How much does window cleaning cost in the UK?
Window cleaning costs £20 on average in the UK. Most jobs fall between £10 and £40 per visit. Type of house: Terraced or flat £10 to £25, Semi-detached £15 to £25, Detached £20 to £40. Prices reviewed September 2026.
Window cleaning usually costs £10 to £40 per visit in the UK, with most homes paying around £20 for a regular exterior clean. The price depends mainly on the size of the house and how often you have it done, and most cleaners set a minimum charge of about £10 to £15.
Window cleaning cost calculator
Use the calculator to price your window cleaning in 2026. Adjust the options and area for a UK cost range. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Window cleaning cost breakdown
Typical window cleaning costs, by option:
| Type of house | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| Terraced or flat | £10 to £25 |
| Semi-detached | £15 to £25 |
| Detached | £20 to £40 |
What's included in the price?
Typical window cleaning prices include:
- A visit from a window cleaner, normally on a regular round
- Cleaning the outside of all reachable windows, usually with a water-fed pole and purified water
- Washing the frames, sills and door glass at the same time
- Leaving the glass to dry clear without needing a wipe down
- A quick check for any window that a pole cannot reach
What changes the price?
The things that move window cleaning prices most:
The size and type of house, from a flat to a detached
How often you have it done, since regular rounds cost less per visit than one-offs
Whether you want the inside cleaned as well as the outside
Extras like a conservatory roof, Velux windows or a glass balustrade
Access and height, and any glass a pole cannot reach
Your region and the cleaner's minimum charge
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
Cleaners price per visit by house size, from about £10 for a flat or small terrace up to £40 for a large detached. A regular round is cheaper per visit than a one-off, and a first clean or one-off is often charged at 1.5 to 2 times the round price because there is more built-up dirt. Inside cleaning, conservatory roofs and awkward glass are added on top, and a minimum charge of around £10 to £15 covers the smallest jobs. Window cleaning is almost entirely labour. The only materials are purified water for the pole system and a little detergent, so the price reflects the cleaner's time, equipment and travel rather than any parts.
Turn a price per visit into an annual budget
At an illustrative £20 per visit, a four-week round is about 13 visits or £260 a year. A six-week round is about 8 to 9 visits or £160 to £180; an eight-week round is about 6 to 7 visits or £120 to £140. The actual number depends on the start date, weather and missed visits. These calculations exclude any higher-priced first clean.
Ask the cleaner to list the windows and doors, whether frames and sills are included, and any inaccessible glass. Inside windows, conservatory roofs and gutter work should be separate. Compare the same house and frequency rather than treating a one-off deep clean as a regular-round price.
Ways to keep the cost down
- Sign up to a regular round rather than booking one-off cleans, since the per-visit price is lower
- Clean the insides yourself and pay only for the outside, which is the part that needs the reach
- Ask a cleaner who already does your street, as many drop the price when several homes are on one visit
- Book gutter clearing or a conservatory roof clean at the same time to save a separate call-out
Does where you live change the cost?
In London, window cleaning typically costs around £25 per visit, about 20% above the UK average of £20. In the North, Scotland and Wales the guide figure is nearer £20.
| Region | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midlands / East (UK average) | £10 | £20 | £40 |
| London | £10 | £25 | £50 |
| South East / South West | £10 | £20 | £40 |
| North / Scotland / Wales | £10 | £20 | £40 |
Guide prices per visit, scaled with the same regional multipliers as the calculator. Not quotes.
Window cleaning cost in major UK cities
| City | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | £10 | £20 | £40 |
| Birmingham | £10 | £20 | £40 |
| Bristol | £10 | £20 | £40 |
| Cardiff | £10 | £20 | £40 |
| Edinburgh | £10 | £20 | £40 |
| Glasgow | £10 | £20 | £40 |
| Leeds | £10 | £20 | £40 |
| Liverpool | £10 | £20 | £40 |
| London | £10 | £25 | £50 |
| Manchester | £10 | £20 | £40 |
| Newcastle | £10 | £20 | £40 |
| Sheffield | £10 | £20 | £40 |
City guide estimates, scaled by local labour costs. Indicative averages for window cleaning, not quotes.
Cleaners in London and the South East charge the most. A minimum charge of around £10 to £15 applies almost everywhere for small properties and flats.
Compare this with a real quote
The figures above are guide prices. Two or three quotes for your window cleaning tell you what it costs where you live.
Common questions
How much does window cleaning cost per visit?
Most homes pay £10 to £40 per visit, with a typical semi-detached around £18 to £25 for a regular exterior clean. A small terrace or flat is usually £10 to £25, a three-bed detached about £20 to £30, and a large detached £25 to £40 or more. Most cleaners set a minimum charge of about £10 to £15.
What changes the price of window cleaning?
The main things are the size of the house and how often you have it done. Regular rounds every four to eight weeks cost less per visit than a one-off, because less dirt builds up between cleans. Cleaning the inside as well, or extras like a conservatory roof or hard-to-reach glass, add to the price.
Is it worth paying for a window cleaner?
For upstairs windows, usually yes. A regular clean costs £10 to £40 and takes a professional 20 to 45 minutes with a water-fed pole that reaches the top floor safely from the ground. Doing it yourself saves the fee but means working at height on a ladder, and HSE says almost all falls from ladders happen because the ladder moves unexpectedly.
How often should you have your windows cleaned?
Every four to eight weeks is the most common schedule and keeps the glass consistently clear. Every eight to twelve weeks is fine for a quieter home away from roads and trees. Houses on busy roads, near the coast or under trees get dirty faster and suit a four-weekly round.
Does window cleaning include the inside of the windows?
Usually not. Most regular prices cover the outside only, cleaned with a water-fed pole. Inside cleaning is done by hand and takes longer, so it is charged as an extra, often adding 50 to 100 percent to the visit.
Can I clean my own windows instead?
Yes, for ground-floor glass a squeegee, warm water and a little washing-up liquid do a good job for pennies. The catch is the upstairs windows: reaching them from a ladder is the risky part, and a domestic water-fed pole kit costs £60 to £150 to buy. Many people clean the insides themselves and pay a cleaner for the outside.
Can a window cleaner still work during a hosepipe ban?
Not with a hose on mains water if the ban covers window cleaning, unless an exception applies. Section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991 lets a water company in England or Wales ban using a hosepipe to clean the outside walls or windows of a home, and the Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order 2010 counts drawing water through a hose from a container, such as a van tank, if the water was supplied after the ban began. Cleaning for health or safety reasons is excluded, and a ban can set exceptions for classes of user, so the terms of the ban decide whether a water-fed pole round carries on.
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.
- Working at height whilst window cleaning HSE · HSE's guidance for window cleaners, including that almost all falls from ladders happen because the ladder moves unexpectedly.
- Water Industry Act 1991, section 76 legislation.gov.uk · Lets a water company in England or Wales ban using a hosepipe for purposes including cleaning a home's outside walls, windows, paths and patios.
- Water Industry Act 1991, section 76A legislation.gov.uk · How a temporary ban works, including that it can set exceptions for classes of user.
- Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order 2010 legislation.gov.uk · Defines the surfaces a ban covers, including any paved outdoor area and timber decking, and counts water drawn through a hose from a container if it was supplied after the ban began.
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): Window cleaning typically costs £20 per visit in the UK, ranging from £10 to £40 per visit. Reviewed September 2026. costwiseuk.co.ukSource: Costwise (costwiseuk.co.uk)Costwise (2026). Window cleaning cost. Costwise UK cost data, version 2026-10-12. https://costwiseuk.co.uk/window-cleaning-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.