per job. Repainting a single room costs about $400–$1,000, a three-bedroom home's interior $3,500–$8,000, and a house exterior $4,000–$12,000. Weatherboard, double-storey homes and heavy prep cost more.

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Typical hourly rate $65–$100 Per painter. Most give a fixed price for the whole job rather than charging by the hour.

Typical day rate $550–$850 Per painter, labour only. Handy for touch-ups or a short list of rooms.

What common painter jobs cost

Job	Typical price	Notes
Paint a feature wall	$150–$400
Repaint a single room	$400–$1,000	Walls and ceiling, average bedroom
Paint an interior door	$120–$200	Per door, including the frame
Repaint a 2-bedroom unit, inside	$2,000–$5,000
Repaint a 3-bed home, inside	$3,500–$8,000	Walls, ceilings and trims, surfaces in fair condition
Paint a house exterior	$4,000–$12,000	Single-storey brick or render
Paint a weatherboard or double-storey exterior	$8,000–$20,000	More prep, plus scaffolding or a lift
Paint a roof	$3,000–$8,000	Tile or metal, after cleaning and repairs

Indicative prices for typical Australian homes, including GST. A guide, not a quote. Last reviewed 3 October 2026.

What drives painting prices

Prep. It’s the biggest variable and the part that decides how long the paint lasts. Washing, scraping, filling cracks, sanding, spot-priming and undercoating can take as long as the painting itself. Homes built before 1970 may have lead paint, which needs testing and careful handling before anyone sands it.

Surface and access. Brick and render are quicker to paint than weatherboard, which needs scraping, sanding and priming along every board. Double-storey homes need scaffolding or an elevated work platform, which can add $500–$2,000 to an exterior job on its own. High ceilings, stairwells and ornate cornices slow interiors down.

Paint and coats. Premium paint costs more per litre but usually covers better and lasts longer. Big colour changes, especially dark to light, need extra coats.

How it’s priced. Most painters quote the whole job. Some price per room or per square metre of wall, and a few work by the hour or day. Ask how your quote was worked out so you can compare like with like.

Getting a fair painting quote

The quote should list every surface (walls, ceilings, trims, doors, eaves, gutters), the prep, the paint brand and product, the number of coats, and who moves the furniture and cleans up. In NSW, painting work over $5,000 needs a licensed painter unless it’s stand-alone interior painting; other states set their own rules, so check on our licence checks page.

Don’t hand over a big deposit for a house painting job. Compare the quote against the ranges on this page, and if a price looks too good, check the prep is actually in it. needatradie matches you with one vetted local painter, so you’re not fielding five sales calls.

Painter or someone else?

Roofs are often painted as part of a roof restoration, along with cleaning, repairs and repointing, so compare with our roofer price guide. Holes and cracked plaster need fixing before painting. Small patches are a handyman job, while long or widening cracks may point to movement that’s worth having a builder look at. For everything else, start with our painters page.

Painters prices by city

City	What to expect
Sydney	Typically the most expensive city for painting, and a double-storey home painted inside and out can run to $25,000 or more.
Melbourne	Close to Sydney. Weatherboards and Victorian-era terraces need more scraping, filling and priming, so exterior quotes vary widely.
Brisbane	Timber Queenslanders cost much more to repaint outside than brick homes, because of the weatherboards, battens and decorative trim.
Perth	Often one of the more affordable cities, helped by plenty of brick and rendered homes. The harsh sun is tough on exterior paint, so good prep and a quality paint pay off.
Adelaide	Stone-fronted villas in the older suburbs need careful prep around trims and render, so get exteriors quoted after a site visit.
Gold Coast	Salt air and strong sun near the beach wear exterior paint faster, so ask what paint system the painter plans to use.
Newcastle	Often a little cheaper than Sydney for a similar home. Coastal suburbs get the same salt and sun wear as other beach areas.
Canberra	A typical three-bedroom interior runs around $4,500–$7,000. Cold winters limit exterior painting, so spring and autumn are the popular times for outside work.

Painters costs: common questions

How much does it cost to paint a 3-bedroom house?

Inside only, a three-bedroom home typically costs $3,500 to $8,000 for walls, ceilings and trims if the surfaces are in fair shape. The exterior is usually $4,000 to $12,000 for a single-storey brick home and more for weatherboard or two storeys. Painting inside and out often lands somewhere between $8,000 and $20,000.

How much should I pay a painter per day?

Around $550 to $850 a day per painter is typical, labour only. Paint and materials are extra, and a good painter will tell you which product they plan to use and how many coats. Most painters quote a fixed price for the whole job, which is easier to compare than a day rate.

How much does it cost to paint a house exterior?

Most single-storey brick or rendered homes cost $4,000 to $12,000 to paint outside. Weatherboard needs more scraping, sanding and priming, and double-storey homes need scaffolding or a lift, so those often run $8,000 to $20,000. Peeling paint, rotten boards and lead paint on older homes all add to the prep.

Is it cheaper to paint yourself or hire a painter?

Doing it yourself saves the labour, which is most of the bill, but you still pay for paint, rollers, brushes, drop sheets and tape. For a single room it can make sense. For ceilings, exteriors, high walls and anything with heavy prep, a painter is faster and the finish usually lasts longer. Working at height without the right gear is a real safety risk too.

How much should you pay a painter upfront?

For most house painting jobs, a small deposit or nothing until work starts is normal, with the balance paid at completion or in stages on bigger jobs. Be wary of anyone wanting a large cash deposit before they've bought a single tin. In NSW, for example, painting work over $5,000 generally needs a licensed painter and a written contract, although stand-alone interior painting is exempt from the licence.

How often should a house be repainted?

It depends on the surface, the paint and the weather it faces, so there's no fixed number. Exteriors in harsh sun or salt air need attention sooner than sheltered walls, and timber sooner than brick. Repaint when you see chalky residue, peeling, cracking or bare timber. Leaving it longer means more prep, which costs more.

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