How to Start an Air Duct Cleaning Business (2026 Guide)
A single air duct cleaning job runs $300 to $700, your material cost on it is close to zero, and one person with a portable vacuum can complete two a day. Here is the real 2026 startup cost, the equipment decision that makes or breaks your margin, NADCA certification, how to price per system and per vent, the upsells, and how to run the whole thing from your phone at $12 a seat per month.
Somebody in your town got a mailer this week for whole house air duct cleaning at $69. They will call, a two person crew will show up with a shop vac, spend forty minutes, and then explain that the real job, the one with the mold and the buildup and the sanitizer, is actually $700. That is the bait and switch, and it has poisoned the well for the entire trade.
Here is the number that matters more. A real air duct cleaning job, done properly with a HEPA vacuum and actual agitation, prices at $300 to $700, most of them near $450 to $550 for an average single system home. Your material cost on that job is a few dollars. One person with a portable rig can complete two of them in a day..