When should you raise cleaning prices?
Raise them once a year, on a date you choose in advance, and raise them sooner for any client whose rate has fallen more than about 15% below what you charge new clients for the same home. Waiting for a reason is how owners end up five years behind.
Your costs move whether you act or not. The consumer price index, as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, rose 4.7% in 2021, 8.0% in 2022, 4.1% in 2023, 2.9% in 2024 and 2.6% in 2025, and the Minneapolis Fed’s estimate for 2026 is 3.5%. A client paying the same $150 since 2021 is paying you about 20% less in real terms. Labor moves faster than the index in many states: California’s minimum wage is $16.90 an hour from January 1, 2026, up from $16.50 in 2025 and $16.00 in 2024, and is adjusted for inflation every year (California DIR); Washington’s is $17.13 in 2026 and $17.73 in 2027 (Washington L&I). Driving costs the same story: the IRS business mileage rate, a fair proxy for what a car costs to run, went from 67 cents a mile in 2024 to 70 cents in 2025, 72.5 cents in the first half of 2026 and 76 cents from July 1, 2026 (IRS standard mileage rates).
Signs you are overdue
- New clients pay noticeably more than old ones for the same size home.
- You gave cleaners a raise and did not pass any of it on.
- Your calendar is full and you are turning away work; full at your current price means the price is low.
- Your profit per clean, from the profit calculator, has slipped below your target.
- It has been more than 12 months since the last increase.
If you are not sure your base rates are right in the first place, fix that before you write letters; the pricing guide walks through setting rates from hours and costs, and the state-by-state price data shows what cleaners charge.
How much should you raise cleaning prices?
Three to six percent a year for clients who are roughly at your current rate, and 10% to 15% as a one-time correction for clients who are far below it. A bigger jump than that on a long-time client usually costs you the client; split it into two steps six months apart instead.
A worked example (hypothetical numbers)
- You have 40 recurring clients. Your current new-client rate for a typical 3-bed home every two weeks is $170.
- Ten clients signed in the last year at $165 to $170. They get the annual adjustment: 4%, so $170 becomes $177.
- Twenty clients are at $150 to $160. They get 6% to 8%, which brings them to $159 to $173 and most of the way to the current rate.
- Ten clients are still at $130 from years ago. They get a catch-up letter: 12% now ($146) and a note that a second adjustment follows in six months.
- Revenue effect across all 40 clients: roughly 7.5% more per visit cycle. If three clients leave, you are about where you started on revenue, with three open slots to fill at $177, and every slot you fill is gain.
Round to a clean number. $177 reads like a calculation; $175 or $180 reads like a price. Decide per client whether to round down for goodwill or up for a client who adds work every visit.
Raise the price, not the resentment
- Do not raise everyone by the same percentage if their starting points differ; the client at $130 is the one you need to move.
- Do not tie the increase to a complaint or a bad visit. Send it after a clean you are proud of.
- Do not justify it with your costs in detail. One sentence is enough; a paragraph invites negotiation.
- Do not apologize. You are stating a price, the same as any other business.
The price increase letter template
A good letter has five parts: a thank you, the new price, the start date, one reason, and how to reach you. Under 150 words. Here is the annual version, followed by a catch-up version for a client who is far behind.
Template 1: annual adjustment
Subject: Your cleaning rate from [date]
Hi [first name],
Thank you for having us in your home this year. It has been a pleasure keeping it clean for you.
Starting [date, at least 30 days out], the rate for your [every-two-weeks] clean will be [$177], up from [$170]. This is our yearly adjustment and it covers the higher wages and supply costs that come with keeping the same team on your home.
Nothing else changes: same cleaners, same checklist, same day and time. If you have any questions, reply to this message or call me at [phone].
Thank you,
[Your name], [Business name]
Template 2: catch-up for a long-time client
Subject: An update to your cleaning rate
Hi [first name],
You have been with us since [year], and we are grateful for it. In that time we have kept your rate at [$130] while our costs and the rates for new clients have moved well past it.
From [date, 45 to 60 days out], your [every-two-weeks] clean will be [$146]. To make the change easier we are holding it there until [month], when it will move to our standard rate of [$170] for a home like yours. You will still be below what new clients pay until then.
If you would like to adjust the service instead, for example moving to every three weeks or trimming the checklist, call me at [phone] and we will work it out.
Thank you for trusting us with your home,
[Your name], [Business name]
Template 3: new-service or scope-based increase
Use this when the home changed (a new puppy, a finished basement, a third bathroom) and the price should follow the work: “Since we started, your home has grown to [X]. From [date], we will plan [30] more minutes per visit, and the rate will be [$190]. If you would rather keep the visit at its current length, tell us which areas to leave out and we will keep the price where it is.”
What do the email and text versions look like?
Email is the default for a price change because it leaves a record. A text works as a heads-up that points to the email, or for clients who only ever reply by text. In person or by phone is best for your ten biggest or oldest clients, followed by the email.
Text (heads-up)
“Hi [name], it’s [you] from [business]. Quick note: from [date] your clean will be [$177] (up from [$170]), our yearly adjustment. Details in your email. Thank you for having us!”
Text (standalone)
“Hi [name], [business] here. Starting [date], your every-two-weeks clean will be [$177], up from [$170]. Same team, same checklist. Reply here or call [phone] with any questions. Thanks for a great year!”
Phone script for a key client
“I wanted to tell you directly before the email goes out. From [date] your rate is going to [$180]. We have held it for a long time and our costs have moved. Nothing about the service changes. I would rather you hear it from me than read it.” Then stop talking. Most clients say “that’s fine,” and the ones with a concern will tell you now rather than cancelling later.
Whatever channel you use, send it from the business, not from a personal number, and keep a copy. If your booking software sends confirmations and reminders from your business name, the client already recognizes the sender.
When and how should you send it?
Send it 30 to 60 days before the new price takes effect, within a day or two after a visit that went well, and never in the same message as a scheduling change, a complaint response or a holiday greeting. One message, one subject.
- Pick an effective date that matches a billing cycle. The first visit of a month is cleanest; the invoice and the reminder then show the new rate together.
- Avoid December. Clients are spending, traveling and reviewing budgets. January 15 to February 15 and September are quieter and read as routine.
- Stagger if you have many clients. Ten to fifteen letters a week lets you handle replies well. Start with the clients furthest below rate.
- Tell your cleaners first. They will be asked about it at the door. Give them the one-sentence reason and tell them to send questions to you.
- Update the price everywhere on the same day: the client’s recurring booking, your price list, the booking page, and any quote templates, so the next reminder, receipt and quote all agree with the letter.
- Confirm it landed. If a client has not replied in two weeks, mention it at the next visit or send a one-line follow-up. Silence is not agreement when the first invoice at the new rate arrives.
New clients should never need a letter: put an annual adjustment clause in your service agreement from the start. The cleaning contract template covers rate changes and notice, and the cancellation policy template handles the rest of the terms clients ask about.
How do you handle pushback?
Hold the price and offer to change the service. Most pushback is a question (“why?”), some is a negotiation (“can you do $170?”), and a little is a goodbye. Decide in advance what you will offer, so you are not improvising with your best client on the phone.
Replies that work
- “Why the increase?” “Wages and supplies have gone up and we have not changed your rate since [year]. The new rate keeps the same team on your home.”
- “Can you keep it at the old price?” “I can’t keep the old price, but I can keep the old budget: we can move to every three weeks, or take the [guest rooms] off the checklist. Which would you prefer?”
- “Another company quoted me less.” “That may be right for them. Our rate reflects the same two cleaners every visit, insurance and a checklist we stand behind. If you decide to try them, we would be glad to have you back.”
- “I’ll have to think about it.” “Of course. The new rate starts [date]; let me know by [date] if you would like to change the schedule instead.”
What not to do
- Do not withdraw the increase for one client who pushes; the others talk, and you have taught them to push.
- Do not explain your margins or your cleaners’ pay in numbers.
- Do not threaten to drop them. If they are not worth keeping at the new price, let them leave politely.
Expect to lose a few. In the example above, a 7.5% increase across 40 clients roughly breaks even if three leave, and every slot you refill at the full rate is gain. A client who leaves over $7 a visit was likely to leave over something else. If a client becomes difficult rather than just disappointed, the guide to ending a client relationship has the scripts.
Should you grandfather long-time clients?
Grandfather with an end date, and only for clients who are easy, loyal and close to your other stops. A permanent discount for being early is a permanent pay cut from your best referral sources, and it grows every year you raise everyone else.
Ways to soften without giving it away
- Delay, not discount. Hold the old price for one more quarter, with the new price and date in the letter. The client gets a gesture; you get a date.
- Two steps. Half the increase now, half in six months, for the clients furthest behind.
- A loyalty extra instead of a lower price. A free oven clean or fridge clean once a year costs you an hour and keeps the rate intact.
- Tiers by frequency. Weekly clients pay the least per visit, every-two-weeks a little more, monthly the most. Publish it; it rewards the clients who keep your calendar dense and gives you a reason the increase is smaller for them.
Look at the numbers before you decide. Recurring revenue per client and who refers whom are the facts that justify a gesture; a vague sense that someone is “a good client” is not. Broombook’s Insights, for example, shows recurring revenue per month and your top clients, which is the list you want open while you decide who gets the extra quarter.
How do you make future increases automatic?
Write an annual adjustment into your service agreement, state the month it happens, and let the booking confirmation carry it. Then the yearly letter becomes a reminder of something the client already agreed to, rather than news.
Sample clause, for your lawyer to adapt:
“Rates are reviewed each [January]. [Business] may adjust the rate for recurring service once per calendar year by up to [6%] with at least 30 days’ written notice. Larger changes, or changes due to a change in the scope of work, will be agreed in writing before they take effect.”
A yearly routine
- In [November], export your client list with current rate, start date, frequency and last increase.
- Compare each rate with your current new-client price for the same size and frequency. Flag anyone more than 10% below.
- Set the annual percentage from your cost changes: cleaner wages, supplies, insurance, mileage. Three to six percent in a normal year.
- Send the catch-up letters first, then the annual letters, ten to fifteen a week, 30 to 60 days before the effective date.
- Update prices in your booking system on the effective date and check the next round of reminders and receipts.
- Log who left and why. If more than 10% leave, the increase was too large or the letter was wrong; if nobody leaves, it was probably too small.
A booking system with a price list and recurring schedules makes this a one-afternoon job: change the rate, and the next confirmation, reminder and receipt carry it. See Broombook’s features for how recurring schedules, texts and receipts fit together, and the cleaning business CRM page for keeping client history and rates in one place.