Commercial cleaning in Ontario runs roughly $0.08 to $0.35 per square foot per visit for standard office work, or $38 to $60 per hour when crews bill by time. A typical 5,000 sq ft office cleaned three times a week lands somewhere between $1,400 and $2,800 a month. That’s a wide range, and the spread is where most procurement decisions go wrong — so this guide breaks down what actually moves the price.
Most GTA office contracts price out around $1,800 to $2,400/month for 5,000 sq ft, three nights a week. Below that, you’re usually getting a solo cleaner running through too fast. Above it, you’re paying for either specialty work (medical, food service) or premium service tiers (more frequent washroom checks, weekly carpet treatment, full window cleaning).
Here’s what the same building looks like at common frequencies:
These are realistic ranges for the GTA in 2026. Downtown Toronto and Vaughan office buildings sit at the higher end. Suburban business parks in Brampton or Scarborough trend lower. Specialty environments — medical, food prep, post-construction — sit higher still.
Three pricing models cover almost every contract you’ll see.
The standard model for ongoing office work. Cleaning companies quote $0.08 to $0.15/sqft for general office cleaning, $0.15 to $0.25/sqft for medical or food-handling spaces, and $0.30 to $0.80/sqft for one-time post-construction cleaning. Multiply by your square footage and visit frequency to get your monthly bill.
This model is transparent and easy to compare quotes against — which is exactly why most reputable companies use it.
Common for small spaces under 2,000 sq ft, irregular schedules, or specialty add-ons. Hourly rates in Ontario sit between $38 and $55/hour for general work, climbing to $55 to $75 for medical sanitization, post-event cleanup, or technical floor care. Two-person crews bill close to double — which sounds expensive until you realize they cut the time roughly in half.
Most office and property management contracts roll the per-visit math into a flat monthly rate. Easier to budget, easier to forecast, easier to lock in pricing for 12 months. The flat fee is just the per-sqft model with the visit math hidden — so when you compare two flat-fee quotes, work backwards to the per-visit number and compare those.
A 5,000 sq ft office can quote at $1,200 from one company and $3,200 from another. Both numbers can be honest. The difference is in seven specific factors:
1. Frequency. Daily cleaning isn’t five times more expensive than weekly — it’s about three to four times more, because per-visit labour drops once your team is already on the route.
2. Building access. Suite-level fobs, freight elevator scheduling, security check-ins, and after-hours-only access all add 15–30% to a quote. Buildings with simple street access price lower.
3. Floor type. Carpet costs less per visit than VCT or hardwood. Polished concrete and marble cost more. Mixed surfaces add complexity to crew kit and timing.
4. Washroom count and traffic. Two washrooms with 50 employees costs roughly the same as four washrooms with 25 employees. The driver is fixture count and use intensity, not headcount.
5. Industry-specific protocols. Medical and dental offices require colour-coded microfibre, documented disinfectant contact times, and IPAC-aware staff. That’s a 25–40% premium over a comparable office on the same block.
6. Supplies included. Some companies bill consumables (paper, soap, garbage liners) separately at 5–10% above retail. Others bundle them into a flat rate. Always ask which model you’re getting.
7. Insurance and bonding. Properly bonded, fully insured companies carry $2M+ liability coverage and WSIB. That overhead shows up in pricing. Companies quoting 30% below market are almost always cutting on insurance.
Same building, different uses — totally different price points. Here’s where each space type typically lands per visit.
Standard professional office: $0.08 – $0.15/sqft per visit. Includes desk wipes, washroom cleaning and restock, kitchen scrub, garbage out, floor work (vacuum or mop). A 5,000 sq ft office at 3× per week works out to about $1,600 – $2,600/month.
$0.15 – $0.25/sqft per visit. The premium pays for clinical-grade protocols: colour-coded microfibre, EPA-registered disinfectants, documented contact times, blood-risk and clean-zone separation. Most clinics clean nightly or every other night. A 3,000 sq ft clinic typically runs $1,800 – $3,000/month.
$0.06 – $0.12/sqft per visit for standard floor area. The variable is whether stockrooms, fitting rooms, and outdoor entranceways are included. Retail cleaning often pairs nightly floor service with weekly deep-clean rotations on glass, fixtures, and washrooms.
$0.04 – $0.10/sqft per visit. Large floor area, lower fixture density, but specialized equipment (auto-scrubbers, dock-level pressure washing) is often part of the spec. Warehouse cleaning contracts run lower per square foot but higher in absolute dollars because the spaces are so much larger.
Condo lobbies, hallways, gyms, party rooms, and mail rooms — usually quoted as a building-wide monthly figure rather than per square foot. A 200-unit condo lands somewhere between $3,500 and $7,500/month for full common-area service, depending on amenity count.
Three line items separate a real quote from a placeholder.
The scope sheet. A proper quote lists every task and frequency: which surfaces, how often, with what products. If the quote is one paragraph and a price, you don’t actually know what you’re buying.
Insurance and WSIB documentation. Ask for a Certificate of Insurance and a WSIB clearance letter before you sign. Both should be current. If the company hesitates, walk away.
Supplies and consumables clause. Make sure paper products, soap, liners, and any specialty chemicals are explicitly priced — included or extra. This is where flat-fee contracts often have hidden creep.
If a quote comes in 30%+ below the rest of your bids, it’s usually one of these:
We quote per square foot, per visit, with the scope sheet attached so you know what you’re getting. Most quotes come back within one business day of a walkthrough.
If you’re comparing quotes right now, give us your scope and we’ll match the format so you can compare apples to apples. Send the details here and we’ll have a quote back within one business day.
Standard office cleaning runs $0.08–$0.15 per square foot per visit. Medical and food-handling spaces are higher, at $0.15–$0.25/sqft. Warehouses are lower, $0.04–$0.10/sqft. The range depends on frequency, floor type, and access complexity.
At three visits per week, expect $1,400 to $2,800 per month in the GTA. Daily cleaning pushes that to $2,400–$3,800. Weekly service lands around $500–$1,000. Specialty environments like medical clinics run 25–40% higher.
Daily cleaning is more expensive in absolute dollars, but cheaper per visit. A daily contract is roughly three to four times the weekly rate, not five. That’s because per-visit labour drops once your crew is on a regular route.
For ongoing work above 2,000 sq ft, per-visit pricing is more transparent and easier to budget. Hourly works for small spaces, one-time deep cleans, and irregular schedules. If a company can only quote hourly for a recurring contract, they likely haven’t scoped the work properly.
Some include paper products, soap, and garbage liners in the flat rate. Others bill consumables separately at retail-plus. Always ask. The total cost can vary by 5–10% depending on the model.
$2 million general liability is the GTA standard for multi-tenant buildings. They should also be WSIB-registered. Ask for a Certificate of Insurance and WSIB clearance letter before signing. If they hesitate, that’s the answer.
Per-square-foot pricing, scope sheet attached, Certificate of Insurance included. Response within one business day.