If you ask 10 hood cleaners what they charge, you'll get 10 different answers. "Whatever feels fair." "What the last guy charged minus 10%." "I just give them a number." That's how you stay broke.
I built my company up to a 7-figure run rate before I sold it. Pricing was the single biggest lever. Not marketing. Not equipment. Pricing. Here's what I learned the hard way.
The 3 numbers every hood cleaner needs
Before you can price anything, you need to know your costs. Most hood cleaners can't answer these:
- Loaded labor cost per hour — wages + payroll taxes + workers comp + benefits. For most companies this is $35-55/hr per technician, not the $20/hr you pay them.
- Vehicle and equipment cost per job — fuel, insurance, depreciation, soap, plates, tarps. Usually $35-65 per job.
- Overhead allocation per job — your office costs, software, your own salary, marketing — divided by jobs per month. Usually $40-100 per job.
Add those up. If you don't know what every job actually costs you to deliver, you're not running a business. You're running a hobby.
Pricing models that work in 2026
1. Per-hood pricing (the standard)
Most companies charge $250-450 per hood for standard quarterly cleaning, depending on market and complexity. The mistake: pricing the same regardless of how dirty or complex the hood is. A 6-foot hood over a deep fryer needs 2x the labor of a 6-foot hood over a flat-top griddle.
2. Square footage pricing (better)
Charge by linear footage of hood + complexity multiplier. A 12-foot wok station needs more than a 12-foot pizza oven. Build that into your pricing tool.
3. Volume contract pricing (where the money is)
This is what most companies miss. Lock customers into 12-month contracts at slight discount in exchange for guaranteed schedule. Your booking goes from chaotic to predictable. You can hire smart. You can plan equipment purchases. And recurring revenue triples your enterprise value if you ever sell.
The 30/30/30 rule
I price every job to hit:
- 30% direct labor (loaded)
- 30% materials, equipment, vehicle
- 30% gross margin
- 10% contingency / overhead absorption
If a job won't hit 30% gross margin minimum, I either renegotiate scope or walk. There are 50,000 commercial kitchens in any major US metro. You don't need every customer. You need profitable ones.
When to upcharge (without losing the customer)
Customers don't get angry at higher prices. They get angry at surprises. The trick is to set expectations upfront and bill for them transparently. Things you should always charge extra for:
- Excessive grease load (depth > 100 microns) — adds 50-100% to labor
- Roof access requiring fall protection — flat $75-150 surcharge
- After-hours emergency cleanings — 1.75x to 2x multiplier
- Multi-unit hoods or complex duct runs — per-foot duct charge
- Polishing, painting, or fan motor service — separate line items
The mistake that cost me $40k/year
For my first 5 years, I quoted off the top of my head while standing in the kitchen. By the time I got back to the office, I'd forgotten half the details. I underbid jobs constantly.
The fix was a structured estimate tool: every job entered with hood dimensions, equipment type, grease level, access difficulty, and a calculated price based on my pricing rules. I stopped losing money on quoted jobs the day I started using it.
Stop pricing by gut feel.
MCR System's quote tool calculates pricing automatically based on hood specs, grease load, and access. Try it free for 30 days.
Get MCR System →— Darlan Posso, CEO, MCR System
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