Window cleaning in Melbourne typically costs $200 to $300 for a 2-bedroom home, inside and out, in 2026. This guide breaks down real 2026 prices for homes, shopfronts and high-rise work, what a quote actually includes (glass only is the cheap trap), which method suits your building, and the licence myth the industry keeps repeating.
Written by Metecan Kalkan, founder of OneDrop FM (ABN 74 499 285 939), a Melbourne cleaning company. We clean windows across Laverton, Bayswater, Epping, the Melbourne CBD and more than 20 other suburbs. Last updated: 25 October 2026.
The Short Answer: Melbourne Prices
Homes, inside and out (standard return clean):
- 2-bed single storey: $200 to $300
- 3-bed single storey: $250 to $375
- 4-bed single storey: $300 to $400
- 2-bed double storey: $250 to $350
- 3-bed double storey: $350 to $450
- 4-bed double storey: $400 to $550
- 5-bed double storey: $450 to $650+
- Exterior only: about 55 to 70 percent of the inside-and-out price
- Per pane: $6 to $15 for one side on the ground floor, $15 to $31 for both sides
- Hourly: $40 to $65 per cleaner
- Minimum call-out: $149 to $150 at the big operators
Two loadings surprise people. First cleans can cost up to 50 percent more, because tracks, frames and glass all start dirty. And a second storey adds roughly a third, not a few dollars.
Shopfronts and commercial:
- Shopfront, exterior only: about $130
- Shopfront, inside and out: $150 (one storey), $200 (two storeys)
- Small office or retail: $300 to $500
- Mid-size commercial: $500 to $1,000
- High-rise rope access (entry prices, per building): 5 floors from $1,400, 10 floors from $2,000, 25 floors from $4,500, 40+ floors from $12,000. Whole-tower totals run higher; treat any single from-price with care.
One honesty note: there is no real per-square-metre rate for window work in Melbourne. Operators price per pane, per job or per hour. Any guide quoting a window rate per sqm has borrowed it from general commercial cleaning.
Recurring discounts: quarterly bookings save about 20 percent, 6-monthly about 10 percent, and monthly commercial contracts up to 30 percent.
Most operators do not state whether prices include GST. Confirm the final GST-inclusive total in writing.
What Is Included in a Standard Clean?
There is no industry standard, and this is where cheap quotes bite. Two models exist:
Glass only. The base price at many operators covers the glass and nothing else.
Glass, frames and sills. Better operators include frames and sills, with tracks brushed and cobwebs cleared.
The difference matters: one operator warns that glass-only quotes grow 30 to 50 percent on the invoice once frames, tracks and screens get added on the day. Before you compare two quotes, ask each one the same question: glass, frames, sills, tracks, screens. Which of these are in?
What Costs Extra?
Common add-ons with typical Melbourne prices:
- Flyscreens removed, washed and refitted: $5 to $10 each. A wipe in place is often included; a full wash is not.
- Track deep-clean: about 25 percent on top of the base price, or $2 to $5 per window.
- Severe hard-water stains: $10 to $30 extra per pane. Etched glass is permanent damage, and some operators refuse it entirely.
- Paint, render and builder’s residue: often excluded or charged as a full detail clean, up to 50 percent more.
- Louvre, French and leadlight windows: surcharges of 30 percent or more at some operators.
- Solar panels: $150 to $199 for up to 10 panels.
Windows are often booked with a full house clean. See our house cleaning cost guide for whole-house pricing.
Methods: Squeegee, Water-Fed Pole and Rope Access
Traditional squeegee. Interior glass, ground floor detail work, and the best hand-dried finish. Needs ladder or hand access to every pane.
Water-fed pole (pure water). Exterior only. Water filtered to under 10 parts per million of dissolved solids dries spot-free with no detergent, and the brush cleans frames in the same pass. Standard residential poles reach 2 to 3 storeys safely from the ground. It cannot shift bonded paint, hard-water scale or builder’s residue.
Platforms and rope access. Above pole reach, the job goes to a platform or to IRATA-certified rope access technicians working from certified anchor points. That is high-rise pricing territory above.
Safety and the Licence Myth
Two things Melbourne customers get told that are not true, and one that matters:
There is no window cleaner licence, and ladder licences do not exist. Anyone who tells you they are a “licensed ladder operator” is selling you a fiction.
A licence is legally required for one thing only: boom lifts with a boom of 11 metres or more, which need a WorkSafe Victoria high-risk work licence. Smaller platforms need a trained, competent operator, not a licence.
What actually matters: where a fall risk over 2 metres exists, Victorian OHS rules require a safe work method statement and controls in order: work from the ground first (the legal basis for pole work), then passive prevention, then positioning systems, then fall arrest, with ladders as the last resort. Check the operator’s insurance: published Melbourne policies run $5M to $20M public liability, and $20M is the commercial norm.
Prices Across Melbourne Suburbs
OneDrop FM is based in Taylors Lakes, near Watergardens. These are the areas our window work concentrates in:
- Window cleaning Laverton: family homes and warehouses. Double-storey homes are the main price step.
- Window cleaning Bayswater: homes under tall trees. Sap, pollen and track grime are the common extras.
- Window cleaning Epping: new estates with big glass. Builder’s residue on first cleans is the usual surprise.
Coastal and Bayside homes need washing every 3 to 4 months: salt film returns within 4 to 8 weeks of a clean. Inland homes hold a 6-monthly cycle.
We also cover more than 20 suburbs across Melbourne. Every quote is per job, in writing, with the inclusions listed.
How Often Should Windows Be Cleaned?
- Homes: every 6 months is the baseline.
- Coastal and Bayside homes: every 3 to 4 months, because of salt.
- Shopfronts: weekly to fortnightly for busy retail and hospitality, monthly for quiet strips.
- Offices: monthly to quarterly.
- Towers: twice a year residential, quarterly for commercial and coastal buildings.
Red Flags: How to Spot a Bad Window Cleaner
The complaints Melbourne customers report most:
- Streaks the next day. Rushed jobs under 30 minutes, glass washed in full sun or with dirty water. The streaks show when the light changes.
- No-shows with no message. Twice in a row in one published review, with zero communication either time.
- Re-quotes for things you already declared. One customer was re-quoted $219 extra on the day for louvre windows they had asked about when booking.
- Frames, tracks and screens skipped. Quoted as included, wiped in place or not touched. This is the glass-only trap in practice.
- First-clean and second-storey shock. Legitimate loadings, but honest operators state them in the quote, not on the driveway.
- Ladder damage. Dents in gutters, scratched render, crushed garden beds. Pole work from the ground avoids most of it.
- Breakage costs landing on you. If the operator is uninsured, a cracked pane or damaged frame becomes your bill.
How to Choose a Window Cleaner
Before you book, check these:
- The inclusions in writing: glass, frames, sills, tracks, screens. Named, not assumed.
- A fixed per-job quote, with first-clean and second-storey loadings stated upfront.
- The method matched to your building: pole from the ground where possible, platform or rope access where not.
- Public liability insurance sighted ($10M minimum residential, $20M commercial).
- For rope access: IRATA certification and certified anchor points.
- The re-clean policy if streaks appear within days.
- GST-inclusive total confirmed in writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does window cleaning cost in Melbourne?
$200 to $300 for a 2-bed home inside and out in 2026, $250 to $375 for a 3-bed single storey, and $350 to $450 for a 3-bed double storey. Per pane, $6 to $15 for one side. Minimum call-outs run $149 to $150.
Does inside and out double the price?
No. Exterior-only runs about 55 to 70 percent of the full price, so inside and out costs roughly one and a half times the outside-only price, not twice. A 3-bed single storey at $180 outside-only is typically about $250 inside and out.
What counts as a pane?
One single sheet of glass. A standard window is usually one or two panes; a sliding door panel counts as a large pane. Per-pane quotes of $6 to $15 cover one side at ground level, with first-floor panes at $18 to $31 for both sides at some operators.
Do I need to be home for the clean?
For exterior-only work, no, as long as side gates and access are sorted. For inside and out, yes, or arrange key or garage access. Tell the operator about dogs and locked gates when you book.
What happens if it rains on the day?
Light rain does not stop pole work, because the method already uses pure water, and rain itself leaves little residue on clean glass. Most operators reschedule in heavy rain or high wind, which is a safety call on ladders and poles, at no charge.
Why do my windows streak when I clean them myself?
Tap water and detergent. Tap water carries minerals that dry as spots, and detergent residue leaves a film that grabs dust. Pure filtered water under 10 parts per million dries spot-free, which is why professional pole work looks different.
Can hard-water stains or paint be removed?
Hard-water staining can often be improved for $10 to $30 extra per pane, but etched glass is permanent damage and some operators refuse it. Paint and render removal is usually a separate detail job, up to 50 percent on top of the base price, and is often excluded from standard quotes.
Are tracks and flyscreens included?
It depends on the operator, and this is the most common quote gap. Some include frames, sills and a track brush; others quote glass only. Flyscreens removed and washed run $5 to $10 each, and a deep track clean adds about 25 percent. Confirm both before booking.
Book Your Window Clean With OneDrop FM
Fixed per-job quotes with the inclusions listed in writing. Get in touch with OneDrop FM to get a fixed quote.
We are local. Based in Taylors Lakes, cleaning windows across more than 20 Melbourne suburbs.
Call 0402 160 946 for a fixed quote.