House Painting Cost: Interior, Exterior, and Room-by-Room Pricing

Painting is one of the more affordable ways to change how a home looks, but "cost to paint a house" means different things depending on whether you mean one room, a full interior, or the exterior. Interior painting typically runs $2 to $6 per square foot; exterior runs $2 to $5 per square foot. This guide breaks both down further, by room, by house size, and by the one job that prices differently from the rest: cabinets.

Interior Painting Cost

Cost per room varies with ceiling height, trim and door count, and how many colors are involved, a room with vaulted ceilings or extensive trim work costs more than a standard box room of the same square footage.

Exterior Painting Cost

Exterior painting runs $2 to $5 per square foot of exterior wall area, generally a bit less per square foot than interior work since there's less trim and cutting-in involved, but exterior jobs often need more prep (pressure washing, scraping, priming bare wood) that interior jobs skip.

Kitchen Cabinet Painting

Painting existing cabinets is a different job from painting walls, more prep (cleaning, sanding, priming) and more precision (doors, drawer fronts, hardware removal) per square foot. A typical kitchen cabinet painting job runs $1,500 to $6,000 depending on kitchen size and cabinet count, notably cheaper than full cabinet refacing or replacement, and a common way to update a kitchen's look on a smaller budget.

What Affects the Cost

Interior vs. exterior. Different prep requirements and different per-square-foot rates, as covered above.

Number of colors and coats. More than one color per room, or a dramatic color change requiring extra coats for full coverage, adds labor time.

Trim and detail work. Crown molding, wainscoting, and multi-panel doors all add labor beyond flat wall area.

Surface prep. Peeling paint, drywall repairs, or bare wood that needs priming adds cost that only becomes clear once the job starts.

Paint quality. A gallon of quality interior paint typically runs $30 to $80; premium and specialty finishes (cabinet-grade enamel, for example) cost more per gallon and often need more coats for proper coverage.

Ceiling height. Standard 8-foot ceilings are the baseline; vaulted or higher ceilings need scaffolding or lifts, adding labor cost.

DIY vs. Professional

Painting is one of the more DIY-friendly home projects, walls and ceilings in particular don't require licensing or specialized tools beyond what's available at any hardware store. Where professional painters earn their cost back is in prep work (patching, sanding, proper priming) and finish quality on detailed trim, cabinets, or exteriors requiring ladder work, jobs where mistakes are expensive to fix and time-consuming to redo.

Getting an Accurate Quote

Have ready: which rooms or exterior areas you're painting, your home's approximate square footage, whether trim and doors are included, and your general color plan (one color throughout vs. multiple).

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to paint a house?

Interior runs $2 to $6 per square foot; exterior runs $2 to $5 per square foot. A full interior on a 1,500 sq ft house typically totals $3,000 to $9,000.

How much does it cost to paint a room?

$300 to $1,000 for an average-sized room, depending on ceiling height, trim, and number of colors.

How much does it cost to paint the interior of a 1,500 sq ft house?

$3,000 to $9,000 depending on trim detail, number of colors, and prep needed.

How much does it cost to paint kitchen cabinets?

$1,500 to $6,000 depending on kitchen size and cabinet count, cheaper than refacing or replacing cabinets.

How much does exterior house painting cost?

$2 to $5 per square foot, with a small home typically running $2,000 to $4,000 and a large home $6,000 or more.

How much does a gallon of paint cost?

$30 to $80 for quality interior paint, more for premium or specialty finishes like cabinet enamel.

Bottom Line

Interior and exterior painting both land in the $2 to $6 per square foot range, but scope (a single room vs. a whole house) and surface condition drive the real number more than the per-square-foot rate alone. Cabinet painting is priced separately and is worth considering as a lower-cost alternative to refacing or replacing kitchen cabinets.

Related reading

National averages are useful for planning. Verify pricing against a quote for your home before treating any range as final.