How Much Do Cleaners Charge per Hour in Ireland? (2026 Dublin Rates)

How much do cleaners charge per hour in Ireland? In 2026 the honest answer is €15 to €30, and where you sit in that range depends on two things: whether the cleaner works for themselves or for a company, and whether you live in Dublin. VAT and minimum visit lengths then change what you actually pay per booking.

How much do cleaners charge per hour in Ireland in 2026?

Independent cleaners charge about €15 to €20 an hour and cleaning agencies about €27.50 to €30, according to Bark’s November 2026 price guide. Dublin sits at the top of both ranges. All of Bark’s figures exclude VAT, so an agency quote including VAT will look higher.

Bark’s survey draws on more than 4,047 house cleaning quotes. Its gap between independent and agency rates is about €10 an hour in Dublin. Bark links that gap to overheads such as insurance and cover when a regular cleaner is unavailable.

What does a cleaner cost per hour for a typical visit?

A typical regular visit in Dublin costs about €60 to €90. Bark estimates that a two-bed home needs two to three hours for a regular clean and a three-bed needs three to four hours. Multiply those hours by the rate and you have a realistic budget.

Bark prices a three-hour booking at about €60 with an independent Dublin cleaner. The same three hours through an agency averages €82.50 to €90. With our house cleaning service in Dublin, three hours costs €84 and two hours costs €56, with VAT already included.

The one-bed line is our own estimate, since Bark does not publish one. Many cleaners also set a minimum call-out, so a single hour is rarely possible. Ours is two hours, which covers a small apartment’s kitchen, bathroom and floors.

Why do agency cleaners charge more per hour in Ireland?

Agencies pay wages, employer costs and VAT that a cash cleaner may not. The wage floor alone is close to €15. The Contract Cleaning ERO, S.I. No. 430 of 2025, fixes €14.80 an hour as the lowest legal pay for contract cleaners from January 2026.

The national minimum wage is €14.15 in 2026, according to Citizens Information. Budget 2027 raises it to €14.94 from 1 January 2027, which needs legislation to take effect. That rise lifts the floor under every agency rate in the country.

On top of the wage, an employer pays employer PRSI, which is not deducted from the cleaner’s pay. Citizens Information notes that the employer PRSI threshold on weekly earnings rises from €552 to €600 in 2027. Holiday pay, travel time between homes, insurance and products all sit on top as well.

What is inside a €28 hourly rate?

About €3.33 of every €28 is VAT, because cleaning carries the 13.5% reduced rate, according to Revenue. That leaves €24.67. At least €14.80 of that goes to the cleaner’s hourly pay under the Contract Cleaning ERO.

The remainder is not profit. It pays employer PRSI, time between jobs, paid annual leave, public liability insurance, cloths, products and vacuums. That is why a legitimate agency cannot match a €15 cash rate.

Is it cheaper to employ a cleaner directly?

Paying a cleaner yourself can look cheaper per hour, but it can make you an employer. Revenue says you do not need to register as an employer for one domestic employee paid less than €40 a week. Above €40, you register and run payroll.

At €20 an hour, two hours a week reaches that €40 line. Our guide to hiring a cleaner in Ireland explains PRSI, payslips and insurance in more detail. Many self-employed cleaners handle their own tax, which removes most of that burden from you.

The other trade-off is cover. An independent cleaner who is sick or on holiday usually skips the visit. Our comparison of an agency vs independent cleaner sets out where each one makes more sense.

Do Dublin companies publish what their cleaners charge per hour?

Few do, and the ones that publish vary widely. Perfect Clean, a Dublin company, lists deep cleans from €42 an hour with a €195 minimum call-out, VAT included. Our regular house cleaning rate is €28 an hour with a 2-hour minimum.

Deep cleans usually cost more per hour than regular visits. They involve heavier products, longer time on ovens and limescale, and often two people. If you need that level of work, a fixed price is often easier to compare than an hourly rate.

Most other Dublin companies quote a fixed price after a call or photos. That is normal for one-off work. For weekly visits, an hourly rate is clearer because the scope stays the same each time.

What else changes what cleaners charge per hour?

Condition, pets, access and the number of cleaners all shift the hourly figure or the hours needed. Bark lists each of these as a price factor in its 2026 guide. Most of them add time rather than changing the rate itself.

A home that has gone months without a proper clean takes longer to bring back. Bark notes that built-up grime in bathrooms and kitchens can push a regular booking into deep clean territory. Pet hair on sofas and carpets adds vacuuming time, especially with more than one pet.

Access matters more in Dublin than elsewhere. Bark points out that restricted parking is common in older city centre properties, where a cleaner may carry equipment some distance. Paid parking in Dublin 2 or Dublin 4 can end up on the bill, so ask about it when you book.

Two cleaners finish faster but do not always cost less. Some companies charge per cleaner per hour, and others keep the same price whatever the crew size. Ask which model applies before comparing.

What extras cost more than the hourly rate?

Ovens, carpets, windows and ironing are usually priced as separate jobs, not hourly. Bark’s 2026 averages, before VAT, are €70 for a single oven, €110 for a double, €145 for a range cooker, €40 per carpeted room and €45 for an ironing session.

A regular two-hour visit does not leave time for a full oven strip-down. If the oven needs it, book it as a separate job once and keep it up on regular visits after that. The same goes for carpets, which need hot water extraction rather than a vacuum.

Bark also suggests asking for a written quote that lists labour, products, rooms, add-ons, VAT and the cancellation policy. That list works for hourly bookings too.

How can you keep the hourly cost down?

Book regular visits rather than one-offs, and keep the scope steady. Bark reports that a regular contract typically costs around 15% less per visit than the same clean booked once.

Three habits also save time on each visit:

• Clear worktops, floors and the bath edge before the cleaner arrives.
• Agree a fixed task list so time is not lost deciding what to do.
• Book at least two hours, so the cleaner can finish rooms properly.

Cancellation terms matter too. Bark notes that some cleaners ask for 24 hours’ notice and others 48 hours before charging. Check that before the first booking.

For a quick estimate of a visit, use the cleaning cost calculator. It applies our published rates to your home size, so you can compare it with any hourly quote you have.

How does the 2027 minimum wage change cleaning prices?

Expect agency rates to rise in 2027. The national minimum wage moves to €14.94 on 1 January 2027, which is higher than the €14.80 contract cleaning rate set for 2026. Employees must get at least the national minimum, so the floor for cleaners moves up with it.

A rise of €0.79 an hour in pay, plus employer PRSI on it, raises an agency’s cost before VAT is added. Some companies will pass that on in January. When you agree a regular arrangement, ask how and when the rate is reviewed.