This guide to calculating the true cost of painting is part of our Exterior Excellence special report in the Spring 2025 issue of PPC/Pintor Pro magazine.
Calculating cost per year of service
Before you specify paint based on price, consider this: Lower- quality paints require more coats to cover and, because they aren’t as durable, need maintenance much sooner. This is especially true with exterior coatings.
So, to get a true idea of costs, look beyond the initial price tag and compare the cost per year of service. For example, say you’re painting a home that requires 20 gallons of exterior latex. You have two buying options:
- Buy a mid-grade paint at $35 per gallon with an expected life span of six years
- Buy a high-quality 25-year paint at $55 per gallon
In the first scenario, your out-of-pocket cost would be $700. Since the paint is expected to last six years, the cost per year is $116.67. In the second scenario, your material cost is $1100. But because the paint has a 25-year lifespan, your cost per year is only $44.
By choosing the higher-priced, higher-quality paint, you actually save your customer $72.67 per year in paint expense. And that’s just the material cost – add labor into the equation and the money your customer saves in the long run increases significantly.
When it comes to selecting paint, quality does matter. Whether you’re looking at interior or exterior paint, and whether you’re considering adhesion, durability or hiding properties, a better-quality paint will give you better service – for both the short and long term.
More in our Exterior Excellence special report
Products for Pros: The Best Exterior Coatings
Expert picks for today’s best exterior coatings, including the top everyday paints, high-performance specialty coatings, concrete coatings and wood finishes.
The Right Ingredients, Applicators and Finish
In this first part of the story, we’ll take a look at the basics: the ingredients that make up paint and the importance of picking the right sheens and the right applicator.
This article was originally published in the Spring 2025 issue of PPC/Pintor Pro magazine. Photos courtesy Sherwin-Williams. ©2025 Fusable.
