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House Painting Cost Interior Calculator

Interior Paint Calculator works out Paint needed and Net paintable area from What to work out, Area unit and How the area is given. The default figures on this page give paint needed of 10.51 L; change any entry and the result, the working and the sources update together.

Paint needed
10.51 L
Paint Calculator
Paint needed
2.777 US gal
Net paintable area
486.00
Coverage rate used
92.460
Paint cost
262.82
Labour cost
0.00
Total cost
262.82
Worked out from 1 + waste_percent/100 and 4 other sources.
A coverage rate above 20 area units per litre is high for a decorative paint - check the units on the tin.
Coverage rates are published per product and vary with surface porosity, texture and application method; buy from a measured take-off and keep a tin in reserve for touch-ups.

Your figures

Updates as you type
Formatting only. This does not change the calculation.
Surface actually being painted, after deducting openings. Same area unit as the coverage rate.
Total area of everything not being painted.
Number of full coats over the whole area.
Spreading rate published for the product, per coat. Read it off the tin or the manufacturer data sheet.
Charged against the net painted area, not per coat.

How this is worked out

3 steps
  1. Wall area = 2 x (12 + 15) x 9 = 486 ft2
  2. Coverage 350 ft2/US gal / 3.785411784 L per gallon = 92.46021832535195 ft2/L
  3. Paint = 486 ft2 x 2 coat(s) / 92.46021832535195 ft2 per litre x (1 + 0/100) = 10.51262929728 L

Its 5 worked examples are re-run on every release, last on 15 September 2026. What changed

Sources and references

5 sources

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Save it, change one figure, then compare the two

The calculation stays free. Save this scenario, adjust one assumption, save that too, and put them side by side to see exactly what the change costs you. A free account keeps 5 scenarios and 2 comparisons; Personal makes both unlimited and adds exports and private links. Nothing is saved unless you press Save.

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What the Interior Paint Calculator calculates

Works out how much paint a job needs from the net paintable area (or room dimensions), the number of coats, the product coverage rate and a waste allowance, then converts that into tins, litres, US gallons and an installed cost.

How to use this Interior Paint Calculator

Enter What to work out, Area unit, How the area is given and Net paintable area. Paint needed updates as you type. Change one figure at a time to see what drives the result.

How the result is worked out

Open “How this is worked out” beside the result for the step-by-step calculation behind Paint needed, Net paintable area and Coverage rate used.

The method follows 1 + waste_percent/100, OpenStax, Elementary Algebra 2e, Solve Geometry Applications: Volume and Surface Area (rectangular area and proportional scaling), Sherwin-Williams Paint Calculator (product coverage is published per product and must be entered from the current data sheet), ISO 12944-5, Paints and varnishes - Corrosion protection of steel structures by protective paint systems: spreading rate from volume solids and dry film thickness and NIST Special Publication 811, Appendix B.9 (US gallon = 3.785 411 784 L exactly; international foot = 0.3048 m exactly).

What you can compare

Change one input at a time to see how it affects Paint needed, Net paintable area and Coverage rate used. The inputs you can vary are What to work out, Area unit, How the area is given, Net paintable area, Room length and Room width.

Results are general information, not financial, tax, legal, medical or engineering advice. Check any decision that matters with a qualified professional.

Embed this calculator on your website

Copy this code into any page. The calculator appears with the figures currently entered, sizes itself to fit, and a small credit line links back here. Free, no account, no ads inside it, no tracking of your readers. Set your own figures and fixed fields; Personal removes the credit line, sets your colour and shows you which sites use it.

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Frequently asked questions

How much should it cost to paint the interior of a 2000 sq ft house?

On the figures this page opens with — net paintable area 100, coverage rate 10 and waste allowance 0% — the paint needed is 10.51 L. No single number fits everyone: change any figure above and the answer updates as you type, with each step of the arithmetic beside it.

How much paint for a 1500 sq ft house interior?

It needs What to work out, Area unit, How the area is given, Net paintable area, Room length and Room width. Nothing else is required, and the figures stay in your browser.

How much do interior painters usually charge?

The result gives Paint needed, Net paintable area, Coverage rate used, Tins to buy, Area the paint on hand covers and Paint cost, each labelled with its unit so the figure can be read on its own.

What does it cost to paint a 1000 sq ft house?

Works out how much paint a job needs from the net paintable area (or room dimensions), the number of coats, the product coverage rate and a waste allowance, then converts that into tins, litres. On this page it is computed from What to work out, Area unit and How the area is given and shown as Paint needed, Net paintable area and Coverage rate used.

What information do I need for the Interior Paint Calculator?

You need What to work out, Area unit, How the area is given, Net paintable area, Room length, Room width, Wall height and Paint the ceiling too. The page opens with default figures that give paint needed of 10.51 L, so you can see the scale before entering your own.

What does this Interior Paint Calculator show?

It shows Paint needed, Net paintable area, Coverage rate used, Tins to buy, Area the paint on hand covers, Paint cost, Labour cost and Total cost, with the working and any warnings for your entries.

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