Office Cleaning Prices in the UK and What Affects Them

Office cleaning in the UK usually costs between £15 and £25 per hour outside London, and £20 to £32 per hour in London and the South East. These are typical contract rates per cleaner before VAT is added. Buying commercial cleaning is very different to hiring domestic help. Household cleaning is priced differently and is covered in our guide to house cleaning prices if you want a cleaner at home.

Office cleaning prices at a glance

When you start looking for a commercial cleaner, you will see prices presented in several different ways. Some firms quote an hourly rate, while others quote a price per visit or a monthly total. You might also see quotes based on the size of your workspace, with routine cleans priced per square metre per visit. Another common metric is a price per desk per month on a near daily contract.

You need to understand these different pricing models to make an informed choice. There is no licence or qualification that a commercial cleaner must hold by law to work in your office. You should rely on their insurance, their references and the detail in their quote to judge their professionalism.

This table shows typical hourly rates and standard visit costs for commercial spaces across the UK.

These figures are typical published prices for 2026 excluding VAT. Local quotes will differ based on the exact layout and condition of your workspace.

Hourly rates and prices per square metre

Office cleaning is bought as hours on site rather than by floor area. You are paying for the time a cleaner spends in your building, not a flat fee for the size of the room. This is the most accurate way to price commercial work because every building is different.

Industry productivity guidance from the British Institute of Cleaning Science puts a trained operative at roughly 230 to 250 square metres an hour on general office work. They will cover much less ground in washrooms, kitchens and dense open-plan floors. If your office has a lot of desks packed tightly together, it takes longer to navigate and clean around them.

This productivity rate explains why quotes vary so much. Two contractors quoting for the exact same building can differ by 40 per cent simply because one allowed three hours a night and the other allowed two. A cheaper quote may just mean fewer hours on site.

Monthly costs by office size and frequency

Most cleaning companies will bill you monthly for their services. Your monthly cost depends heavily on how many desks you have and how often the cleaner visits. A micro office needs far fewer hours than a large open-plan space.

This table shows typical monthly costs based on office size and the number of cleaning visits per week. It provides a baseline for what you can expect to pay for regular contract cleaning.

These figures are typical published prices for 2026 before VAT and local quotes will differ.

What a routine office clean includes

A standard office cleaning contract covers the daily or weekly tasks needed to keep a workspace running safely and efficiently. The core duties usually stay the same across most commercial providers. You should expect your daily or weekly schedule to include these specific tasks.

• Emptying and re-lining bins and moving waste to the bin store
• Wiping clear desks, surfaces and high-touch points
• Vacuuming carpets and mopping hard floors
• Cleaning and replenishing washrooms
• Wiping kitchen and breakout surfaces, sinks and appliance exteriors
• Cleaning reception areas, meeting rooms and corridors

A professional contract is about more than just the physical cleaning. You are also paying for supervision, regular quality audits and reliable absence cover when your regular cleaner is ill or on holiday. A self-employed cleaner you deal with directly may have no one to cover when they are off, while a cleaning company sends employed staff and arranges cover itself.

Extras that are charged separately

Many essential services fall outside a standard regular clean and are billed as extras. A regular clean covers routine surfaces, but a deep clean goes further. It tackles skirting boards, door frames, tops of cupboards and behind furniture. A deep clean is priced by the size of the office or by the hour and takes much longer. Carpet cleaning, upholstery and window cleaning are commonly add-ons, so never assume they are included.

You must check your quote carefully to see exactly what is included.

• Consumables such as toilet rolls, towels, soap and liners
• Sanitary waste and washroom services at £8 to £15 per bin per service
• Carpet cleaning at £150 to £650 a year or £2 to £4 per square metre
• Window cleaning at £80 to £300 or more a visit
• Deep cleans, from £150 outside London and £250 to £950 in London
• Post-event cleans at £150 to £500
• High-level dusting, floor stripping and sealing, and upholstery
• Out of hours, weekend and bank holiday work

In London, washrooms are often quoted separately at £28 to £42 a visit. Kitchens and breakout areas in the capital also carry a separate charge of £28 to £40. VAT at 20 per cent is applied to all of these extra services. Work at height, heavy mould and biohazards need a specialist and are not part of a standard office clean.

What pushes the price up or down

Frequency makes a big difference to your total bill. Going from three visits a week to five adds roughly two thirds to the monthly cost, but it lowers the rate you pay per visit. Committing to a six or twelve month contract typically buys 10 to 15 per cent off the per visit rate.

Most offices are cleaned before 8am or after 6pm, and this is already priced into standard quotes. Overnight, weekend and bank holiday work carries an uplift of £5 to £10 an hour, or 15 to 25 per cent. Washrooms and kitchens take the most time. If you have multiple small kitchens or high-traffic washrooms, your quote will be higher because productivity drops in these areas.

Location makes a bigger difference to office cleaning than to most other cleaning work. London office cleaning averaged £20.50 to £26.80 an hour in April 2026, while Manchester and Leeds sat at roughly £11 to £20. This is a 30 to 50 per cent spread at the midpoints. This spread is wider than the 20 to 35 per cent London gap seen in most other cleaning trades.

VAT and the other lines on a quote

Commercial cleaning is standard-rated for VAT at 20 per cent. Nearly every published trade rate is quoted net, so a rate of £19.00 an hour plus VAT is really £22.80. You should always compare quotes net and budget gross so you are not caught out by hidden costs.

A business must register for VAT if its taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or is expected to go over £90,000 in the next 30 days. A business below the threshold can choose to register voluntarily. A small sole trader who stays below it and has not registered does not charge VAT, so their quote is already the full price.

Equipment such as vacuums and mops is usually supplied by the contractor and included in the hourly rate. Consumables are almost always charged separately and will appear as distinct lines on your invoice.

Employing your own cleaner or using a contractor

If your business takes on a cleaner who is not self-employed or supplied by an agency or contractor, it becomes their employer. An employer must pay at least the National Minimum Wage, check the right to work, run a payroll system and hold employers' liability insurance.

You might consider employing a cleaner directly rather than hiring a cleaning company. A cleaner paid the £13.45 an hour Real Living Wage costs closer to £17 to £18 an hour once employer's National Insurance, pension contributions and holiday pay are added. This is the true cost before you pay for equipment, cleaning products, insurance and cover for sickness and holidays. The legal National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour from April 2026 for those aged 21 and over.

An employer must have employers' liability insurance as soon as they become an employer. This insurance must cover at least £5 million from an authorised insurer. The fine for not being properly insured is £2,500 for every day you are without cover.

Running a payroll, paying insurance and managing staff takes time. For most offices under about 40 desks, contracting out to a cleaning company is usually cheaper and much simpler.

How to compare office cleaning quotes

You need to compare prices like for like to find a fair deal. Ask for the cleaner-hours per visit, the visits per week and the net rate. A quote giving a monthly figure and nothing else cannot be benchmarked. Choosing on the lowest hourly rate alone is a common mistake.

Check what each quote includes and excludes, especially regarding consumables and equipment. Do not accept low phone quotes that rise on arrival because of the condition of your office. Deep clean quotes should state the hours, the number of cleaners and what is excluded. Treat a London rate below £20 an hour with caution. A rate this low usually means someone is uninsured or paying below the Living Wage.

You should also ask about key handling. Handing over keys with no agreement on how they are stored is a security risk. Never pay in full up front to an unknown trader, and always check their insurance before something gets broken. A basic DBS check is something an individual applies for themselves, costs £20 and covers England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own routes. You can ask a contractor to show that their staff have recent basic DBS checks.

For a deeper look at workplace law, contractor checks, contract terms and the warning signs to watch out for, read our guide on how to choose a commercial cleaning company.

Common questions

Are office cleaning rates negotiable?

Contractors sell hours on site, so reducing the hours will reduce the price. You can also lower the per visit rate by agreeing to a longer term. Six or twelve months of commitment typically buys 10 to 15 per cent off the per visit rate.

Do office cleaning companies provide the cleaning supplies?

Equipment such as vacuums and mops is usually supplied by the contractor and included in the hourly rate. Consumables are almost always charged separately. You will need to pay extra for toilet rolls, towels, soap and bin liners.

How long does an office cleaning checklist take to complete?

Industry productivity guidance puts a trained operative at roughly 230 to 250 square metres an hour on general office work. They will cover much less ground in washrooms, kitchens and dense open-plan floors.

What is the difference between an ad hoc clean and a contract?

An ad hoc clean is a single visit with no ongoing commitment, charged at a higher hourly rate. A contract requires a minimum weekly commitment, usually 5 to 10 hours a week outside London and from 10 hours a week in London. Contract rates are lower because the regular work is guaranteed.

Do I need a one off deep clean?

A one off deep clean goes further than a routine visit. It tackles hidden dirt and grime built up over time. Deep cleans are charged as an extra and cost from £150 outside London to between £250 and £950 in the capital.

Next steps for booking an office cleaner

Follow these steps to get an accurate price for your workspace and avoid common mistakes.

• Decide the tasks, frequency and budget first before you contact any companies
• Count your desks and decide how many days a week you need a cleaner
• Write a detailed task list so expectations match
• Ask at least three contractors to provide like-for-like quotes based on your task list
• Request the cleaner-hours per visit and the net hourly rate so you can compare properly
• Check whether equipment is included and how consumables will be billed
• Ask about insurance, vetting, holiday cover, key handling and cancellation terms
• Start with a trial clean and a written checklist to ensure the standard meets your needs

Once you know your budget and your required hours, you can start speaking to local firms to get the right fit. You can use our directory to find a house cleaner near you or a commercial contractor for your business.