Painting walls in 2026 costs between 5 and 8 € per square metre of painted surface, with emulsion paint and walls in good condition, and between 8 and 12 €/m² if the wall needs preparing. The ceiling comes out 20-40% more expensive than the walls. These are market prices published by Pintomicasa, not our rates.
A room gets painted in a day or two. What changes the price isn't the colour, it's what's underneath: holes from pictures, a crack in the corner, an old damp stain, the eighties gotelé (textured "popcorn" finish). That's why you won't see a per-room rate here: send us a photo of each wall from a corner and rough measurements, and we'll send back the price for your case in writing before anyone opens a tin. Usually in under 2 hours.
The painting is done by an independent professional who works with us and makes a living from this trade. Our part is handling the booking: the price, the dates and the conversation if something goes wrong.
What gets painted
Walls and ceilings of flats and houses, with emulsion paint. A single room, the living room before the new sofa arrives, or the whole flat before you move in or when you leave a rental.
People ask for the ceiling less often than they should. Over the years it yellows, especially in the kitchen and where people smoke, and next to freshly painted walls it shows much more. If the room is being painted, it usually pays to do the ceiling on the same visit, because the floor and furniture are already covered.
Primer goes over the whole surface being painted, walls and the ceiling if the ceiling is included. It's needed on new plaster, on plasterboard (pladur), on walls repaired with filler and when going from a dark colour to a light one. On an already painted wall in good condition it's often unnecessary, and the quote says whether it's included.
Before painting, small surface faults get fixed: filling the holes from wall plugs and nails, filling chipped patches and hairline cracks, sanding down anything raised and sealing the joint between wall and ceiling if it has opened. It's the part you don't see in the final photo, and the one that decides whether the wall ends up smooth or patchy.
What isn't painting, and worth knowing beforehand: a damp stain that keeps coming back isn't fixed by painting, first you have to find where it comes from, and if it's a pipe, that's a job for a plumber. A ceiling with big cracks, or one you want to lower to fit spotlights, is plasterboard work. Doors, windows and radiators are painted with gloss and quoted separately, per unit.
Gotelé can be painted over or removed. Removing it means three jobs in a row, scraping, smoothing and painting, and it's explained with its figures in the price guide.
How the square metres are counted
A painter charges per square metre of painted surface, not per square metre of the flat. For one room:
- Walls: the perimeter times the height, minus the opening of each door and each window.
- Ceiling, if included: length times width.
- Paint: two coats over those metres.
- Primer, if needed: one coat over the same metres, walls and ceiling.
An 80 m² flat (floor area) has between 250 and 320 m² of wall and ceiling to paint, according to Pintomicasa. That's why a “per metre” quote never matches the square metres on the property deeds. To work out how much paint you need for a particular room, the paint calculator gives you the metres, litres and tins from the length, width and height.
How much does painting cost in Valencia?
| Job | 2026 market price | What it depends on |
|---|---|---|
| Emulsion paint, walls in good condition | 5-8 €/m² | painted surface, not floor area of the flat |
| With wall preparation | 8-12 €/m² | filling holes, sanding |
| With repairs | 12-18 €/m² | cracks and chipped patches |
| Ceilings | 20-40% more than the walls | work is done above your head |
| 80 m² flat, walls and ceilings in good condition | 880-1,280 € | empty flat, white over white |
| 80 m² flat, with preparation and partly furnished | 1,500-2,500 € | the usual case in a lived-in flat |
| Removing gotelé, smoothing and painting, in Valencia | 15-25 €/m² | distemper or plastic gotelé |
Source: price guides from Pintomicasa for the square metre, ceilings and the flat with preparation; Reformas10 for the flat in good condition; Quitar Gotelé Valencia for gotelé.
Rough 2026 market ranges, these are not our rates: we give you the fixed price in writing before work starts.
The two figures for the 80 m² flat don't contradict each other: the first is the ideal case and the second already includes preparing walls and working with furniture inside. All the detail, with 60 and 100 m² flats, VAT (IVA) and what isn't included, is in how much it costs to paint a flat.
What moves the figure most in a quote: the state of the walls, whether the ceiling is included, whether the flat is furnished, a big change of colour and gotelé. To compare two quotes, ask for both figures: how many square metres they measured and the price per metre.
How it works
- Tell us what needs painting. Through the quote form or on WhatsApp. A photo of each room from a corner, rough measurements and whether it has gotelé are enough.
- You get the fixed price in writing. What gets painted, ceilings yes or no, primer yes or no, which paint, how many days and what isn't included. Free and with no obligation, usually in under 2 hours. If someone needs to see the walls before the figure can be fixed, we'll tell you.
- We agree the dates and you know who's coming. The professional's name and phone number before they turn up at your door.
- The painting gets done and you pay at the end. Cash, Bizum (Spain's instant bank-transfer app) or bank transfer.
If sanding uncovers something that couldn't be seen, like a crack that runs deeper or damp that wasn't in the photo, nobody improvises: you get a new proposal with its price and you decide whether the work carries on or stops.
Areas we cover
Valencia city and the surrounding towns of l'Horta: Mislata, Burjassot, Paterna, Quart de Poblet, Manises, Aldaia, Alaquàs, Xirivella, Torrent, Picanya, Paiporta, Catarroja, Alfafar, Benetússer, Sedaví, Massanassa, Alboraia and Tavernes Blanques. If you live further out, ask: we'd rather tell you we don't cover your area than keep you waiting.
Two local things. In flats from the seventies and eighties almost every wall has gotelé, and it's best to decide beforehand whether to paint over it or remove it, because that changes the days and the price. And the summer: the CYPE price database says not to paint above 35 °C or with humidity above 80%, and Valencia has weeks of both. Spring and autumn are better, and also the busiest.
Why we agree the price before work starts
Because with painting, quotes stretch at the edges. It starts as “the living room” and ends with the hallway, the kitchen ceiling and two doors “while you're at it”. Each addition is reasonable; the problem is finding out what they cost at the end.
Our deal is simple: the figure is in writing before anyone opens a tin. Extras are accepted one by one, with their price in front of you, or they don't get done. And if something isn't right, the conversation is with us.
Ask for a painting quote. A photo of each room is enough to fix the price.