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Cleaning jobs: fair rates and first clients.

A fair direct rate is CHF 29–35 an hour, the legal minimum for household staff CHF 20.35, and platforms keep about a third. How a regular slot works, the three ways to be paid, who insures you — and a calculator for your weekly slot.

Published Last updated 6 min read
Painting of a young man in a dark t-shirt cleaning a floor-to-ceiling window with a squeegee in a bright modern living room with a lake view, a bucket and cloths on the parquet
Tuesday, three hours, the same window every week — the kind of job that pays all year.
Before we start · In plain words

A regular cleaning slot is the most reliable side income in Switzerland. A fair rate is CHF 29–35; the law’s floor is CHF 20.35.

Households do not want a different cleaner every week — they want you, Tuesdays, three hours. That is why cleaning pays all year. The money and the paperwork depend on one choice: employed by the family, through a platform, or on your own account.

  1. Decide the model.Employed by the family is simplest; a platform brings clients but keeps a third; self-employed pays most and asks most.
  2. Set the rate.CHF 25–28 to start, CHF 29–35 once trusted. Never under CHF 20.35 when employed by a household from 5 hours a week.
  3. Agree the list and the key.A written checklist on day one; a key on its own ring; a text when you arrive and leave.
  4. Let the family do the paperwork.Simplified AHV procedure, accident insurance, holiday pay — three things the household handles for its employee.
01 · Three numbers

Fair, minimum, platform.

CHF 29–35
an hour gross is a fair direct rate for a regular cleaner in a Swiss city — CHF 32.90 on average in 2026
myky [2]
CHF 20.35
the legal minimum per hour for an untrained cleaner employed by a household from 5 hours a week. CHF 22.30 after four years
SECO · NAV 2026 [1]
CHF 21–28
is what a cleaner receives when the client pays a platform CHF 38–43. Direct clients pay you the whole rate
Clino [3]

What households pay for help, by city

Average hourly rate for household help, all tasks. [4]

Zug
CHF 28.70
Zürich
CHF 27.30
Basel
CHF 25.20
Switzerland
CHF 25.80
Geneva
CHF 23.10
02 · What the job looks like

Four habits of a cleaner people keep for years.

  1. A fixed slot, 2–4 hours a week.Same flat, same weekday, same person. That is what households want and what pays all year.
  2. A checklist agreed once.Floors, bathroom, kitchen, dust, bed linen; windows and oven when asked. Write it down together on the first day.
  3. Their products, your care.The household supplies cleaning products and machines — the cost may not be taken off your wage. You bring cloths and gloves if you prefer your own.
  4. A key and a word.Most regular cleaners get a key. Keep it on its own ring, never with an address. Text when you arrive and when you leave.
03 · Three ways to be paid

Household, platform, or your own invoices.

A
Employed by the householdThe family is your employer, registers you with the Ausgleichskasse (simplified procedure), deducts 6.4 % AHV and 5 % tax, insures you against accidents for about CHF 100 a year. The NAV minimum wage applies from 5 h a week. Simplest for both sides.
B
Through a platform or agencyThe platform is the employer or the broker. The client pays CHF 38–43, you receive CHF 21–28. Clients and paperwork come to you; a third of the money does not.
C
Self-employed, several clientsYou invoice each household, register with the Ausgleichskasse above CHF 2 500 a year, pay AHV yourself and need business liability insurance. Most money per hour, most responsibility.
04 · Your weekly slot in francs

Rate, hours, model.

05 · The rules in detail

Six things worth knowing before the first Tuesday.

  • AHV from the first francIn a private household there is no CHF 2 500 exception: the family deducts 6.4 % from your wage and pays the same again, usually through the simplified procedure that also settles 5 % tax. Your year counts for your pension. [5] [6]
  • Accidents: the family insures youA household must insure its cleaner against accidents at work — about CHF 100 a year with any licensed insurer. From 8 hours a week with one family, free-time accidents are covered too; below that, keep accident cover in your health insurance. [7] [8]
  • The minimum wage is the floor, not the priceCHF 20.35 an hour is what the law demands; CHF 29–35 is what a trusted regular cleaner earns directly. Start around CHF 25–28 and raise it after the first months. [1] [2]
  • Holidays and sick days existEmployed by a household you have four weeks of paid holiday (the NAV adds about 8.7 % to the hourly wage for it) and, after three months, continued wages when ill. Agree how holidays are paid on the first day. [1] [9]
  • A broken vaseAs an employee, ordinary accidents are the household’s risk — their contents insurance. Gross negligence is yours. Self-employed cleaners need business liability insurance.
  • First clients: three waysYour own building and street; parents at the school gate; a platform for the first reviews, then the best clients directly. A written recommendation after four weeks is worth more than any advert.

All ten household tasks and their rates: Weekend side jobs: 10 tasks you can offer now. Insurance in full: Insurance for side work. Becoming self-employed: Becoming self-employed in 7 steps.

06 · Questions people ask

Short answers.

What is a fair hourly rate for cleaning in Switzerland?

CHF 29–35 gross for a regular cleaner working directly for a household (average CHF 32.90 in 2026). The legal minimum for household staff from 5 hours a week is CHF 20.35 an hour, CHF 22.30 after four years’ experience. Platforms pay CHF 21–28 of the CHF 38–43 the client pays.

Who registers me for AHV when I clean for a family?

The family — it is your employer. It uses the simplified procedure with the cantonal Ausgleichskasse, deducts 6.4 % AHV and 5 % tax from your wage and pays the employer share on top. In private households AHV is due from the first franc.

Who pays for cleaning products?

The household. Products and machines are provided by the family and may not be deducted from your wage.

Do I need insurance to clean?

If a family employs you, it must insure you against accidents at work (about CHF 100 a year). If you work self-employed for several households, take business liability insurance and keep accident cover in your health insurance.

How do I find the first clients?

Start in your own building and neighbourhood, ask parents at school, or take a platform for the first reviews and move your best clients to direct work later. Offer a trial clean and ask for a written recommendation after a month.

Painting of a cleaner washing a tall window in a sunlit flat

Every task. One app.

Werkara connects people who need help around the house with verified taskers nearby. Register in a few minutes and get your first task this week.

Become a tasker
References

Where the rules come from.

  1. [1]
    SECO — State Secretariat for Economic Affairs — NAV Hauswirtschaft 2026 — minimum wages: unskilled CHF 20.35, with 4+ years CHF 22.30, EBA CHF 22.30, EFZ CHF 24.55 an hour; applies from 5 hours a week in a private household. www.seco.admin.ch
  2. [2]
    myky — Stundenlohn Reinigungskräfte (March 2026) — fair gross rate CHF 29–35, average CHF 32.90; the household supplies the products. www.myky.ch
  3. [3]
    Clino — Cleaner platform comparison — client price vs cleaner pay: Batmaid CHF 37.90–39.90 vs 20.72–28.01, Helpling from 42.90 vs 24.75. clino.ch
  4. [4]
    Blick — Haushalts-Report — household help averages CHF 25.80 an hour; Zürich 27.30, Zug 28.70, Basel 25.20, Geneva 23.10. www.blick.ch
  5. [5]
    AHV/IV information centre — Merkblatt 2.06 — household employees: simplified procedure, 6.4 % employee share, accident insurance by the household (2026). www.ahv-iv.ch
  6. [6]
    SECO — State Secretariat for Economic Affairs — Vereinfachtes Abrechnungsverfahren — AHV and 5 % tax settled by the household in one go. www.seco.admin.ch
  7. [7]
    Die Mobiliar — Unfallversicherung für Hausangestellte — from about CHF 100 a year. www.mobiliar.ch
  8. [8]
    Suva — BU/NBU — the 8-hour rule for free-time accident cover. www.suva.ch
  9. [9]
    Swiss Confederation — Code of Obligations (OR), Art. 324a — continued wages when ill, after three months of service. www.fedlex.admin.ch

Checked against the sources above on 5 October 2026; figures are for 2026 and change each January. The “last updated” date at the top changes whenever a figure is refreshed. Rates are market observations; minimum wages are the 2026 NAV figures. This page is general information, not legal advice.