How much do French doors cost in the UK?
French doors cost £1,800 on average in the UK. Most jobs fall between £1,100 and £4,000 supplied and fitted. Frame material: uPVC French doors £1,100 to £1,800; Aluminium French doors £1,800 to £3,000; Hardwood or premium £2,500 to £4,000. Prices reviewed July 2026.
French doors are priced by the frame material and whether you are replacing an existing set or forming a new opening. uPVC is the budget option, with aluminium and hardwood costing more.
French doors cost calculator
Use the calculator to price your French doors in 2026. Adjust the options and area for a UK cost range. Nothing is sent anywhere.
French doors cost breakdown
Typical French doors costs, by option:
| Frame material | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| uPVC French doors | £1,100 to £1,800 |
| Aluminium French doors | £1,800 to £3,000 |
| Hardwood or premium | £2,500 to £4,000 |
| + Form or widen the opening (structural) | add £800 to £2,500 |
| + Side panels or integral blinds | add £300 to £800 |
What's included in the price?
Typical French doors prices include:
- The French door set and frame
- Double glazing and multipoint locking
- Fitting into an existing opening
- Sealing and making good
What changes the price?
The things that move French doors prices most:
Frame material: uPVC, aluminium or hardwood
Whether you are replacing like for like or forming a new opening
Size, side panels and glazing spec
Security and any integral blinds
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 (through Bark; we may earn a fee, at no extra cost to you).
Does where you live change the cost?
In London, French doors typically cost around £2,200 supplied and fitted, about 20% above the UK average of £1,800. In the North, Scotland and Wales the guide figure is nearer £1,700.
| Region | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midlands / East (UK average) | £1,100 | £1,800 | £4,000 |
| London | £1,300 | £2,200 | £4,800 |
| South East / South West | £1,200 | £1,900 | £4,200 |
| North / Scotland / Wales | £1,100 | £1,700 | £3,900 |
Guide prices supplied and fitted, scaled with the same regional multipliers as the calculator. Not quotes.
French doors cost in major UK cities
| City | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | £1,000 | £1,700 | £3,800 |
| Birmingham | £1,100 | £1,800 | £4,000 |
| Bristol | £1,200 | £1,900 | £4,200 |
| Cardiff | £1,100 | £1,700 | £3,900 |
| Edinburgh | £1,100 | £1,700 | £3,900 |
| Glasgow | £1,100 | £1,700 | £3,900 |
| Leeds | £1,100 | £1,700 | £3,900 |
| Liverpool | £1,100 | £1,700 | £3,900 |
| London | £1,300 | £2,200 | £4,800 |
| Manchester | £1,100 | £1,700 | £3,900 |
| Newcastle | £1,100 | £1,700 | £3,900 |
| Sheffield | £1,100 | £1,700 | £3,900 |
City guide estimates, scaled by local labour costs. Indicative averages for French doors, not quotes.
The gap is in the fitting. The doors cost much the same everywhere.
Compare this with a real quote
The figures above are guide prices. Two or three quotes for your French doors tell you what it costs where you live.
Free and no obligation. You answer a few questions on Bark, local pros get in touch, and you decide who, if anyone, to hire. We may earn a fee, at no extra cost to you.Common questions
How much does it cost to fit French doors?
French doors cost roughly £1,100 to £4,000 supplied and fitted in the UK, typically around £1,800. uPVC French doors are £1,100 to £1,800, aluminium £1,800 to £3,000, and hardwood or premium sets £2,500 to £4,000. That assumes fitting into an existing opening; forming a new or wider opening adds structural cost on top.
Do I need planning permission for French doors?
Replacing existing doors like for like is normally permitted development and needs no planning permission. Forming a brand new opening in an external wall is usually still permitted, but it needs building regulations approval for the lintel and structural work, not planning. The exceptions are flats, which have no householder permitted development rights, listed buildings, conservation areas and anywhere under an Article 4 direction, so check with the council before ordering.
Why are French doors expensive?
You are paying for two full door leaves, the frame, double glazing and a multipoint locking system, plus the fitting, which is more than a single door. The biggest extra is structural: if the opening has to be created or widened, a lintel and the associated brickwork and making good add £800 to £2,500 before the doors themselves. Aluminium and hardwood frames also cost considerably more than uPVC.
Are French doors cheaper than bifold or patio doors?
French doors are usually the cheapest way to open up a wall to the garden. A uPVC set from £1,100 undercuts aluminium bifolds, which typically start around £2,000 and rise quickly with each panel. Sliding patio doors sit in between. French doors suit openings up to around 1.8 metres wide; for a wider span, bifolds or sliders make more sense. See our bifold doors cost guide for that comparison.
How much are uPVC French doors supplied and fitted?
uPVC French doors are typically £1,100 to £1,800 supplied and fitted, which makes them the value choice for a back or garden doorway. Coloured or woodgrain finishes, side panels and Georgian bars add to that. Aluminium versions of the same size run £1,800 to £3,000 and are slimmer and stronger, which is why people pay the premium for larger or more exposed openings.
Does the price include widening the opening?
Usually not. A standard quote assumes the doors drop into an existing opening. If you are turning a window or single door into French doors, or widening what is there, budget £800 to £2,500 on top for the lintel, the structural work and building control sign-off. Always get the quote to state clearly whether the opening work is included, as it is the item most often left out.
Can I fit French doors myself?
You can if you are experienced with joinery, but it is harder than it looks. A supplied and fitted price runs £1,100 to £4,000, so doing the install yourself saves the labour, though you still pay for the doors and frame. Getting the opening square, the frame plumb and the doors weathertight is the tricky part. A poorly fitted set that lets in draughts or drops on its hinges is a common result, so it suits only confident DIYers.
How long do French doors last?
A uPVC set is generally put at 20 to 30 years, with 20 plus the common expectation even without much attention, while timber and aluminium last longer and timber trades that for repainting. As with any glazed door it is the sealed units rather than the frames that usually decide the timing, and a misted pane is a unit replacement rather than a new set of doors. The mechanical side is simpler than the alternatives, which is a real advantage of French doors over bifolds or sliders: no bottom track and no running gear to collect grit, just two hinged leaves, so there is much less to go wrong and much less to keep clean. What does want attention is the hardware. Screws, hinges and seals loosen with daily use, and the usual advice is to check and adjust them every three to six months and put a silicone lubricant on the hinges and the multipoint lock. A door that has dropped and started catching on the frame is normally an adjustment, which is worth establishing before anyone quotes you £1,100 to £4,000 for a replacement.
Do French doors add value to a home?
They help a house feel brighter and more connected to the garden, which aids a sale, but they rarely pay back pound for pound. A fitted set at £1,100 to £4,000 usually adds less to the valuation than it costs. uPVC at the £1,100 to £1,800 end is the safest spend to recoup. Fit them mainly for the light and the garden access you will enjoy while living there.
Do new French doors have to meet building regulations?
Yes, in England, even when they go into the existing opening. Schedule 4 to the Building Regulations 2010 only exempts a replacement external door from notification if it is no more than 50% glazed, and French doors are mostly glass. An installer registered with a competent person scheme, such as FENSA or CERTASS, self-certifies the work and gives you a certificate; if you fit them yourself, you apply to building control and pay its fee. Glass in both leaves, and in any side panel within 300mm of them, must be safety glazing up to 1500mm above the floor.
Check they are registered before they start
Replacement windows and doors have to comply with the building regulations. A fitter in an authorised scheme certifies their own work and gives you the certificate; without one you need a building control application. Checking takes about a minute and it is free.
- Find a FENSA approved installer FENSA · FENSA is one of the authorised schemes for replacement windows and doors, not the only one, so a fitter registered with Certass or another scheme can certify the work just as well
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.
- Doors and windows: planning permission Planning Portal · When new windows and doors need planning permission in England, why a new bay counts as an extension, and that a listed building needs consent for significant works inside or out.
- General Permitted Development Order 2015, article 2 legislation.gov.uk · Defines a dwellinghouse for householder permitted development so as to exclude flats, which is why a flat has none of these rights.
- Doors and windows: building regulations Planning Portal · Replacement windows and doors must meet the building regulations, either self-certified by an installer in a competent person scheme or approved by building control.
- Building Regulations 2010, Schedule 4 legislation.gov.uk · Work that needs no building notice. A replacement external door qualifies only if it is no more than 50 per cent glazed, so a patio or French door set has to be notified or self-certified.
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): French doors typically cost £1,800 in the UK, ranging from £1,100 to £4,000 supplied and fitted. Reviewed July 2026. costwiseuk.co.ukSource: Costwise (costwiseuk.co.uk)Costwise (2026). French doors cost. Costwise UK cost data, version 2026-10-05. https://costwiseuk.co.uk/french-doors-cost/2026-10-05 (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.