How Much Does It Cost to Paint a House in Australia?
Real 2026 rates for a single room, a whole interior, an exterior and render, plus the preparation work that quietly makes up a third of the bill.
Prices checked 24 October 2026. Ranges are for Sydney metro, mid-range paint and a licensed or experienced painter, including GST and materials.
What painting costs in 2026
The short answer is that most of the money is labour, not paint. A full interior on a three bedroom house usually lands between $4,500 and $9,000, and the same house on the outside runs $3,500 to $12,000 depending on storeys, access and how much prep the weather has handed you.
| Job | Typical range | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| One bedroom or living room | $900 to $2,000 | Walls, ceiling and trim, patch and sand, primer on repairs, two coats |
| Three bedroom house interior | $4,500 to $9,000 | All walls, ceilings, skirtings, architraves and doors, patching included |
| Four bedroom house interior | $6,500 to $12,000 | Larger floor area, more doors, more trim, often higher ceilings |
| Single storey exterior | $3,500 to $7,500 | Pressure clean, patch, seal, two coats on walls, eaves and trim |
| Two storey exterior | $6,000 to $12,000 | Scaffolding or height access, more surface area, slower application |
| Rendered house exterior | $5,000 to $11,000 | Render is porous, so it takes sealer and often an extra coat |
| Ceilings only, whole house | $2,000 to $4,500 | The cheapest big visual win if walls are still in good condition |
| Doors and trims, per door | $120 to $320 | Removed, sanded, primed and finished off site or on drop sheets |
| Deck oil or stain | $1,200 to $3,500 | Sand, clean, two coats. Larger decks and weathered timber sit at the top |
| Timber fence, per linear metre | $18 to $40 | Both sides costs roughly double, and spraying is faster than brushing |
| Spray finish, whole house | 15 to 25% premium | Faster on large flat areas, needs masking, and shows defects more clearly |
| New build, full house | $12,000 to $25,000 | Everything from bare plasterboard, three coats, ceilings, trim and doors |
As a rough cross check, interior work usually prices at $18 to $35 per square metre of floor area, and a painter charges $55 to $90 per hour in a capital city. If a quote lands far below those numbers, something in the scope has been left out, and it is normally the preparation.
Why the outside costs more than the inside
People expect the exterior to be cheaper because there are fewer walls. It is usually dearer, for four reasons.
- Height and access. Above one storey you need scaffolding, a boom or at least proper ladder work, and that is a cost line on its own.
- Heavier preparation. Pressure cleaning, treating mould, filling cracked render, replacing rotten weatherboards, sealing knots and bare patches, masking windows, gutters and roofing.
- The weather. Exterior paint needs the right surface temperature and a dry window. Rain, wind and cold nights turn a five day job into eight.
- Sun damage. A south or west facing wall that has chalked and faded takes sealer and an extra coat, which is most of a day of labour before the finish coat even goes on.
The interior is mostly about moving furniture and cutting in neatly. The exterior is about access, repair and timing, and all three are labour.
What actually moves the price
| Factor | Effect on the bill | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation and patching | 20 to 35% of the job | Filling, sanding, gap sealing, priming bare plaster. Skipping it is why cheap jobs fail in two years |
| Colour change, dark to light | Adds one coat | Red, navy or charcoal needs a tinted undercoat or three top coats to cover |
| High ceilings and stairwells | Adds 10 to 20% | Access equipment and slower work overhead |
| Occupied house | Adds time, not usually price | Furniture moving and drying time between rooms stretch the schedule |
| Lead paint, homes pre 1970 | $300 to $800 to test | Test before sanding. Disturbing lead paint is a health issue, not a shortcut question |
| Asbestos sheeting, homes pre 1990 | Removal quoted separately | Common in eaves and wet area sheeting. A painter should stop and call a licensed removalist |
| Paint quality | $400 to $1,200 across a house | Trade grade versus premium wash and wear. The labour is identical either way |
| Two storey or steep block | Adds 15 to 30% | Access, safety and slower production |
How painters quote, and how to compare them
There are three common ways to be quoted, and only one of them is easy to compare.
- Fixed price per job. The clearest option. Make sure the written quote lists rooms, coats, paint brand and sheen level, preparation included, and what is excluded.
- Per room. Fine for a like for like house, but check whether ceilings, trim and doors are in the room price or added later.
- Hourly. Fair for small repairs and awkward extras, risky for a whole house because there is no ceiling on the bill.
Whichever you are given, ask four questions before signing: how many coats on each surface, which paint product by name, what preparation is included, and who fixes defects and when. A serious painter answers all four without hesitation and puts them in the quote.
In NSW, painting is not a licensed trade in the way plumbing and electrical are, which is exactly why the written quote matters more. Residential work over $5,000 needs a written contract, and work over $20,000 can require home building compensation cover. Our guide to trades that need a licence in NSW explains what to check, and what to ask for before work starts.
DIY or pay a painter?
Materials are roughly 25 to 35 per cent of a professional job, so doing it yourself saves the labour, not the whole price. On a $7,000 interior that is about $2,000 of paint and consumables against $5,000 of labour.
Doing it yourself makes sense when the walls are sound, ceilings are normal height, and you have evenings and weekends to give it. Paying makes sense when the preparation is the hard part: cracked render, rotten timber, high stairwells, lead paint or a colour change that needs proper sealing.
A sensible middle path is to pay for the preparation and the exterior, and do the interior walls yourself. That is where most of the risk sits, and where a bad first coat shows for the next ten years.
If you are doing the work, the tools decide the finish. A decent airless or HVLP sprayer, a good set of brushes and a pole sander cost less than one day of a painter's time. See our best power tools in Australia picks before you buy, and check the tradie gift guide if you are buying for someone who paints for a living.
The five things that go wrong
- A quote with no preparation in it. If the price looks too good, the patching, sanding and priming have been left for you to discover after the deposit is paid.
- One coat sold as two. Ask for the number of coats in writing, per surface. Ceilings and trim are usually where a coat quietly disappears.
- Cheap paint on a good job. The labour is the same whether the tin cost $60 or $130. Ask for the product name and the sheen level, and check it is the tin that arrives.
- Sanding lead paint. Any home built before 1970 can have lead paint. Test before sanding, and never dry sand it indoors.
- Paying too much up front. A deposit of 10 per cent is normal. A painter asking for half the job before starting is using you as a bank, and there is no reason for it on a five day job.
All five are checkable in ten minutes, before the first ladder goes up.
The short version
Measure the job, not the dream. A single room is $900 to $2,000, a three bedroom interior is $4,500 to $9,000, and exteriors run higher because access and prep cost more than paint. Get two or three fixed price quotes on the same written scope, compare the preparation line by line rather than the total, and keep 10 per cent aside for what turns up once the walls are washed.
If the paint is only part of a bigger job, our bathroom, kitchen, deck and home extension cost guides cover the rest of the house.
Common questions
How much does it cost to paint the inside of a house in Australia in 2026?
A three bedroom house painted inside, including walls, ceilings and trim, typically costs 4,500 to 9,000 dollars in Sydney in 2026. A single bedroom or living room runs 900 to 2,000 dollars. A four bedroom house with high ceilings and lots of patching sits closer to 6,500 to 12,000 dollars.
Why is painting the outside of a house more expensive than inside?
Exterior work needs scaffolding or ladders, it is exposed to weather, and the preparation is heavier: pressure cleaning, filling cracked render, replacing rotten timber, sealing bare patches and masking windows and roofs. Two storey homes and high wind areas also slow the job down, so the labour bill climbs well above the interior rate.
How much does a painter charge per hour in Australia?
A qualified painter in a capital city typically charges 55 to 90 dollars per hour, with higher rates for two storey exterior work, heritage detail or after hours access. Many painters prefer to quote a fixed price per room or per job rather than hourly, and a fixed price is easier to compare.
Is it cheaper to paint a house myself?
Materials are only about 25 to 35 per cent of a professional paint job, so doing it yourself saves the labour, not the whole price. On a 7,000 dollar interior that means roughly 2,000 dollars of paint and consumables and about 5,000 dollars of labour. It is worth doing yourself if the walls are sound and you have the time, and worth paying for where the preparation, height or finish quality is the hard part.
How long does it take to paint a house?
A three bedroom interior usually takes five to eight working days for a two person crew, including patch and prime time and two coats. A single storey exterior takes four to seven days, and a two storey exterior with render repairs takes one to two weeks, weather permitting. Rain and cold nights add drying days.