Last Updated on September 4, 2026
Finding
The two biggest UK trade cost guides disagree by up to £175 a day on what a painter and decorator charges, with Checkatrade publishing an average of £325 a day and MyBuilder £150 to £250, in Whito’s check of published rates on 4 September 2026.
Source: Whito, whito.co.uk/for/painters-decorators/how-much-do-painters-charge-uk, September 2026. Free to quote with a link to this page.
Ask what a painter charges and the honest answer is that the published guides cannot agree. That matters twice over. If you are hiring, the number you saw online may be £100 a day adrift of your local reality. If you are the painter, the guides are framing your quote before you open your mouth.
The published day rates, side by side
Every figure below was read on the named guide’s own page on 4 September 2026.
| Source | Day rate | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Checkatrade cost guide (updated June 2026) | £325 average | around £32 |
| MyJobQuote | £150 to £250 outside London, £250 to £350 in London | not stated |
| MyBuilder price guide | £150 to £250 average | £20 to £40 |
The spread is not a rounding error. Checkatrade’s average sits £75 to £175 above the other two guides’ typical range. Vetted-platform members skew more established, London jobs pull averages up, and VAT registration quietly adds 20% to some quotes and not others. None of the guides says which of these its number includes.
What rooms and houses cost at published rates
| Job | Published range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Small room | £250 to £400 (MyJobQuote), £350 (Checkatrade average) | both read 4 Sep 2026 |
| Medium room, about 12m² | about £400 (MyJobQuote), £450 (Checkatrade average) | both read 4 Sep 2026 |
| Large living room | £500 to £990 (MyJobQuote), £1,000 (Checkatrade average) | both read 4 Sep 2026 |
| Hall, stairs and landing | £875 to £1,330 and up | MyJobQuote |
| 2 bed flat, full interior | £1,500 to £2,500, average £2,000 | Checkatrade |
| 5 bed house, full interior | £5,500 to £7,500, average £6,000 | Checkatrade |
If you are the painter, publish your number
Fewer than half of independent UK small business websites publish any price at all, in Whito’s August 2026 price transparency study, and not one of the 20 plumbers we checked published a single figure. The silence does not protect your margin. It hands the framing to the cost guides above, whose numbers a customer has usually already read.
Start: publish a day rate and what it includes. Build: add two or three worked examples with photos, a medium bedroom, a hall stairs and landing, an exterior. Scale: review the rate every season against your booked-ahead time, and put the date on the page so engines and customers can see it is current.
Common questions
How much does a painter and decorator charge per day in the UK?
Published 2026 guides disagree. Checkatrade lists an average of £325 a day, while MyJobQuote and MyBuilder both publish typical ranges of £150 to £250 outside London. In London, MyJobQuote puts the day rate at £250 to £350. All figures read 4 September 2026.
How much does it cost to paint a room?
At published 2026 rates, a small room runs about £250 to £400, a medium room around £400 to £450, and a large living room £500 to £1,000, depending on the guide. Prep condition, ceiling height and paint quality move every quote.
Why do painting cost guides disagree so much?
The guides do not say whether their averages include London, VAT registered firms or vetted platform members, all of which push figures up. Treat any single published number as a frame, not a rule, and get local quotes.
Do painters charge more in London?
Yes. MyJobQuote publishes £250 to £350 a day for London against £150 to £250 elsewhere, and prices a standard 15m² room at £450 to £570 in London against £360 to £465 nationally, read 4 September 2026.
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