Drywall texturing costs $0.80 to $2.00 per square foot of wall or ceiling surface, or $450 to $1,000 for a bedroom's walls and ceiling, according to HomeGuide (updated August 2025)1. HomeAdvisor and Angi – corporate siblings publishing matching figures, which alone do not establish independent corroboration – put the average at $625 per room, with most projects between $575 and $675, also at $0.80 to $2.00 per square foot (updated June and July 2026)23. HomeGuide's matching per-square-foot range is a separately published figure, and the pages state no shared sourcing. Costs are based on wall and ceiling surface area, not floor space. Each figure is labeled with its publisher and date throughout this guide.
Cost by project type
HomeGuide's per-square-foot figures by project type (2025)1; most drywall contractors charge a $100 minimum:
| Project type | HomeGuide cost per sq ft of surface (2025) |
|---|---|
| Wall texture | $0.80 – $1.80 |
| Ceiling texture | $1.00 – $2.00 |
| Remove popcorn & retexture | $1.80 – $3.80 |
| Smooth textured walls | $1.00 – $3.00 |
HomeGuide's retexturing breakdown: removing the old texture at $1.00 to $2.00 per square foot and adding the new texture at $0.80 to $1.80 per square foot, for a total of $1.80 to $3.80 (2025)1. HomeAdvisor and Angi put converting a textured wall back to a smooth surface at $300 to $1,200, or $1 to $3 per square foot (2026, matching figures, corporate siblings)23.
Cost by room
HomeGuide's totals for walls and ceiling together (2025)1:
| Room | Dimensions | HomeGuide total cost, walls + ceiling (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Bedroom | 11′ x 12′ x 9′ | $450 – $1,000 |
| Living room | 12′ x 18′ x 9′ | $600 – $1,400 |
| Garage | 20′ x 20′ x 9′ | $950 – $2,100 |
| Basement | 30′ x 30′ x 9′ | $1,700 – $3,700 |
HomeGuide's ceiling-only totals (2025): a bedroom ceiling at $130 to $270, a living room ceiling at $220 to $440, a garage ceiling at $400 to $800, and a basement ceiling at $900 to $1,8001. Its wall-only figures run $70 to $160 for a 10-by-9-foot wall, up to $130 to $290 for an 18-by-9-foot wall, with one bedroom wall at $70 to $2001.
HomeAdvisor and Angi publish an identical room-size table by wall square footage (2026, matching figures, corporate siblings)23:
| Room | Wall size (sq ft) | HomeAdvisor/Angi average cost range (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Living room | 450 | $495 – $900 |
| Bedroom | 380 | $418 – $760 |
| Finished basement | 600 | $660 – $1,200 |
| Hallway | 135 | $150 – $270 |
| Ceiling | 200 | $650 – $850 |
| 10 ft x 9 ft wall | 90 | $100 – $180 |
| 18 ft x 10 ft wall | 180 | $200 – $360 |
Cost by texture type and application method
HomeAdvisor and Angi publish an identical texture-type table (2026, matching figures, corporate siblings)23:
| Texture type | HomeAdvisor/Angi cost per sq ft (2026) |
|---|---|
| Popcorn | $1.30 – $1.90 |
| Orange peel | $1.25 – $1.95 |
| Smooth | $1.00 – $1.80 |
| Spray sand | $1.05 – $1.20 |
| Venetian plaster | $3.00+ |
All three publishers state that sprayed textures (knockdown, orange peel, popcorn, splatter drag) cost $0.80 to $1.50 per square foot installed and hand-applied textures (skip trowel, Santa Fe, stomp or slap brush, swirl, comb, and others) cost $1.50 to $2.00 per square foot123. These are matching figures across corporate siblings HomeAdvisor and Angi, with HomeGuide's figures separately published; the pages state no shared sourcing. HomeGuide's per-type ceiling figures: spraying a popcorn ceiling at $1.00 to $1.60 per square foot and a knockdown texture ceiling at $1.00 to $2.50 per square foot, or $500 to $1,250 for 500 square feet (2025)1.
HomeGuide's texture paint materials-only figures per square foot (2025): popcorn at $0.10 to $0.30, orange peel at $0.13 to $0.30, knockdown at $0.20 to $0.26, and sand at $0.19 to $0.201.
Labor and related costs
- Labor. Professional drywall finishers charge $40 to $100 per hour (HomeAdvisor and Angi, 2026, matching figures, corporate siblings)23. Angi also reports an average of about $1.35 per square foot for a simple texture such as smooth (2026)3.
- Repairs before texturing. Drywall repair at $300 to $1,500 or more (HomeGuide, 2025)1 versus $300 to $950 for most homeowners, with crack, hole, dent, and tear repairs at $20 to $200 and larger cracks up to $400 (Angi, 2026)3 – separately published figures that diverge, with no conclusion about which applies. Ceiling repair at $200 to $500 for minor repairs or $400 to $1,200 for major repairs (HomeGuide, 2025)1.
- Painting afterward. Interior painting at $1 to $3 per square foot of surface area (HomeGuide, 2025)1; Angi puts it at $1 to $3 per square foot, with prices as high as $4.75 depending on the job, and a whole room at $300 to $2,800 (2026)3.
- Popcorn ceiling removal. $1 to $2 per square foot (HomeGuide, 2025)1.
- New drywall work. Drywall installation at $1.50 to $3.50 per square foot including hanging, taping, finishing, and texturing (HomeGuide, 2025)1; Angi puts average drywall installation at $1.50 to $3.00 per square foot (2026)3 – separately published figures that diverge on the high end. Taping and mudding alone at $0.35 to $1.10 per square foot, not including sanding or finishing (HomeGuide, 2025)1. Drywall materials at $0.50 to $0.80 per square foot (HomeGuide, 2025)1.
- Asbestos testing. $250 to $750 (HomeGuide, 2025)1.
Hiring a drywall texture contractor
HomeGuide recommends getting at least three in-person estimates, choosing a licensed, bonded, and insured company with five or more years in business, getting a detailed estimate, contract, and warranty in writing, and following a payment plan rather than paying in full before the project starts (2025)1. HomeAdvisor reports that prices for the same job can vary by 20% or more between contractors (2026)2.
Related guides
See our guides to drywall installation cost, drywall repair cost, popcorn ceiling removal cost, and interior painting cost.