How much does a builder cost per day in the UK?
Building work costs £200 on average in the UK. Most jobs fall between £110 and £350 per day. Type of builder: Labourer £110 to £160, General builder £170 to £260, Skilled or specialist builder £260 to £350. Prices reviewed July 2026.
A general builder charges about £170 to £260 a day in the UK, around £200 being typical, while a labourer is roughly £110 to £160 a day and skilled or specialist trades £260 to £350. By the hour that works out at about £25 to £40 for a builder and £13 to £18 for a labourer, with London and skilled trades at the top end.
Builder day rate cost calculator
Use the calculator to price your building work in 2026. Adjust the options and area for a UK cost range. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Builder day rate cost breakdown
Typical building work costs, by option:
| Type of builder | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| Labourer | £110 to £160 |
| General builder | £170 to £260 |
| Skilled or specialist builder | £260 to £350 |
What's included in the price?
Typical building work prices include:
- A full day of the builder's labour, usually around 8 hours on site
- Their own hand tools, power tools and van
- Skill and experience for the trade you are hiring
- Setting out the work and clearing up at the end of the day
- On a two-man rate, a labourer working alongside the builder
What changes the price?
The things that move building work prices most:
Whether you need a labourer, a general builder or a skilled tradesman
Your region, with London and the South East the dearest
How experienced and in demand the builder is
Whether it is a day rate or a fixed price for the whole job
The length of the booking, as a run of days can bring the daily rate down
Materials, skip hire and any specialists, which sit on top of the labour
These are why two quotes for the same job can differ, and the only way to know your price is to get prices from local firms.
How the price is built up
The rate is built from the tradesman's take-home pay, their tax and National Insurance, tools, van, fuel and insurance, plus a margin for quiet days and admin. A labourer sits at the bottom, a general builder in the middle, and skilled or specialist trades at the top. London and the South East cost the most, mostly because wages and overheads are higher there. A day rate is a pure labour charge. It pays for the tradesman's time, skill, tools and van for the day, and nothing else. Materials, skip hire, plant and any specialist sub-trades are all charged on top, either at cost or with a small handling margin, so always check whether a quote is labour only.
Ways to keep the cost down
- Agree a fixed price for any job with a clear scope, so slow days are the builder's problem and not yours
- Book several days in a row, as most builders drop the daily rate for a longer run of work
- Have materials on site and decisions made before they start, so you are not paying a day rate for waiting
- Get two or three quotes, as day rates for the same work vary a lot by area and by how busy the builder is
Does where you live change the cost?
In London, building work typically costs around £240 per day, about 20% above the UK average of £200. In the North, Scotland and Wales the guide figure is nearer £190.
| Region | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midlands / East (UK average) | £110 | £200 | £350 |
| London | £130 | £240 | £420 |
| South East / South West | £120 | £210 | £370 |
| North / Scotland / Wales | £110 | £190 | £340 |
Guide prices per day, scaled with the same regional multipliers as the calculator. Not quotes.
Builder day rate cost in major UK cities
| City | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | £100 | £190 | £330 |
| Birmingham | £110 | £200 | £350 |
| Bristol | £120 | £210 | £370 |
| Cardiff | £110 | £190 | £340 |
| Edinburgh | £110 | £190 | £340 |
| Glasgow | £110 | £190 | £340 |
| Leeds | £110 | £190 | £340 |
| Liverpool | £110 | £190 | £340 |
| London | £130 | £240 | £420 |
| Manchester | £110 | £190 | £340 |
| Newcastle | £110 | £190 | £340 |
| Sheffield | £110 | £190 | £340 |
City guide estimates, scaled by local labour costs. Indicative averages for building work, not quotes.
Builders in London and the South East charge the most, on wages, parking and overheads. The North, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are usually cheaper.
Compare this with a real quote
The figures above are guide prices. Two or three quotes for your building work tell you what it costs where you live.
Common questions
How much does a builder charge per day in the UK?
A general builder charges roughly £170 to £260 a day, with around £200 typical. A labourer is about £110 to £160 a day, and a skilled or specialist builder £260 to £350. A builder and labourer working together as a two-man team is usually £280 to £420 a day. London and the South East sit above these figures, and the North, Scotland and Wales a little below.
What is a builder's hourly rate?
Most builders prefer to quote by the day, but by the hour a general builder works out at about £25 to £40, roughly £30 typical, and a labourer £13 to £18. Hourly rates suit small call-out jobs; for anything more than a couple of hours you will usually be quoted a day rate or a price for the whole job.
What changes a builder's day rate?
The main things are the skill level you need, your region, how experienced and in demand the builder is, and how long the booking runs. A single day costs more per day than a week booked in one go. Remember the rate is labour only, so materials, skip hire and any specialists are on top.
Is it better to pay a day rate or a fixed price?
For a small or open-ended job where the scope is not clear, a day rate is fair and flexible. For a defined job, a fixed price is usually better because it protects you if the work runs slow, since the risk of a long day then sits with the builder rather than you. Get the quote in writing either way.
Do builders charge for materials on top of the day rate?
Yes. A day rate covers labour, tools and the builder's van, not materials. Bricks, timber, plaster, skip hire, plant and any specialist sub-trades are charged separately, either at cost or with a small handling margin. Always check whether a quote is labour only or includes materials before you compare it with another.
Can I hire a labourer myself to save money?
You can. Hiring a labourer directly at £110 to £160 a day can cut the cost if you or a tradesman are directing the work, since you are not paying a builder's rate for lifting and carrying. The catch is you have to manage them and take on the responsibility, and skilled work still needs the qualified tradesman.
Can a builder on a day rate take as long as they like?
No. Where a contract does not fix how long the work will take, section 52 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats it as including a term that the builder must do it within a reasonable time, and section 49 requires reasonable care and skill whatever the pricing. What counts as reasonable is a question of fact, so agree an estimate of days in writing before work starts. In practice a day rate still leaves the cost of slow progress with you, which is why a fixed price suits a job with a clear scope.
Official guidance and sources
The rules and schemes referenced on this page come from these official UK sources. The price figures are Costwise's own; see how we price.
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 52 legislation.gov.uk · Where the contract does not fix the time for the work, a trader must do it within a reasonable time.
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 legislation.gov.uk · A trader must carry out a service with reasonable care and skill, whatever the pricing.
Cite this data
These figures are free to use in articles, reports and research under a CC BY 4.0 licence. All we ask is a credit to Costwise, and online a link. Where your style allows, please make "Costwise" the linked word so readers can check the figure for their own region.
Costwise (2026): Building work typically costs £200 per day in the UK, ranging from £110 to £350 per day. Reviewed July 2026. costwiseuk.co.ukSource: Costwise (costwiseuk.co.uk)Costwise (2026). Builder day rate cost. Costwise UK cost data, version 2026-10-12. https://costwiseuk.co.uk/builder-day-rate/2026-10-12 (158 jobs)Dataset DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21159943 · also on Kaggle, Hugging Face and Figshare. Method: how we price. Downloadable CSV.
These are independent guide prices based on typical UK jobs in 2026. Your actual cost depends on your property, spec, access and where you live. Always get at least three written quotes before committing.