Cost by job
| Job | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| National average | $611 |
| Typical range | $295–$925 |
| Full span, small to large | $150–$2,000 |
| Small hole patch Doorknob, picture hanger, furniture | $300–$500 |
| Ceiling repair | $220–$1,300 |
| Per square foot, small patches | $50–$75 / sq ft |
| Textured drywall, per square foot | $70–$95 / sq ft |
Texture is the hidden variable
Matching the surrounding finish is most of the skill in drywall repair and most of the cost variation:
| Job | Added cost |
|---|---|
| Smooth / flat finish Easiest to match | Baseline |
| Orange peel or knockdown | $150–$450 per patch |
| Popcorn ceiling May involve asbestos testing in older homes | $250–$600 |
Why the three-visit process matters
Joint compound shrinks as it dries. A patch finished in one visit will sink slightly below the wall plane within weeks and catch the light forever after. Done properly, each coat dries before the next goes on, the final coat is feathered well past the repair, and the wall reads flat from every angle.
This is why drywall repair is poorly suited to hourly billing — you are paying for calendar time, not just hands-on time. More on hourly versus fixed pricing.
How we price it
Photograph the damage with something for scale and take a second shot along the wall at a shallow angle so we can read the texture. Our single-room drywall-and-repaint packages run $900–$1,400 fixed, including paint corner to corner.
Common questions
Why does a small hole cost more than I expected?
Because the hole is the quick part. A proper repair is cut back to sound board, backing installed, patch fitted, then three coats of compound with drying time between each, sanded, primed, textured to match and painted. That is two or three visits for something that takes ten minutes of actual patching.
A one-visit patch is a visible bump on your wall in six months. The price difference is drying time, not greed.
Can you match my wall texture?
Smooth and light orange peel, almost always. Heavy knockdown and hand-textured walls are genuinely difficult, and an honest contractor will tell you a small patch may be slightly visible in raking light. For those, feathering the texture wider or repainting corner to corner is often the better answer — and we will price both.
Should the whole wall be repainted?
Usually yes, corner to corner. Paint fades, and a fresh patch of the same color rarely matches a wall that has been on the house for five years. Repainting the full wall costs a little more and is the difference between a repair you cannot find and one you always notice.
What about water-damaged drywall?
Fix the leak first, then let it dry fully, then repair. Patching over damp board traps moisture and you will be doing it again with mold in the middle. If the damage is larger than about a square foot or there is any staining spreading, the board should be cut out rather than patched.
Compiled from published 2026 cost data (Angi, HomeGuide, Homewyse) and cross-checked against Kentucky quotes. Updated from our completed jobs quarterly.