Average Cost to Hire a Cleaner in the UK 2024

Average Cost to Hire a Cleaner UK

The average cost of a cleaner in the UK varies, from around £12-£23 per hour. This article will cover how much you can expect to pay for a cleaner by city, and explain why costs vary from region to region. A quality, appropriately insured cleaner can ease the burden of much of your daily and weekly housework, and is worth considering for anybody who might like those few hours a week back.

• How much does a cleaner cost?
  • How much does a cleaner cost per hour?
  • How much does a weekly cleaner cost?
• What impacts the price of my clean?
  • How can I save money on a cleaner?

How much does a Cleaner cost in the UK?

The price of your clean varies on a number of different factors, covered in more detail down below, but the key drivers of how much you’ll pay for your clean include:

There are 2 primary routes you can go down when looking to hire a cleaner. You can use a cleaning company/agency or source your own independent cleaner. Both have a number of benefits and drawbacks that it’s worth considering before you decide which to choose.

Whichever one of these you select will, naturally, play a role in defining how much you can expect to pay. Our research found that you could typically expect to pay between £4-£10 per hour in agency fees on top of the rate your average cleaner would expect for that area—depending on how competitive the market for agencies is near you (London was the cheapest, with some agencies charging as little as £3 per hour).

While using an agency can seem like an additional cost, you can almost certainly be sure the staff will be fully insured in the event of an accident, and if the scheduled staff member is unwell they'll be able to send over another member of their team.

Most cleaners recommend between 2.5-6 hours of cleaning, depending on the size of your home, bringing your total cost somewhere in the range of £30-£140 per clean. Considering the average UK household has a monthly budget of £2,538 cleaners can be a good investment for anyone who finds the task a bit dull or is strapped for time.

How much does a Cleaner cost per hour?

Hourly cleaner costs range from £12 in Sheffield to £23 in Edinburgh, as you can see in the map below, which illustrates the average cost per hour of hiring a cleaner in 20 of the UK’s most highly populated cities. There doesn’t appear to be a glaring geographical trend, however cities towards the south coast like Bristol and Southampton do come in at the more expensive end of the spectrum, and northern English cities like Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester are towards the cheaper end.

Cleaner Costs across the UK

Prices in more rural areas tend to fluctuate a lot more, mostly driven by the number of businesses operating in the area—a quick Google search for cleaners in your nearby area should give you an idea of how competitive it is.

How much does a weekly Cleaner cost?

A weekly cleaner costs in the range of £48 to £92 for a four-hour clean, but prices depend on where you live and the size of the cleaning job. You’ll find that cleaners, whether a larger business or independent, are happy to offer discounts to you in return for your weekly, fortnightly or monthly custom. The size of these discounts vary from business to business, and are typically larger the more frequently you request your apartment or home to be cleaned.

Generally speaking you’ll find agencies are happy to offer between 50p-£1.50 per hour off of your clean for signing up to regular visits. Independent cleaners generally quote a standard hourly rate, so check with them to see if they might offer you a good deal.

What factors impact the price of my clean?

Most cleaners will want to know a few things before coming into your home, but nothing you shouldn’t know off the top of your head. This information allows them to accurately quote you for the work you need doing, depending on the time, effort, skills and materials required to complete the work to a high standard.

These questions will require information about the details of your occupance, such as its size, number of bathrooms/bedrooms and location (obviously). However there’s also a few things a good cleaner will want to know before coming in about what exactly it is you want done.

If you’ve opted to hire your cleaner for a shorter time period than they believe necessary, they may ask you to prioritise tasks that you need done versus ones you’d like done if time allows, so keep in mind you might not have everything you asked for completed if you request too much of your cleaner in the time slot.

As mentioned previously, you're also likely to find that a one-off clean is more expensive than regular (weekly, monthly) cleans, so don't be surprised if you're charged more than the advertised headline, which will likely focus on the price for weekly or fortnightly cleans.

How can I save money on my clean?

Your cleaner cost per hour in the UK, as our research suggested above, doesn’t have to break the bank—even if you are on a tight budget. However if you are conscious of cost, there’s a few simple things you can do to save money on a cleaner.

Finally, if you feel a cleaning service could be a valuable addition long-term, you'll be able to save money by bringing them in on a more regular basis (as opposed to a one-off).

Where can I find a cleaner?

Finding a cleaner shouldn't be too difficult a task. Online, resources like Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and Craigslist can be a good place to find local independent cleaners offering their services—however please do exercise appropriate caution when agreeing to meet up with strangers through online platforms. Otherwise, you could try asking some local friends if they've ever used cleaning services, and who they might recommend.

While there isn't a nationwide cleaning agency, per se, there are a number of excellent regional ones that cover the big cities or are county focused. You could check out the likes of Housekeep or Helpling online to see if they service your area.