Cost guide

Exterior House Painting Cost Guide: DIY vs Professional Estimates

Painting the outside of an Australian home typically costs between $3,500 and $20,000, depending on the size of the house, the number of storeys, the condition of the existing surface and whether you hire a professional or do it yourself. This guide breaks the numbers down so you can budget with confidence — and shows how our free estimator turns those figures into a quote in minutes.

Cost per square metre (AUD)

Australian painters usually quote exterior work by the square metre of wall area (not floor area). Typical 2025 ranges:

• • Single-storey weatherboard or render: $25–$40 / m²
• • Double-storey (access & scaffolding): $40–$60 / m²
• • Heritage or heavily prepped surfaces: $55–$85 / m²

A typical 3-bedroom single-storey home has around 180–240 m² of paintable wall area, which puts most jobs in the $6,000–$10,000 range before extras like eaves, gutters and trim.

Material costs: paint and primer

Materials are usually 15–25% of the total. Budget premium exterior acrylic paint at around $25 per litre retail (trade pricing is lower), covering roughly 10 m² per litre per coat. Most jobs need two topcoats, and previously unpainted or repaired surfaces need a primer coat as well.

• • Paint (2 coats, 200 m² house): ~40 L → about $900–$1,100
• • Primer/undercoat where required: ~$150–$400
• • Sundries (rollers, brushes, tape, drop sheets, filler): $150–$300

Labour rates and hours

Professional painters in Australia charge $55–$85 per hour for a tradesperson, and more when scaffolding, cherry-pickers or lead-paint precautions are involved. A rule of thumb for exterior work: one experienced painter covers about 6–10 m² of prepped wall per hour.

For a 200 m² single-storey home that's roughly 25–35 hours of painting, plus another 10–20 hours of prep (scraping, sanding, filling, masking). Prep is often the largest single line item — and the biggest reason DIY jobs run over budget.

DIY vs professional: side-by-side

A DIY job on a single-storey home usually lands around $1,500–$3,000 in materials plus 60–100 hours of your own time. Hiring a professional for the same job typically runs $6,000–$10,000 all-in, including GST.

The trade-off isn't just money — it's access equipment, warranty, preparation quality, and time. Double-storey work in particular is rarely worth doing yourself once scaffolding hire is included.

Get a real number for your house

The figures above are averages. To get an itemised quote for your specific home — with paint volumes, labour hours, GST and a DIY vs professional comparison — upload an aerial photo to our free estimator. It takes about five minutes and produces a branded PDF you can send to painters for comparison.

Frequently asked questions