Guide · 6 min read · Updated August 14, 2026
What commercial painting costs in Massachusetts
Commercial bids are harder to compare than residential ones, because each contractor describes a different scope in different language. The prices below are the easy part; the scope checklist further down is the part that saves money.
The rates
| Basis | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Commercial interior, per sq ft | $2 – $6 |
| Hourly, Greater Boston | $60 – $100 |
| Massachusetts commercial, per sq ft (regional) | $1.50 – $5.00 |
HomeGuide commercial painting, Oasis Total Solutions (MA), Catchlight Painting (Boston hourly).
The spread is wide because “commercial” covers a 900 sq ft retail suite and a twelve-building condominium association. What moves a commercial number is almost never the paint:
- Access and hours. Night and weekend work costs more in labour and produces less per hour.
- Occupancy. Working around people, furniture and stock is slower than an empty shell.
- Height. Lifts, scaffold and staging, plus the certification to operate them.
- Surface preparation. Same as residential — this is where bids diverge.
- Specification. A washable epoxy or a high-build coating is not the same product as a flat wall paint.
The scope checklist that makes bids comparable
Ask every bidder to state each of these, in writing, per area:
- Square footage or linear footage of each surface being coated
- Product manufacturer, line and sheen — per surface, not one blanket claim
- Number of coats, per surface
- Preparation included: wash, sand, patch, prime, caulk
- Working hours and days, and any premium attached to them
- Protection and containment of tenant property and stock
- Exclusions — this is where the cheap bid hides
- Unit rates for likely extras, agreed up front rather than mid-project
- Certificates of insurance including workers compensation, naming the right entities
- Close-out documentation: color formulas, product data, photographic record
Why this matters more than the number
Two bids $30,000 apart on the same building usually differ on coats, prep and exclusions — not on margin. Once the ten items above are filled in for every bidder, the price differences almost always explain themselves.
Associations specifically
Exterior painting for a condominium or homeowners association is a reserve item, and boards are usually working from a reserve study that assumed a repaint interval. In Massachusetts, seven to ten years is realistic for wood — but exposure varies enormously between buildings on the same site. A contractor who walks the property and tells you which buildings genuinely need doing this year, and which can wait a season, is worth more than one who bids the whole site because that is the bigger job.
How we scope association work → · Portfolio and turn pricing →
Payment
Note that the Massachusetts one-third deposit cap under Chapter 142A applies to residential home improvement contracts on one-to-four unit owner-occupied properties. Genuine commercial contracts are negotiated differently — but a progress-payment schedule tied to completed, inspected areas is the normal and sensible structure, and final payment should still follow a punch-list walk-through.