How to Price Detailing Packages: A Mobile Detailer's Guide

If you're figuring out how to price detailing packages, you've probably already noticed the problem: every menu you look at is different, and copying one doesn't tell you whether it'll pay your bills. The fix is to build packages from your own hours first, then shape them into a menu customers can read in ten seconds.

This guide walks through that, start to finish, for mobile detailers. It picks up where our guide to pricing mobile detailing jobs leaves off. That post covers the floor price for any single job. This one is about the menu itself: how many tiers, what goes in each, how far apart to price them, and how to handle bigger vehicles and add-ons.

Why packages beat a long service list

A list of fifteen services makes the customer do the work. Do they need a clay bar? Is "interior protection" different from "interior detail"? Most people don't know, so they pick the cheapest line or don't book.

Packages turn that into one easy question. The getdetaild packages guide puts it as "How much do you care about your car?" Three clear choices are easier to compare than a page of line items.

Packages help you too:

• Quoting is faster. You pick a package and a vehicle size instead of building a price from scratch.
• Your day is easier to plan. Each package has a known time window, so scheduling stops being a guess.
• Upgrades feel like advice. "Most cars like yours need the clay bar in the middle package" lands better than an add-on pitch.

How to price detailing packages, step by step

Here's the order that works. Do it once with a notebook or spreadsheet, and you'll have a menu you can defend.

Step 1: Write the exact scope of each package

Before any numbers, write every step each package includes. Not "interior cleaning." Write it out: vacuum seats, floors, and trunk; wipe dash, console, and door panels; clean interior glass; wash floor mats.

Then write what's not included, especially the things customers assume are. The Autodetailer.com 2026 price analysis points out that carpet shampoo, stain removal, clay bar, and headliner cleaning are often left out of lower tiers. Those are exactly the items that cause "I thought that was included" arguments.

A common three-tier layout looks like this:

• Maintenance: wash, wheels and tires, windows, vacuum, interior wipe-down. Meant for cars that are already in decent shape.
• Full detail: everything above, plus deeper interior work (shampoo or steam, leather care) and exterior decon with a sealant.
• Premium: everything above, plus a polish, longer protection, and extras like engine bay, trim, or headlights.

Your version can differ. What matters is that each tier adds work a customer can see.

Step 2: Time a real job for each tier

Time is your biggest cost, so time each package on a real car. Start the clock when you pull up and stop it when you've packed up. Include setup, the walkaround, cleanup, and the customer handoff.

Published menus show how much tiers differ in time. Pristine Mobile Auto Spa lists its maintenance wash at 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes and its full detail at 3 to 5 hours. Island Glow Detailing lists about 1 to 1.5 hours for its maintenance wash, 3 to 4 hours for its full detail, and 5 to 7 hours for its top package. Those are their numbers, not yours, but they show the pattern: each tier can double the time or more.

Step 3: Price each tier from hours, product, and overhead

Now turn hours into a floor price. The labor and chemical cost guide shows how to get your own numbers. The short version:

Package floor price = occupied hours x your hourly target + product used on that package

Your hourly target has to cover more than your pay. It also carries insurance, fuel, equipment wear, software, and the unpaid hours you spend answering texts and doing invoices.

Here's a worked example. Every number below is example data, not a recommended price:

• Example hourly target: $60 per occupied hour
• Maintenance: 1.5 hours and $8 of product = $90 + $8 = $98 floor
• Full detail: 3.5 hours and $20 of product = $210 + $20 = $230 floor
• Premium: 6 hours and $40 of product = $360 + $40 = $400 floor

That floor is the least each package can sell for. You can price above it. You shouldn't price below it. You can also run your own numbers in the Rinse pricing calculator.

Step 4: Check the spacing between tiers

Once each tier has a floor, look at the gaps. The getdetaild guide suggests each tier be roughly 40 to 60% above the one below it. If the gap is too small, nobody buys the bottom tier. If it's too big, the jump feels like a different store.

In the example above, the floors jump from $98 to $230 to $400. The first gap is well over 100%, because a full detail takes more than twice as long as a maintenance wash. That's fine. Spacing is a check, not a rule. If your hours say the gap should be big, your hours win. Don't shrink a price below its floor just to make the spacing look neat.

What you can do when gaps look off:

• Move work between tiers. If the middle tier is too close to the top, move one premium step (say, the polish) out of the middle tier.
• Rename the bottom tier. If a maintenance wash is far cheaper than everything else, it may really be a separate service for repeat customers, not the bottom of the detail menu.
• Add a step to the middle. A small, visible step like a spray sealant can justify the middle price without adding much time.

Step 5: Decide which tier you want people to pick

Many guides, including Detail Roam's mobile pricing guide, say customers tend to choose the middle option. Whether or not your customers do, it's smart to design the middle tier as the one you'd recommend for most cars and the one you're happiest to do all day.

That means the middle tier should:

• Fix the problems most of your customers actually have.
• Fit cleanly into your schedule, like two per day if that's your rhythm.
• Clear your floor price with room to spare.

Island Glow labels its middle "Full Glow" package "Most Popular" on its menu. That's an honest way to steer, as long as it's true for your business.

Set vehicle-size prices for each package

Bigger vehicles take longer, but not by the same amount for every package. A third row of seats adds a lot to an interior shampoo and much less to an exterior wash. So set size prices package by package, not with one multiplier across the whole menu.

Look at how the published menus handle it:

• Island Glow Detailing lists its full detail at $200 for a sedan, $250 for a mid-size SUV, and $300 for a large SUV or truck.
• Pristine Mobile Auto Spa lists its full detail starting at $295 for sedans, $335 for SUVs, and $360 for large trucks and SUVs.
• Pristine Mobile Detailing lists its maintenance wash at $95 for cars, $110 for trucks and SUVs, and $125 for oversized vehicles.

Notice the size jumps aren't the same from one business to the next, or even from one package to the next. That's what happens when prices come from real timing.

To set yours:

1. Pick three or four size classes, like sedan, SUV, truck, and van, and define them by work, not brand.
2. Time at least one larger vehicle for each package.
3. Price each size from its own hours, using the same formula as Step 3.
4. Keep a "custom quote" line for lifted trucks, work vans, and anything that doesn't fit.

Keep condition separate from size

A clean SUV can be easier than a small car full of pet hair and sand. If you hide condition inside the size price, customers can't tell why a price changed, and you can't tell which jobs ran long.

Set packages for normal condition, then handle the rest with clear rules. Both Pristine businesses note on their menus that pet hair, heavy soiling, or travel can change the price. Pristine Mobile Detailing goes further: it says it requires a consult on the vehicle's condition before service, and it offers an "Initial Detail" package for first-time clients.

Ways to handle condition:

• Fixed add-ons for common extras, like pet hair removal, stain treatment, or headlights. Pristine Mobile Auto Spa lists headlight restoration at $100 a pair.
• An inspection before work starts, with photos. Our pre-inspection damage walkaround covers how to document condition so the conversation is easy.
• A first-visit rule, where a car's first maintenance wash has to be a full detail if it's past a certain point.

Check your package prices against real menus

Do this last, not first. Once you have floors, compare them with three or four local mobile detailers' published menus. You're looking for big surprises, not a number to copy.

For a broad reference point, the Autodetailer.com analysis of 89 mobile detailers in New York, Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles found average prices of $158 for basic, $278 for standard, and $443 for premium packages, based on a midsize SUV. Housecall Pro's pricing guide cites the same figures. Those are big-city averages, so treat them as context, not a target.

What to do with what you find:

• You're well above local menus. Check whether your packages include more work than theirs. If they do, say so clearly on your menu. If they don't, look for wasted time in your process.
• You're well below. Good news. You probably have room to raise prices toward the market without going under your floor.
• Your floor is above what the market pays. Then that package doesn't work as written. Cut scope, speed up the process, or drop it.

Write the menu so it's easy to read

A good package menu fits on one phone screen per package. For each one, show:

• The package name and a one-line description of who it's for.
• A price for each vehicle size.
• The approximate time, so customers can plan.
• A short list of what's included.
• A note about what changes the price, like pet hair, heavy soiling, or travel.

Keep the names plain. "Maintenance Wash," "Full Detail," and "Premium Detail" tell people more than "Bronze, Silver, Gold."

Then review the menu every month or two. Compare your planned hours with your actual hours. If one package always runs long, fix the price or the scope.

FAQ

How many detailing packages should I offer?

Three is a good place to start. It's few enough for a customer to compare quickly and gives you a clear middle option. You can add a separate maintenance wash for repeat customers and a short list of add-ons.

How far apart should detailing package prices be?

The getdetaild guide suggests about 40 to 60% between tiers. Treat that as a check. If your timed hours say the gap should be bigger, go with your hours, and never price a tier below its floor.

Should I price packages by vehicle size?

Yes. Bigger vehicles take longer, but by different amounts for each package. Time a larger vehicle for each package and price each size from those hours instead of using one multiplier.

Should I copy a competitor's detailing package prices?

No. Their costs, drive times, and process aren't yours. Build your floor prices first, then compare with local menus to spot big gaps.

What should go in a basic detailing package?

Usually a wash, wheels and tires, windows, a vacuum, and an interior wipe-down. Write down exactly what's included and what isn't, especially shampoo, stain removal, and clay bar, which customers often assume are in there.

How do I handle pet hair or really dirty cars?

Price packages for normal condition, then use add-ons or an inspection for anything beyond that. Put the extra charge on its own line so the customer can see it.

Build your package menu from real jobs

Write down every step in your three packages, time one real job for each, and price every tier and size from those hours. That's a menu you can explain to any customer.

When I ran Atlas Detailing, quoting and keeping track of what each customer booked took more time than it should have. At Rinse, we're building simple tools for independent detailers to handle customers, quotes, scheduling, and invoicing in one place. You can set up service packages with a sedan base price and separate SUV, truck, and van prices, add an optional deposit, and add line items to a quote or invoice when a job needs more. The desktop version is live, and the mobile app is on TestFlight pending App Store approval. You can see what's included on our features page.