House Painting Cost in Bangalore (2026 Rates per Sq Ft)

Painting is the cheapest way to change how a home feels and one of the easiest jobs to get wrong on price. Painters in Bangalore quote per square foot of floor area, per square foot of wall area, or as one lump sum, and those three numbers are not comparable until you convert them.

In 2026, interior repainting with good-quality emulsion costs about Rs 18 to Rs 28 per sq ft of wall area including labour and material. Premium washable and low-sheen finishes cost Rs 25 to Rs 40, and fresh painting on new walls with full putty work costs Rs 30 to Rs 55. Exterior painting costs about Rs 20 to Rs 45 per sq ft of wall area.

This guide explains how painters measure, what a 1, 2 and 3 BHK repaint usually costs, and what separates a cheap job from one that still looks good in five years.

Floor area or wall area: how painters measure

Wall area is the honest unit. A 10 by 12-foot bedroom with a 10-foot ceiling has about 440 sq ft of wall before you subtract the door and window, plus 120 sq ft of ceiling. That is roughly four times the floor area.

Some painters quote per square foot of carpet area instead, which looks cheaper at first glance. A rate of Rs 25 per sq ft of floor area and a rate of Rs 25 per sq ft of wall area are very different jobs. Always ask which area the rate is based on, and ask for the total wall area of each room in the quote.

Lump-sum quotes for a whole flat are common for repaints. They are fine as long as the paint brand, product, number of coats and putty work are written down.

Interior painting rates in 2026

Repainting over walls in good condition, with light sanding, one coat of primer where needed and two coats of a mid-range emulsion, costs Rs 18 to Rs 28 per sq ft of wall area.

Premium washable emulsions with better stain resistance cost Rs 25 to Rs 40 per sq ft. They are worth it in living rooms, passages and children's rooms, where walls get touched and wiped.

Fresh painting on new plaster, or walls that need two coats of putty to level them, costs Rs 30 to Rs 55 per sq ft. New flats handed over by builders usually have a single coat of basic paint, and the first proper paint job falls in this range.

Texture finishes, stencils and accent walls are priced separately, usually Rs 60 to Rs 200 per sq ft depending on the technique.

Wood polish for doors and frames, and enamel for grills, are separate line items. Expect Rs 1,500 to Rs 4,000 per door for melamine or PU polish, and Rs 20 to Rs 45 per sq ft for enamel on metal.

What a full repaint usually costs

These ranges are for a repaint of the walls and ceilings with putty patching, primer and two coats of good emulsion. Doors, grills and texture walls are not included.

A 1 BHK of 450 to 650 sq ft costs Rs 25,000 to Rs 45,000.

A 2 BHK of 950 to 1,250 sq ft costs Rs 35,000 to Rs 60,000 for a straightforward repaint, and Rs 45,000 to Rs 80,000 with premium emulsion, more putty work and crack repair.

A 3 BHK of 1,400 to 1,800 sq ft costs Rs 60,000 to Rs 1.1 lakh.

An independent house or villa varies too much for a single figure. Interior painting usually runs Rs 1.2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh, and the exterior is quoted on its own.

Exterior painting rates

Exterior painting with surface preparation, primer and two coats of a good exterior emulsion costs about Rs 20 to Rs 45 per sq ft of wall area. A G+1 house on a 30x40 site usually has 3,000 to 4,500 sq ft of exterior wall, so a full repaint costs Rs 70,000 to Rs 1.8 lakh.

Elastomeric and crack-bridging systems cost Rs 35 to Rs 70 per sq ft. They make sense on west and south walls that take the strongest sun and the monsoon rain, where ordinary exterior paint starts to chalk and crack sooner.

Scaffolding is often extra on three-storey houses. Ask whether it is in the rate.

What makes a paint job cheap or good

Surface preparation decides most of the result. Scraping loose paint, filling cracks, sanding and priming take time, and they are where cheap jobs cut corners. A wall painted over damp patches or flaking paint will show it again within a year.

The number of coats matters next. Two finish coats over primer is the standard. One coat looks fine on the day the painter leaves and patchy after the first wash.

The paint grade matters less than people think, as long as it is a genuine mid-range product from a known brand. The difference between a mid-range and a top-range emulsion on a bedroom wall is often Rs 3,000 to Rs 8,000 in total.

Damp needs fixing first. In Bangalore, damp patches usually come from a leaking bathroom above, a cracked terrace or failed sealant around windows. Painting over them without fixing the source wastes the money.

How long painting takes

A 2 BHK repaint takes five to eight working days for a team of three or four painters, including putty and drying time. A 3 BHK takes eight to twelve days. Exterior painting depends on weather; the dry months from December to April are the safest window in Bangalore.

If you are doing other interior work, paint last. The final coat should go on after carpentry, electrical changes and false ceilings, with only touch-ups after the furniture is placed.