Pricing window cleaning in Canada means counting panes, timing a real set of them, and quoting either per pane or as one number for the home or storefront. Ground-floor exterior glass and small storefronts are the jobs a new cleaner can price honestly. There is no official Canadian price per window, so this guide does not publish an average. It shows the arithmetic with assumed numbers and tells you to replace them.
How to start, including the hand-tool ranges and ladder limits, is how to start window cleaning in Canada. The first street is how to get your first window cleaning clients in Canada. Indoor work in the same homes is priced in house cleaning pricing.
Which pricing models work for window cleaning in Canada?
Window cleaning in Canada is usually sold per pane or as a flat price for a house front, a whole ground floor, or a storefront. Hourly billing suits an odd interior job. A route of shops is easier to keep if each one has a standing visit price.
| Model | How it works | Works well for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per pane | One price for each pane, inside and outside listed separately | Houses where you can see every window from the sidewalk | French doors and large picture windows that take longer than a small pane |
| Per home or per side | One number for “ground-floor exterior” or “front only” | Repeat houses on one street | A client who hears “the house” and means three storeys |
| Per storefront | One number for the glass on the shop front, on a schedule | A main street you can walk | A price that ignores a filthy first visit |
| Hourly | Rate times hours, with an estimate | Interiors, construction dust, paint specks | Clients who want a single number before you arrive |
| Add-ons | Screens, tracks, sills, interior | After the glass price is clear | Leaving them free because you are already there |
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety’s page on portable ladders says falls from portable ladders are a major source of serious injury. A pane you can reach only by climbing is not the same product as a pane you can reach from the ground. If you do not climb, say so in the price. The safety steps are in the start guide.
How do you calculate a window cleaning price in Canada?
Calculate a window cleaning price in Canada from the minutes per pane on glass you have actually cleaned, the walk or drive between jobs, and the pay you need per working hour. Then decide whether the client will understand a pane count or a single home price. Both should come from the same minutes.
Step 1: Time your own windows
Clean a known number of panes with the scrubber and squeegee. Divide the minutes by the panes. A large pane is not “one” if it takes three times as long. Count it as you will count it for a client, and be consistent.
Step 2: Separate inside, outside, and height
Exterior ground-floor glass is the base. Interior glass needs someone home and a drop cloth habit. Anything above what you can reach with a pole is either declined or priced as ladder work you are equipped and insured to do.
Step 3: Add the trip
Four bungalows on one street share the walk. One house across the city does not. Put travel in the price or do not take the isolated job.
Step 4: Hold back tax and CPP
Both CPP shares come out of a self-employed rate. See the CPP contributions page and how much tax to set aside.
Step 5: Write what is not included
Screens, tracks, sills, interior glass, and any pane above the ground floor. A client who wants them can add them at the prices you already wrote.
Illustrative example
This is a teaching sketch with assumed numbers, not a quote, an average, or a survey. Suppose your target is $32 for each working hour, including a short walk between nearby houses. Suppose a ground-floor exterior pane takes 4 minutes, including the move to the next pane. One pane is 4 ÷ 60 = 0.067 hours. Labour is 0.067 × $32 = $2.13. Suppose solution and a cloth, spread over the job, add about $0.15. The pane is about $2.28 before you round.
A price of $2.28 is hard to say and leaves nothing for a pane that is painted with pollen. Suppose you round exterior ground-floor panes to $4. Twelve panes are 12 × $4 = $48, and 12 × 4 minutes = 48 minutes of glass. At $32 an hour, 0.8 hours of labour is $25.60, so the $48 also contains time to set down the bucket, talk to the client, and walk to the next house on the same street. If the next house is a 25-minute drive, this $48 does not pay for the drive. Reprice or decline.
Suppose interior glass on the same 12 panes takes longer because of furniture and blinds, an assumed 6 minutes each. Labour is 12 × 0.1 × $32 = $38.40, which you might round to $6 a pane, or $72 for the set. Suppose a small storefront is 8 large panes that you time at 8 minutes each, 64 minutes, or about 1.07 hours. Labour is about $34. You might quote $55 for the front, not 8 × $4, because the panes are not the small ones you timed. Do not copy $4, $48, or $55.
A spare rubber blade matters more than a new price card when the streaks start. A window squeegee is a category search to compare with a hardware shelf. The starter kit ranges are in the start guide.
What does a sample window cleaning price sheet look like in Canada?
A window cleaning price sheet in Canada lists exterior panes, interior panes, a storefront visit, and the work you refuse. The table is an illustrative example built on the sketch above, not a market average.
| Job (illustrative) | Assumed time | Price on this sheet |
|---|---|---|
| Exterior ground-floor pane | 4 minutes | $4 |
| Twelve exterior panes, same house, houses nearby | 48 minutes of glass | $48 |
| Interior pane, client home | 6 minutes | $6 |
| Small storefront frontage, timed separately | About 64 minutes | $55 |
| Screens or tracks | Not in the pane price | Add after you time them, or decline |
| Above a pole from the ground | Not offered in this sheet | Decline, or price only if you use a ladder within CCOHS guidance and your insurance |
Write “before tax” if you are not registered for GST/HST. If the visit is in Ontario and you leave a written estimate inside a contract for a service over $50, the province’s page on signing or cancelling a contract says the final price cannot be more than 10% above that estimate unless the consumer agrees to a new price. Read the page. This is not legal advice. The knocking context is in door-to-door marketing.
Recurring storefronts are easier to bill on a schedule. FreshBooks can send that invoice once a notebook gets crowded.
When should you raise window cleaning prices in Canada?
Raise window cleaning prices in Canada when your good-weather weeks are full, when a house has more panes than you counted, or when travel on that street no longer fits the old number. Tell repeat clients before the next season, which for many routes is spring or fall, and change new-client prices first.
Exterior work is thin in a Canadian winter because water freezes on the glass. Do not “make up” a winter price by taking ladder jobs you priced as ground-floor work. The start guide explains the season limit.
What window cleaning pricing mistakes are common in Canada?
Common window cleaning pricing mistakes in Canada are one price for “the whole house,” ignoring travel, and not charging more for interior or height.
- Counting a picture window as one small pane. Time it or price it as several.
- Free screens. They add minutes. Write an add-on or leave them out.
- A ladder price you will not climb. If the pane needs a ladder, the CCOHS portable ladder page is the safety bar, and the price has to include the slower work. Many beginners should decline.
- Copying the cheapest note on the block. You do not know whether it is exterior only.
- A route of one-off houses. Group the street. First clients covers how.
How do GST/HST and income tax affect window cleaning prices in Canada?
Window cleaning income in Canada is self-employment income reported on Form T2125. Add GST/HST only after you register, which is required once taxable supplies pass the $30,000 small-supplier threshold in a calendar quarter or over four consecutive quarters, across all your side hustles. That figure is not an income-tax-free amount. See the myth guide.
When registered, use the rate for the province where you clean from the charge and collect page and the GST/HST calculator. The tax FAQ and T2125 vs T776 keep this on the service form.
This is not tax, legal, or insurance advice.
Which guides sit next to window cleaning pricing in Canada?
Window cleaning pricing in Canada sits beside the start guide, first window cleaning clients, and house cleaning pricing. Exterior concrete on the same lots is pressure washing pricing.
What are the common questions?
How much should I charge for window cleaning in Canada?
There is no official rate. Count and time the panes, then charge per pane or as one price for the ground floor or the storefront. Keep interior glass, screens, and any ladder work as separate lines. The dollar examples on this page are a teaching sketch, not a market average.
Is per-pane or per-home pricing better for window cleaning?
Per pane is easier to explain when the client can see the count. A single home or storefront price is easier for repeat visits. Build both from the same timed minutes so they match.
Should second-storey windows cost more?
Yes, if you offer them at all. They take longer and they involve ladder risk. The CCOHS page on portable ladders treats falls as a major source of serious injury. Many new cleaners should limit the menu to glass they can reach from the ground.
Do I charge more for a first window clean?
Charge more when the glass is dirtier or the job includes interior and screens. A construction-dust visit is not a maintenance visit. Time it instead of copying the repeat price.
Do window cleaners charge GST/HST in Canada?
Only once registered. Registration is required after more than $30,000 of taxable supplies in a calendar quarter or over four consecutive quarters, across all side hustles. This is not tax advice.
Which sources support this guide?
The rules, rates, and platform requirements in this guide are checked against these primary sources. Retail price ranges are labelled as ranges to verify locally, and they are not quotes.
- Ladders: Portable — Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
- When to register for and start charging the GST/HST — Canada Revenue Agency
- Charge and collect the GST/HST — Canada Revenue Agency
- GST/HST calculator (and rates) — Canada Revenue Agency
- Form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities — Canada Revenue Agency
- Contributions to the Canada Pension Plan — Government of Canada
- Your rights when signing or cancelling a contract — Government of Ontario