Restaurant cleaning prices per square foot
Restaurants are cleaned every night after close, and the kitchen is the hard part: floors and surfaces have to be degreased, not just mopped. Here is what that work costs per square foot, computed from production rates.
Quick answer
$0.59 to $0.89 per sq ft per month
About $1,787/month for a 2,000 sq ft restaurant and $5,935/month for 10,000 sq ft. Smaller buildings cost more per square foot: restrooms, trash and break rooms do not shrink with the floor area.
How this is computed
- Sizes: 2,000 and 10,000 sq ft, the typical range for restaurants.
- Scope: BidLoom's default areas and tasks for a restaurant (listed below), on its default schedule of 7 visits a week, timed with BidLoom's production rates (approximations of ISSA 612 from public sources).
- Labor: $15.00/hr base wage, burdened to $16.82/hr with FICA, FUTA, US-average SUTA (2.7%) and janitorial workers comp (3.5%, EMR 1.00), no benefits.
- Supplies at 6% of labor, and the price at a 30% margin.
These are the defaults a new BidLoom account starts with, so the full bid opens at the same price. Pick your state below, or set your own wage and rates in the app.
- Hours per visit
- ~3.7 hrs
- Monthly price at 30% margin
- ~$2,823/mo
- Per sq ft per month
- $0.71
Burdened labor at $16.82/hr (US averages). State paid leave estimates use the higher-obligation tier within 10–49 employees; employee deductions are excluded. Tasks done on every visit follow the visits per week; the others keep the schedule below unless there are fewer visits. Fewer visits add a per-visit buildup: each visit has more to clean.
What the estimate includes
The default areas and tasks for a restaurant. In the full bid you change, add or remove any of them.
Dining Area
45% of the floor
- Sweep & Mop Floorevery day
- Wipe Tables & Chairsevery day
- Empty Trashevery day
Kitchen
25% of the floor
- Degrease & Scrub Floorsevery day
- Degrease Surfacesevery day
- Empty Trashevery day
Bar Area
10% of the floor
- Mop Floorevery day
- Clean Bar Surfacesevery day
Entrance
10% of the floor
- Sweep & Mop Entranceevery day
- Clean Glass Doorsevery day
Restrooms
2 restrooms
- Clean, Disinfect & Restock Restroomevery day
Restaurants: frequently asked questions
Why is restaurant cleaning expensive per square foot?
Every area is cleaned every night, and kitchen floors and surfaces are degreased, which is slow work per square foot. Restaurants are also small, so restrooms and trash weigh more in the price than in a larger building.
Is kitchen hood cleaning included?
No. Hood and exhaust duct cleaning is specialized work, usually done by a separate certified contractor on its own schedule. This estimate covers nightly cleaning: degreasing kitchen floors and surfaces, the dining room, bar, entrance and restrooms.
Is this restaurant cleaning estimate a quote I can send?
No. It is a starting point priced from BidLoom's default areas and tasks for this building type and size. A real bid needs a walkthrough: the actual rooms, floor types, restroom count and the schedule the client wants. The free BidLoom account starts the full bid with these numbers filled in, lets you change every area, task and rate, and makes the PDF proposal.
Why is the price shown at a 30% margin?
A margin is profit as a share of the price: at 30%, a contract priced at $1,000 costs $700 to deliver. 30% is the margin a new BidLoom account starts every bid at; you can change it on any bid or in Settings. Markup, profit as a share of cost, is a different number: a 30% margin is about a 43% markup.