House painting prices in Ireland 2026

01Prices vary: read this first

There’s no official price list for painting in Ireland. What there is, is a handful of price guides published by painters and trade directories. This guide takes four Irish guides published or updated in 2026, puts their figures side by side, and gives each job as a range from the lowest figure to the highest.

Use the ranges to sense-check a price, not to set one. Your own price depends on your costs, your area and the job in front of you. Each range below names the guides it comes from, and each guide’s publish date is in the sources list.

How we read the sources:

• Ranges run from the lowest figure to the highest. Where one guide gives €250 to €600 and another €180 to €350, the range is €180 to €600.
• A “+” means a source left the top end open, for bigger or harder jobs.
• VAT isn’t always clear. Most of the guides don’t say whether their figures include VAT. Painting connected with a house is generally at 13.5% (see our VAT guide), which makes a real difference at the top of a range.
• Dublin costs more. One of the four guides is a Dublin painter’s own price list. It puts painting in Dublin 15 to 25% above the national average.

02Day rates

Day rates are usually for labour only. Trade Source IRE says many painters prefer to give a fixed price after seeing the job, because preparation and access change the time so much. HomePros.ie points out that a fixed price puts the risk of the job taking longer on the painter rather than the customer.

03Rooms

The room figures assume normal ceiling heights and normal preparation, usually two coats. The guides don’t all count the same surfaces: HomePros.ie’s bedroom price is walls and ceiling, while Original Dublin Painter prices ceilings and woodwork separately. That’s a large part of why the ranges are wide. The Dublin figures here use that guide’s standard-paint prices; premium paint costs more.

The hall, stairs and landing costs more than a bigger room because of the height and the access equipment it needs.

04Whole houses

Whole-house jobs work out cheaper per room, because setting up, masking and travel are spread over more work.

05Inside and outside are different jobs

Outside work costs more than inside work of the same size, and the guides explain why. Walls need washing and any cracked render repaired, masonry paint costs more, and in Ireland’s damp climate the dry weather windows are shorter, so painters factor in the risk of delays.

A typical outside job, as Trade Source IRE describes it, includes power washing, scraping loose paint, filling cracks, treating mould or algae, priming bare areas and two coats of masonry paint. Original Dublin Painter’s outside prices include power washing, minor repairs, priming where it’s needed, and two coats. Fascias, soffits, window frames and the front door are often priced on top, and higher walls may need a tower or scaffolding, which adds to the price.

On timing, HomePros.ie says a single room typically takes one day, and the full inside of a three-bed home around five to eight working days, depending on the preparation.

06How the sources compare

The spread is clearest on the most common job, the inside of a three-bed semi:

The guides agree on where a typical job starts. They differ on the top end, which is where the woodwork, the preparation and the state of the walls come in.

07What moves the price

The guides list the same handful of things:

• Preparation. Filling cracks, sanding, stripping wallpaper, and treating damp or mould. Trade Source IRE calls preparation often the biggest difference between two quotations.
• What’s included. Walls only, or ceilings, skirting, doors, frames and radiators too.
• Coats. A big colour change, such as dark to white, or new plaster needing a mist coat, adds a coat.
• Paint. Premium paint costs more per tin. The Dublin guide puts budget paint at €25–€45 and premium at €100–€150+ per 5L tin.
• Height and access. Stairwells, high ceilings and exteriors needing a tower or scaffolding.
• An empty or a lived-in house. Furniture to move and cover, and working room by room, take longer.
• Where the job is. Dublin and busy commuter areas cost more.

08Comparing two quotes

When two quotes for the same house are far apart, it’s rarely the hourly rate. It’s what each one includes. Trade Source IRE suggests checking whether each quote covers paint, materials, VAT, repairs, access equipment and clean-up. SortMyHouse.ie adds the paint brand and quality, the number of coats, and whether furniture moving and protection is included.

Put the two quotes side by side and line them up surface by surface. A cheaper quote that leaves out the ceilings, the woodwork or a coat isn’t cheaper.

09Pricing your own jobs

If you’re a painter, the ranges tell you where the market is; your quote tells the customer what they’re getting for the money. A quote that wins at the top of a range is one that spells out what the range leaves vague: which surfaces, how much preparation, how many coats and which paint. Trade Source IRE’s checklist for a good quote asks for the paint brand, product and finish to be named, not just “trade paint”.

Say clearly whether your price includes VAT and materials. Our guide on how to write a quote that gets accepted covers the rest.

10What QuotePaid does for you

QuotePaid comes with starter painting jobs, by room or by day rate, from bedrooms and halls to woodwork and exterior walls, and you set your own price for each. Build a quote by tapping the jobs or by saying them, and QuotePaid fills in the lines from your price list; it never makes up a price. It works out the VAT, at 13.5% for the job or 23% when materials are over two-thirds, or leaves it off if you’re not registered, and sends the quote to your customer as a link they can accept on their phone.