As your house ages, it will reach a point where it will need a little upgrade, and you can easily give your dated and old looking house the much-needed curb appeal with a fresh coat of paint. 

Painting isn’t just a simple DIY job but it costs relatively less compared to your typical home improvement project. 

In this post we are going to focus on this, and in particular, we intend to give you a brief breakdown of the cost to paint a house exterior and other related costs.

The Average Cost of Painting a House 

House painting costs will vary a lot depending on an array of factors. 

  1. The size of the house matters. Since you’re talking about many square feet, it follows that the painting contractor will need more time and more labor to get the job done. As a result, the cost will be higher. Even if you decided to do the painting on your own, a larger house will require a relatively larger amount of paint, meaning that you’ll spend more. 

  2. Your location may also influence the cost to repaint house. In most cases, rural homeowners end up paying relatively less compared to people located in major cities and urban areas. 

Despite these factors, it’s still possible to correctly estimate how much money you will need on average to have your house painted. 

  • A single 1 story building that measures roughly 1,000 square feet will cost somewhere between $2000 and $6,000 to be painted. This also includes the cost of labor and materials. 

  • As for a 2-story home measuring at least 25,000 square feet, the cost goes up substantially. In such a scenario, expect to spend between $6,750 and $12,500. 

As you can probably guess from the two cost estimates above, the bigger the home the more expensive it will be to paint it

This is why the cost of painting a 3-4 story home with up to 4,000 square feet in size will cost between $10,000 and $19,000. 

Keep in mind: In addition to the size of the home, the type of paint you choose will also have an impact on determining the final cost to repaint house exterior.

Types of Paint to Consider 

There are generally two main types of paints that you can consider for your next project. Remember we did note above that the type of paint plays a key role in determining the cost. 

Here’s a basic breakdown:

  • Latex Paint 

Latex paint is popularly known as water-based paint and it’s the most commonly used type of paint in the world. It’s not only environmentally safe but it’s easy to apply and it dries relatively quick. Latex paint is less durable and will require a few coats to stick and make an impression. It’s, however, expensive so if you are on a budget, consider using the next option.

  • Oil Based Paint 

The second option is the oil-based paint. Now, this may not be as popular as latex but there are a lot of people out there that use it. Oil-based paint is highly durable and massively moisture resistant. As a result, it will last longer even with a single coat. 

On overage, the painting whole house cost using oil-based paints will be a bit lower. The biggest drawback with these pants is that they take too long to dry and may have harmful fumes, some of which might be fire hazards. 

Nonetheless, it all depends on your budget and how much time you want to spend painting your house. 


Need a more specific estimate for your project? Contact a local house painting company and request a free quote!