TradesmenCosts.co.uk

UK Tradesmen Day Rates 2026: 25 Trades By Region

Bar chart style graphic comparing day rates for 25 UK trades

What does a plumber charge compared with a plasterer? Is a roofer more expensive than a bricklayer? How much more do you pay in London? This index pulls together published day and hourly rates for 25 common UK trades into one table, with the source and date for every figure, and a free CSV you can download and reuse.

It is written for two audiences. Homeowners can use it to sense check quotes. Tradespeople can use it to see where their own rate sits against the market.

Headline figures

  • Most common day rate band: most building trades sit between about £250 and £400 a day.
  • Builder: about £300 a day, or £38 an hour.
  • Electrician: £300 to £500 a day, or £40 to £70 an hour.
  • Plumber: £320 to £480 a day, or £40 to £60 an hour.
  • Plasterer: about £300 a day, or £37.50 an hour.
  • Labourer: £120 to £280 a day, with an average of about £200.
  • Highest top end in the table: carpenters (up to £450) and electricians (up to £500).
  • London premium: published figures for handymen and plasterers suggest London rates can be roughly 55% to 67% above the national figure.

Checked October 2026. Most figures come from Checkatrade's "How much do tradespeople cost" guide, updated October 2026. Other sources are listed in the table and CSV.

Day rates at a glance

Table

All figures are typical UK ranges. Where a source gives a single average rather than a range, low and high are the same.

Trade Day rate Hourly rate Notes
Bathroom fitter £320 to £480 Full bathroom labour £1,500 to £3,000
Bricklayer £250 to £350 £35 to £45
Builder £300 £38
Carpenter £240 to £450 £30 to £60
Carpet fitter £150 to £250 £20 to £35
Chimney sweep Average £90 per sweep
Electrician £300 to £500 £40 to £70 Emergency £80 to £100 an hour
Fence installer £200 to £240 £25 to £30 Source dated May 2024
Gardener £160 to £260 £20 to £35
Gas engineer £50 to £80 Average about £65 an hour
Gutter cleaner £150 to £250 £20 to £30
Handyman £30 London about £50 an hour, £350 a day
Kitchen fitter £280 to £360 £35 to £45
Labourer £120 to £280 £15 to £35 Average about £200 a day
Landscaper £180 to £330 £25 to £45
Locksmith £80 to £200 out of hours Call out £50 to £150
Painter and decorator £250 to £350 £35 to £45
Plasterer £300 £37.50
Plumber £320 to £480 £40 to £60
Roofer £280 to £360 £35 to £45
Scaffolder £250 to £350 £40
Tiler £250 to £350 £40
Tree surgeon £240 to £400 £30 to £50
Window cleaner £15 to £40
Window fitter £200 to £400 £25 to £50

Checked October 2026: Checkatrade cost guides. Individual source pages and their last updated dates are in the CSV.

Reading the table

Day vs hourly. Day rates are not always eight times the hourly rate. Many trades charge more per hour for short jobs to cover travel and setup, and give a better rate for full days.

Single figures. Where a source gives an average, such as £300 for a builder, real quotes will range above and below it.

Per job trades. Chimney sweeps, locksmiths and some others are usually priced per visit or call out, so a day rate is not meaningful.

What is included. These rates are for labour. Materials, waste removal, equipment hire and VAT are extra unless a quote says otherwise.

By region

Regional data is where published sources are thinnest. We have not found a consistent, reliable dataset of 2026 rates by region for all 25 trades, so rather than invent figures, we show what is published.

London vs the national figure

Trade National figure London figure Approximate premium
Handyman (hourly) £30 £50 about 67%
Plasterer (day, midpoint of ranges) £300 national average £465 midpoint of £380 to £550 about 55%

Checked October 2026: Checkatrade handyman cost guide (updated June 2026), Checkatrade tradespeople guide, Digital Tradies 2026 plasterer rates guide. Premiums are our calculation.

Plasterer rates by region

The most complete regional breakdown we found is for plasterers, from a third party trade site:

Region Plasterer day rate
London £380 to £550
South East £320 to £480
South West £260 to £380
East of England £260 to £360
Midlands £240 to £340
Yorkshire and North West £220 to £320
North East £180 to £280
Scotland £220 to £330
Wales £200 to £300
Northern Ireland £190 to £280

Checked October 2026: Digital Tradies 2026 plasterer rates guide.

Most trades follow a similar pattern: highest in London and the South East, lowest in the North East, Wales and Northern Ireland. Use the plasterer table as a guide to the shape of regional differences, not as exact figures for other trades.

Why rates vary by region

  • Cost of living. Higher rents and house prices push up what tradespeople need to earn.
  • Travel and parking. Congestion, parking charges and the London Congestion Charge and ULEZ add to costs.
  • Demand. Busy, affluent areas support higher rates.
  • Competition. More tradespeople competing for work tends to keep rates down.

Changes

This is the first edition of our index, published in October 2026. We do not yet have a previous edition of our own to compare with, and we have not found a consistent published series that tracks the same trades year on year. So we are not reporting year on year changes in this edition.

We plan to update the index regularly using the same sources and method. Future editions will show the change for each trade against this baseline. If you use these figures, note the edition date.

Methodology

Sources

  • Main source. Checkatrade's "How much do tradespeople cost" guide, updated October 2026, which gives day and hourly rates for 16 trades.
  • Trade specific guides. Checkatrade's individual cost guides for bathroom fitters, carpet fitters, chimney sweeps, gas engineers, gutter cleaning, handymen, locksmiths, tree surgeons and fencing.
  • Regional data. Digital Tradies' 2026 plasterer rates guide, used for regional plasterer ranges only.

Rules we followed

  1. We only included figures we could find on a published page and check in October 2026.
  2. We recorded the "last updated" date of each source where one was given. Most are from 2026. The fence installer rate is from a guide last updated in May 2024 and is flagged as older.
  3. Where a source gives a single average, we show it as a single figure.
  4. We did not adjust, inflate or average figures across sources.
  5. We did not estimate figures for trades or regions where we found no published data.

Limitations

  • Published guide prices are based on samples of quotes and may not match every area.
  • Rates change with demand, season and materials costs.
  • A single national figure hides big local differences.
  • Some figures are for different units (per day, per hour, per visit), so they are not all directly comparable.

Trades grouped by type

Looking at trades in groups shows clearer patterns than the full list.

Regulated trades

Electricians, plumbers and gas engineers sit at the top of the table. Gas work must be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and much electrical work must be certified under the Building Regulations. That means training, exams, scheme fees and paperwork, all of which feed into higher rates. They also tend to carry more risk and liability.

Structural and building trades

Builders, bricklayers, roofers and scaffolders cluster around £250 to £360 a day. These trades involve heavy physical work, often outdoors, and are affected by weather. Roofers and scaffolders also work at height, which brings extra insurance and safety costs.

Finishing trades

Plasterers, tilers, decorators, carpenters and kitchen fitters mostly sit between £240 and £360, with carpenters reaching higher for skilled joinery. Finishing work is where quality is most visible, and experienced finishers with good reputations often charge towards the top of the range.

Outdoor and garden trades

Gardeners, landscapers, tree surgeons and fencers vary widely. Gardening maintenance sits near the bottom of the table, while tree surgery, which involves chainsaws and climbing, sits much higher at £240 to £400.

Per visit trades

Window cleaners, chimney sweeps, gutter cleaners and locksmiths usually price per visit or job. Their effective hourly rate can look high, but each job is short and they spend unpaid time travelling between customers.

What a day rate pays for

A day rate is not the same as a salary. Out of it, a self employed tradesperson must pay for their van and fuel, tools, insurance, materials they cannot charge on, accountancy, advertising and phone. They also need to cover holidays, sick days and days lost to bad weather, plus income tax, National Insurance and their own pension.

That is why a tradesperson charging £300 a day is not taking home anything like £300 multiplied by every working day of the year. Our day rate calculator shows how the numbers work.

Seasonal patterns

Demand for most trades rises in spring and summer, when people start home and garden projects, and falls in winter. Outdoor trades such as roofers, landscapers and fencers are most affected. Some trades, such as gas engineers and chimney sweeps, get busier in autumn and winter as heating season starts. Booking out of season can make it easier to find someone and occasionally helps with price.

How to use these figures

For homeowners

Use the table to check whether a quote is roughly in line with the market. A quote well above the range is not necessarily a rip off. It may include materials, waste removal or a specialist skill. A quote well below the range is worth questioning. Ask what is included, and check insurance and references.

Our guide on how to choose a tradesman covers the checks to make before you hire anyone.

For tradespeople

Use the table to see where your rate sits. Then use our day rate calculator to work out the rate you actually need to cover tax, National Insurance, your van, tools, insurance and holidays. Market rates tell you what customers expect. Your costs tell you what you need.

Detailed guides

CSV

You are welcome to reuse this data, with a link back to this page. Download the CSV, or copy it from the box below. Columns: trade, day rate low and high, hourly rate low and high, other pricing, source, source last updated, and the month we checked it.

trade,day_rate_low_gbp,day_rate_high_gbp,hourly_low_gbp,hourly_high_gbp,other_pricing,source,source_updated,checked
Bathroom fitter,320,480,,,,Checkatrade bathroom fitter cost guide,2026-06,2026-10
Bricklayer,250,350,35,45,,Checkatrade tradespeople cost guide,2026-10,2026-10
Builder,300,300,38,38,,Checkatrade tradespeople cost guide,2026-10,2026-10
Carpenter,240,450,30,60,,Checkatrade tradespeople cost guide,2026-10,2026-10
Carpet fitter,150,250,20,35,,Checkatrade carpet fitter cost guide,2026,2026-10
Chimney sweep,,,,,Average £90 per sweep (range £75 to £250),Checkatrade chimney sweep cost guide,2026,2026-10
Electrician,300,500,40,70,Emergency £80 to £100 per hour,Checkatrade tradespeople cost guide,2026-10,2026-10
Fence installer,200,240,25,30,,Checkatrade chain link fencing cost guide,2024-05,2026-10
Gardener,160,260,20,35,,Checkatrade tradespeople cost guide,2026-10,2026-10
Gas engineer,,,50,80,Average about £65 per hour,Checkatrade gas engineer cost guide,2026,2026-10
Gutter cleaner,150,250,20,30,,Checkatrade gutter cleaning cost guide,2026,2026-10
Handyman,,,30,30,London about £50 per hour or £350 per day,Checkatrade handyman cost guide,2026-06,2026-10
Kitchen fitter,280,360,35,45,,Checkatrade tradespeople cost guide,2026-10,2026-10
Labourer,120,280,15,35,Average about £200 per day,Checkatrade tradespeople cost guide,2026-10,2026-10
Landscaper,180,330,25,45,,Checkatrade tradespeople cost guide,2026-10,2026-10
Locksmith,,,80,200,Out of hours rate; call out £50 to £150 (average £100),Checkatrade locksmith cost guide,2026,2026-10
Painter and decorator,250,350,35,45,,Checkatrade tradespeople cost guide,2026-10,2026-10
Plasterer,300,300,37.50,37.50,,Checkatrade tradespeople cost guide,2026-10,2026-10
Plumber,320,480,40,60,,Checkatrade tradespeople cost guide,2026-10,2026-10
Roofer,280,360,35,45,,Checkatrade tradespeople cost guide,2026-10,2026-10
Scaffolder,250,350,40,40,,Checkatrade tradespeople cost guide,2026-10,2026-10
Tiler,250,350,40,40,,Checkatrade tradespeople cost guide,2026-10,2026-10
Tree surgeon,240,400,30,50,,Checkatrade tree surgeon cost guide,2026,2026-10
Window cleaner,,,15,40,,Checkatrade tradespeople cost guide,2026-10,2026-10
Window fitter,200,400,25,50,,Checkatrade tradespeople cost guide,2026-10,2026-10

Embedding and citing

If you quote these figures in an article or report, please cite "tradesmencosts UK Tradesmen Day Rates Index, October 2026 edition" and link to this page.

FAQs

What is the average tradesman day rate in the UK?

Most building trades charge between about £250 and £400 a day. A builder averages about £300.

Which trade charges the most per day?

In this table, electricians have the highest top end at up to £500 a day, followed by plumbers and bathroom fitters at up to £480.

Which trade charges the least?

Labourers, at about £120 to £280 a day, and carpet fitters at about £150 to £250.

How much more do London tradespeople charge?

Published figures for handymen and plasterers suggest London rates can be roughly 55% to 67% higher than national figures.

Do these day rates include VAT?

Not necessarily. Tradespeople who are VAT registered add 20%. Registration is required above a taxable turnover of £90,000.

Why is my quote different from these figures?

Your quote reflects your job, your area and that tradesperson's costs and diary. It may include materials, waste removal, equipment hire or VAT. Use these figures as a starting point for a conversation, not as a fixed price.

Can I use this data on my own website?

Yes. Please credit the source and link back to this page.

How often is this index updated?

We plan to update it regularly. This is the October 2026 edition.