Paint Guide · 4 min read
How much does it cost to paint a room?
Doing it yourself, a typical bedroom costs $95–$175 in paint and supplies. Hiring a painter, the same room runs $600–$1,200. Here is where those numbers come from and how to move them.
Cost by room size
Eight-foot walls, one door, two windows, two coats at 350 sq ft per gallon. DIY range uses $25 to $65 per gallon of paint plus a $45 supplies allowance. Pro range is $2–$4 per square foot of wall, labor and paint included.
| Room | Wall sq ft | Gallons | DIY materials | Hire a painter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small bathroom 6×8 | 173 | 1 | $70–$110 | $346–$692 |
| Bedroom 10×12 | 301 | 2 | $95–$175 | $602–$1,204 |
| Bedroom 12×12 | 333 | 2 | $95–$175 | $666–$1,332 |
| Living room 12×15 | 381 | 3 | $120–$240 | $762–$1,524 |
| Living room 14×16 | 429 | 3 | $120–$240 | $858–$1,716 |
| Great room 15×20 | 509 | 3 | $120–$240 | $1,018–$2,036 |
Run your own room through the project planner; it shows both numbers with your paint tier and surface.
What moves the DIY number
Paint tier. The gap between a $25 gallon and a $65 gallon is real, but premium paint usually covers in fewer coats and touches up better, so on a dark-to-light change it can cost the same overall. Primer. Light over dark or new drywall adds a gallon or two at about $25 each. Supplies you already own. The $45 allowance assumes you're buying a roller frame, covers, a brush, tape, a tray, and a drop cloth from scratch; a second room costs only the paint.
What moves the pro number
Prep. Patching, sanding, caulking and dealing with wallpaper or water stains are labor, and labor is most of the bill. A clean room in good condition lands at the bottom of the range. Ceilings and trim. Each adds roughly 20–30% to a walls-only quote. Height. Vaulted or stairwell walls need ladders or scaffolding and price accordingly. Region. Coastal metros run above the national range; rural areas below it. The only way to know is to get two or three quotes, which is what the "get painter quotes" button on the planner is for.
When hiring pays
Painting a bedroom yourself is a weekend and a few hours of cleanup. The math favors DIY for one or two rooms in good shape. It flips when the job involves a whole house, tall walls, lots of trim, or a deadline: a two-person crew paints a full interior in two or three days, and the finish on cut-in lines and trim is where experience shows. If you're deciding, price both with the planner, then request quotes and compare the quote to the pro range; a quote far above it deserves a question about what's included.
Last updated 2026-09-03. Method: how we calculate.