HomeMatchup
21 sections · Painting

Painting, a finish that outlasts the argument

It usually starts with paint that failed two years after you paid for it. The hard part is not the work — it is that every painting company sounds equally sure of itself, and you get one guess. We check licence and insurance before we introduce anyone, and we record the date we checked.

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Painting in short

Painting services cover interior repainting, exterior repainting, trim and door work, cabinet refinishing, and the surface preparation that makes any of it last. Most of the labor is prep — washing, scraping, sanding, patching, caulking and priming — not the finish coats. If your home was built before 1978, any paid work that disturbs paint falls under the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule and must be performed by a certified firm.

In 2026, interior house painting typically runs about $1 to $4 per square foot of floor space, or roughly $1,800 to $10,000 for a whole home, according to This Old House. Exterior painting runs about $2.20 to $4.40 per square foot, or roughly $4,400 to $8,800 for a typical 2,000-square-foot house. Your actual price depends far more on surface condition and prep than on the paint you choose.

HomeMatchup Shield

Why a pro gets to be on this list

Most sites sell your number to whoever pays the most for it. We check the painting companies we match you with, and we publish the date we checked so you can hold us to it.

Licence checked

We look up the licence with the issuing state or local authority and record the date we checked it.

Insurance confirmed

General liability and, where it applies, workers’ compensation — confirmed with the carrier, not taken on trust.

Reviews read, not counted

We read the recent negatives as well as the average, and we look at how the pro answered them.

Re-checked, not set and forgotten

A licence that lapses drops the pro out of matching. Every record carries the date it was last verified.

Read the full vetting method

No verified painting price ranges published yet.
We don’t publish a cost until we can show the data behind it. If you need a number today, the quote form gives you real prices from local companies.

Honest comparison

HomeMatchup vs. a lead site vs. doing it yourself

Three ways to get this work done. Here’s what each one actually gives you.

Getting painting work done — three routes compared
HomeMatchup Typical lead site DIY
How many companies call youA short, named shortlist you agreed toOften 4–5+ at once, sold to whoever buys the leadNone — the work is on you
Licence & insuranceChecked against the issuing authority, with a date on the recordUsually self-reported by the contractorYour own permits and liability
What it costs youFree — pros pay us, and only for a real matchFree, but your number is resoldMaterials plus your time
Price guidance before you talkPublished ranges with the data behind themRarely shown before you hand over detailsYou research it yourself
If it goes wrongYou have a named, verified company and a record of the checksHard to trace which site sold the leadNo recourse

Describes how HomeMatchup operates and the common lead-generation model. Not a claim about any named competitor.

Homeowners

What people say after they’ve hired

Zero reviews. On purpose.

We’d rather show you nothing than show you someone else’s reviews.

Plenty of sites fill this space with reviews scraped from elsewhere, or written for them. We don’t. The first painting review on this page will come from a homeowner we matched, after their work was finished and paid for.

  • Only from homeowners we actually matched
  • Only after the job is complete
  • Published unedited, including the bad ones
  1. 1You get matchedA few checked pros, free
  2. 2Work gets doneBy a licensed, insured company
  3. 3We ask youOnce, after completion
  4. 4It appears hereExactly as you wrote it
FAQ

Painting questions, answered

The questions homeowners ask us most about painting.

This Old House puts interiors at $1,800–$10,000 for a whole home, or about $1–$4 per square foot of floor space, and exteriors at $4,400–$8,800 for a typical 2,000-square-foot house, or $2.20–$4.40 per square foot.
This Old House puts a properly applied exterior paint job at five to 10 years, depending on paint type, surface material and climate. Interior paint is limited by wear and cleaning rather than weathering.
EPA states that roughly three-quarters of U.S. homes built before 1978 still contain some lead-based paint. Intact paint that isn't disturbed is generally lower risk; sanding, scraping and heating it creates the hazard.
A bid that lists coats and paint but says almost nothing about prep, on a house that clearly needs prep. Second red flag: a large deposit demanded before any work starts.
You can, and it sometimes works on well-adhered paper with a proper primer, but seams and edges usually telegraph through and removal later becomes much harder. Removal is the safer default.
See all 1 painting question

The wrong painting hire costs more than the right one.

Paint is 90% preparation and preparation is the part you cannot see once it is covered. The failure arrives long after the invoice cleared. Getting matched takes about a minute, costs nothing, and you can walk away from every quote you receive.

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