What commercial cleaning actually costs in SEQ in 2026.
Most South East Queensland offices land between $38 and $55 per hour, or $0.85 to $2.20 per square metre per month for a nightly service. The spread is driven by four things — frequency, amenity count, floor type and access — not by how good the salesperson was. Below, what each one does to the number, and three worked examples.
Written scope and a fixed monthly price within 48 hours — useful even if you're only benchmarking.
Get a free quoteThe two pricing models, and which one favours you
Commercial cleaning is quoted either hourly or per square metre. Hourly is simpler to explain and worse for the client: it pays for attendance rather than outcome, so a contractor who takes longer earns more, and there is no incentive to improve. If the crew is under-resourced, the scope quietly shrinks to fit the hours.
Per square metre priced against a written scope moves that risk onto the contractor. You agree a task list with a frequency against every line and a fixed monthly figure. If the crew is slow, that is the contractor's problem. If they are efficient, they keep the margin — which is the correct incentive.
The four variables that actually move the number
Two buildings of identical floor area can differ by 60% on price. These are the reasons, in order of impact.
Three worked examples
Real SEQ numbers, inclusive of consumables and a proportionate share of periodic work. Yours will differ — these are for calibration, not quotation.
What cheap quotes leave out
When one quote is 30% under the others, it is almost never efficiency. It is scope. These are the lines that get removed to hit a headline number, and each one comes back as an invoice later.
Ask for every quote to state explicitly whether these are included. If a contractor will not put it in writing, you have learned something useful.
How to compare three quotes properly
Put the three scopes side by side before you look at a single price. Line up the task lists and mark every row where one contractor has a frequency the others do not. In our experience that exercise alone resolves most price gaps, and it often reveals that the cheapest quote is not describing a job you would accept.
Then normalise: add the excluded consumables and a year of periodic work to each quote, and divide by twelve. That is the number to compare.
Expect $38–$55 per hour, or $0.85–$2.20 per m² per month, for nightly office cleaning in South East Queensland.
Frequency is the biggest cost lever — dropping from five nights to three saves roughly a third, and most small offices cope fine.
Under 500m², amenity count matters more than floor area. Count the toilets before you compare the quotes.
A quote 30% below the others has removed scope, not found efficiency. Normalise for consumables and periodic work before comparing.
How much does commercial cleaning cost per square metre in Australia?
In South East Queensland, between $0.85 and $2.20 per square metre per month for a nightly office service. Under about 300 square metres the per-metre figure rises sharply, because travel and setup time are fixed regardless of how small the floor is.
Is hourly or per-square-metre pricing better?
Per-square-metre against a written scope is better for the client. Hourly pricing pays for attendance rather than outcome, so a contractor who is slower earns more. A fixed monthly figure tied to a task list with frequencies makes the contractor carry the efficiency risk.
Why are commercial cleaning quotes so different from each other?
Almost always because they describe different jobs. One quote includes consumables, periodic floor work and amenity restocking; another quotes a bare nightly clean and invoices everything else separately. Compare the scopes line by line before comparing the numbers.
What is a fair price for cleaning a small office in Brisbane?
A 200 square metre office with 15 staff cleaned three nights a week typically runs $1,100 to $1,600 per month including consumables. Five nights a week takes the same site to roughly $1,700 to $2,400.
Do cleaning costs vary across South East Queensland?
Slightly. Ipswich runs a little under Brisbane because access is simpler — no towers, no lift bookings, easier parking. Coastal Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast sites carry higher glazing costs because salt spray forces monthly rather than quarterly cycles.