How Much Does It Cost to Paint Baseboards in 2025?
Painting baseboards costs an average of $1,250
Painting baseboards costs an average of $1,250, with most homeowners spending between $500 and $2,000.
Key cost factors for painting baseboards include the trim size, type, and labor.
Regularly painting your baseboards enhances the appearance of your home, increases durability, and protects against wear and tear.
Hiring a professional painter to paint your baseboards ensures proper preparation and high-quality results, saves time, and prevents costly mistakes.
This article was updated using automation technology and thoroughly reviewed for accuracy by HomeAdvisor Editor Ryan Noonan.
Painting your baseboards costs between $1 and $4 per linear foot, with an average total cost of $1,250, ranging from $500 to $2,000. The size and type of trim will impact the total cost. Hiring a professional painter ensures high-quality results and saves you the time of doing the job yourself.
Baseboard Painting Cost Factors
Your total cost for painting your baseboards depends on several factors, mainly including how much trim you’re painting and the cost of hiring a professional painter for the job.
Linear Footage
While the average cost to paint trim is between $1 and $4 per linear foot, the final price highly depends on the size of your home. The width and length of your trim determine how much paint and time the job will take. One gallon of paint covers 350 to 400 square feet.
Labor
Professional painters will quote a per-hour rate or a flat fee that incorporates the time of the labor. On average, you can expect professional painters to cost $20 to $50 per hour for painting interior trim. Prepare for this project to take between five and 25 hours, depending on prep time, access, the size of the trim, and the number of coats.
If your trim is in hard-to-reach places or requires significant prep work, expect the project time—and cost—to increase.
Cost to Paint Interior Trim by Type
Repainting all the interior trim of a standard home costs $500 to $2,000 on average, but different types of trim have varying costs.
| Trim Type | Average Cost per Linear Foot |
|---|---|
| Baseboards | $1–$4 |
| Crown molding | $1–$4 |
| Doors and windows | $1–$5 |
Baseboards
Painting baseboards costs $1 to $4 per linear foot. Because painters need to protect your floors and work close to the ground, it can take more time. Due to their thicker width, baseboards require more paint. If you're installing new baseboards, you’ll spend $6 to $9 per linear foot on installation.
Crown Molding
Crown molding, which connects your ceiling to the walls, requires extra prep time to protect surrounding areas. Painting crown molding costs $1 to $4 per linear foot, but you'll pay more in rooms with ceilings higher than eight feet. If you're installing new crown molding, expect to spend $4 to $23 per linear foot.
Doors and Windows
The casements around doors and windows cost between $1 and $5 per linear foot to paint. Some painters prefer to remove the doors before painting to reach the inside of the frame without dripping on the door.
DIY vs. Having Trim Painted Professionally
You can paint trim yourself if you're an experienced DIYer, but the process requires time, thorough prep work, and a steady hand with a paintbrush. You'll need to use painter's tape and drop cloths meticulously to prevent paint from bleeding onto walls or other parts of your home. Tools and materials, including paint, cost about $25 to $50 on average.
While you save on labor, professional painters often have access to better paint prices and can help you avoid costly mistakes. Accessing high trim, like crown molding or exterior soffit trim, can be dangerous if you're not comfortable on a ladder. For these tasks, it's best to hire an interior painting professional.
How HomeAdvisor Gets Its Cost Data
No place is more important than your home, which is why HomeAdvisor connects homeowners with local pros to transform their houses into homes they love. To help homeowners prepare for their next project, HomeAdvisor provides readers with accurate cost data and follows strict editorial guidelines. After a project is complete, we survey real customers about the costs to develop the pricing data you see, so you can make the best decisions for you and your home. We pair this data with research from reputable sources, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, academic journals, market studies, and interviews with industry experts—all to ensure our prices reflect real-world projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
Some homeowners and designers choose semi-gloss or high-gloss paint to make their trim pop against the rest of the wall. However, it's normal to match the sheen of your room by using eggshell or satin. If you have imperfections in your trim, opt for flatter paint with a more matte finish to hide them.
Removing old paint from trim molding is critical to preparing a flawless surface for repainting. Professionals use specialized tools and techniques to strip existing paint efficiently, ensuring the trim is properly prepped for a new finish. This service costs $1 to $3 per linear foot and preserves the integrity of your trim, delivering a consistently smooth result.
Determining the time to paint trim depends on several factors, including the total linear footage, trim location, and preparation requirements. Professional painters complete the process in five to 25 hours by efficiently addressing every step from surface cleaning to final coat application. This streamlined method ensures a superior finish with minimal downtime.
Yes, painting baseboards before the walls helps you achieve precise, crisp lines. Starting with the baseboards minimizes overspray and makes masking easier, resulting in cleaner edges. This approach of painting your baseboards first streamlines the process and makes it simpler to touch up the walls afterward for a high-quality finish.
Painting baseboards without removing them is both efficient and effective. By keeping the baseboards in place, you preserve their original installation and avoid potential damage such as nail holes or misalignment. With proper cleaning and surface preparation, in-place painting delivers a refined, professional finish while saving time and limiting additional repair expenses.
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