DIY vs Hire a Painter Calculator: Which Costs Less?

Should you DIY it or hire a painter?

On the defaults — $150.00 of paint & supplies, 10 hours of your time at $30.00 an hour, a painter at $45.00 an hour for 8 hours, and $50.00 of prep & repair — the DIY cost is $450.00 ($150.00 + 10 × $30.00) and the hiring cost is $560.00 (8 × $45.00 + $150.00 + $50.00), so DIY wins by $110.00. The same room, on both sides: the paint & supplies appear on both sides, so changing the materials cost never changes the gap — only your time, the painter’s rate and hours, and the prep cost move the winner. Professional painters typically charge $25–$75 an hour, or $2–$6 per square foot of wall; a standard 12×12-foot room typically costs $300–$800 to paint professionally, paint included; a gallon of paint covers about 350 square feet and costs $25–$70.

Five things about the model are worth stating plainly. First, the DIY cost is the paint & supplies plus your hours times what your time is worth — $150.00 + 10 × $30.00 = $450.00. Second, the hiring cost is the painter’s hours times the rate plus the paint & supplies plus the prep cost — 8 × $45.00 + $150.00 + $50.00 = $560.00. Third, the gap is the hiring total minus the DIY total — $560.00 − $450.00 = +$110.00, so DIY wins. Fourth, the materials cancel out — at $300.00 of paint & supplies both sides rise by $150.00 and the gap stays $110.00. And fifth, your time is the lever: at 16 hours the DIY cost is $630.00 and hiring wins by $70.00; all listed in Accuracy & limitations.

The worked example, line by line

Setup: $150.00 paint & supplies, 10 DIY hours at $30.00 an hour, painter $45.00 an hour for 8 hours, $50.00 prep & repair.

Line 1 — the DIY cost. The DIY cost is $150.00 + 10 × $30.00 = $450.00.

Line 2 — the hiring cost. The hiring cost is 8 × $45.00 + $150.00 + $50.00 = $560.00.

Line 3 — the gap. The gap is $560.00 − $450.00 = +$110.00, so DIY wins by $110.00.

Line 4 — the flip. At 16 hours of your time the DIY cost is $150.00 + 16 × $30.00 = $630.00, so the gap is $560.00 − $630.00 = −$70.00 and hiring wins by $70.00.

Line 5 — the prep cost. With $0.00 of prep the hiring cost is $510.00, so the gap is $510.00 − $450.00 = +$60.00 and DIY wins by $60.00 — the prep cost is the line that decides close jobs.

Every branch, checked

Paint & supplies $300.00: DIY $600.00 ($300.00 materials + 10 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $710.00 (8 hours × $45.00 + $300.00 materials + $50.00 prep): gap +$110.00 — DIY wins by $110.00 — At $300.00 of paint & supplies both sides rise by $150.00 and the gap stays $110.00 — materials never move the winner.

Painter $60.00/hour: DIY $450.00 ($150.00 materials + 10 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $680.00 (8 hours × $60.00 + $150.00 materials + $50.00 prep): gap +$230.00 — DIY wins by $230.00 — At $60.00 an hour the hiring cost is $680.00 and DIY wins by $230.00.

Diy 16 hours: DIY $630.00 ($150.00 materials + 16 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $560.00 (8 hours × $45.00 + $150.00 materials + $50.00 prep): gap −$70.00 — HIRING wins by $70.00 — At 16 DIY hours the DIY cost is $630.00 — hiring wins by $70.00.

Painter 12 hours: DIY $450.00 ($150.00 materials + 10 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $740.00 (12 hours × $45.00 + $150.00 materials + $50.00 prep): gap +$290.00 — DIY wins by $290.00 — At 12 hours of painter labor the hiring cost is $740.00 and DIY wins by $290.00.

Your time $50.00/hour: DIY $650.00 ($150.00 materials + 10 hours × $50.00) vs hiring $560.00 (8 hours × $45.00 + $150.00 materials + $50.00 prep): gap −$90.00 — HIRING wins by $90.00 — Value your time at $50.00 an hour and the DIY cost is $650.00 — hiring wins by $90.00.

Prep $0.00: DIY $450.00 ($150.00 materials + 10 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $510.00 (8 hours × $45.00 + $150.00 materials + $0.00 prep): gap +$60.00 — DIY wins by $60.00 — With no prep the hiring cost is $510.00 and DIY wins by only $60.00 — prep is the line that decides close jobs.

Prep $200.00: DIY $450.00 ($150.00 materials + 10 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $710.00 (8 hours × $45.00 + $150.00 materials + $200.00 prep): gap +$260.00 — DIY wins by $260.00 — At $200.00 of prep the hiring cost is $710.00 and DIY wins by $260.00.

The reverses, worked backwards

Painter rate for an exact tie: The painter rate for an exact tie is $31.25/hour (exact). At $31.25 an hour the DIY cost is $450.00, the hiring cost is $450.00, and the gap is $0.00 — a Tie. An unusually low rate — it shows how far the rate must fall for hiring to tie.

Smallest 2-decimal diy hours whose diy cost reaches the $560.00 hiring total: The smallest 2-decimal DIY hours whose DIY cost reaches the $560.00 hiring total are 13.67 hours (exact 13.6667). At 13.67 hours the DIY cost is $560.10 and the gap is −$0.10 — HIRING wins by $0.10; at 13.66 hours the DIY cost is $559.80 and the gap is +$0.20 — DIY wins by $0.20.

Smallest 2-decimal painter hours whose rounded hiring total reaches the $450.00 diy total: The smallest 2-decimal painter hours whose ROUNDED hiring total reaches the $450.00 DIY total are 5.56 hours (exact 5.5556). At 5.56 hours the hiring total is $450.20 and the gap is +$0.20 — DIY wins by $0.20; at 5.55 hours the hiring total is $449.75 and the gap is −$0.25 — HIRING wins by $0.25.

Your hourly value so diy wins by exactly $50.00: Your hourly value so DIY wins by exactly $50.00 is $36.00/hour (exact). At $36.00 an hour the DIY cost is $510.00, the hiring cost is $560.00, and the gap is +$50.00 — DIY wins by $50.00.

Prep cost so diy wins by exactly $150.00: The prep cost so DIY wins by exactly $150.00 is $90.00 (exact). At $90.00 of prep the hiring cost is $600.00, the DIY cost is $450.00, and the gap is +$150.00 — DIY wins by $150.00.

Smallest 2-decimal diy hours whose diy cost reaches $660.00 (hiring wins by $100.00 at exactly $660.00): The smallest 2-decimal DIY hours whose DIY cost reaches $660.00 are 17.00 hours (exact 17.0000). At 17.00 hours the DIY cost is $660.00 and the gap is −$100.00 — HIRING wins by $100.00; at 16.99 hours the DIY cost is $659.70 and the gap is −$99.70 — HIRING wins by $99.70.

What the defaults assume

The defaults are $150.00 of paint & supplies, 10 DIY hours at $30.00 an hour, a painter at $45.00 an hour for 8 hours, and $50.00 of prep & repair — DIY $450.00 ($150.00 materials + 10 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $560.00 (8 hours × $45.00 + $150.00 materials + $50.00 prep): gap +$110.00 — DIY wins by $110.00. With paint & supplies $300.00, DIY $600.00 ($300.00 materials + 10 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $710.00 (8 hours × $45.00 + $300.00 materials + $50.00 prep): gap +$110.00 — DIY wins by $110.00 — At $300.00 of paint & supplies both sides rise by $150.00 and the gap stays $110.00 — materials never move the winner. With painter $60.00/hour, DIY $450.00 ($150.00 materials + 10 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $680.00 (8 hours × $60.00 + $150.00 materials + $50.00 prep): gap +$230.00 — DIY wins by $230.00 — At $60.00 an hour the hiring cost is $680.00 and DIY wins by $230.00. With DIY 16 hours, DIY $630.00 ($150.00 materials + 16 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $560.00 (8 hours × $45.00 + $150.00 materials + $50.00 prep): gap −$70.00 — HIRING wins by $70.00 — At 16 DIY hours the DIY cost is $630.00 — hiring wins by $70.00. With painter 12 hours, DIY $450.00 ($150.00 materials + 10 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $740.00 (12 hours × $45.00 + $150.00 materials + $50.00 prep): gap +$290.00 — DIY wins by $290.00 — At 12 hours of painter labor the hiring cost is $740.00 and DIY wins by $290.00. With your time $50.00/hour, DIY $650.00 ($150.00 materials + 10 hours × $50.00) vs hiring $560.00 (8 hours × $45.00 + $150.00 materials + $50.00 prep): gap −$90.00 — HIRING wins by $90.00 — Value your time at $50.00 an hour and the DIY cost is $650.00 — hiring wins by $90.00. With prep $0.00, DIY $450.00 ($150.00 materials + 10 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $510.00 (8 hours × $45.00 + $150.00 materials + $0.00 prep): gap +$60.00 — DIY wins by $60.00 — With no prep the hiring cost is $510.00 and DIY wins by only $60.00 — prep is the line that decides close jobs. With prep $200.00, DIY $450.00 ($150.00 materials + 10 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $710.00 (8 hours × $45.00 + $150.00 materials + $200.00 prep): gap +$260.00 — DIY wins by $260.00 — At $200.00 of prep the hiring cost is $710.00 and DIY wins by $260.00. With paint & supplies $0.00, DIY $300.00 ($0.00 materials + 10 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $410.00 (8 hours × $45.00 + $0.00 materials + $50.00 prep): gap +$110.00 — DIY wins by $110.00 — With $0.00 of materials the DIY cost is $300.00 and the hiring cost is $410.00 — DIY still wins by $110.00. With DIY 0 hours, DIY $150.00 ($150.00 materials + 0 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $560.00 (8 hours × $45.00 + $150.00 materials + $50.00 prep): gap +$410.00 — DIY wins by $410.00 — With 0 DIY hours the DIY cost is just the $150.00 of materials and DIY wins by $410.00. With painter $25.00/hour, DIY $450.00 ($150.00 materials + 10 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $400.00 (8 hours × $25.00 + $150.00 materials + $50.00 prep): gap −$50.00 — HIRING wins by $50.00 — At $25.00 an hour the hiring cost is $400.00 — hiring wins by $50.00. With painter 16 hours, DIY $450.00 ($150.00 materials + 10 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $920.00 (16 hours × $45.00 + $150.00 materials + $50.00 prep): gap +$470.00 — DIY wins by $470.00 — At 16 hours of painter labor the hiring cost is $920.00 and DIY wins by $470.00. With your time $0.00/hour, DIY $150.00 ($150.00 materials + 10 hours × $0.00) vs hiring $560.00 (8 hours × $45.00 + $150.00 materials + $50.00 prep): gap +$410.00 — DIY wins by $410.00 — Value your time at $0.00 an hour and the DIY cost is $150.00 — DIY wins by $410.00. With prep $300.00, DIY $450.00 ($150.00 materials + 10 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $810.00 (8 hours × $45.00 + $150.00 materials + $300.00 prep): gap +$360.00 — DIY wins by $360.00 — At $300.00 of prep the hiring cost is $810.00 and DIY wins by $360.00. With painter $75.00/hour, DIY $450.00 ($150.00 materials + 10 hours × $30.00) vs hiring $800.00 (8 hours × $75.00 + $150.00 materials + $50.00 prep): gap +$350.00 — DIY wins by $350.00 — At $75.00 an hour the hiring cost is $800.00 and DIY wins by $350.00.

Output · formula · meaning

Who uses this

• The homeowner pricing a room repaint: they learn DIY costs $450.00 against $560.00 to hire — and they check the $31.25-an-hour reverse to see how far the painter’s rate would have to fall for hiring to tie.
• The renter deciding whether to paint: they learn prep is the line that decides close jobs — with no prep DIY wins by only $60.00 — and they check the $90.00 prep reverse to see the prep cost where DIY wins by $150.00.
• The homeowner with a slow weekend: they learn at 16 hours hiring wins by $70.00 — and they check the 13.67-hour reverse to see the smallest time whose DIY cost reaches the hiring total.
• The DIYer valuing their evening: they learn value their time at $50.00 an hour and hiring wins by $90.00 — and they check the $36.00-an-hour reverse to see the exact value where DIY wins by $50.00.

Accuracy & limitations

The math is first-principles: the DIY cost is the paint & supplies plus your hours times what your time is worth, the hiring cost is the painter’s hours times the rate plus the paint & supplies plus the prep cost, and the gap is the hiring total minus the DIY total — each total rounded to cents half-up, and the gap computed from the rounded totals, so a gap of exactly $0.00 is a Tie. What the model cannot do is price your actual job: the hire total ignores the cost of waiting for a painter’s opening, which can be days on a small job; the DIY total ignores the cost of a finish you have to redo, which can cost more than hiring a painter in the first place; prep work — filling holes, sanding, taping, moving furniture — is where DIY jobs most often run over budget on time; a bad DIY paint job can cost more to fix than hiring a painter would have cost; never paint over a glossy surface without sanding or priming — the new paint will peel; and the rates here are typical ranges ($25–$75 an hour, $2–$6 per square foot), not a quote from your painter. Use it to find the cheaper side — then get a real quote before you decide.

Frequently asked questions