How Much Does a Painter & Decorator Cost in the UK? (2026 City-by-City Guide)

The cost of hiring a painter & decorator in the UK varies considerably depending on your location. Painter & Decorators in the UK should hold None required; Painting and Decorating Association (PDA) membership recommended certification (verified at Painting and Decorating Association). This guide lists 2026 painter & decorator prices for all 200 UK cities in our database — click any city for a full local pricing guide.

Regional price tip: London painter & decorator costs typically run 40–50% above the national average. Cities in the North East and Northern Ireland are often 15–25% below average. Use the region jump-links below to find your area quickly.

📄 Painter & Decorator — National Price Overview (2026)

UK Range (typical jobs): £100 – £3,500
Typical Duration: 1 day–2 weeks
Certification Required: None required; Painting and Decorating Association (PDA) membership recommended
Cities Covered: 200 UK cities

The UK national average is used as the baseline. London typically costs 40–50% above the national average; Northern Ireland and parts of the North East are 15–25% below. Prices within each region can also vary by suburb and whether your job requires emergency call-out rates.

What a Painter & Decorator Job Typically Involves

A standard painter & decorator quote usually covers:

Labour for all agreed painting and decorating work within the quoted scope
Preparation work including filling holes, sanding, and light surface preparation
Standard trade emulsion and/or gloss paint in the agreed colour and finish
Masking, dust sheeting, and site protection during the work
Basic clean-up and removal of masking tape and dust sheets on completion

Interior painting is fully DIY-safe and one of the most popular home improvement tasks — standard emulsion walls and ceilings require only basic preparation and care. External painting above ground-floor height requires working at height and proper scaffold or access tower equipment, which increases risk significantly. Listed buildings require approval from the Local Authority Conservation Officer before changing external paint colours, as even paint colour is a material alteration in listed building terms.

Greater London

City / Town	Typical Hourly Rate (2026)
London	£35 – £70 per hour	Full guide →

South East England

City / Town	Typical Hourly Rate (2026)
Aldershot	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Aylesbury	£30 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Basingstoke	£30 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Bognor Regis	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Brighton	£30 – £60 per hour	Full guide →
Canterbury	£25 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Chichester	£25 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Crawley	£30 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Dover	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Eastbourne	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Epsom	£30 – £60 per hour	Full guide →
Farnham	£30 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Folkestone	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Guildford	£30 – £60 per hour	Full guide →
Hastings	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
High Wycombe	£30 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Horsham	£30 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Lewes	£25 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Maidstone	£30 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Margate	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Medway	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Milton Keynes	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Oxford	£30 – £60 per hour	Full guide →
Portsmouth	£25 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Ramsgate	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Reading	£30 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Redhill	£30 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Reigate	£30 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Royal Tunbridge Wells	£30 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Slough	£30 – £60 per hour	Full guide →
Southampton	£25 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Tonbridge	£25 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Winchester	£30 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Windsor	£30 – £60 per hour	Full guide →
Woking	£30 – £60 per hour	Full guide →
Worthing	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →

South West England

City / Town	Typical Hourly Rate (2026)
Bath	£30 – £60 per hour	Full guide →
Bournemouth	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Bristol	£30 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Cheltenham	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Cirencester	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Dorchester	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Exeter	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Gloucester	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Paignton	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Plymouth	£25 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Poole	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Salisbury	£25 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Stroud	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Swindon	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Taunton	£25 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Torquay	£25 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Truro	£25 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Weston-super-Mare	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Weymouth	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Yeovil	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →

East of England

City / Town	Typical Hourly Rate (2026)
Basildon	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Bedford	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Bury St Edmunds	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Cambridge	£30 – £60 per hour	Full guide →
Chelmsford	£30 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Colchester	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Ely	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Great Yarmouth	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Harlow	£25 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Hemel Hempstead	£30 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Huntingdon	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Ipswich	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
King's Lynn	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Lowestoft	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Luton	£30 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Norwich	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Peterborough	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Southend-on-Sea	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
St Albans	£30 – £60 per hour	Full guide →
Stevenage	£30 – £55 per hour	Full guide →
Watford	£30 – £55 per hour	Full guide →

East Midlands

City / Town	Typical Hourly Rate (2026)
Buxton	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Chesterfield	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Corby	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Derby	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Grantham	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Kettering	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Leicester	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Lincoln	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Loughborough	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Mansfield	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Northampton	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Nottingham	£25 – £45 per hour	Full guide →

West Midlands

City / Town	Typical Hourly Rate (2026)
Birmingham	£25 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Burton upon Trent	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Coventry	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Dudley	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Hereford	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Kidderminster	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Lichfield	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Nuneaton	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Redditch	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Royal Leamington Spa	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Rugby	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Shrewsbury	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Solihull	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Stafford	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Stoke-on-Trent	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Stratford-upon-Avon	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Tamworth	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Telford	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Walsall	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Wolverhampton	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Worcester	£25 – £45 per hour	Full guide →

Yorkshire and the Humber

City / Town	Typical Hourly Rate (2026)
Barnsley	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Beverley	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Bradford	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Dewsbury	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Doncaster	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Grimsby	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Harrogate	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Huddersfield	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Hull	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Keighley	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Leeds	£25 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Rotherham	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Scarborough	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Scunthorpe	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Sheffield	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Wakefield	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
York	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →

North West England

City / Town	Typical Hourly Rate (2026)
Altrincham	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Birkenhead	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Blackburn	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Blackpool	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Bolton	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Burnley	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Carlisle	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Chester	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Crewe	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Lancaster	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Liverpool	£25 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Macclesfield	£25 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Manchester	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Oldham	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Preston	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Rochdale	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Runcorn	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Salford	£25 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Southport	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
St Helens	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Stockport	£25 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Warrington	£25 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Wigan	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →

North East England

City / Town	Typical Hourly Rate (2026)
Bishop Auckland	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Darlington	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Durham	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Gateshead	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Hartlepool	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Middlesbrough	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Newcastle upon Tyne	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
South Shields	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Stockton-on-Tees	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Sunderland	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →

Scotland

City / Town	Typical Hourly Rate (2026)
Aberdeen	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Ayr	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Coatbridge	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Dundee	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Dunfermline	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
East Kilbride	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Edinburgh	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Falkirk	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Glasgow	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Greenock	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Hamilton	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Inverness	£25 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Kilmarnock	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Kirkcaldy	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Livingston	£25 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Motherwell	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Paisley	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Perth	£25 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
St Andrews	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →
Stirling	£25 – £50 per hour	Full guide →

Wales

City / Town	Typical Hourly Rate (2026)
Barry	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Bridgend	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Caerphilly	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Cardiff	£25 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Llanelli	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Merthyr Tydfil	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Newport	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Penarth	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Pontypridd	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Swansea	£20 – £45 per hour	Full guide →
Wrexham	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →

Northern Ireland

City / Town	Typical Hourly Rate (2026)
Armagh	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Bangor	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Belfast	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Derry	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Enniskillen	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Lisburn	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Newry	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →
Newtownabbey	£20 – £40 per hour	Full guide →

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a painter & decorator cost in the UK?

UK painter & decorator costs vary significantly by location. Typical job prices run £100 – £3,500. London tends to run 40–50% above the national average; cities in the North East and Northern Ireland are often 15–25% below. Click any city in the table above for a full local pricing breakdown.

What is the average hourly rate for a painter & decorator in the UK?

Hourly rates for painter & decorators depend on your location and the time of call-out. Standard daytime rates (Mon–Fri 8am–6pm) are the lowest; evening, weekend and emergency call-outs typically attract a 30–60% surcharge. Most painter & decorators also charge a minimum call-out fee equivalent to 30–60 minutes of work.

Do I need a certified painter & decorator?

Yes — Painter & Decorator work legally requires None required; Painting and Decorating Association (PDA) membership recommended certification in the UK. Verify credentials at Painting and Decorating Association before hiring.

How many quotes should I get for painter & decorator work?

Always obtain at least three written, itemised quotes before committing to any painter & decorator job. This lets you compare on price, qualifications and professionalism rather than defaulting to the lowest figure, which may indicate corner-cutting.

What should a painter & decorator quote include?

A proper painter & decorator quote should state: the full scope of work, itemised labour and materials, whether VAT is included, expected start and completion dates, call-out or minimum visit fees, and any workmanship guarantee offered.

Are painter & decorator prices higher in London?

Yes — London painter & decorator rates are typically 40–50% above the UK national average, driven by higher demand, travel costs and cost of living. The South East also runs 10–20% above average. Use the regional tables above to find your city's rates.

How can I check if a painter & decorator is properly qualified?

Use the official Painting and Decorating Association checker to verify registration in seconds. Ask the tradesperson to produce qualification certificates, public liability insurance documents, and any relevant accreditation before work begins. A trustworthy professional will have these documents readily available.

Should I pay a deposit to a painter & decorator?

A deposit of 10–20% is normal practice for larger painter & decorator jobs. Never pay more than 25% upfront, and always pay by card or bank transfer rather than cash so you have a clear payment record. Avoid any tradesperson who demands full payment before starting.

What are the red flags when hiring a painter & decorator?

Warning signs include: demands for a large cash deposit before any work starts, inability to produce insurance or qualification proof, refusal to provide a written quote, significantly undercutting all other estimates, and pressuring you to decide immediately. A reputable painter & decorator will never rush you.

How do I find a reliable painter & decorator near me?

Use vetted platforms such as Checkatrade, Rated People or TrustMark to find reviewed painter & decorators in your area. Personal recommendations from neighbours or friends remain the most reliable method. Always verify public liability insurance of at least £1 million before agreeing to any work.

Price disclaimer: Prices above are 2026 estimates based on regional trade cost-index data. Actual quotes will vary by contractor experience, job complexity, materials, and market conditions. Always request at least three written quotes before committing to any work. ServicePriceHub.uk is an independent price reference guide and is not affiliated with any tradesperson or trade body.

Ready to Hire a Painter & Decorator?

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