Updated · Make This Useful
Gutter cleaning cost calculator
HomeGuide lists gutter cleaning at $0.50–$1.50 per linear foot for one story and $0.75–$2.00 for two, checked October 2026. Rate each run by the height you work it from, not by the size of the house: a two-story home with a one-story garage is two rates on one quote. Then set a visit minimum, because a short run at a fair per-foot rate rarely pays for the drive and the ladder setup.
Price a gutter clean
Starting point: $1.00 per linear ft. Single-story gutters (US guide): $0.50–$1.50 per linear foot. Our midpoint of that range, rounded to cents. Basic cleaning labor and supplies for single-story gutters. HomeGuide: gutter cleaning cost, checked 2026-10-15.
Extras, travel and minimum
Measure the gutter runs, not the home's floor area. Include downspouts, debris disposal and access in your scope.
Enter gutter length (linear feet).
How much more should two-story gutters cost?
HomeGuide’s two-story band, $0.75–$2.00 a foot, starts 25 cents above the single-story band and tops out 50 cents above it. On 150 ft, that is $37.50 to $75 more for the same gutter one floor up. Richmond Gutter Cleaners in Virginia lists whole two-story visits at $200–$400. Charge the difference every time; the taller ladder, the extra moves and the risk come with every run up there.
Where it goes wrong is the mixed house. Quote a split-level, or a two-story with a one-story porch, at a single rate and you either lose the job on price or lose money on the high side. Measure the runs by height, rate each one and add them up. For three stories and up, HomeGuide’s band is $1.25–$2.50 a foot; quote those only after seeing where the ladder can stand and if you can work from the roof.
What’s a fair minimum for a gutter cleaning visit?
A 60 ft ranch at $1.25 a foot is $75, which won’t cover the drive and ladder setup. Sparkle Service on Chicago’s North Shore starts single-story homes at $150, with flushing, debris removal and photos included. Set your minimum first; the calculator charges it whenever the footage comes in under it.
Build the minimum from your own shortest visit: the drive, unloading, ladder setup, the clean, bagging and the drive out. If that visit costs you $90 and you want a 30% margin, $90 ÷ 0.70 = $128.57, so round it to $130. Detached garages, sheds and small add-on runs are where a minimum earns its keep. Quote them at the minimum on their own, or fold them into the house visit at your per-foot rate.
Should gutter guards and downspouts cost extra?
Guards cost extra when they have to come off. Snap-in screens lift out quickly; screwed-down mesh means a driver in your hand on every section. Downspouts are different. A flow check and a flush belong in the base clean, and both Sparkle Service and Richmond Gutter Cleaners include flushing in their visit prices. A packed elbow you have to take apart is its own line.
The usual mistake is quoting guards from the driveway. See how they’re fixed before you price, and say on the quote if you are opening every run or only the sections holding water. Plenty of customers believe guards mean the gutters never need cleaning; a photo of what sits under the mesh settles that faster than an explanation. Underground drains, sagging hangers and leaking seams are repairs and get their own quote.
Example: 150 feet of gutter, one story and two
150 ft of single-story gutter costs you $0.80 a foot in time and supplies ($120), plus $20 to get there: $140. At a 30% margin, $140 ÷ 0.70 = $200, about $1.33 a foot, inside HomeGuide’s $0.50–$1.50 single-story band and clear of a $150 minimum.
The same footage on a two-story costs you more, say $1.10 a foot ($165) plus the same $20: $185. At 30%, $185 ÷ 0.70 = $264.29, about $1.76 a foot. That sits inside HomeGuide’s $0.75–$2.00 two-story band and Richmond Gutter Cleaners’ $200–$400 two-story visit.
Frequently asked questions
Should I quote gutter cleaning per foot or a flat price per house?
Measure in feet and quote a total. Customers compare totals, and a per-foot number invites them to measure the house themselves. Once you know a neighborhood, flat prices by story and house size are quicker to sell. Check each one against the footage of a few jobs you’ve done, so the big lots aren’t riding on the small ones.
How often should a customer book gutter cleaning?
Most homes need a clean after the spring seed and blossom drop and another once the leaves are down in fall. Houses under pines shed needles all year and can need more visits; a house with no trees overhead may manage with one. Ask what’s growing over the roof before you sell a plan, and book both visits when they say yes.
What do I say when a customer says my gutter price is too high?
Ask what the other quote includes. A cheaper price often leaves the debris in a pile on the lawn, skips the downspouts or covers the house but not the garage. Walk them through yours: every run cleaned, each downspout flushed, debris bagged and hauled, before and after photos. If they still want to pay less, take something out of the job rather than off the price.