How much does a gardener cost in the UK?
Gardening costs £200 on average in the UK. Most jobs fall between £120 and £400 for a day's work. Booking and area: One gardener for the day, lower-cost areas £120 to £180; One gardener for the day, typical or city rates £180 to £280; Two-person team for the day £300 to £400. Prices reviewed July 2026.
A gardener costs around £25 to £35 an hour, or roughly £150 to £250 a day for one person, in the UK. In lower-cost areas a day can start nearer £120, most people booking a full day pay about £200, and a two-person team for the day runs to £300 to £400.
Gardener cost calculator
Use the calculator to price your gardening in 2026. Adjust the options and area for a UK cost range. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Gardener cost breakdown
Typical gardening costs, by option:
| Booking and area | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| One gardener for the day, lower-cost areas | £120 to £180 |
| One gardener for the day, typical or city rates | £180 to £280 |
| Two-person team for the day | £300 to £400 |
What's included in the price?
Typical gardening prices include:
- Mowing, edging and strimming the lawns
- Weeding beds and borders, and light pruning
- A gardener bringing their own mower, tools and fuel
- Clearing leaves and general tidying
- Bagging the green waste and, for a small extra fee, taking it away
- Regular visits on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly round if you want them
What changes the price?
The things that move gardening prices most:
Whether you pay by the hour or book a full day
The size of the garden and how overgrown it is
One gardener or a two-person team
Your region, with London and the South East charging most
Whether green waste removal is included in the price
A one-off tidy-up versus a regular contract, which usually costs less per visit
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 price is built from the hourly or day rate, the number of people on the job, travel to your area, and any charge for disposing of green waste. A regular contract usually works out cheaper per visit than a one-off, because the garden stays under control and the gardener can plan an efficient round. A gardener's fee is almost all labour and their time on site. There are no real materials for maintenance beyond fuel for the mower and trimmer. The main add-on is a tipping fee for taking green waste away, plus the cost of any plants or compost if you ask them to plant up beds.
Ways to keep the cost down
- Set up a regular round so each visit is quick and the per-visit price drops
- Keep the clippings for your own compost or council green bin to skip the disposal fee
- Share a gardener's day with a neighbour to split the travel and callout
- Do the easy jobs like mowing yourself and book the gardener for the heavier pruning and clearing
Does where you live change the cost?
In London, gardening typically costs around £240 for a day's work, 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) | £120 | £200 | £400 |
| London | £140 | £240 | £480 |
| South East / South West | £130 | £210 | £420 |
| North / Scotland / Wales | £120 | £190 | £390 |
Guide prices for a day's work, scaled with the same regional multipliers as the calculator. Not quotes.
Gardener cost in major UK cities
| City | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | £110 | £190 | £380 |
| Birmingham | £120 | £200 | £400 |
| Bristol | £130 | £210 | £420 |
| Cardiff | £120 | £190 | £390 |
| Edinburgh | £120 | £190 | £390 |
| Glasgow | £120 | £190 | £390 |
| Leeds | £120 | £190 | £390 |
| Liverpool | £120 | £190 | £390 |
| London | £140 | £240 | £480 |
| Manchester | £120 | £190 | £390 |
| Newcastle | £120 | £190 | £390 |
| Sheffield | £120 | £190 | £390 |
City guide estimates, scaled by local labour costs. Indicative averages for gardening, not quotes.
Gardeners in London and the South East charge the most, often £35 to £45 an hour or £250 to £350 a day. In the North, Wales and Scotland rates are typically £20 to £30 an hour, or £120 to £200 a day.
Compare this with a real quote
The figures above are guide prices. Two or three quotes from local gardeners tell you what it costs where you live.
Common questions
How much does a gardener cost in 2026?
Most gardeners charge £25 to £35 an hour, or £150 to £250 a day for one person. A short maintenance visit of a couple of hours often comes to £60 to £90, while a full day's work for a two-person team runs to £300 to £400.
What is a typical gardener day rate?
For one gardener, a day rate is usually £150 to £250, with about £200 being common. Rates are higher in London and the South East, often £250 to £350, and a bit lower in the North, Wales and Scotland. A day is normally around six to seven working hours on site.
What changes the price of a gardener?
Mainly whether you pay by the hour or the day, the size of the garden and how overgrown it is, and whether one person or a two-person team turns up. Your region matters too, and taking green waste away adds a small tipping fee on top.
Is it cheaper to pay a gardener by the hour or by the day?
By the hour suits small, regular jobs like a mow and a tidy. For anything that takes most of the day, a day rate usually works out cheaper per hour, because the gardener does not have to factor in travel and setup for a short visit.
Is it worth paying a gardener, or should I do it myself?
For routine mowing and weeding many people manage themselves. A gardener earns their fee on the heavier work: pruning, clearing an overgrown garden, and taking the waste away, which is the biggest hassle of doing it yourself. A regular gardener also keeps the garden from getting expensive to tackle later.
How often should I book a gardener?
In the growing season, spring to autumn, fortnightly is common for an average garden, with monthly visits over winter. Weekly suits a large or fast-growing garden. A regular round keeps each visit short and usually cheaper per visit than one-off callouts.
Does a gardener need a licence to take my garden waste away?
Yes. In England a gardener who takes waste away as part of their business must register with the Environment Agency as a waste carrier, which is usually free if they only carry waste they produce themselves. It matters to you as well: under section 34(2A) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, a householder in England or Wales must take reasonable steps to hand household waste only to an authorised person, and in England a council can fine a householder who fails in that duty up to £600 by fixed penalty, for example where waste given to an unregistered carrier is found fly-tipped. Check the public register first.
Check they are registered before they start
Anyone taking waste away from your home has to be a registered carrier. Your duty of care does not end at the gate, so if it is fly-tipped the failure traces back to you. Checking takes about a minute and it is free.
- Check a waste carrier is registered Environment Agency · The public register. If waste taken from your home is fly-tipped and it was not handed to a registered carrier, the duty of care failure is yours
- Check a waste carrier is registered in Wales Natural Resources Wales · The Welsh public register. A registration with Natural Resources Wales, the Environment Agency or SEPA is valid in all three countries, so check the one the carrier names
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.
- Register or renew as a waste carrier, broker or dealer (England) GOV.UK · Who has to register to carry waste in England, including the free lower tier for a business that carries only waste it produces itself.
- Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 34 legislation.gov.uk · The duty of care: section 34(2A) requires a householder in England or Wales to take reasonable measures to transfer household waste only to an authorised person.
- Guidance for local authorities on household waste duty of care fixed penalty notices GOV.UK (Defra) · Sets the fixed penalty for a householder in England who breaches the duty of care at £150 to £600, with £200 as the default.
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): Gardening typically costs £200 in the UK, ranging from £120 to £400 for a day's work. Reviewed July 2026. costwiseuk.co.ukSource: Costwise (costwiseuk.co.uk)Costwise (2026). Gardener cost. Costwise UK cost data, version 2026-10-12. https://costwiseuk.co.uk/gardener-cost/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.