How often
How often should you get a cleaner? Weekly, fortnightly or once a month
Quick answer: Fortnightly suits most homes: often enough that bathrooms and floors don't build up, without the cost of weekly. Choose weekly for busy family homes, several pets or a shared house; about once a month for a small or tidy home you maintain yourself; a one-off or deep clean for a reset.
How to choose, what each option costs per visit, and what our own customers pick.
- Standard clean
- From $221, live from our booking calculator, checked 6 October 2026
- Our record
- 56,545 completed home cleans
The options at a glance
More frequent visits cost less each, because there is less build-up to clear and they are booked a little shorter.
What each costs for a standard clean of a two-bedroom, one-bathroom home, live from our booking calculator:
- Weekly: $204 a visit
- Fortnightly: $216 a visit
- About once a month (booking calls it "Every 4 Weeks"): $228 a visit
- One-off: $253
Over a year that's 52 visits weekly, 26 fortnightly and about 12 on the monthly plan. A lower price per visit doesn't mean a lower yearly spend: at today's prices, weekly costs nearly four times as much over a year as once a month, and fortnightly about twice as much. These assume every visit goes ahead with no extras. Every home size and frequency is on our pricing page.
| How often | Best for | Between visits |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | Family homes, several pets, shared houses, allergies | Little build-up; the home stays ready |
| Fortnightly | Most homes: couples, small families, one pet | A quick daily tidy keeps it on track |
| About once a month | Small or tidy homes kept up in between | You keep up bathrooms and floors yourself |
| One-off | A reset, guests, or before a regular plan | Book again when you need it |
A deep clean is offered one-off or on the monthly plan. Sources are listed at the end of this guide. Checked 5 October 2026.
Weekly
Weekly keeps a busy home consistently clean: kitchens and bathrooms never get far, and floors stay on top of pets, kids and traffic.
It suits households with young children, two or more pets, several adults sharing, or anyone who wants the home ready every weekend. It costs the least per visit and the most per year. In our bookings, 15% of standard-clean customers on the current platform were weekly.
Fortnightly
Fortnightly is the most popular choice: often enough to stop build-up, with a quick tidy in between keeping things on track.
It suits couples, small families and homes with a pet. Of the 143 standard-clean plans set up on our current platform, 62% were fortnightly. Between visits, a few minutes a day on the kitchen bench and the bathroom basin keeps things on track: a simple daily routine.
About once a month
A monthly standard clean works for a small or tidy home where you keep up the basics between visits. Booking calls this plan "Every 4 Weeks"; visits are scheduled on the same date each month, so expect about 12 a year.
Expect more build-up in bathrooms and on floors between visits than with fortnightly, so it suits a home with no pets and fewer people. A monthly standard clean isn't the same as an occasional deep clean: a deep clean adds inside the oven, grout, skirting and tracks, and costs more. Deep cleans can also be booked on the monthly plan, for homes that want that detail kept up.
One-off and deep cleans
A one-off clean suits a reset, guests or an occasion. A deep clean adds the detail regular cleans skip, and is a good start before a regular plan.
Many customers start with a one-off or deep clean, then move to a plan once the home is at a standard that a regular visit can maintain. Standard, deep or end-of-lease? explains the difference.
What decides the right frequency
Mostly how many people and pets live there, how much time you have between visits, and how much build-up you're comfortable with.
- People and traffic: more people means more kitchen and bathroom use, and more floor traffic.
- Pets: shedding and tracked-in dirt build up fastest on floors. Two or more pets usually point to weekly or fortnightly.
- Allergies or asthma at home: follow your doctor's advice and ASCIA's allergen guidance, which suggests damp dusting and weekly vacuuming, and notes that vacuuming stirs allergen into the air for a while. A cleaner can do that dusting and vacuuming, but no cleaning schedule can promise to control symptoms, and laundering bedding isn't part of a standard clean.
- Your own routine: if you keep up daily tidying, you can go longer between visits.
- Budget: weekly costs least per visit but most per month; fortnightly is the usual balance.
Signs it's time to change frequency
If the home feels grimy well before the next visit, go more often. If the cleaner is finding little to do, go less often or switch to once a month.
- Bathrooms and the kitchen need attention halfway between visits.
- Floors show pet hair or grit within a few days.
- You're tidying before the cleaner comes so they can get to the cleaning.
- Your household has changed: a baby, a new pet, someone working from home.
On a Simply Maid plan you can change the frequency, pause or skip a visit from your account (pausing or skipping).
Still deciding whether a cleaner is worth it at all? Is hiring a cleaner worth it? works through the cost per hour freed. Ready to choose who to hire? Use the hiring checklist.
What our customers choose
Fortnightly is the most common plan, but four in ten standard-clean customers book one-off cleans.
Simply Maid booking history · not today’s price
- 62%
- of standard-clean plans set up were fortnightly (143 plans)
- 40%
- of standard-clean customers booked one-off cleans (82 customers)
- 27%
- of standard-clean customers were fortnightly (82 customers)
- 15%
- of standard-clean customers were weekly (82 customers)
Simply Maid's current booking platform, 27 March to 3 October 2026 (it opened in March 2026): completed visits, excluding staff tests and $0 bookings. Plans, visits and customers are counted separately, as labelled. Customers are counted once, by the frequency of their most recent standard clean; 18% were on the monthly ("Every 4 Weeks") plan. Computed 5 October 2026.
Questions people ask
Is fortnightly cleaning enough?
For most homes, yes. A few minutes a day on benches and the bathroom basin keeps things on track between visits. Busy family homes and multi-pet homes often prefer weekly.
Is a regular plan cheaper than one-off cleans?
Per visit, yes. A fortnightly standard clean of a two-bedroom, one-bathroom home is $216, against $253 as a one-off.
How often should a small apartment be cleaned?
Fortnightly or about once a month usually suits a one- or two-bedroom apartment, depending on how many people live there and whether you keep up the basics.
Do pets change how often I need a cleaner?
Often. Pet hair and tracked-in dirt build up fastest on floors, so many homes with pets choose weekly or fortnightly. Start there and adjust after a few visits.
Can I change my frequency later?
Yes. On a Simply Maid plan you can change it, pause or skip a visit from your account.
When you're ready
See your price for each frequency
Get a fixed price for your home, then choose weekly, fortnightly, about once a month or one-off. Nothing is booked or paid at this step.
Booking for the first time? Your first clean
Sources
The guidance and policies this guide relies on, with the date we read each one.
- How much does house cleaning cost in Australia?, Simply Maid. Read 5 October 2026. Live prices by home size and frequency, from the booking calculator.
- How do recurring cleans work?, Simply Maid help centre. Read 5 October 2026.
- Can I pause my plan or skip a visit?, Simply Maid help centre. Read 5 October 2026.
- Allergen minimisation, Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA). Read 5 October 2026. Damp dusting and weekly vacuuming reduce dust mite allergen; vacuuming also raises airborne allergen for a while, and no cleaning method removes dust mites completely.
Policies quoted from Simply Maid's published terms and help centre on the date shown.