Commercial cleaning is the contracted cleaning of business premises to a documented specification; domestic cleaning is the cleaning of private homes. They differ on scope, standards, compliance, vetting and insurance — a business needs a commercial contractor, not a domestic cleaner scaled up. Bottom line: if it is a workplace, you need commercial cleaning.
What commercial cleaning is
Commercial cleaning covers offices, warehouses, retail, healthcare, hospitality and public buildings, delivered to a written specification with agreed frequencies, method statements, COSHH assessments and reporting. It is built around compliance and consistency — the buyer is accountable to auditors, insurers and sometimes regulators, so the cleaning has to be documented and evidenced, not just done.
What domestic cleaning is
Domestic cleaning is the regular or one-off cleaning of private homes — general tidying, kitchens, bathrooms, floors and surfaces. It is lighter on documentation, usually priced by the hour or by the job, and rarely carries the compliance, vetting and insurance demands of a business site. It is a different service for a different setting, not simply a smaller version of commercial work.
The compliance and vetting gap
The biggest practical difference is compliance. Commercial contracts require COSHH assessments, risk assessments, method statements, and often DBS/PVG/AccessNI vetting, plus accreditations like SafeContractor or CHAS for tenders. Public Liability of £5m–£10m is commonly demanded, and Employers' Liability is legally compulsory. Domestic work rarely needs any of that, which is why a domestic cleaner is not equipped to take on a business site.
Standards, and where they get strict
Commercial cleaning is often held to a named standard — the NHS National Standards of Healthcare Cleanliness in healthcare settings, food-safe standards in kitchens, TR19 for kitchen extract. Domestic cleaning has no equivalent regime. If your premises fall under any regulator, you need a commercial contractor who can evidence the standard, not a home-cleaning service.
Pricing differences
Domestic cleaning is usually charged hourly (roughly £15–£25/hr) or as a flat job rate. Commercial cleaning is priced as a fixed monthly fee against the scope, with charge-out rates of about £16–£30/hr per cleaner reflecting the on-costs, cover, compliance and equipment involved — and 20% VAT applies. The commercial price buys documentation and reliability a domestic rate does not include.
Commercial vs domestic cleaning, compared
| Factor | Commercial cleaning | Domestic cleaning |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Fixed monthly fee; ~£16–£30/hr charge-out; 20% VAT | Hourly (~£15–£25/hr) or flat job rate |
| Control | Documented specification, frequencies and reporting | Informal, task-led, agreed with the householder |
| Reliability / cover | Contractual cover with named relief | Depends on the individual cleaner |
| Compliance | COSHH, method statements, vetting, accreditations, insurance | Minimal; no regulatory or tender requirements |
| Best for | Offices, retail, healthcare, industrial and public sites | Private homes |