Compare the same cleaning scope before comparing prices
This Korea cleaning quote scope comparison organizes two or three actual quotes received before booking cleaning for the same home.
A low base price can lead to a different final outlay if outside windows, balconies, appliance interiors or heavy dirt are excluded.
Different billing-area definitions also make a simple per-pyeong price comparison misleading.
Choose the tasks you need, then separate included work, confirmed supplements, conditional charges and remaining cash.
Budget planning and actual contract comparison
If you have not received quotes, start with the Move-In Cleaning Cost Calculator to explore a budget by cleaning type and home size.
This page checks the amounts and scope offered by actual vendors.
Example prices are fictional teaching values, not regional averages, fair-price standards or vendor recommendations.
The interface uses KRW and Korea-based quote terminology, with guidance checked for 2026.
Prepare the written quotes and site information
- The same cleaning date, layout, occupancy, dirt condition and access restrictions
- Each quote’s exclusive, supply or measured area basis, actual area and m² or pyeong unit
- A base total or per-pyeong rate, minimum base charge, VAT status and actual separate VAT
- Inclusions and exclusions for windows, balconies, the sink, appliances and fitted cabinets
- Extra-work rates, billable quantities, triggers and caps for dirt, waste, stickers, mold and travel
- Deposits already paid, their allocation, quote validity and revised written answers
The common description can identify the home and layout without including a full private address.
If photographs informed the quote, record which set the vendor assessed.
First unify the information if family members described different dirt conditions or task lists to different vendors.
Do not fill an unanswered row with another vendor’s price: obtain the answer from the vendor whose quote you are entering.
Separate area definitions from m² and pyeong units
Area definitions are not converted
Exclusive, supply and measured area describe different bases.
The same home may have different stated areas, so the calculator does not apply a fixed supply-to-exclusive ratio.
Preserve each quote’s basis and request revisions on the common basis when they differ.
Only measurement units are converted
The unit conversion is 1 pyeong = 3.3058 m².
For the same area basis expressed in different units, normalized areas must differ by no more than 0.01 m².
This tolerance accommodates decimal-entry rounding; it is not a legal determination of a building’s area.
Different area bases or a normalized difference above 0.01 m² preserve the individual calculations but withhold same-scope comparison.
The Apartment Area Calculator can help clarify the area terminology first.
Matching units alone does not establish matching spaces or cleaning tasks.
Enter total-price and per-pyeong quotes without duplication
Total-price mode
Enter the quoted base total for cleaning the home.
Do not add the pyeong rate or minimum base charge already reflected in that total again.
Establish whether the stated total covers base cleaning only or all requested extras, then record excluded work in separate task rows.
Per-pyeong mode
The base amount is the greater of round(per-pyeong rate × converted pyeong) and the minimum base charge.
Do not enter a minimum-adjusted total in the rate field: confirm the vendor’s billing method first.
A minimum base charge does not automatically stand in for a separate travel charge; check travel inclusion in its own row.
The gross base subtotal adds the actual separate base-price VAT only when applicable.
After a quote changes, recalculate the result and checklist from the current written version.
Ask whether an expired quote remains valid for the intended booking.
Use one checklist for twelve cleaning tasks
Frames, inside windows, outside windows and balconies
Check window frames, inside glass and outside glass separately.
Accessible surfaces and working methods can affect whether outside-window work is available.
Record balcony counts and details such as floors and drains so identical task names do not conceal different deliverables.
Sink, appliance interiors and fitted cabinets
Distinguish surface wiping from interior cleaning and dismantling.
Record appliance types and counts, contents left in cabinets and anything else affecting billable quantities.
Confirmation for one appliance does not mean every appliance interior is included.
Heavy dirt, stickers and mold
Ask whether the billing unit is area, item count, working time or another agreed quantity.
Basic cleaning of light dirt does not establish the price of heavy contamination.
Mold removal should not be read as an automatic outcome or recurrence guarantee; confirm the method and scope in writing.
Waste, travel and parking
Separate ordinary cleaning debris from leftover possessions or waste requiring additional removal.
Check whether travel and parking are included or depend on site conditions.
Turn off genuinely unnecessary tasks in the common checklist; leave required work marked unavailable if a vendor cannot provide it.
Understand the five inclusion statuses
- Included in base: the task is already covered, so no duplicate amount is added.
- Fixed supplement: a confirmed gross unit price times quantity is rounded to whole KRW and added.
- Conditional range: record the trigger, rate, minimum and maximum quantities, and any written gross cap.
- Unknown: inclusion or cost remains unresolved, preventing a final upper total.
- Unavailable: the vendor cannot perform a required task, so the quotes do not cover the same scope.
A blank amount is not a confirmed zero.
A minimum conditional quantity of zero can describe a task that may not occur, but it must match the actual terms.
Tasks switched off as unnecessary are excluded from sums; switching off required work merely to hide a vendor’s omission changes the comparison objective.
Changing required tasks also requires renewed scope confirmation from every vendor.
Check conditional rates, quantities and caps together
The amount for each conditional row
The lower amount is round(unit price × minimum billable quantity).
The upper amount is round(unit price × maximum billable quantity); if a written gross cap is also supplied, use the smaller amount.
A confirmed gross cap can bound the row even when maximum quantity is not supplied.
An upper amount below the lower amount or a reversed quantity range requires reconciliation.
Confirm the trigger, billing unit, maximum quantity or gross cap in writing.
Knowing a unit price alone cannot establish a finite maximum when quantity and total cap remain unknown.
A missing trigger note, missing written confirmation or absence of a usable upper bound withholds the upper total.
A cap for one task does not automatically limit extra charges for other tasks.
Read the subtotal, total range and remaining cash
Confirmed subtotal
Confirmed subtotal = base amount + actual separate base-price VAT + required fixed supplements.
Included rows are not added again.
When unknown tasks or conditional charges remain, this subtotal is not the final bill.
Conditional total
Lower total = confirmed subtotal + the sum of conditional lower amounts.
Upper total = confirmed subtotal + the sum of confirmed conditional upper amounts.
Unknown VAT, unknown or unavailable required work, and unconfirmed conditional limits withhold the upper total.
The displayed lower figure then covers only known components and does not cap all possible charges.
Remaining cash and effective rate
Remaining cash = each total − deposits already paid.
Effective rate per pyeong = confirmed subtotal ÷ that quote’s converted pyeong.
Read the rate with its area basis; figures based on exclusive and supply areas cannot by themselves establish quality or value.
Work through two fictional 30-pyeong quotes
Both quotes cover the same exclusive 30 pyeong, cleaning date and written work scope.
A has a base total of 300,000 KRW, separate VAT of 30,000 KRW and outside-window work at 30,000 KRW × 2.
Its mold-removal row is 20,000 KRW per unit, a quantity range of 0–2 and a written gross cap of 40,000 KRW.
B charges 15,000 KRW × 30 pyeong, applying 450,000 KRW because it exceeds the 300,000 KRW minimum, with tax and all required work included.
Each quote has 50,000 KRW already paid.
Confirmed subtotal, conditional totals and remaining cash for fictional exclusive-area 30-pyeong cleaning quotes A and B| Measure | Quote A | Quote B |
|---|
| Confirmed subtotal | 390,000 KRW | 450,000 KRW |
| Conditional total | 390,000–430,000 KRW | 450,000 KRW |
| Remaining cash after deposit | 340,000–380,000 KRW | 400,000 KRW |
| Effective confirmed rate | 13,000 KRW/pyeong | 15,000 KRW/pyeong |
A’s upper total of 430,000 KRW is below B’s lower total of 450,000 KRW, so A is lower within the entered ranges.
If A’s mold-work limit is not confirmed, the upper total and single lowest-cost decision are withheld even when the same numbers have been typed.
Changing the confirmation state in the example illustrates why the terms matter as well as the amounts.
Find the extra charge that reverses a lower base price
Although A starts with a lower base price, VAT and outside-window work bring its confirmed subtotal to 390,000 KRW.
The gap to B’s 450,000 KRW confirmed subtotal is 60,000 KRW.
Holding all other costs fixed, adding 60,000 KRW to A’s confirmed subtotal ties the subtotals; 60,001 KRW reverses their order.
This threshold explains sensitivity to an extra charge, rather than predicting conditional-event probability or the final bill.
The lowest lower bound may not establish a single winner
Every participating quote needs confirmed common conditions, matching area, required work and a usable upper total.
One quote’s upper total must be strictly below every other quote’s lower total before it is shown as lower within the ranges.
Overlapping or touching intervals withhold that decision.
Adding an unresolved third quote also withholds the overall decision: resolve its written questions first.
Use the comparison before booking
- Set one cleaning date, layout and dirt description, area basis and list of required tasks.
- Enter each original quote in total or per-pyeong mode, separating tax and prepaid deposits.
- Record every required task’s status, confirmed price and quantity, or conditional range and cap.
- Confirm matching scope in writing, calculate, and inspect unresolved questions and remaining cash.
- Save the results and checklist as TXT to request revised quotes and final payment terms.
New homes and post-renovation cleaning
Describe protective materials, stickers, construction residue and dust explicitly.
Do not assume they have the same scope as ordinary base cleaning.
A changed construction schedule may alter the cleaning date and site condition, requiring renewed written scope confirmation.
Existing homes with appliances or cabinets
Give every vendor the same appliance-interior list, leftover contents, removable parts and access limits.
Record whether the home is empty or occupied, since the working conditions may differ.
For separate waste removal, also consult the Bulky Waste Disposal Fee Calculator.
Keep the remaining checks and limitations visible
The calculation organizes the arithmetic and confirmation state of your quotes.
It does not assess cleaning quality, safe access, suitable staffing or working time.
Review rework terms, damage arrangements, final site inspection and balance-payment method separately.
If photographs do not show important dirt or layout conditions, first obtain revised quotes covering the same actual scope.
Money inputs are whole amounts from 0 to 1,000,000,000 KRW, and rate-times-quantity products are rounded to whole KRW.
Area and quantity must be finite, positive and at most 10,000, except that a conditional minimum quantity can be zero.
Reconcile out-of-range amounts, missing required inputs and reversed quantity or amount ranges when prompted.
Changing common conditions or required tasks clears every vendor’s scope confirmation; changing one quote’s area requires confirming that quote again.
Before sharing the checklist, check personal information and confidential contract details.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use this before receiving actual quotes?
The fictional example explains the arithmetic, but comparing contracts requires written quotes from the vendors.
Use the Move-In Cleaning Cost Calculator first if you are still planning a budget.
A headline price given over the phone does not establish which required tasks are included.
Should I enter exclusive or supply area?
Choose one common comparison basis, then preserve the actual basis and area used by each vendor.
The calculator does not convert different area definitions into an assumed price for the same home.
Obtain revised quotes on one basis before updating the inputs and written confirmation.
Are outside windows and balconies normally included?
No standard inclusion is assumed.
Check the window surfaces, accessible areas, balcony count and working method in the actual contract.
Mark a task as included only after confirmation; otherwise leave it unknown.
Do I add a pyeong rate and minimum charge to a total quote?
Total-price mode uses the quoted base total without adding a pyeong rate or minimum base charge again.
Per-pyeong mode takes the greater of the rounded rate-times-area amount and the minimum base charge.
Enter only work outside that base amount as supplements.
Can I enter zero after being told there are no extra fees?
Use an included status or explicit zero after confirming that the same dirt and working conditions incur no separate charge.
A blank field or unanswered question is not free work.
Unresolved tasks withhold the upper total and a single lowest-cost decision.
What if I know only the mold-removal unit price?
Ask for a maximum billable quantity or a written gross cap for that task.
Do not invent a maximum contingency when the trigger or quantity range is unknown.
Have the vendor assess the dirt through photographs or a site visit, then record the unit and conditions.
Is VAT calculated automatically?
No tax rate or taxability decision is inferred.
Select whether base-price VAT is included and enter the actual VAT amount if separate.
Extra-work unit prices are already gross KRW amounts, so VAT is not added to those rows again.
Why does paying a deposit leave the total cost unchanged?
A deposit is an advance payment toward the same total cost.
It reduces remaining cash only and is neither added to the total nor removed from the cost itself.
If prepaid cash exceeds the confirmed subtotal, reconcile the receipt, allocation and base-versus-extra classification.
Why is the quote with the lowest lower bound not selected?
A lower bound describes a scenario with fewer conditional charges.
Every quote must have matching confirmed scope, and one upper total must be strictly below every other lower total.
Overlapping ranges, ties and unresolved tasks withhold a single ranking.
Does saving the checklist or calculating a result confirm a contract?
Saving TXT downloads a file containing your conditions and calculations.
It does not send anything to a vendor or enter into a contract.
Check the site, service quality, rework and dispute arrangements separately, and remove unnecessary personal information before sharing.
Official guidance and review date
Guidance was checked on 2026-11-13 for the 2026 edition.
The Korea Consumer Agency’s 2026-07-21 cleaning-service extra-charge card news advises comparison quotes, written scope and extra-charge terms, site checks and supporting records.
Its 2026-08-05 cleaning-service consumer warning also recommends site-based estimates and advance clarification of extra-charge reasons and amounts.
These sources do not establish market rates, standard outside-window or appliance inclusions, a supply-to-exclusive area ratio, or statutory extra-charge caps.
The calculator uses no statutory fee rate, automatic VAT rate, refund or damages formula.
Whenever a quote’s validity changes, reconfirm amounts, scope, triggers, rates, quantities, caps, tax and deposit allocation.
Resolve missing scope through the written checklist
Enter your two or three actual quotes on the same basis and inspect excluded or unresolved tasks before focusing on the price table.
Written triggers, caps, final gross amounts and deposit allocation make the scope and remaining payment clearer.
If you are also arranging a move, use Moving Quote Scope Comparison to check transport, staffing and waiting-charge inclusions.