The short answer: a full interior-and-exterior detail on a sedan costs $200 to $500 in Canada in 2026, and $240 to $600 for an SUV, truck or minivan. Interior-only details run $120 to $300. Above that sits a separate premium tier — paint correction from about $250 and ceramic coating from about $599 — where the real money in detailing is made. Here's the full ladder, and how to turn it into your price list.
Car detailing prices in Canada (2026)
Detailing is priced by the job, and the job is set by two things: what you do (interior, exterior, correction, coating) and how big the vehicle is. These are typical published ranges from Canadian shops and mobile detailers:
| Service | Typical price | What's usually included |
|---|---|---|
| Exterior only (sedan) | $100–$300 | Hand wash, wheels and tires, decontamination, sealant or wax |
| Interior only (sedan) | $120–$300 | Vacuum, surfaces, glass, jambs; extraction and steam at the top end |
| Full detail — car or sedan | $200–$500 | Interior and exterior packages combined |
| Full detail — SUV, truck or van | $240–$600 | Same work, 20–40% more surface and cabin |
| Paint correction (1 to 3 stages) | $250–$1,200 | Machine polishing to remove swirls and scratches |
| Ceramic coating (incl. prep) | $599–$2,500 | Correction plus a multi-year coating |
Ranges compiled September 2026 from published Canadian prices, including Beyond Detail (Toronto), Calgary PPF Pros, YYC Detail (Calgary) and Detailing Experts (Vancouver, mobile), rounded to typical bands. Condition surcharges (pet hair, stains, odour) commonly add $30–$200 each.
City matters less than the package, but it shows. Vancouver mobile detailers publish full sedan details at about $200–$270 and SUVs at $240–$320; Calgary shops put full sedan details at $250–$450; Toronto packages run from about $199 to $499, with SUVs and trucks $30–$50 more than a sedan. Mobile work in cold-winter cities also runs into a season problem — Calgary guides note that outdoor results are limited from roughly November to April, which is exactly when shop bays fill up.
What should you charge?
Two picks and a slider — your range, your projected income.
That's the plan — Biller is how it actually lands in your account.
Set up to collect it — freeEstimates from this guide's market ranges — your market decides the rest.
Quoting $300 a detail? Get paid before the car leaves the driveway.
Biller gives you a booking link, turns each job into an invoice in one tap, and clients pay by e-Transfer or card — card and Autodeposit payments are recorded as they land.
Start free — no credit cardHow detailers price their work
Almost nobody in detailing charges by the hour on the invoice, even though every good price list is built from hours underneath. The common structures:
- Packages by vehicle size: three tiers (think Essential, Complete, Premium) with a sedan price and an SUV/truck surcharge. Clients understand it instantly, and it stops you from quoting every car from scratch. Keep the surcharge honest — a three-row SUV really is more cabin.
- Condition add-ons: pet hair, heavy staining, odour or ozone treatment, engine bay, headlight restoration. Calgary shops publish these at roughly $30–$180 each. This is where underpricing detailers lose the most: a golden retriever's hair can double interior time.
- Premium tier, quoted after inspection: paint correction by stage and ceramic coating by package. Never quote these sight unseen. Check paint depth and condition first, then quote — the one-stage car and the three-stage car look the same in a photo.
- Maintenance plans: a lighter wash-and-interior-refresh every four to eight weeks for past full-detail and ceramic clients, at a lower per-visit price. It fills weekday gaps and keeps coated cars looking like your advertising.
Mobile vs shop
A shop has rent; a mobile detailer has drive time, fuel, and the water-and-power question. Either you use the client's hose and outlet (cheaper, but you're at the mercy of their tap and you need to ask at booking) or you carry your own tank and generator (more setup cost, fully self-sufficient, and you can work in condo parking lots). Price the mobile premium around whichever you choose. One Calgary guide puts mobile work 10–20% above equivalent shop pricing; other mobile detailers build travel into the package inside a set service area and add a trip charge beyond it. If you rely on the client's hose and outlet, say so on the booking form — a condo with no exterior tap is a different job.
Watch the runoff, too. Toronto, for example, bans anything other than rain or melted snow from entering storm sewers, and the City's guidance specifically says mobile wash operations must keep wash water out of catch basins. Many municipalities have similar sewer bylaws — waterless or rinseless washes, containment mats, or working over grass or gravel keep you on the right side of them.
Setting your own rate
The market range tells you what's plausible. Your hours tell you what's survivable:
- Time your packages. A thorough full detail on a sedan is typically most of a day for one person once you include setup and cleanup. Divide your package price by those real hours — if a $220 full detail takes six hours, you're earning under $37 an hour before products, fuel and insurance.
- Add your costs per car. Chemicals, pads and towels, fuel, equipment wear, and insurance. Detailers need general liability plus coverage for the customer's vehicle while it's in your care — ask your broker specifically about that, because a standard liability policy often excludes damage to property in your care, custody and control. Our small business insurance guide explains the coverages.
- Set a floor, then build up. Most solo detailers find a full detail below about $200 on a sedan doesn't pay once the hours are honest. Start your ladder there, add the SUV surcharge, and price add-ons per item.
Then position inside the range. Before-and-after photos, reviews, insurance, and a clean booking-and-invoice flow let you charge in the top third. If your calendar is booked three weeks out, you're too cheap — raise prices for new clients first.
Are you undercharging?
Five quick questions. Be honest — nobody's watching.
Are you booked solid more than two weeks out?
A full calendar is the market telling you your price is too low.
Have you raised your rates in the last 12 months?
Costs went up this year. If your rate didn't, you took a pay cut.
When you quote a price, does anyone ever say no?
If nobody ever pushes back, you're leaving room on the table.
Do you charge for travel time — or build it into your price?
Unpaid driving between details quietly eats your real hourly rate.
Do you drop your price whenever someone asks for a deal?
Discounting on request trains clients to always ask.
Priced about right
You're showing the classic signs of healthy pricing — price pushback now and then, regular raises, travel accounted for. Your next win isn't the rate, it's the time you lose to admin between details.
You're leaving money on the table
A couple of undercharging signals showed up. The fix is usually one honest raise for new clients — $5 more per detail on a full week is thousands a year you're currently donating.
You're seriously undercharging
Almost every signal fired. Booked solid, never raising, never hearing no — that's not luck, that's a price well below what your market would pay. Raise your rate for every new client starting this week; your regulars can follow later.
Book the car, do the detail, get paid.
Clients request a slot from your booking link, the finished detail becomes an invoice in one tap, and they pay by e-Transfer or card before you pack up.
Start free — no credit cardFree plan · Pro $99/year · Built for Canada — e-Transfer and card payments
Not ready? Try the free invoice generatorWhen GST/HST starts to apply
Car detailing is a taxable service in Canada, but you don't have to charge GST/HST until your revenue crosses $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters — the CRA's small-supplier threshold. One ceramic job a month plus a few full details a week gets a solo detailer there faster than most expect. Once you're over, you register, add tax to every invoice, and remit it. Our plain-English GST/HST guide walks through it.
How much a mobile detailing business makes
There's no reliable Canadian average for self-employed detailer income. The closest official number is for employees: Job Bank puts auto detailers at $15.50 to $27.00 an hour, with a median of $19.23 (updated November 2025). An owner charging by the package should clear that comfortably — so do the arithmetic yourself. Four full details a week at $250 is $1,000 a week gross; over a 40-week outdoor season that's roughly $40,000 before products, fuel and insurance. The lever isn't squeezing another $20 onto basic details — it's the premium tier. One ceramic package a month at $800 to $1,500 adds roughly $10,000 to $18,000 a year for a handful of days' work.
How to start a detailing business
Starting one is mostly setup, not paperwork:
- Pick mobile or a bay. Mobile is cheaper to start and easy to test on weekends; a heated bay is what keeps you working through a Canadian winter and is where correction and coating work is easiest to do well.
- Register the business. A sole proprietor trading under their own legal name usually doesn't need to register, but a business name like "Northside Detailing" does. See our guides for Ontario, B.C. and Alberta, and check your municipality for any business licence requirement. You'll want a business number once you register for GST/HST.
- Insure it before the first client car. General liability plus coverage for vehicles in your care, and tools and commercial auto cover if you work from a van — see what small business insurance covers.
- Publish a price list. Three packages by vehicle size, a short add-on list, and "premium work quoted after inspection." Clients book faster when the number is visible.
- Make paying easy. Invoice when the car is done and take e-Transfer or card on the spot. Our free invoice generator works for your first jobs.
Common questions
How much does a full car detail cost in Canada?
A full interior-and-exterior detail on a sedan runs roughly $200 to $500 in 2026, depending on the city and how far the package goes. SUVs, trucks and minivans land around $240 to $600. Calgary shops publish full sedan details at $250 to $450; Toronto packages run from about $199 to $499.
How much should I charge for an interior-only detail?
Most Canadian detailers charge $120 to $300 for an interior detail on a sedan: vacuum, wipe-down, glass and door jambs at the low end, hot-water extraction, steam and leather care at the top. Pet hair, heavy stains and odour are add-ons, published at roughly $30 to $200 each depending on severity — quote them separately rather than absorbing them.
Should mobile detailers charge more than shops?
Usually a little. One Calgary price guide puts mobile work about 10 to 20 percent above the equivalent shop package. Other mobile detailers build travel into the package price inside a set service area and charge extra beyond it. Either way, your drive time and water setup are costs a shop doesn't carry, and the price has to cover them.
How much should I charge for ceramic coating?
Ceramic coating is a premium tier, not an add-on. Canadian shops publish entry coatings from about $599 to $799 on a sedan, with multi-year packages that include full paint correction running $1,300 to $2,500 or more. Every coating needs at least a single-stage polish first, so the correction is built into the price.
How much does paint correction cost?
Toronto shops publish single-stage correction at roughly $250 to $350, two-stage at $500 to $700 and three-stage at $800 to $1,200 on a sedan. Price by stage and by vehicle size — a three-row SUV has far more panel area than a coupe.
How much does a mobile detailing business make?
It depends on volume and ticket size more than anything. As an illustration, four full details a week at $250 is $1,000 a week gross, or roughly $40,000 over a 40-week season before products, fuel and insurance. Compare that with employment: Job Bank puts the median wage for an employed auto detailer at $19.23 an hour. Adding one ceramic job a month at $800 or more moves an owner's number further than any price increase on basic details.
Do I need to charge GST/HST on car detailing?
Not until your business revenue passes $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters — the CRA small-supplier threshold. A full-time detailer booking four or five full details a week crosses it inside a year, so keep a running total from your first paying car.
Many detailers add driveways and siding to their route once they own a pressure washer — our pressure washing rates guide covers what to charge for that side of the business. The same clients book window cleaning and carpet cleaning, and when you're ready to bill, the free invoice generator gets your first invoices out.