Published roof cleaning prices
Cost guides publish roof cleaning per square foot of roof, by method and material. Soft washing, a low-pressure wash with a cleaning solution, is the method HomeGuide calls the safest and most common.
| Item | Per sq ft | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Soft wash, shingle or tile | $0.15 to $0.60 | HomeGuide |
| Soft wash, any material | $0.30 to $0.75 | Fixr |
| Roof washing | $0.50 to $1 | HomeAdvisor, Angi |
| Metal roof, pressure wash | $0.20 to $0.70 | HomeGuide, Fixr |
| Moss removal | $0.20 to $0.75 | HomeGuide |
| Each extra story, added | $0.10 to $0.20 | HomeGuide |
| Steep roof, added | $0.15 to $0.20 | HomeGuide |
| Item | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Typical job total | $250 to $600 | HomeGuide |
| Typical job total | $296 to $625 | HomeAdvisor |
| Minimum | $150 | HomeGuide |
| Moss prevention treatment | $100 to $250 | HomeGuide, HomeAdvisor |
| Hourly, when quoted that way | $35 to $80 | HomeAdvisor |
HomeGuide's figures date from April 2024 and Fixr's from January 2025. HomeAdvisor and Angi updated theirs in 2026. Your costs and your market set your price. Use the ranges to spot a rate that is far off.
Measure the roof along the slope
The crew sprays and rinses the roof surface, so price the area along the slope. The footprint seen from above is smaller, and the gap grows with pitch. Don't add a pitch factor to an area that is already measured along the slope.
| Roof | Seen from above | Along the slope |
|---|---|---|
| Sample house, 5/12 pitch | 2,164 sq ft | 2,344 sq ft |
| Same footprint, 10/12 pitch | 2,164 sq ft | 2,824 sq ft |
At 10/12, the same house has 20.5% more roof to clean than at 5/12. A price per square foot of floor area would miss that. The free roof square footage calculator converts a footprint and pitch to sloped area if you measure by hand.
Build a per-square-foot rate
Time a few jobs from setup to cleanup and divide the roof area by crew hours. Count mixing, ladder moves, protecting plants and the final rinse in that time. Add the cleaning solution you use per square foot.
These inputs are examples. A crew of 2 costs $45.00 an hour per worker and soft washes 600 sq ft of asphalt shingle per crew hour on a one-story roof. Cleaning solution and surfactant add $0.04 per square foot.
The example keeps 15% of the price for overhead and 20% for profit. The result matches Measured Bid's sample asphalt rate of $0.30 per square foot.
Set a rate for each roof material
Material changes the method and the pace. HomeGuide says contractors strongly recommend against pressure washing a roof, because the water can damage the material and knock the granules off shingles. HomeAdvisor says clay tile is too porous for pressure washing, and that metal can take a controlled high-pressure or hot-water wash. Tile is also slow to walk and easy to crack.
| Material | Sample rate | Sample house | Fixr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asphalt shingles | $0.30 / sq ft | $703.00 | $0.30 to $0.75, soft wash |
| Tile | $0.40 / sq ft | $937.00 | $0.30 to $0.75, soft wash |
| Metal | $0.30 / sq ft | $703.00 | $0.20 to $0.70, high-pressure wash |
When the customer isn't sure what the roof is made of, ask for a photo or check the aerial view before you quote. A tile roof quoted at the shingle rate loses money on every square foot.
Add for steep pitch, heavy moss and taller homes
Measured Bid's sample adds 25% on the part of the roof steeper than 8/12, multiplies the rate by 1.5 for thick moss, and by 1.15 for two stories or 1.3 for three or more. The adjustments multiply together. HomeGuide publishes its steps in cents instead: $0.10 to $0.20 per square foot for each extra story and $0.15 to $0.20 for a steep roof.
| Job | Roof area | Roof line |
|---|---|---|
| Asphalt, 1 story | 2,344 sq ft | $703.00 |
| Heavy moss | 2,344 sq ft | $1,055.00 |
| 2 stories | 2,344 sq ft | $809.00 |
| 3+ stories | 2,344 sq ft | $914.00 |
| Steep: same footprint, steeper pitch | 2,824 sq ft | $1,059.00 |
| Steep, 2 stories and heavy moss | 2,824 sq ft | $1,827.00 |
The steep adjustment applies only to the steep part of the roof. On a house with a steep front gable and a low-slope back, only the gable carries it. Thick moss takes longer to treat and rinse, so look at photos before you agree to a price on a mossy roof.
Charge one minimum per trip
A small roof still needs the rig, the mix and the setup. At the sample asphalt rate, roofs under 1,167 sq ft price at the $350.00 sample minimum. HomeGuide lists a minimum cost of $150.
Gutter cleaning and solar panels can go on the same visit. Price each in its own unit, then apply the largest minimum among the selected services once. On the sample house, the roof and 118 ft of gutter come to $851.00 at the sample rates, well above the $350.00 roof minimum. The gutter cleaning pricing guide builds the per-foot rate, and the solar panel cleaning guide covers per-panel rates.
Worked example on the sample house
A one-story house with an asphalt shingle roof and no heavy moss, plus gutter cleaning on the same trip. The roof area and gutter footage come from Measured Bid's engine, and the rates are Measured Bid's sample rates.
Sierra Pressure Washing Co.
(916) 555-0100
Roof cleaning estimate
No. 1042
- Stories
- 1 story
- Roof surface
- Asphalt shingles
- Heavy moss
- No
| Item | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roof cleaning (asphalt shingle) | 2,344 sq ft | $0.30 / sq ft | $703.00 |
| Gutter cleaning | 118 ft | $1.25 / ft | $148.00 |
The lines come to $851.00, above the $350.00 minimum. On your website the homeowner would see a range of $700 to $1,000, and your team sees each line in the dashboard.
Quote roof cleaning from an address
Enter an address. Measured Bid uses aerial imagery and Google's roof data to measure the sloped roof area and the pitch of each roof plane. When part of the roof is steeper than your steep pitch, the estimate notes how many square feet that is and prices the adjustment on that part.
The roof material and heavy moss are answers, picked by the homeowner on your website's price form or by your team in New estimate. Measured Bid doesn't detect them from the imagery.