How much to charge for mobile detailing
Mobile detailing prices at $75 to $150 for a maintenance wash and wax, $175 to $350 for a full interior and exterior detail, and $350 to $700 for single-stage paint correction.
Your day has three slots
This is the constraint that should shape everything about your pricing.
A full detail takes three to five hours. You are fitting three, maybe four jobs into a day, and there is no version of working harder that changes that. Which means your daily revenue is:
Package price × 3.5 slots − travel time.
At a $200 average, that is a $700 day. At $260, it is a $910 day. Same hours, same effort, same number of cars. The only real lever in this business is the price and the attachment rate, not the volume.
The formula
(Estimated hours × target hourly) + product cost = package price.
A full interior and exterior detail on a mid-size SUV:
- 4 hours × $65 target = $260
- Product and consumables: $25
- Round to $275
Then check: is $275 inside the $175–$350 band? Yes, upper half — appropriate for an SUV. A compact car at 3 hours would be $220.
Price a mobile detailing job
Your numbers, the formula above. Nothing is sent anywhere — this runs in your browser.
$260 base (4 hours × $65)
This is a starting number, not a bid. Walk the property before you send it.
Build three packages, not a menu
- Maintenance — wash, decontaminate, wax, interior vacuum and wipe. $95–$140.
- Full detail — the above plus deep interior clean, leather or fabric treatment, trim dressing, glass. $195–$300.
- Correction — the above plus single-stage machine polish and sealant. $400–$650.
Three tiers convert better than one price and far better than a twenty-item menu. Customers pick a level; they do not assemble a service.
The add-ons are the margin
Pet hair removal, engine bay, headlight restoration, odour treatment, interior protection. Twenty to forty minutes each, excellent margin, and every one of them is a thing a customer will happily buy — if it is on the quote.
An operator running a $200 average with a 40% add-on attachment rate is earning meaningfully more per day than one running $220 flat.
What changes the price
Vehicle size and condition. A three-row SUV with two dogs and a toddler is not a commuter sedan.
Water and power. Whether you bring your own or use the customer’s.
Travel. Set a radius and charge beyond it. With three slots a day, a long drive is expensive.
Repeat customers. Price maintenance lower for customers on a schedule. A car detailed every six weeks is quicker every time.
The mistakes
Hourly pricing. Punishes you for skill.
No add-ons on the quote. Leaves the best margin on the table.
Unlimited service radius. A crosstown job costs you a quarter of your day.
No deposit on ceramic work. Multi-day jobs with expensive product need one.
Not capturing evening enquiries. Detailing customers browse and book at night, and whoever lets them book without a phone call wins.
Booking and routing
Jobber at $49/mo offers online booking and saved package line items — the two features that matter most here. QuoteIQ at $29.99/mo is the cheapest way to quote and take a card at the kerb. Housecall Pro adds route optimisation at $329/mo on Max, relevant once several detailers are running long jobs.
Questions operators actually ask
How much should I charge for mobile detailing?
$75 to $150 for a maintenance wash and wax, $175 to $350 for a full interior and exterior detail, and $350 to $700 for single-stage paint correction. Ceramic coatings run $700 to $2,000 depending on the product and durability.
Should I price by package or by hour?
By package. Customers cannot judge whether four hours is reasonable but they can choose between three tiers. Packages also reward you for getting faster, which is the whole economics of detailing once you are skilled.
How many jobs can I do in a day?
Three or four at most, and that constraint should drive your pricing. A detail takes hours, so your daily revenue is capped by package price rather than volume. Raising your package price is the only real lever — you cannot fit more cars in.
What add-ons should I offer?
Pet hair removal, engine bay cleaning, headlight restoration, interior protection, odour treatment. Each takes 20 to 40 minutes and carries excellent margin. They only get bought when they appear as priced options on the quote.
Should I charge more to travel?
Set a service radius and price beyond it. With only three or four jobs a day, a long crosstown drive costs you a meaningful share of the day's revenue — travel is not a minor cost in this trade, it is a slot.