How Much to Charge as a Tradesperson in 2026

Knowing how much to charge is one of the hardest parts of running a trade business. Charge too little and you work long hours for barely enough to cover your costs. Charge too much and you lose jobs to competitors. Finding the right rate requires understanding your costs, knowing your market, and having the confidence to charge what your skills are worth.

This guide covers typical tradesperson rates across the UK in 2026, the factors that affect pricing, and a step-by-step method for calculating what you should be charging. Whether you are just starting out or reviewing your rates after a few years in business, this will give you the framework to price with confidence.

Typical Day Rates by Trade (2026)

These are the typical self-employed day rates for tradespeople across the UK in 2026. Rates in London and the South East tend to be twenty to forty per cent higher than the national average. Rural areas may be slightly lower, though reduced competition can offset this.

Builders and General Construction

General builders typically charge between two hundred and three hundred pounds per day outside London. In London and the South East, rates of three hundred to four hundred pounds per day are common. Specialist builders — those working on heritage properties, structural alterations, or high-specification new builds — can charge significantly more. For a detailed breakdown, see our builders' day rate guide.

Plumbers

Self-employed plumbers typically charge between two hundred and fifty and three hundred and fifty pounds per day, or forty to sixty pounds per hour for smaller jobs. Emergency and out-of-hours work commands a premium — call-out fees of one hundred to two hundred pounds are standard, plus the hourly rate on top. Plumbers who specialise in underfloor heating, commercial systems, or bathroom installations often sit at the higher end of the range.

Electricians

Qualified electricians typically charge between two hundred and fifty and three hundred and fifty pounds per day, or forty to seventy pounds per hour. NICEIC or NAPIT-registered electricians who can self-certify work tend to charge at the higher end. Emergency electricians command premium rates, particularly for out-of-hours callouts.

Roofers

Roofers typically charge between two hundred and fifty and three hundred and fifty pounds per day. The nature of the work — heights, weather dependency, physical demands — justifies the higher rates. Specialist roofers working with slate, lead, or flat roofing systems can charge up to four hundred pounds per day or more. For help pricing roofing work, see our guide on how to estimate a roofing job.

Carpenters and Joiners

Carpenters typically charge between two hundred and three hundred pounds per day. First and second fix carpenters who work on new builds and extensions tend to charge day rates, while bespoke joiners and furniture makers often charge per project and command higher margins due to the specialist nature of their work.

Painters and Decorators

Painters and decorators typically charge between one hundred and fifty and two hundred and fifty pounds per day. Specialist decorators — those doing period restoration, wallpaper hanging, or commercial spraying — charge at the higher end. For guidance on pricing painting work specifically, read our guide on how to price a painting and decorating job.

Kitchen Fitters

Kitchen fitters typically charge between two hundred and fifty and three hundred and fifty pounds per day, reflecting the multi-skill nature of the work (carpentry, plumbing connections, sometimes electrics). Many kitchen fitters prefer to quote per kitchen rather than per day, with typical fitting-only charges of one thousand five hundred to four thousand pounds depending on the size and complexity of the kitchen.

Landscapers

Landscapers typically charge between one hundred and fifty and three hundred pounds per day, depending on the type of work. Basic garden maintenance sits at the lower end, while hard landscaping (patios, driveways, retaining walls) commands higher rates. Labourers working alongside a landscaper typically cost one hundred to one hundred and fifty pounds per day.

Factors That Affect Your Rate

Your day rate is not just a number you pick. It is influenced by several factors, and understanding these helps you price appropriately for your specific circumstances.

Location

Geography has the biggest impact on what you can charge. London rates are typically twenty to forty per cent higher than the rest of the UK, reflecting higher living costs and greater demand. Other cities like Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Bristol also command above-average rates. Rural areas tend to have lower rates but also less competition, which can work in your favour.

Experience and Reputation

A tradesperson with twenty years of experience, a portfolio of completed projects, and dozens of five-star reviews can charge significantly more than someone just starting out. Your reputation is a pricing asset — invest in building it through excellent work, professional communication, and consistent review collection. Our guide on getting more Google reviews covers how to build this asset quickly.

Qualifications and Accreditations

Relevant qualifications and trade body memberships justify higher rates. Customers are willing to pay more for a Gas Safe registered engineer, an NICEIC-approved electrician, or a Federation of Master Builders member because these accreditations provide assurance of competence and accountability.

Specialisation

Specialists charge more than generalists. A plumber who specialises in underfloor heating installations can charge more than one who does general plumbing. A builder who focuses exclusively on loft conversions can charge more than a general builder. Specialisation signals expertise, and expertise commands a premium.

Complexity and Risk

Jobs that involve greater complexity, risk, or physical difficulty justify higher rates. Working at height, in confined spaces, with hazardous materials, or on structurally sensitive projects all warrant a premium. Factor this into your pricing — do not charge the same day rate for a straightforward kitchen fit as you do for a structural underpinning job.

How to Calculate Your Rate

Rather than guessing or copying what other tradespeople charge, calculate your rate based on your actual costs and desired income. Here is the step-by-step method.

Step 1: Work out your annual personal costs

Add up everything you need to live on for a year. Mortgage or rent, utility bills, food, transport, insurance, phone, clothing, holidays, savings, pension contributions, and anything else. Be honest — this is the amount you need to take home after tax and business costs. For most tradespeople, this figure is between thirty thousand and fifty thousand pounds.

Step 2: Add your annual business overheads

List every cost of running your business. Van costs (finance, fuel, insurance, maintenance, MOT), tool purchases and replacements, public liability and other insurance premiums, accountancy fees, phone and internet, workwear and PPE, marketing costs, software subscriptions, training, and trade body memberships. For most sole traders, business overheads total between ten thousand and twenty thousand pounds per year.

Step 3: Add tax and National Insurance

You need to earn enough to cover your tax bill too. As a sole trader, you pay income tax and Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance on your profits. The exact amount depends on your income level, but as a rough guide, budget around twenty-five to thirty per cent of your gross profit for tax and NI. Our self-assessment tax guide explains the detail.

Step 4: Add your profit margin

Your rate should include genuine profit above and beyond your personal income. This is the money that lets you grow the business, build reserves, invest in better equipment, and survive quiet periods. A healthy profit margin for a trade business is ten to twenty per cent on top of your costs.

Step 5: Divide by your billable days

You cannot bill for every working day. Once you subtract weekends, holidays (allow twenty-five to thirty days), bank holidays (eight days), sick days, admin days, quiet periods, and time spent quoting, a realistic number of billable days is between two hundred and two hundred and twenty per year.

Divide your total annual figure (personal costs plus overheads plus tax plus profit) by your billable days. The result is your minimum day rate. If the number feels high, do not panic — most tradespeople who run this calculation for the first time realise they have been undercharging.

Use our free day rate calculator to run through this calculation with your own numbers. Our hourly rate calculator can convert this into an hourly rate if you prefer to charge by the hour for smaller jobs.

Day Rate vs Fixed Price vs Hourly

There are three main ways to charge for your work, and each has its place.

Day rate

Best for work where the scope is difficult to predict — maintenance contracts, time and materials agreements, or when you are working under the direction of a main contractor. The customer pays for your time regardless of how much you get done. The downside is that it penalises efficiency — the faster you work, the less you earn.

Fixed price (per job)

Best for defined projects where you can accurately estimate the time and materials involved. The customer gets certainty on cost, and you benefit from efficiency — if you complete the job faster than expected, your effective day rate goes up. Most residential customers prefer fixed-price quotes. For help structuring your fixed-price quotes, see our guide on how to price a job.

Hourly rate

Best for small repairs, callouts, and diagnostic work where the job might take anything from one to four hours. Customers are comfortable with hourly rates for small jobs but generally prefer fixed prices for anything substantial.

Common Pricing Mistakes

These are the errors we see most often from tradespeople who struggle with pricing.

Forgetting overheads. If your day rate only covers your desired take-home pay, you are working for free once you factor in van costs, insurance, tools, and tax. Every pound of overhead you forget to include comes directly out of your pocket.

Undercharging to win work. Cutting your price to beat competitors is a race to the bottom. The customers who choose purely on price are the hardest to deal with. Focus on winning work through quality, professionalism, and trust — not by being the cheapest.

Not reviewing rates annually. Your costs increase every year — fuel, insurance, materials, living expenses. If you charge the same rate you charged three years ago, you are effectively taking a pay cut. Review and adjust your rates at least once a year.

Quoting too low for complex jobs. If a job is going to be difficult, time-consuming, or high-risk, price accordingly. Many tradespeople quote complex jobs as if they were straightforward, then lose money when the inevitable complications arise.

Not factoring in quoting time. The time you spend visiting sites, measuring up, and writing quotes is unpaid time. If you quote for ten jobs and win three, the quoting time for all ten jobs needs to be recovered from those three jobs. This is one reason QuoteSmith saves tradespeople money — cutting your quoting time from an hour to five minutes means more of your week is spent on billable work.

How to Present Your Pricing

How you present your price matters as much as the price itself. A clearly structured quote with itemised costs, a professional scope of work, and well-written terms and conditions justifies a higher price than a vague figure sent by text. Customers who understand what they are paying for are more likely to accept the price without negotiation.

QuoteSmith helps you present your pricing professionally every time. Enter your line items and costs, and the AI generates the supporting content — scope of work, timeline, and terms — that turns a price list into a compelling proposal. You can see examples of QuoteSmith proposals to see how effective this presentation is in practice.