You should get at least three written quotes for a painting job, each priced against an identical written scope, one quote gives you no benchmark, two can’t break a tie, and three reveals the market range and exposes any outlier. Consumer Affairs Victoria recommends getting written quotes so there’s a record of the agreed price and scope.
We’ve been painting Melbourne homes for more than three decades and prepared thousands of quotes over that time. This guide explains exactly how many quotes to get in 2026, why three is the right number, how to make those quotes comparable, and how to pick the best value rather than just the cheapest price.
How many painting quotes should I get?
Get at least three written quotes, each based on the same written job description.
Three is the practical minimum for a residential painting job, whether it’s a single room repaint or a whole-house exterior. One quote tells you nothing, you’ve got no idea whether the figure is fair, high, or low. Two quotes leave you stuck if they disagree, because you can’t tell which one is the outlier. Three quotes give you a market range, a midpoint, and the ability to spot anything that sits well outside the pack.
For most Melbourne homeowners, three is also achievable without dragging the process out for weeks. You can have three painters assess your home and return written quotes inside a fortnight, then compare them properly before committing.
Key takeaway: Three written quotes is the sweet spot, enough to reveal the market range and expose an outlier, without delaying the job or wasting painters’ time.
Why three and not two?
Two quotes can’t break a tie; three reveal the range and expose the outlier.
With two quotes, you’re guessing. Say one painter quotes $4,200 and another quotes $6,800 for the same interior. Which one is reasonable? You can’t know. Maybe the cheaper one is cutting prep, or maybe the dearer one has padded the price. Two data points can’t tell you which.
Add a third quote and the picture sharpens. If the third comes in at $6,500, you now know the $4,200 is the outlier, likely a lowball, and the realistic market price sits around $6,500–$6,800. If instead the third lands at $4,400, you know the $6,800 is the high outlier and needs to justify its premium. Three quotes turn a coin-flip into an informed decision.
“Two quotes leave a Melbourne homeowner flipping a coin. The third quote is the one that tells you which of the first two to trust, it’s the cheapest insurance you’ll buy on the whole project.”, Modernize Solutions, painting Melbourne homes since 1987
Why not just one quote?
One quote gives you no benchmark, so you can’t tell if the price is fair.
A single quote feels efficient, but it leaves you completely exposed. Without anything to compare it against, you have no way of knowing whether the price reflects the real cost of the work or whether the scope quietly leaves out prep, undercoats, or surface repairs. A single figure is just a number until you have others beside it.
Getting only one quote is also how homeowners end up overpaying or, worse, hiring a painter who’s left out the work that makes paint last. The benchmark only exists once you have other quotes to set against it.
Should painting quotes be written or verbal?
Written, every time, Consumer Affairs Victoria recommends getting written quotes so there’s a record of the agreed price and scope.
A verbal figure shouted over the fence or rattled off on the phone is not a quote you can use. It can’t be compared like-for-like against another painter, it can’t be held up later if the price changes, and it gives the painter room to add costs once the work is underway. Consumer Affairs Victoria advises getting written quotes precisely so the agreed price and scope are documented if a dispute arises.
A written quote should name the rooms or surfaces, the preparation included, the paint product, the number of coats, the timeline, the warranty, and the total price including GST. If a painter won’t put it in writing, treat that as a decision about whether to use them at all.
Key takeaway: Insist on written quotes. A verbal figure can’t be compared, can’t be enforced, and leaves the price open to change once work begins.
How do I make the quotes comparable?
Give every painter an identical written job description so the quotes are like-for-like.
This is the step most homeowners skip, and it’s the one that makes the whole exercise work. If you tell one painter “paint the lounge and hallway” and another “freshen up downstairs,” you’ll get back two quotes that can’t be compared, because they’re pricing different jobs. The fix is to hand every painter the same written brief.
Your brief should spell out:
- The exact rooms or surfaces, for example, lounge, hallway, three bedrooms, all ceilings.
- The surfaces in each, walls, ceilings, trim, skirting, doors, window frames.
- The number of coats you expect, typically two coats over a prepared surface.
- Prep expectations, sanding, filling, gap-sealing, undercoating where needed.
- Paint quality, a premium product such as Dulux, rather than “whatever’s cheapest.”
When all three painters quote against that identical scope, the prices that come back actually mean something. Any difference now reflects the painter’s labour rate, quality, and overheads, not a different job. That’s what “like-for-like” means.
What do the three quotes actually tell me?
Three quotes show the market range, flag the lowball, and flag the high outlier that needs to justify itself.
Once you’ve got three comparable quotes in front of you, they sort themselves into a pattern. Here’s how to read them:
| Number of quotes | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| One quote | A number with no context, you can’t tell if it’s fair, high, or low. |
| Two quotes | A comparison you can’t resolve, no way to know which is the outlier. |
| Three quotes | The market range, a sensible midpoint, and any quote sitting well outside the pack. |
| Four+ quotes | Usually the same information as three, with added delay and wasted painter time. |
The quote that sits far below the other two is the one to scrutinise. A lowball is rarely a bargain, it almost always means corners are being cut on prep or coats, the very things that decide whether the paint lasts five years or two. The quote that sits well above the others isn’t automatically wrong, but it has to earn the premium: more thorough prep, a longer warranty, better insurance, more experience, or a higher-grade paint system. If it can’t explain the gap, it’s just expensive.
Key takeaway: Don’t read three quotes as “cheap, middle, dear.” Read them as “lowball to scrutinise, market rate, and premium that must justify itself.”
Should I just pick the cheapest quote?
No, pick the best value once scope, prep, coats, paint, warranty, insurance and ABN are all equalised.
The cheapest quote is only the cheapest if every quote covers the same work, and they usually don’t. Before you compare prices, line the quotes up against each other and check that each one matches on:
- Scope, every room and surface you asked for, with nothing quietly dropped.
- Preparation, sanding, filling, and priming listed, not assumed.
- Number of coats, two coats specified, not a single thin coat to hit a price.
- Paint product, a named premium product, not “trade paint.”
- Warranty, a written period and conditions you can hold the painter to.
- Insurance, current public liability cover, evidenced by a certificate.
- ABN, a valid, registered Australian business, not a cash-only operator.
Once all of that is equalised, the genuinely cheapest like-for-like quote may well be the right choice. But the headline number on its own tells you nothing. A quote that’s $1,500 cheaper because it skips two days of prep isn’t cheaper at all, you’ll pay the difference, and more, when the paint fails early.
Is it worth getting more than three quotes?
Usually not, more than three or four quotes just delays the job and wastes painters’ time without adding information.
Three quotes already give you the market range and expose any outlier. A fourth occasionally makes sense if your three came back wildly inconsistent and you want a tiebreaker, but beyond that you hit diminishing returns fast. Every extra quote means another painter taking time to visit and price your home, another assessment to coordinate, and more days before the work can start.
Painters notice when they’re the fifth quote on a job, too. The good ones, the ones you actually want, are busy, and they’ll deprioritise homeowners who appear to be collecting quotes rather than choosing a painter. Three solid, comparable quotes from reputable painters will serve you better than six rushed ones.
Key takeaway: Stop at three (or four at the most). The effort that would have gone into a fifth quote is better spent writing a tight scope and verifying each painter’s credentials.
How do I verify each painter before comparing quotes?
Check each painter’s ABN, public liability insurance certificate, reviews, and references before you weigh up price.
A cheap quote from an uninsured, unregistered painter isn’t cheap, it’s a risk you’re carrying yourself. Before a quote even enters the comparison, confirm the painter is a legitimate, insured business:
- ABN, look the business up on ABN Lookup to confirm it’s registered and active.
- Public liability insurance, ask for a current certificate of currency, not just a verbal “yeah, we’re covered.”
- Reviews, check independent Google reviews for volume and consistency, not just a star rating.
- References, ask for recent Melbourne jobs similar to yours and follow them up.
Industry bodies such as Master Painters Australia maintain standards and membership for professional painters, and membership can be one useful signal among several. Verification turns three prices into three trustworthy prices, which is the only kind worth comparing.
How should I run the whole quote process?
Write one identical scope, send it to three verified painters, get written quotes, equalise the inclusions, then choose the best value.
Put together, the process is straightforward:
- Write one identical job description, rooms, surfaces, coats, prep, and paint quality.
- Shortlist three reputable painters, verified ABN, insurance, reviews, and references.
- Give each the same written brief so the quotes come back like-for-like.
- Insist on written quotes with itemised scope, prep, paint product, coats, warranty, insurance, and a total including GST.
- Line the three up and equalise the inclusions before you look at price.
- Choose the best value, scrutinise the lowball, make the high outlier justify itself, and pick the quote that delivers the most for the money.
Run it this way and the price comparison almost makes itself. You’ll know which quote is genuinely competitive and which is cheap because it’s leaving work out.
“The homeowners who get this right don’t chase the lowest number, they write one clear scope, send it to three painters they’ve actually checked, and let the quotes sort themselves out. That’s a half-hour of preparation that saves thousands.”, Modernize Solutions
How do you book a quote with Modernize Solutions?
Call 0451 040 396 for a thorough on-site assessment and a detailed written quote you can compare like-for-like against any other painter in Melbourne.
When you’re gathering your three quotes, make us one of them. We’ll assess your home properly, quote against the exact scope you give us, and put everything in writing, scope, prep, Dulux paint products by name, coat count, warranty, insurance, and a fixed total including GST, so you can lay our quote beside the others and compare on equal terms.
Modernize Solutions is a family-owned painting business that has painted Melbourne homes since 1987, more than three decades and more than 1,000 residential projects. We carry $20M public liability insurance, use Dulux premium paint exclusively, and back our work with a workmanship guarantee, any issue is fixed at no cost. We hold a 4.8-star Google rating from 154 verified reviews, and the owner personally conducts every quote. We paint residential homes only. Call us on 0451 040 396.
Frequently asked questions
How many painting quotes should I get in Melbourne?
Get at least three written quotes for a painting job. Three is the sweet spot: one quote gives you no benchmark, two can’t break a tie, and three reveals the market range and exposes any outlier. Consumer Affairs Victoria recommends getting written quotes so the agreed price and scope are on record.
Should painting quotes be written or verbal?
Written, every time. Consumer Affairs Victoria recommends getting written quotes so there’s a record of the agreed price and scope if a dispute arises later. A verbal figure can’t be compared like-for-like, can’t be enforced, and gives the painter room to change the price once work begins.
Should I just pick the cheapest painting quote?
No. Pick the best value, not the lowest number. Once scope, prep, coats, paint product, warranty, insurance and ABN are equalised across all three quotes, the cheapest is often cutting prep or coats. A quote far below the others is usually a lowball that costs more to fix later.
Is it worth getting more than three painting quotes?
Rarely. Three quotes already reveal the market range and expose any outlier. Getting more than three or four usually just delays the job and wastes painters’ time without adding new information. Spend that effort instead on writing an identical scope and verifying each painter’s ABN and insurance.
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Free on-site inspection and a fixed-price written quote, no obligation. Painting Melbourne homes since 1987.
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Owner & Lead Painter · Modernize Solutions · Painting Melbourne homes since 1987
