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A painter in Switzerland costs CHF 75 to 110 per hour. In practice, though, the work is usually billed by area: painting a room of 16 to 20 m² costs around CHF 680, a 3.5-room apartment around CHF 3'000 to 4'800. Colour transforms any room. Your kitchen, for example, with a bold accent colour such as olive green. Or your bedroom in a calming blue. Or the children's room in a cheerful yellow. Let your imagination run free and talk to a painter about your ideas — whether you want to paint a single wall or several rooms. So that you know what a painter might cost, we have put together cost estimates for the most common painting jobs.
Important: all figures are guide prices only. If you want to know exactly, contact verified painters in your region and compare their quotes.
You need a painter for anything that goes beyond touching up a single wall. A professional paints a room of 16 to 20 m² for around CHF 680 and usually finishes it in a day. Painting one wall in the children's room once a year because your kids have covered it in wax crayon is something you can do yourself. Everything else is best left to professionals. For one thing, painting and wallpapering are harder and more tiring than you might think — for example when the rooms are very high or the walls are clad in wood. For another, the result simply looks better when a professional has done it. And there are cases where you should keep your hands off the brush and the paperhanging brush altogether: efflorescence on masonry, moisture damage, open joints or tears in the wallpaper. Painters don't just paint and paper. They apply special coatings and finishes, seal joints professionally and carry out corrosion and fire-protection work.
Mould spores are harmful to health and attack the building fabric. That's why a painter not only beautifies rooms, but also protects your health and the value of your home.
The hourly rate for painters in Switzerland is between CHF 60 and 100, depending on the region. In cities such as Zurich, Basel or Geneva, rates tend to sit at the upper end, at CHF 85 to 120. Almost all work, however, is billed by area. In Switzerland, the cost of painting work is calculated either by time in hours or by area in square metres. Almost all painters bill by area: indoors and for ceilings based on the floor area, outdoors based on the façade area. Quotes for interior painting work usually apply to room heights of 2.50 to 3 metres. Additional tasks such as painting a smoker's apartment or filling and repairing large cracks are charged with a percentage surcharge or, more commonly, by time. The hourly rate for good painters is between 60 and 100 francs depending on the region. The cheapest quote is not always the best quote, so compare all quotes carefully.
Painting the walls and ceiling of a room costs CHF 480 to 900 depending on size. For a room of 16 to 20 m², budget around CHF 680. Painting a wall or a ceiling is the most common job for painters. Interior painting work has a service life of 10 to 15 years — or less if you have small children or pets, or if you smoke indoors. Most painters bill by floor area and scale their prices for walls and ceiling according to room size:
Costs also depend on the substrate and the colour. Most painters quote for standard colours such as pure white (RAL 9010). Other colours are usually more expensive. A wall may also need a second coat, for example when switching from dark to light. Window sills, window frames, radiators, doors and door frames cost extra.
Painting walls costs around CHF 10 to 20 per m² of wall area, including materials and a standard colour. Prefer to work with the floor area? Then painting comes to CHF 35 to 55 per m² of living space for walls and ceilings. Many painters still quote a flat rate per room, so comparing several quotes pays off.
Painting a ceiling on its own costs around CHF 12 to 20 per m². Working overhead takes more effort than working on a wall, and furniture has to be covered completely. It is therefore best to have walls and ceiling painted together, which lowers the cost per m².
Painting a living room costs around CHF 800 to 900, a kitchen or hallway from around CHF 480. These figures are based on the room-size scale above (walls and ceiling, standard colour):
Painting a whole apartment costs CHF 2'000 to 7'500 depending on size. For a 3.5-room apartment, budget CHF 3'000 to 4'800; for a 100 m² apartment, around CHF 3'500 to 5'500.
The exact cost depends on the area, the number of rooms, the ceiling height and whether the ceilings are painted as well. If you have a rented apartment repainted white when you move out, additional work such as filling dowel holes is often added. These guide prices apply to walls and ceilings in a standard colour:
Painting a smoker's apartment: expect a surcharge of up to 20 per cent, because the nicotine has to be sealed first. For a whole apartment, always obtain several quotes.
Painting the interior of a single-family house with 150 m² of living space costs around CHF 6'000 to 9'000 for walls and ceilings. It gets more expensive with high rooms, stairwells, galleries or wooden ceilings, because the painter needs scaffolding or special coatings for these. Windows, doors and radiators are charged on top (see below). Painting the outside of the house, meaning the façade, is a project of its own.
Removing wallpaper and hanging new wallpaper costs CHF 750 to 1'368 depending on room size. For a room of 16 to 20 m², budget around CHF 1'080. Wallpaper also has a service life of 10 to 15 years. Removing old wallpaper properly is time-consuming, and anyone who rushes it can damage the wall. Removing the old wallpaper and hanging new woodchip wallpaper is also billed by floor area:
If a room is being wallpapered for the first time and the painter doesn't have to remove any wallpaper, the workload drops. If you want something other than standard woodchip wallpaper, material costs rise. Here too, painting window sills, window frames, radiators, doors and door frames is charged separately.
Painting a window costs CHF 180 to 320, a normal-sized door with frame around CHF 200. If you're having rooms painted, it's worth considering having the windows and doors coated with paint or an opaque glaze at the same time. Especially where they are exposed to heat, cold, rain or sun. Every five years in exposed locations, or at the latest as soon as the coating cracks or flakes. Otherwise moisture gets into the wood, fungi thrive and the wood rots.
Painting or lacquering a radiator costs around CHF 60 each in a standard size. A greyish film on radiators is only a detail. But it's a detail that can be very noticeable once a room has been freshly painted. So have them painted or sprayed at the same time.
Additional work usually costs up to 20 per cent extra or is billed at an hourly rate of CHF 60 to 100. Alongside classic painting and wallpapering, additional tasks may come up depending on the job, the property or its condition:
Most quotes include travel costs. The exceptions are smaller jobs or when the painter has a long way to travel. So hire painters from your own region.
Painting a façade costs around CHF 25 to 27 per m², plus scaffolding and preparation. For a single-family house with a 200 m² façade, budget around CHF 9'000 to 11'000 including scaffolding. The façade of your house is exposed to wind and weather. If it is still in good shape and well insulated but no longer looks its best, you can have it painted, lacquered or glazed. Budget around 27 francs per square metre for priming and a single coat on older buildings, or around 25 francs per square metre for new builds, because their façades don't need high-pressure cleaning. Wooden roof soffits cost roughly ten per cent more for both new and older buildings. On top of that come the cost of preparing the façade (around 500 francs), mixing the colours (around 100 francs) and the scaffolding fees, scaffolding rental and the cost of erecting and dismantling it. For larger projects such as a house façade, you should definitely obtain and compare several quotes. Pay particular attention to the cost of the scaffolding.
Painting a room costs CHF 540 to 800, a 3.5-room apartment CHF 3'000 to 4'800, and a painter CHF 75 to 110 per hour. The key guide prices at a glance:
Want to know more precisely? Get up to three quotes from our verified painters in your region. Briefly describe your project and get started.
A painter in Switzerland costs CHF 60 to 100 per hour, depending on the region. Most painters, however, bill by area.
Painting a room of 16 to 20 m² costs around CHF 680 for walls and ceiling. Small rooms of up to 10 m² start at around CHF 480.
Painting an apartment costs CHF 2'000 to 7'500 depending on size. A 3.5-room apartment comes to around CHF 3'000 to 4'800.
Painting walls costs around CHF 10 to 20 per m² of wall area. Per m² of living space, budget CHF 35 to 55 for walls and ceilings.
Painting the interior of a single-family house with 150 m² of living space costs around CHF 6'000 to 9'000, excluding windows, doors and radiators.
A painter wallpapers around 30 to 50 m² of wall area in a day, which is roughly one to two rooms.
