Most cleaning companies won’t put a number on their website. We will — with the honest caveat that a real quote requires seeing your building.
The Short Answer
What businesses in Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax, Pickering and Clarington actually pay.
| What you need | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Contract cleaning, hourly | $30 – $40 / hr |
| Small office, under 2,500 sq ft · 3× per week | from $1,300 / mo |
| Mid-size office, 5,000–10,000 sq ft · 5× per week | from $3,000 / mo |
| Medical or dental clinic | from $3,000 / mo |
| Day porter, daytime coverage | $30 – $40 / hr |
| One-time deep clean | $30 – $40 / hr |
| Floor stripping & waxing | quoted per job |
What Actually Drives Your Price
Six things move a quote more than anything else.
1. Square footage. The obvious one — but it isn’t linear. Larger buildings usually cost less per square foot because crews work more efficiently at scale.
2. How often we come. Five nights a week costs more per month than twice a week, but noticeably less per visit. Frequent cleaning means less work each time, because dirt never builds up.
3. Type of building. A medical clinic takes longer per square foot than an office — disinfection protocols, documentation and product requirements all add time.
4. Traffic. A condo lobby serving 200 residents needs a different program than a six-person accounting office of the same size.
5. Floor type. Carpet, vinyl, polished concrete and hardwood need different equipment and maintenance cycles. Mostly hard floor means periodic stripping and waxing costs.
6. Consumables. Paper towel, toilet paper, soap and liners can be included in your monthly rate or billed separately. We’ll show you both.
What’s Included in Our Quotes
Always included:
- A written scope — every task, and how often it happens
- Trained, screened and supervised staff
- All cleaning equipment and supplies
- Full insurance and WSIB coverage, certificate provided
- A named contact who answers the phone
- Regular supervisor site visits
Quoted separately:
- Floor stripping and waxing
- Carpet extraction
- Exterior and high-rise window cleaning
- Emergency response outside contracted hours
These aren’t monthly work, so bundling them into a monthly rate would mean charging you for months you don’t need them.
How to Compare Cleaning Quotes Properly
If you’re collecting bids, the cheapest number is usually cheapest for a reason. Ask every company the same questions.
- Is the scope identical? One quote covering restrooms twice a week and another covering them nightly are not comparable, whatever the totals say.
- Are consumables included? This alone can be a few hundred dollars a month.
- How often does a supervisor visit? No supervision means quality drifts within two months.
- What’s your staff turnover? A new cleaner takes weeks to learn a building.
- What happens when someone calls in sick? If the answer is vague, you’ll find out the hard way.
- Can I see your insurance certificate? Anyone who hesitates is telling you something.
Why We Publish This
Most of our competitors won’t put pricing on their website. We think that wastes everyone’s time.
If our range doesn’t fit your budget, better you know now than after two phone calls and a site visit. And if it does fit, you can call already knowing roughly where we’ll land — so we can spend the walkthrough talking about your building instead of dancing around the number.
Common Questions
Do you charge by the hour or by the square foot?
By the hour — $30 to $40 across everything we do, whether that’s nightly contract cleaning, day porter coverage or a one-time deep clean. Square footage still matters, because it determines how many hours your building needs, but it isn’t how we bill. Ongoing contracts are quoted as a fixed monthly figure so you know exactly what you’re paying each month.
Is it cheaper to hire a cleaner directly or use a cleaning company?
Direct hire looks cheaper on the hourly rate, but you take on recruiting, training, payroll, WSIB, supply purchasing, equipment, and finding coverage when they’re sick. Most businesses under about 15,000 square feet find contracting works out cheaper once those are counted.
How often should a commercial building be cleaned?
It depends on traffic and building type. A small professional office is often fine at two or three times a week. Medical clinics, schools and buildings with heavy public traffic usually need daily service. We’ll recommend a frequency during the walkthrough rather than selling you more than you need.
What’s the difference between janitorial services and commercial cleaning?
They overlap heavily. “Janitorial” usually implies ongoing scheduled maintenance; “commercial cleaning” is the broader umbrella including one-time deep cleans and specialty work. We do both.
Do you require a long-term contract?
It depends on the job, and we’d need to see your building before answering properly. A small office on a light schedule is a very different commitment from a multi-site contract with day porter coverage, and it wouldn’t be honest to quote terms without walking the place first. Tell us what you need on the site visit and we’ll build the agreement around it rather than handing you a standard one.
Get an Exact Quote
Ranges only get you so far. The only way to know what your building costs is for someone to walk it. We’ll ask what’s actually causing you problems, then give you a written quote with a clear scope.
Call 289-355-9691 for a free on-site assessment anywhere in Durham Region — Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax, Pickering and Clarington. No obligation. In Courtice or Bowmanville? We can usually get out within a day or two.