Tradesman Prices Across UK Cities (2026)

Key numbers at a glance

National benchmarks anchor every city page: the average plumber runs about £50 an hour and £400 a day (per Checkatrade's plumber cost guide), electricians cluster around £30–£50 hourly, and painters, plasterers and carpenters fill out the £20–£32 band. Each city page then scales those figures by local cost levels and explains the housing stock, competition and travel factors behind the difference. Start from the UK price guide for the national picture, or the by-city hub for your city.

UK tradesman prices: the national picture

These are mid-market, labour-only ranges. Established firms with certification and insurance sit at the top of each band; sole traders and newer businesses quote nearer the bottom. Job prices are the better comparison for anything bigger than a repair — and always check whether VAT is included before you compare, since a registered firm's identical labour price costs 20%% more.

Choose your city

Every page carries the same structure: at-a-glance numbers, full rate tables for the five trades, common job prices, local pricing factors, registration checks and a local FAQ.

How city pricing calibrates

The calibration is systematic, not cosmetic. London and the South East carry deep demand, congestion and cost bases; heritage cities add scarcity premiums for conservation-literate skills; Scotland, Wales and the North East run on lower regional cost bases with keener competition. The same rewire that quotes £6,500–£11,500 in London typically lands near £4,000–£7,500 in Glasgow or Swansea.

What moves prices anywhere

Three variables explain most of the gap between two quotes for identical work. Housing stock age: pre-1919 homes mean lath and lime, sash windows, cast-iron drainage and listed-fabric constraints — slower, more skilled work priced accordingly. Competition density: a city with a deep pool of trades quotes aggressively on standard jobs, while under-supplied markets book out and hold prices up. Travel and access: congestion charges, parking permits, park-and-ride-only town centres and ferry-dependent locations all add real hours that quotes must recover.

On top of those sit materials inflation, seasonality (exterior work concentrates into the dry season and prices up inside it), and the VAT question — registration is compulsory only above the £90,000 turnover threshold (per GOV.UK), so two identical quotes can differ by a fifth once tax appears.

Checking any trader, anywhere

Gas work is the hard rule: the engineer must be on the Gas Safe Register by law, and the register's site verifies licence numbers in seconds. Electrics should go to someone registered with a competent-person scheme such as NICEIC (in Scotland, SELECT or NICEIC), which lets them self-certify notifiable work. For every trade, ask for public liability insurance, an itemised written quote, and modest or staged deposits. These checks cost minutes and routinely save four-figure mistakes.

Trusted sources

• Checkatrade plumber cost guide — national hourly and day-rate benchmarks.
• Gas Safe Register — the official UK gas engineer register; verify every gas quote here.
• NICEIC — competent-person certification for electrical work.
• GOV.UK VAT registration — the £90,000 threshold that explains quote differences.
• Federation of Master Builders — vetted builder finding and standards.

Who builds this and how the ranges are assembled is on the about page.