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Average Cost to Hire a Handyman 2024
The average cost to hire a handyman business in the UK is around £47 for the first hour and £37 for subsequent hours, but prices vary based on your local area and discounts can be had if you hire a handyman for a half or full day, or go with an independent handyman. Below we break down the costs so you can figure out how much you should expect to pay.
Table of Contents
- How much does it cost to hire a handyman?
- How to save money hiring a handyman
- Questions to ask a handyman
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Handyman?
According to our analysis, it cost it costs around £45 to hire a handyman for the first hour and £36 for consecutive hours. If you have a larger project or a longer list of items that need attention, you can hire a handyman for a half day for around £130 or for a full day for around £230. Hiring for a full day typically secures you a discount of around 18%, but this will vary.
Not surprisingly, it costs a lot more to hire a handyman in London. In fact, a homeowner in the capital can pay 2X more for a handyman than in other areas of the UK, or even more. For example, the average of the quotes we found for a full day of work from a handyman in London was around £340 a day. Compare this to Bristol, where a handyman would do a day's work for closer to £160—less than half the price.
| Average Cost to Hire a Handyman | First Hour | Next hour | Next Half Hour | Half Day | Full Day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | £60 | £50 | £25 | £191 | £337 |
| Surrey | £44 | £37 | £19 | £120 | £205 |
| Bristol | £39 | £24 | £12 | £95 | £163 |
| Manchester | £40 | £31 | £15 | £125 | £213 |
| Average | £45 | £36 | £18 | £133 | £229 |
These prices reflect handyman businesses with online presences that are fully insured. Independent handymen might be cheaper, but make sure they still have handyman insurance! Read about what insurance a handyman should have here.
Cost of a Handyman Outside of Regular Working Hours
If you need a handyman outside of normal business hours for an emergency repair or to attend while you're home after work, for example, you'll probably pay at least 30% more. In fact, the data showed that the average cost for the first hour of a handyman's services increased from £45 during regular working hours to £59 after hours, an increase of 31%. Subsequent hours of work are also higher after hours, increasing from an average of £36 to £49 per hour, an increase of 36%.
Normal business hours for a handyman are typically 8 am until 4pm or 6 pm , Monday to Friday. Some handymen will offer the same prices on a Saturday. However, most handymen charge a higher rate after 6 pm in the evening or at the weekend.
| Premium to Hire a Handyman Outside of Normal Business Hours | Normal Working Hours | Evenings and Weekends | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Hour | £45 | £59 | 31% |
| Consecutive Hours | £36 | £49 | 36% |
FAQs
When hiring a handyman, you should always look for one with insurance. With basic handyman public liability insurance costing £75 or less (what you pay them for a just few hours of work), it's not something your handyman should skimp on. Public liability for a handyman (the minimum cover they need) protects against accidental injury to clients or other members of the public, or accidental damage to property.
The cost of hiring a handyman business for a whole day varies by area, ranging from around £160 in smaller towns up to £360 or so in London. On average, the cost to hire a handyman for a day is around £230 in the UK. Independent handyman might be cheaper. Read more about daily handyman rates by area here.
On average, it costs £45 to hire a handyman business for the first hour and £36 for consecutive hours. But costs are cheaper outside of London.
You can find handyman services for closer to £20 an hour in many areas of the UK. To save money on a handyman, batch your jobs so you can hire one for a half day or more instead of just an hour (because the first hour is most expensive),
How to Save Money Hiring a Handyman
Hiring a handyman isn't cheap, so here are some tips to help you save money next time you have work that needs doing:
- Batch your jobs: You typically get a discounted rate when hiring a handyman for a longer period of time, so by saving up the various odds and ends you need doing and hiring one for a longer period of time you can save up to 20% or so. The first hour is always the most expensive, and the hourly rate drops after that, with further discounts for half or full days.
- Hire during regular business hours: It costs around 30% more to hire a handyman to work in the evening or at the weekend.
- Hire a non-VAT paying handyman: Not all handyman charge VAT—businesses with turnover under £85,000 a year may not be VAT registered. Hiring one of these smaller businesses will therefore save you 20% (the cost of the VAT).
- Compare quotes: Even if you've been given a recommendation, be sure to compare quotes before agreeing to work.
- Become a member: Some handymen businesses offer a loyalty programme, where members can save around 20%. If you aren't very handy yourself and you expect to use a handyman regularly, it might be worth signing up.
Questions to Ask When Hiring a Handyman
The right questions can help you find the right handyman. Here are a few to get you started.
- Are you insured? At the very least, a handyman should have public liability insurance in place to protect against accidental injury to third parties (this includes you) or damage to their belongings.
- Do you charge VAT? If so, this will add 20% to your invoice.
- Is there a work guarantee? As if you handyman guarantees their work, and if so, for how long. Also ask for examples of when they have fixed work under their guarantee in the past.
- Reviews or recommendations: Look on Google for reviews and/or ask for the names of previous customers to call and enquire about the handyman's quality of work, timeliness, cleanliness, etc.
- What do you charge for sourcing materials: Handymen often charge a fixed fee for sourcing necessary materials—frequently in the range of £20 to £35 per hour for shopping.
- Do you have photos of recent work? A handyman who takes real pride in their work tends to take lots of photos, and likes to show off their handiwork. Beware of a handyman who has no photos of past work.
Types of Work
While most handymen charge for their time (e.g., by the half hour, hour, half day or full day) others charge a fixed amount for a certain type of work. Here are some examples of different work that a handyman can do for you.
- Assemble trampoline
- Baby proofing & nursery
- Bathroom cabinet repair
- Bathroom tap repair
- blind fitting
- Board up a borken window
- Change bath panel
- Change shed lock
- Change toilet seat
- Change tub plug and chain
- curtain hanging
- Decking repairs
- Decorating
- Dishwasher installation
- Door lock replacement
- Fence painting
- Fence repair
- Fit cat flat
- Fitting blinds
- Fitting curtains
- Flat pack assemby
- Floor sanding & sealing
- Furniture assembly
- Gate repair
- Gutter cleaning
- Gutter repair
- House painting
- Install house number/name plate
- Install washing line
- Kitchen cabinet repair
- Kitchen tap repair
- Leaking pipe repair
- mirror fitting
- Mounting shelves
- Mounting units
- Painting and decorating
- Painting and decorating
- Patio jet washing
- Patio laying
- picture hanging
- Repair a broken window
- Shed build
- Shed repair
- Tiling
- TV mounting
- Wardrobe/cupboard design & build
- Washing machine installation
- Window leak repair
- Window lock repair or replacement
Methodology
To arrive at average costs to hire a handyman, we gathered quotes from dozens of handyman businesses in London, Surrey, Bristol and Manchester to get a rough idea of how prices vary in different local areas. These prices reflect businesses with an online presence and a transparent pricing model. They're also fully insured. You may find that the cost to hire a handyman in your area is higher or lower, depending on where you live and the type of handyman you hire (e.g., independent or a larger business).