What exterior cleaning costs in Sydney: the 2026 price guide
In Sydney, professional window cleaning starts around $150, gutter cleaning around $180, a house soft wash around $300, and driveway pressure cleaning around $180. Most single-storey jobs land in the $150–$960 range depending on the service and the size of the home; two storeys add 40–50% for access, and bundling services on one visit saves 5–15%. These are Schmick’s actual prices — the same numbers our instant-quote calculator uses.
Why we publish our prices
Almost nobody in this industry puts numbers on a page. The standard move is "free quote" — which means a site visit, a sales conversation and a figure produced on the spot. We think that wastes everyone’s time. The prices below are the real ones: they come from the same price book our instant-quote calculator runs on, so what you read here is what the calculator will tell you, and what the invoice will say.
Two things to know up front. First, every figure here is for a premium, insured, photographed-against-a-checklist job — the cheapest quote in your letterbox will be cheaper, and that difference is the method and the accountability. Second, homes vary, so each service shows a starting price and the range most homes actually land in.
Window cleaning: from $150
Window count does most of the pricing. A single-storey home with up to ten windows sits around $150; a large home with forty or more sits around $520. Most single-storey Sydney homes land between $150 and $550, cleaned inside and out — frames, sills, tracks and screens included, not just the glass.
Two storeys adds about 40%, which is the honest cost of doing high glass properly and safely rather than waving a pole at it from the lawn.
Gutter cleaning: from $180
The length of the gutter run sets the price. Most single-storey homes land between $220 and $430, cleared by hand, downpipes flushed and tested, with before-and-after photos in a condition report. Two storeys adds about 50% — gutter work is ladder work, and second-storey ladder work takes longer and demands more care.
For what neglected gutters actually risk — 24% of Australian home insurance claims are water damage, and insurers can decline claims linked to poor maintenance — see our gutter guide.
House soft wash: from $300
Wall area does the pricing here. Most single-storey washes land between $420 and $960: render, brick or weatherboard soft-washed back to colour with the method the cladding manufacturers themselves recommend, never blasted. Two storeys adds about 40%.
This is the job with the most dramatic before-and-after on the house itself, and the one where cheap-and-fast does the most damage — high pressure on render or fibre cement can scar the surface permanently. If a quote seems too good, ask what pressure they plan to use.
Driveways and paths: from $180
Area sets the price: a single-car driveway sits near $180, a large driveway with paths around $420. Oil staining and heavy mould need pre-treatment, which can add to the time, and sealing afterwards is a separate add-on worth considering — it slows the grime’s return considerably.
Driveways are the one residential surface where genuine pressure washing is the right tool, so this is also the most price-competitive service on the list. What you are paying for above the bare minimum is edge-to-edge evenness — no zebra stripes — and the pre-treatment that stops the mould shadow reappearing in a month.
Solar, roofs, sandstone and fences: quoted per job
Four services do not have standard price bands, because the variables are too wide to be honest about in a table. Solar panel cleaning depends on panel count, pitch and access. Roof cleaning depends on size, pitch and how established the moss and lichen are. Sandstone is priced on inspection — no two blocks weather the same, and heritage stone deserves eyes before numbers. Fences run on total metres and material.
For all four, the process is the same: we look, we give you one firm number, and that number is what you pay.
What moves any exterior price — and how to pay less
Three factors move every price on this page: size (windows, metres, square metres), storeys (plus 40–50% for two-storey access), and access quirks — a steep site, no side access, obstructions. None of them are negotiation; they are time and safety.
The lever you control is bundling. Two services on one visit save 5%, three save 10%, four save 15% — the van, the setup and the travel are already paid for, so the saving is passed back. And if you want the whole exterior held at standard year-round rather than rescued annually, the Schmick Plan starts at $89 a month, which spreads the work and beats one-off pricing over the year.
For an exact figure on your home rather than a range: the instant quote reads your address and returns a firm, bookable price in about 60 seconds. No forms, no callback, no sales lap around your driveway.