Skip to content Office cleaning cost is quoted in at least three different ways — per hour, per square foot, and per month — which makes comparing two proposals genuinely difficult. One contractor quotes £22 an hour, another quotes £1,400 a month, and there is no obvious way to tell which is better value.
This guide converts between all three, gives 2026 UK benchmarks, and sets out what should be in a specification so you are comparing like with like.
Hourly rates
| Type of work | 2026 UK hourly rate |
|---|---|
| Standard office cleaning | £18 – £25 |
| Deep clean | £30 – £45 |
| Specialist / medical premises | £30 – £100 |
| National spread (all types) | £15 – £30 |
Be careful with very low hourly rates. Once you account for the National Minimum Wage, employer’s National Insurance, holiday pay, insurance, equipment, consumables and supervision, there is not much room below about £16 an hour. A quote materially under that usually means one of three things: the cleaner is not properly employed, the hours quoted are unrealistic for the space, or something will be cut.
Cost per square foot
| Premises type | Per sq ft, per clean | Per m², per clean |
|---|---|---|
| Offices | £0.10 – £0.30 | £1.00 – £3.00 |
| Retail | £0.10 – £0.20 | £1.00 – £2.00 |
| Medical premises | £0.20 – £0.40 | £2.00 – £4.00 |
| Warehousing | £0.05 – £0.15 | £0.50 – £1.50 |
A worked example
A 2,000 sq ft office, cleaned five evenings a week, at £0.18 per sq ft:
- Per clean: 2,000 × £0.18 = £360… which is clearly wrong for a single evening visit.
This is the trap in per-square-foot pricing, and it catches people out constantly. The rate is a weekly figure in most published guides, not per visit. So 2,000 sq ft at £0.18 is roughly £360 per week, or about £1,500–£1,600 a month for five cleans a week.
When a contractor quotes per square foot, ask them one question: per visit, per week, or per month? A quote that does not say is not a quote you can compare.
Monthly contract costs
| Office size | 2× weekly | 5× weekly |
|---|---|---|
| Small (up to 1,000 sq ft) | £280 – £450 | £650 – £950 |
| Medium (1,000–3,000 sq ft) | £450 – £800 | £1,100 – £2,000 |
| Large (3,000–6,000 sq ft) | £800 – £1,400 | £2,000 – £3,500 |
| Very large (6,000+ sq ft) | £1,400+ | £3,500 – £5,000+ |
What actually drives your quote
- Frequency. The biggest single factor. Five cleans a week is not 2.5× the cost of two — travel and set-up are fixed, so higher frequency is cheaper per visit.
- Headcount, not floor area. Sixty people in 2,000 sq ft generate far more work than fifteen people in the same space. Washrooms and kitchens scale with people.
- Washrooms. The most labour-intensive area in any building, and the one occupants judge everything else by.
- Kitchen or breakout space. Adds significant time, particularly if staff leave washing up.
- Flooring. Hard floors need mopping and periodic buffing; carpet needs vacuuming and periodic extraction.
- Timing. Out-of-hours is standard. Very early, very late or weekend work carries a premium.
- Consumables. Soap, paper and bin liners are often excluded. Ask.
- Security requirements. Vetting, key holding and alarm responsibility all add cost.
Compare specifications, not prices
Two quotes are only comparable if both describe the same work. A proper specification states what is done daily, weekly, monthly and periodically:
| Frequency | Typical scope |
|---|---|
| Daily | Bins, washrooms, kitchen surfaces, desks, high-touch points, vacuuming main routes |
| Weekly | All floors, internal glass, skirtings, reception detail |
| Monthly | High dusting, vents, window sills, behind furniture |
| Quarterly / annually | Carpet extraction, hard floor treatment, external windows, deep kitchen clean |
If a quote does not break down like this, it is a price rather than a proposal. Our guide to how often an office should be cleaned goes into how to set those frequencies for your building.
Your obligations as an employer
Workplace cleanliness is not purely discretionary. UK employers have duties around the condition of the working environment, including keeping workplaces, furniture and fittings clean and dealing with waste properly. The Health and Safety Executive publishes the guidance that sits behind those requirements, and it is worth reading before you set a specification — particularly if you have washrooms, a kitchen, or any food handling.
Insurance matters on the contractor side too. Any company working in your building unsupervised should hold public liability and employer’s liability cover, and should show you the certificates without being pushed. Our guide on how to choose a cleaning company covers the full checklist.
Getting comparable quotes
Give every contractor the same brief:
- Floor area in square feet or square metres
- Number of staff, and how many days a week they are in
- Number of washrooms and cubicles
- Whether there is a kitchen or breakout area
- Floor types by area
- Required frequency and access hours
- Whether consumables are included
And insist on a site visit. Any contractor quoting a building they have not walked is guessing, and a guess is either too high or about to become a variation.
Frequently asked questions
How much does office cleaning cost in the UK?
Around £18–£25 an hour for standard office cleaning in 2026, or £0.10–£0.30 per square foot. A monthly contract typically runs £300 for a small office cleaned twice weekly up to £5,000+ for large premises cleaned daily.
Is office cleaning cheaper outside London?
Yes. London averages roughly £20–£27 an hour, while Liverpool and the wider North West typically sit at the lower end of the £18–£25 standard band.
Are cleaning consumables included in the price?
Often not. Soap, paper towels, toilet roll and bin liners are frequently quoted separately. Always ask, because it can be a meaningful monthly figure.
Should I pay hourly or by contract?
A fixed monthly contract against a written specification is usually better value and easier to budget. Hourly suits ad-hoc or one-off work. What matters more than the model is that the specification is written down.
Why is one quote much cheaper than the others?
Usually because the scope is narrower, the hours allowed are unrealistic for the space, or consumables and periodic work have been excluded. Compare the specifications side by side before comparing the prices.
Get a specification and a fixed price
We visit the building, write the specification with you, and quote against it — so you know exactly what is being done, how often, and what it costs.
We hold contracts across Liverpool, Wirral, St Helens, Warrington and Knowsley. See our commercial cleaning services or read about how we work.