Apartment paint calculator
A typical 1-bedroom apartment has about 700 sq ft of floor and roughly 1,600 sq ft of paintable wall once you subtract doors and windows. Two-bedroom units run near 1,000 sq ft of floor and 2,250 sq ft of wall. Most of the work in a rental is restoration: leases usually require returning walls to the original "rental white" before move-out, so read your lease before you open a can and keep track of the existing color name.
How much paint for a apartment
Using the default areas for a typical apartment, a two-coat job needs about 8.25 gallons of interior paint (1,600 sq ft of wall). Your real numbers will differ — enter your measured areas above and the calculator rounds up to the nearest quart.
In paint alone that's roughly $289–$578 at $35–$70 a gallon, before primer and supplies. Pick a brand in the result panel for an exact cost.
Read The Lease Before You Paint
Most rental agreements either ban color changes outright or require you to restore the original "rental white" before move-out. Painting without permission can cost your security deposit. Get approval in writing, ask which sheen and color the building uses, and photograph the walls before you start. If you only get verbal okay, a quick email confirming the conversation protects you later when the inspector walks the unit.
Prep Around Existing Finishes
Rentals come with builder-grade flat or eggshell, often a few coats deep. Wash off kitchen grease and bathroom film with a degreaser first, or fresh paint will peel. Fill nail holes and old anchor holes with lightweight spackle, sand flush, and spot-prime the patches so they do not flash through the topcoat. Cover the carpet edge with painter's tape and rosin paper; landlords notice drips on a carpet far more than a slightly-off wall color.
Skip The Ceiling, Focus On Walls
Ceilings in apartments are almost always flat white and rarely worth repainting unless they are water-stained or yellowed by old smoke. Walls are where color and wear show. If a ceiling stain bleeds through, spot-prime it with a stain-blocking primer before painting, otherwise the brown ring comes right back. Keeping ceilings as-is also keeps your restoration simple, since you only have to match the wall color at move-out.
Touch-Ups Beat Full Repaints
Hang on to a labeled quart of the original color and the leftover from any repaint you do. Scuffs, furniture marks, and small patches are far faster to dab in than rolling a whole wall, and most landlords accept a clean patch-and-blend over a full restoration. Touch-ups blend best when you feather the edges with a small roller and use the exact same sheen; a glossier touch-up flashes under raking window light.
Paint cost by brand
Coverage is similar across the major interior lines, so the price tier is what moves your bill. Current per-gallon prices for the brands the calculator can price for you:
| Brand & line | Price / gal | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Backdrop Interior Standard | ~$59/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Behr Marquee | ~$52/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Behr Dynasty | ~$65/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Behr Ultra | ~$45/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Behr Premium Plus | ~$33/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Benjamin Moore Aura | ~$80/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Benjamin Moore Regal Select | ~$64/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Benjamin Moore Ben | ~$45/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Benjamin Moore Ultra Spec 500 | ~$40/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| C2 Paint LUXE | ~$82/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| C2 Paint Studio | ~$70/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| C2 Paint LoVo | ~$65/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Clare Wall Paint | ~$54/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Diamond Vogel Avalon | ~$48/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Diamond Vogel Assure | ~$36/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Diamond Vogel Artistry | ~$42/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Dunn-Edwards Everest | ~$67/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Dunn-Edwards Suprema | ~$60/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Dutch Boy Platinum Plus | ~$38/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Dutch Boy Dura Clean | ~$35/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Dutch Boy Forever | ~$30/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Dutch Boy Pristine | ~$46/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Farrow & Ball Estate Emulsion | ~$120/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Farrow & Ball Modern Emulsion | ~$140/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Farrow & Ball Dead Flat | ~$130/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Glidden Diamond | ~$37/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Glidden Premium | ~$22/gal | 350 sq ft/gal |
| Glidden Essentials | ~$18/gal | 350 sq ft/gal |
| Glidden High Endurance Plus | ~$28/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams Infinity | ~$46/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams Showcase | ~$38/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams Ovation Plus | ~$33/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Kompozit ONE | ~$40/gal | 388 sq ft/gal |
| Kompozit PRO | ~$52/gal | 388 sq ft/gal |
| Kompozit NEO | ~$65/gal | 425 sq ft/gal |
| Magnolia Home Interior | ~$50/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Portola Paints New Standard | ~$80/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| PPG Timeless | ~$45/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| PPG Diamond | ~$36/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| PPG Manor Hall | ~$55/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| PPG Speedhide | ~$28/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| PPG UltraLast | ~$48/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Rodda Horizon Interior | ~$52/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Rodda RESIST-X | ~$58/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Sherwin-Williams Emerald | ~$74/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Sherwin-Williams Duration Home | ~$70/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Sherwin-Williams Cashmere | ~$60/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Sherwin-Williams SuperPaint | ~$60/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Sherwin-Williams ProMar 200 | ~$45/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Valspar Reserve | ~$52/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Valspar Signature | ~$40/gal | 400 sq ft/gal |
| Valspar Simplicity | ~$22/gal | 350 sq ft/gal |