Painting is the renovation job almost everyone outsources at some point: it is labour-intensive, the result is immediately visible and outside it protects your window frames against wood rot. In 2026 a painting company charges on average €40 to €60 per hour, including the low VAT rate of 9 percent. A self-employed painter is often at the bottom of that range, a certified company with several people and its own scaffolding at the top.
Most painters, however, do not charge by the hour but give a fixed price per m² or per linear metre of window frame. For you as the client that is also the best arrangement: you know in advance what you will pay and the painter carries the risk of a substrate that turns out worse than expected, provided it has been described properly. Below you will find those prices for interior and exterior work, including materials, and the factors that push a quote up or down.
Guide prices for painting work in 2026
| Item | Unit | Guide price incl. 9% VAT and paint |
|---|---|---|
| Walls, sauzen (emulsion paint, 2 coats, good substrate) | per m² | €8 – €15 |
| Ceiling, sauzen (emulsion paint, 2 coats) | per m² | €10 – €18 |
| Interior window frames and door frames | per linear metre | €5 – €15 |
| Interior door (both sides, opaque) | per door | €100 – €200 |
| Exterior window frames, opaque gloss (touching up and 2 coats) | per linear metre | €25 – €50 |
| Fascia boards, roof edge, bargeboards | per linear metre | €20 – €40 |
| Timber cladding or shed | per m² | €25 – €50 |
| Painting an exterior wall (masonry, masonry paint) | per m² | €20 – €40 |
Translated into whole jobs: sauzen (painting walls and ceilings with emulsion paint) a living room with 40 m² of walls and 25 m² of ceiling costs €800 to €1,500, including preparation, masking and repairing small holes. The exterior painting of a terraced house (window frames, doors, fascia boards) costs €1,500 to €4,000; for a detached house with a lot of woodwork that rises to €6,000 to €12,000. A ceiling is more expensive per m² than a wall because working overhead is slower and needs more covering up; exterior window frames are more expensive than interior ones because of the pre-treatment and the number of coats.
What determines the price of a painter?
The substrate
This is the biggest variable. A smooth wall that has been painted with emulsion before is done in two coats. A wall with old wallpaper, cracks or a glossy layer must first be stripped, sanded, filled and primed: that doubles the hours. Outside the same applies to window frames with flaking paint or wood rot. Repairing wood rot costs €50 to €150 per spot and must always be done before painting, otherwise you will be paying again within two years. A good painter therefore first checks all window frames with an awl or a moisture meter and states the number of suspect spots in the quote.
Height and accessibility
Anything above 3 metres requires a ladder with climbing technique, a mobile scaffold tower or a cherry picker. Hiring facade scaffolding costs €120 to €450 per week plus €300 to €800 for erecting and dismantling (hire prices are usually excluding VAT); for a terraced house you will end up at around €600 to €1,500 for two to three weeks. A cherry picker costs €150 to €400 per day excluding VAT. On a tall building the scaffolding is a substantial part of the total price. Ask whether the scaffolding is included in the quote, and for an upstairs flat or a tall building consider sharing the scaffolding with the neighbours: the same scaffold can serve two facades.
Number of coats and colour change
Going from dark to light or from white to a deep colour costs an extra coat (or a pigmented primer). Opaque gloss on bare wood means: one coat of primer, one undercoat, one topcoat. Transparent stain on window frames needs maintenance more often but fewer coats each time. Agree the build-up of coats per item, so that "two coats" means the same in one quote as in another.
Quality of the paint
A premium-brand exterior gloss costs €45 to €80 per litre, a budget paint half that. On a job with thousands of euros in labour the difference in paint costs is small, while a good exterior gloss lasts two to four years longer. Always ask which brand and which range the painter uses; it belongs in the quote. For interior work, also pay attention to the choice between water-based and solvent-based gloss: water-based gloss yellows less and is now the norm indoors.
Region and type of company
In the Randstad (the urban west of the Netherlands) hourly rates are higher. A recognised painting company (for example a member of OnderhoudNL, the Dutch trade association for painting and maintenance companies) charges more than a self-employed painter, but usually offers a guarantee scheme and a disputes procedure. For painting a living room that difference matters less than for the exterior work of a whole house, where you want to be able to fall back on the guarantee.
9% VAT: the low rate applies to painting work
Painting is one of the few jobs around the house where the reduced VAT rate of 9 percent applies. The conditions according to the Belastingdienst (Dutch Tax Administration):
- The home is older than two years after it was first occupied.
- The work is painting or plastering the home itself, inside or outside (including an associated garage or shed on the same plot).
- The low rate applies to the whole service, so both the labour and the paint the painter brings and applies. This is different from insulation work, where only the labour falls under the 9% rate.
If you buy the paint yourself at a DIY store, you pay 21 percent on it. So let the painter supply it. Work on a new-build home less than two years old, on a commercial building or on separate fencing and garden furniture falls under 21 percent. If the painter also replaces a rotten window frame, fits new timber inserts for wood rot, seals facade joints with sealant or installs new glass, that part belongs at 21 percent on a separate line. A good quote states the VAT percentage explicitly; if it says 21 percent while your home is older than two years, ask for an explanation. The full rules, including the line between painting and other work, can be found in 9% or 21% VAT when renovating: what falls under the low rate.
Season: when should you have painting done?
Exterior painting is preferably done between April and October: most paint needs at least 5 degrees (depending on the product) and a dry surface to cure properly. That makes spring and summer the peak season, with waiting times of weeks to months. So request the quote well in advance, so that you fit into the painter's schedule when the weather allows.
Interior painting can be done all year round. Many painting companies therefore offer a winter painting discount in winter: under De Winterschilder (the winter painter campaign) run by OnderhoudNL, private individuals received €30 discount per man-day on interior work in recent winters (minimum three man-days, roughly late November to March). The conditions differ from year to year; check them on winterschilder.nl. On a five-day job that quickly saves a hundred euros or more, and you get the painter sooner.
A practical order: interior work in winter, and schedule exterior work for spring as soon as the quote is agreed. Which maintenance best suits which season can be found in the Maintenance calendar for your home by season.
DIY or a professional?
Anyone can paint a wall with emulsion. The difference lies in preparation and speed: a painter finishes a living room neatly in one day where you would spend a weekend on it. Materials for that same room cost you €150 to €300 yourself, compared with €800 to €1,500 outsourced. For emulsion work, doing it yourself is therefore a real saving, especially if the substrate is good and you are not changing colour.
Exterior painting is a different story. Window frames need thorough sanding, wood rot repair, the right build-up of coats and working at height. Poorly executed exterior work will cost you a new round within three years or, worse, new window frames. A professional also gives a guarantee, often several years on opaque exterior work (ask about the OnderhoudNL guarantee), usually on condition that you have the work inspected or touched up in between.
A middle way: you do the preparatory work (moving furniture, masking, removing wallpaper) and the painter does the real work. Agree this clearly in advance, because a painter who still has to clear up on arrival will charge for those hours.
How to compare painting quotes
Request three quotes based on the same description. Pay attention to the following points:
- Specified per item: which rooms, which window frames, how many m² or metres.
- Pre-treatment named: sanding, degreasing, filling, wood rot repair, priming.
- Build-up of coats and paint brand per item.
- Scaffolding, masking and waste disposal included or separate.
- VAT rate of 9 percent stated.
- Guarantee: on which work, how many years, and what is excluded.
- Additional work: how is unexpected wood rot charged (per spot or per hour)?
A cheap quote without pre-treatment often turns out to be the most expensive in practice: the paint does not adhere to a poorly prepared substrate and you pay again within a few years. Want to know more about reading quotes? See Comparing quotes: how to read a building quote and 5 tips for choosing the right contractor.