How to Price Duct Cleaning Services: Complete Bidding & Profit Margin Guide (2026)

Charge What the Job Is Worth — Not What the Other Guy Charges

The most common pricing mistake in duct cleaning isn't charging too much. It's charging too little because you don't know what the job actually costs you, and you're afraid of losing the bid to a cheaper competitor. The result: you win jobs that lose money, you can't invest in better equipment, and you're stuck in a race to the bottom with contractors who don't carry proper insurance or train their technicians.

This guide covers how to build a pricing model that reflects your actual costs, delivers healthy margins, and — critically — positions your service at a price point where clients take you seriously. In B2B duct cleaning, being the cheapest bidder is a bug, not a feature.

Part 1: Know Your True Cost Per Hour

Before you can price a job, you need to know what it costs you to put a technician and equipment on site for one hour. Most contractors underestimate this number by 30-50% because they count wages but not the fully loaded cost of employment and equipment.

Loaded Labor Rate — Per Technician, Per Hour

• Base wage: $22-35/hr (varies by market and experience)
• Payroll taxes & workers' comp: +15-25% of base wage
• Health insurance / benefits: +$3-8/hr
• Paid time off & holidays: +8-12% of base wage
• Training & certification: +$1-3/hr (amortized NADCA, OSHA, manufacturer training)
• Uniform, PPE, tools: +$1-2/hr
• Loaded labor rate: $35-55/hr per technician

A technician earning $28/hr base costs you roughly $42-48/hr fully loaded. A 2-person crew costs $84-96/hr before you've spent a dollar on equipment, fuel, or overhead.

Equipment Cost Per Hour

• Robot depreciation: $4,500 ÷ 3-year life ÷ 1,500 billable hours = $1.00/hr
• HEPA vacuum depreciation: $1,200 ÷ 3 years ÷ 1,500 hours = $0.27/hr
• Vehicle (payment, insurance, maintenance, fuel): $8-15/hr (varies dramatically with vehicle type and mileage)
• Consumables (brushes, filters, chemicals): $3-8/hr (higher for kitchen exhaust with degreasers)
• Equipment cost per hour: $12-24/hr

Overhead Allocation Per Hour

• Office staff (dispatcher, bookkeeper, sales): $5-10/hr per field crew
• Insurance (general liability, commercial auto, equipment): $2-5/hr
• Marketing & advertising: $3-8/hr (depends on your marketing spend as % of revenue)
• Rent, utilities, software subscriptions: $2-5/hr
• Overhead per hour: $12-28/hr

Total True Cost Per Hour — 2-Person Robotic Crew

• Loaded labor (2 techs): $90/hr
• Equipment: $18/hr
• Overhead: $20/hr
• True cost: ~$128/hr

This means a 5-hour commercial HVAC duct cleaning job costs you roughly $640 before any profit. If you're bidding these jobs at $600-700, you're breaking even or losing money — and you probably don't know it because you're only counting the technician wages.

Part 2: Pricing Models by Job Type

Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning

Pricing method: Per linear foot of exhaust duct, plus per-hood and per-fan charges. This is the industry standard because it scales directly with the scope of work.

• Per linear foot (horizontal duct): $12-25/ft for accessible duct; $18-35/ft for limited-access duct
• Per linear foot (vertical riser): $18-35/ft (access and fall protection complexity)
• Per hood: $75-150 per hood for interior cleaning
• Per exhaust fan: $100-250 per fan (access, disassembly, cleaning, reassembly)
• Grease containment & disposal: $50-150 (environmental disposal fees)
• NFPA 96 compliance documentation: Included in price — this is your value-add, not an extra charge

Example quote: Restaurant with 40 linear feet of horizontal duct, 15 feet of vertical riser, 2 hoods, 1 fan = (40 × $18) + (15 × $25) + (2 × $100) + (1 × $150) = $720 + $375 + $200 + $150 = $1,445

Commercial HVAC Duct Cleaning

Pricing method: Per square foot of building served, or per vent/diffuser, or per linear foot of main duct. Most contractors use a hybrid: per-vent pricing for the branch ducts plus per-linear-foot for main trunks.

• Per supply diffuser: $35-65 per diffuser (includes the branch duct from main trunk to diffuser)
• Per return grille: $25-45 per grille
• Main trunk duct (per linear foot): $8-18/ft for accessible mains; $15-28/ft for limited-access mains
• AHU coil cleaning: $300-800 per unit (varies dramatically with coil size and accessibility)

Example quote: 15,000 sq ft office with 45 supply diffusers, 12 return grilles, 120 linear feet of accessible main duct, 2 AHU coils = (45 × $45) + (12 × $35) + (120 × $12) + (2 × $500) = $2,025 + $420 + $1,440 + $1,000 = $4,885

Industrial Duct & Pipeline Cleaning

Pricing method: Per linear foot, heavily adjusted for diameter, access limitations, and contamination type. Industrial jobs are the most variable — a straight 24-inch process exhaust duct is straightforward; a 48-inch duct with chemical residue and access points every 60 feet is a different category entirely.

• Small industrial (12-24 inch diameter): $15-35/linear foot
• Medium industrial (24-48 inch): $25-60/linear foot
• Large industrial (48-72 inch): $40-100+/linear foot
• Confined space surcharge: +25-50% if technician entry is required
• Chemical/contaminant handling surcharge: +15-40% for hazardous residue, heavy grease, or combustible dust
• Documentation package (industrial): $500-2,000 for comprehensive before/after video, floor plans, and compliance report

Part 3: Profit Margin Targets

What Healthy Margins Look Like

• Gross margin (after direct labor + equipment): Target 50-60%. If your fully loaded crew + equipment cost is $130/hr, your billable rate should be $260-325/hr.
• Net margin (after overhead): Target 15-25%. A well-run duct cleaning business with proper pricing and equipment utilization should net 20%+ at year end. If you're below 10%, your pricing is wrong or your overhead is too high.

The Equipment Multiplier Effect

Robotic equipment improves margins in two ways:

1. Lower effective labor cost per job: A robot cuts job time by 30-40%. Your $130/hr crew cost for a 5-hour job ($650) becomes a 3-hour job ($390). You can either pass the savings through (lower price, win more bids) or maintain price and capture the margin improvement. Most contractors do a mix — modest price reduction to improve win rate, plus capturing most of the labor savings as margin.
2. Higher billable rate: Clients pay a premium for robotic cleaning with documented results. A $260/hr billable rate for manual cleaning becomes $290-320/hr for robotic. The perceived value increase (better cleaning, video proof, faster completion) supports the premium.

Part 4: Bidding to Win — Not Just to Fill the Schedule

Pre-Bid Qualification: When to Walk Away

Not every RFP is worth your time. Qualify opportunities before you spend hours on a bid:

• Is there a budget? If the prospect won't share a budget range, they're either price-shopping or don't have funding approved. Ask: "For a project of this scope, our clients typically invest between $X and $Y. Does that align with your expectations?" If they can't answer, they're probably not a qualified buyer.
• Who else is bidding? If the prospect volunteered that they're getting 8 bids, your odds are low and the process is probably price-driven. Focus on opportunities with 2-4 bidders where you can differentiate on equipment and documentation, not price.
• What's the decision timeline? A bid that will be decided in 2 days is a price check against an incumbent. A bid that follows a 4-6 week evaluation process with a site visit is a genuine procurement — invest your time accordingly.

Building a Winning Proposal

The proposal document itself is a marketing asset. A 3-line email with a dollar figure loses to a professional proposal every time — even if the dollar figure is lower. Winning proposals include:

• Scope of work with duct measurements: Show you actually inspected the site and measured. Include a simple duct diagram or marked-up floor plan.
• Equipment and methodology: "We will clean ducts using a Gaolijie K7S robotic system with HEPA-filtered negative air containment per NADCA standards." This tells the client HOW you'll do the work and signals professionalism.
• Documentation deliverables: "You will receive HD before/after video of every duct section, timestamped for compliance verification." This is what facility managers actually need for their files — and what many contractors don't provide.
• Timeline and disruption plan: "Work will be performed during off-hours (6 PM — 2 AM) over 8 shifts. Tenants on floors adjacent to active work sections will receive 48-hour advance notice. No disruption to daytime building operations."
• Insurance and safety: Include your COI, safety record, and confined space entry procedures. Commercial clients' risk managers read this section first.
• Clear pricing with no surprises: Line-item pricing they can compare. If there are optional add-ons (coil cleaning, antimicrobial treatment, access door installation), list them separately with clear prices.

Pricing Psychology for B2B Duct Cleaning

B2B buyers don't choose the cheapest option — they choose the option that creates the fewest problems. Your pricing and proposal should communicate:

• Competence: "We have the right equipment and trained personnel to do this correctly the first time."
• Reliability: "We will show up when we say we will, finish when we say we will, and document everything."
• Risk reduction: "If something goes wrong, we have insurance, safety procedures, and a responsive management team."

When a facility manager hires the cheapest bidder and the job goes badly — ducts damaged, tenants disrupted, documentation missing — the savings evaporate instantly in rework costs, complaints, and lost credibility with their own leadership. Smart buyers know this. Your pricing should reflect the value of getting it right the first time.