Gutter cleaning prices: per foot, by story, from your labor and ladder time
Price a single or two-story gutter clean, a gutter guard install or a downspout repair from your labor cost, how many feet you actually clear in an hour, drive time and margin — then see where you sit against typical gutter cleaning prices.
Every other gutter cleaning pricing calculator gives you a national average and calls it a price. This one works from your numbers: what your labor actually costs you per hour, how fast you really work, your drive time, your materials and the margin you need. The typical range is shown for context, not as the answer.
What it prices
- Cleaning, single story — priced per linear ft; typical customer price $0.80–$1.50 per ft
- Cleaning, two story — priced per linear ft; typical customer price $1.20–$2.50 per ft
- Gutter guard install — priced per linear ft; typical customer price $8–$20 per ft
- Downspout flush or repair — priced per downspout; typical customer price $40–$100 each
How to use it
1. Pick the job type and enter the quantity. Square feet, linear feet, panes, loads — whatever that job is sold by.
2. Put in your loaded labor cost. This is what one person costs you per hour including payroll taxes, workers' comp and any benefits — or what you need to pay yourself. It is not the rate you charge. If you have never worked this out, start with the wage and add 25%.
3. Check the production rate. The default is a typical figure per person per hour. Your real number, from your last few jobs, is better.
4. Drive time, setup and minimum charge. Small jobs die on the trip. The calculator pays every crew member for drive time and setup, and applies your minimum if the job comes in under it.
5. Materials, overhead and margin. Materials at cost plus your markup; overhead per billable hour (monthly overhead ÷ hours you actually bill); the net margin you want on the job.
Gutter cleaning pricing: what actually moves the number
Height is time and risk. A second story roughly halves your production rate and doubles the consequences of a fall. Price it separately, and price it high enough to own the right ladders and the insurance.
Measure the gutter, not the house. A 2,000 sq ft ranch has 150–200 ft of gutter; a two-story colonial can have 250 ft on two levels. Walk it or use the roof measurement from satellite imagery. Quoting from square footage is how you end up cleaning 60 ft for free.
Guards are a materials job. Micro-mesh guards cost $3–$8 per foot and install at 30–40 ft an hour; the customer sees the material price online, so mark it up modestly and put the margin in the labor.
Bundle with a wash. Gutter cleaning is a low-ticket call. Operators who also offer a house wash or window cleaning turn a $150 stop into $500.
Worked example
A two-story home with 220 ft of gutter at 120 ft per hour: 1.8 hours on the ladders, plus 30 minutes to set up and bag debris and a 30-minute round trip. At $26 loaded labor, $15 per billable hour of overhead, $5 of bags and a 20% margin, the calculator prices it at about $205, or $0.93 per foot — the low end of the two-story range for a solo operator, and a reason to add the downspout flush at $40 each.
How the math works
- Hours = quantity ÷ production rate, plus setup and drive time for every person on the crew.
- Labor = person-hours × your loaded cost. Overhead = clock hours the job occupies × your overhead per billable hour.
- Price = (labor + materials + fees + overhead) ÷ (1 − margin), plus the material markup. Dividing by (1 − margin) gives a true margin on the sale; multiplying by (1 + margin) does not, and it is the most common pricing mistake in the trades.
- If the result is under your minimum charge, the minimum applies.
Turn it into an estimate
Hit Turn this into an estimate and the price lands in the estimate generator as line items, ready to send. When the customer says yes, the same numbers become the invoice in BIG INVOICE, which works offline with no account. Send it on the estimate generator, and pair it with the pressure washing pricing calculator for the house wash upsell.
FAQ
How much should I charge for gutter cleaning?
$0.80 to $1.50 per linear foot for a single story and $1.20 to $2.50 for two stories, so $120 to $250 for most homes, with a $100 to $150 minimum. Feet of gutter, height and how full they are set the price.
How much do gutter cleaners charge per hour?
Effective rates run $60 to $120 per hour, but quote per foot or per house. Customers cannot judge an hourly gutter rate; they can judge a per-house price against the last person who did it.
How much to charge for gutter guard installation?
$8 to $20 per linear foot installed, depending on the product. Material is $3 to $8 of that. On a 200 ft house that is $1,600 to $4,000, which is why guards are worth offering on every cleaning call.
How often should gutters be cleaned?
Twice a year in most of the country — late spring and after leaf drop — and quarterly under heavy tree cover. Recurring schedules are worth a discount; a twice-a-year customer is a route stop, not a lead.
Does this pricing calculator use my numbers or averages?
Yours. The typical range is shown as context, but the price comes entirely from the labor cost, production rate, materials, overhead and margin you enter. Change any of them and the price changes.
Is this calculator free?
Yes, completely. No account, no email, no download. It runs in your browser and we never see your numbers.