How much does secondary glazing cost in the UK?
Secondary glazing costs £375 on average in the UK. Most jobs fall between £200 and £750 per window. Window size and style: Small fixed panel £200 to £350, Standard slider or hinged unit £300 to £550, Large or bespoke heritage window £500 to £750. Prices reviewed July 2026.
Secondary glazing usually costs between £200 and £750 per window in the UK, with most homeowners paying around £375. The price depends mainly on the size of the window, the opening style and whether you need acoustic glass.
Secondary glazing cost calculator
Use the calculator to price your secondary glazing in 2026. Adjust the options and area for a UK cost range. Nothing is sent anywhere.
To price the whole job, use the double glazing cost calculator.
Secondary glazing cost breakdown
Typical secondary glazing costs, by option:
| Window size and style | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| Small fixed panel | £200 to £350 |
| Standard slider or hinged unit | £300 to £550 |
| Large or bespoke heritage window | £500 to £750 |
What's included in the price?
Typical secondary glazing prices include:
- A survey and measurements of each window
- A slim secondary pane in a discreet frame fitted inside the existing window
- The frame colour and opening style matched to your window
- Fitting, sealing and clearing away
What changes the price?
The things that move secondary glazing prices most:
The size of each window
The opening style, whether fixed, sliding or hinged
The frame material and glass, standard or acoustic
Whether it is a listed building or a heritage frame
Your region and how many windows you do at once
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).
How the price is built up
The price covers surveying and measuring each window, making the slim pane and frame to fit the reveal, and fitting and sealing it inside the existing window. Larger windows, sliding or hinged openers, acoustic glass and heritage frames all add to the unit cost. Most of the cost is the made-to-measure unit and glass. Fitting is a smaller share, usually a few hundred pounds a day for a two-person team, and several windows are often fitted in one visit.
Ways to keep the cost down
- Do the rooms that matter most first, such as bedrooms and road-facing rooms, rather than the whole house at once
- For small windows, a DIY magnetic or film kit costs about £50 to £100 per window
- Have several windows made and fitted in one visit to share the fitting cost
- Choose standard glass unless you specifically need acoustic glass for noise
Does where you live change the cost?
In London, secondary glazing typically costs around £450 per window, about 20% above the UK average of £375. In the North, Scotland and Wales the guide figure is nearer £360.
| Region | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midlands / East (UK average) | £200 | £380 | £750 |
| London | £240 | £450 | £900 |
| South East / South West | £210 | £390 | £790 |
| North / Scotland / Wales | £190 | £360 | £730 |
Guide prices per window, scaled with the same regional multipliers as the calculator. Not quotes.
Secondary glazing cost in major UK cities
| City | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | £190 | £360 | £710 |
| Birmingham | £200 | £380 | £750 |
| Bristol | £210 | £390 | £790 |
| Cardiff | £190 | £360 | £730 |
| Edinburgh | £190 | £360 | £730 |
| Glasgow | £190 | £360 | £730 |
| Leeds | £190 | £360 | £730 |
| Liverpool | £190 | £360 | £730 |
| London | £240 | £450 | £900 |
| Manchester | £190 | £360 | £730 |
| Newcastle | £190 | £360 | £730 |
| Sheffield | £190 | £360 | £730 |
City guide estimates, scaled by local labour costs. Indicative averages for secondary glazing, not quotes.
The South East and London sit at the top of the range; the North, Wales and Scotland tend to be a little cheaper.
Compare this with a real quote
The figures above are guide prices. Two or three quotes for your secondary glazing 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 secondary glazing cost per window in 2026?
About £200 to £750 per window, with most homeowners paying around £375. A small fixed panel is the cheapest option, while a large sliding unit on a sash or heritage window costs the most.
What affects the price of secondary glazing?
The main things are the size of the window, the opening style, and the glass you choose. Fixed panels are cheapest, sliding and hinged units cost more, and acoustic glass for noise or a bespoke heritage frame pushes the price up.
Is secondary glazing worth it?
For period and listed homes it usually is. It cuts draughts and noise, keeps your original windows in place, and costs far less than replacing them. On a listed building it can still need listed building consent, so ask the council's conservation officer before ordering.
Can I fit secondary glazing myself?
For small windows a DIY magnetic or film kit costs about £50 to £100 per window and is fine to fit yourself. For large windows, sash windows or heritage frames it is worth paying a fitter to get a proper seal and avoid damaging the original frame.
How long does secondary glazing take to fit?
Fitting takes under an hour per window once the units are made. A full house of 8 to 10 windows is usually completed in one or two days.
How long does secondary glazing last?
Longer than double glazing, and for a structural reason rather than a marketing one: there is no sealed unit to fail. Double glazing reaches the end of its life when the hermetic seal goes and the pane mists, typically after 20 to 35 years, and nothing fixes that except replacing the unit. Secondary glazing is a separate internal pane with an air gap that is not hermetically sealed, so there is no seal to break, and you can reach both glass surfaces, which you cannot with a sealed unit. The frames are usually aluminium, commonly put at 30 to 40 years and more, and aluminium does not rot or warp. What you do need to understand is condensation in the gap, because it is a different problem with a different fix: it happens when warm room air migrates past the inner panel and then cannot get out, so the answer is making the inner panel's seals properly airtight rather than sealing the outer window tighter. At £200 to £750 per window that is the quiet advantage of secondary glazing over replacement, particularly on a period or listed property where the original window has to stay.
Is secondary glazing cheaper than double glazing?
Yes. At roughly £200 to £750 per window it is cheaper than replacing a window with double glazing, and it leaves the original windows in place, although on a listed building it can still need listed building consent.
Do I need listed building consent for secondary glazing?
It can be needed. In England and Wales, section 7 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 requires listed building consent for any alteration that would affect a listed building's character as a building of special architectural or historic interest, and section 9 makes doing such work without consent an offence. Whether a particular secondary glazing scheme affects that character is for the council to judge, so ask its conservation officer before ordering and keep the answer in writing. Planning permission is a separate question, and Planning Portal says internal secondary glazing does not usually need it.
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.
- Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, section 7 legislation.gov.uk · Listed building consent is needed for any alteration that would affect a listed building's character as a building of special architectural or historic interest.
- Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, section 9 legislation.gov.uk · Carrying out works that need listed building consent without it is an offence.
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): Secondary glazing typically costs £375 per window in the UK, ranging from £200 to £750 per window. Reviewed July 2026. costwiseuk.co.ukSource: Costwise (costwiseuk.co.uk)Costwise (2026). Secondary glazing cost. Costwise UK cost data, version 2026-10-12. https://costwiseuk.co.uk/secondary-glazing-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.