Move-out cleaning in Chicago runs from around $335 for a studio to roughly $640 for a four-bedroom house. The spread is not arbitrary: it tracks square footage and room count, because those are what determine how long an empty-unit clean actually takes.
The prices below are ours, published rather than quoted on the phone, and they are what our pricing engine produces for a typical layout at each size.
What moves the number
- Square footage and room count — the two largest inputs, and the only ones most quotes need
- Scope: a move-out clean includes inside every cabinet and appliance, which is why it prices above a standard clean of the same space
- Condition. A unit that was maintained cleans faster than one that was not, and honest quoting asks about this up front
- Add-ons that are genuinely separate work: interior windows, blinds slat by slat, inside a second oven
What should not move it
The clock. If you are billed hourly, a slow day costs you more and nobody has an incentive to finish. Pricing on the space means the number you are quoted is the number you pay, and an overrun is the company's problem.
Where people get surprised
- 1Carpet shampooing is not included in a cleaning anywhere. If the lease requires it, that is a separate trade, booked before the cleaners.
- 2The unit has to be genuinely empty, garage and storage locker included. A crew arriving to boxes cannot deliver the scope you paid for.
- 3Items left behind become the landlord's removal cost, and that gets deducted at their rate.
Getting an accurate number
Any company that will not give you a price without a walkthrough for a standard apartment is adding a step that does not need to exist. Room count and square footage are enough for a home; walkthroughs belong to large or specialised facilities.
