Janitorial service is the recurring contract rather than the one-off job, and the figures published for it in this record arrive in four units that do not convert without knowing your building. This page collects what is actually published and says what each figure is measuring, which is the part a buyer needs before any of it is useful.
Four units, one service
Per square foot per visit, per square foot per month, per cleaner per hour, and a monthly total for a stated building size. Every company in this record publishes at least one and several publish two. None publishes all four, which is why a buyer collecting quotes ends up converting by hand.
What the figures have in common
They all price labour. Behind every square foot rate is a production rate, which is the area a cleaner covers per hour at a given standard, and behind every hourly rate is a loaded cost that includes payroll burden. Two contractors differ mostly in the productivity they assume and the supervision they build in.
Where a published figure stops being useful
At an unusual building. Heavy hard floor content, restricted access, mixed use and any clinical space all move a real quote outside the general ranges, and none of them is visible in a published number.
Questions people ask about janitorial service cost
What is the average janitorial service cost?
No honest single average exists, because the published figures are in four units. The ranges by unit are on this site and are what a buyer can convert against their own building.
Is janitorial service cheaper than hiring a cleaner?
On the rate, sometimes not. On the total, the contract also carries employment, insurance, supervision, equipment and cover for absence.
Why do quotes vary so much?
Almost always scope and frequency rather than margin. Two bids priced against different assumptions are not comparable regardless of how similar the rates look.
What should I ask every bidder for?
A monthly total at a stated frequency, and the cleaner-hours per visit behind it. Those two make any set of bids comparable.