What Should You Pay an Electrician in the UK? 2026 Rates Explained

Understanding electrician cost in the UK can feel confusing, because electricians do not all charge in the same way. Some quote an hourly rate, some work to a day rate, some add a call-out fee and many prefer a fixed price for a whole job. Knowing how these work, and what common tasks typically cost, puts you in a much stronger position before you ask for a quote.

This guide explains the main ways electricians charge, gives indicative price ranges for the jobs households ask about most, and sets out why using a registered electrician matters more than saving a few pounds.

One thing to be clear about up front. Every figure here is a rough guide, typical at the time of writing. Real prices vary by region, by property, by the complexity of the job and by the individual electrician. Use these numbers to sense-check quotes, not as a fixed price list.

How electricians charge

There are four common pricing models, and a good electrician will tell you which one applies before any work starts.

• Hourly rate. Often used for small or unpredictable jobs. As a rough guide, somewhere around £40 to £75 an hour, higher in London and the South East.
• Day rate. Used for larger jobs that fill most of a day. Typically around £250 to £450 a day at the time of writing, depending on region.
• Call-out fee. A fixed charge to come to your home, common for emergencies or first visits. Often around £50 to £120, sometimes set against the cost of the work if you go ahead.
• Fixed price per job. For well-defined work such as fitting a socket or replacing a fuseboard, many electricians prefer to quote a single fixed price. This is usually the clearest option for you, because you know the total before you commit.

Where you can, ask for a fixed price for a defined job. It removes the uncertainty of an open-ended hourly clock.

Indicative prices for common jobs

The table below gives rough ranges for jobs households ask about most. Again, these are indicative and at the time of writing only.

Job	Typical indicative range
Fitting or replacing a single socket	around £80 to £150
Adding extra sockets in a room	around £100 to £250
Replacing a light fitting	around £80 to £150
Fitting outdoor lighting	around £150 to £350
Consumer unit (fuseboard) replacement	around £450 to £900
EICR safety report (typical home)	around £150 to £350
Smoke and heat alarm installation	around £200 to £400
EV charger installation	around £800 to £1,500

Rewires by property size

A full or partial rewire is one of the larger jobs you might face, and the price scales with the size of the home and how much disruption is involved. As a rough guide at the time of writing:

• One-bedroom flat: around £2,500 to £4,000
• Two to three-bedroom house: around £3,500 to £6,000
• Four-bedroom-plus house: around £6,000 to £10,000 or more

Rewires vary enormously depending on access, whether you are living in the property during the work, and how much making good (plastering and decorating) is included. Always ask exactly what the quote covers.

What affects the cost?

Several factors push the price up or down:

• Location. Rates in London and the South East tend to sit well above much of the rest of the UK.
• Complexity and access. Running new cables through finished walls, or working in an older property, takes longer.
• Materials. A premium consumer unit or fittings will cost more than standard parts.
• Emergencies and out-of-hours work. Evening, weekend and bank holiday call-outs usually carry a premium.
• Certification. Notifiable work that needs a certificate involves extra time and responsibility, which is reflected in the price.

Why use a registered electrician?

This is where it pays to slow down. Electrical work that is done badly is not just expensive to put right. It can cause fires and serious injury.

In England and Wales, certain electrical work is "notifiable" under the Building Regulations, which means it must be carried out or signed off correctly. The simplest way to be confident is to use an electrician registered with a recognised competent person scheme, such as NICEIC or NAPIT. A registered electrician can self-certify their work and issue the right certificate, saving you the cost and hassle of separate local authority approval.

Always ask which scheme an electrician is registered with, and ask to see their registration. A genuine provider will expect the question and answer it happily.

Getting comparable quotes

When you gather quotes, the cheapest figure is not always the best value. One quote might include premium parts, full making good and a certificate, while a lower one quietly leaves those out. Comparing like with like is the only way to judge fairly. Our guide on how to compare tradesperson quotes walks through exactly how to do that without getting caught out.

It also helps to budget for the home as a whole. If heating is on your list this year, our companion piece on boiler service costs in the UK for 2026 takes the same honest approach to indicative pricing.

Finding an electrician you can trust

Price matters, but trust matters more. The real question is whether the person you let into your home is genuinely qualified, properly insured and reliable. That is the problem DomusVesta is built to solve. Every provider on our platform is identity checked and has their insurance verified before they ever appear, reviews come only from real completed work, and you speak directly to the provider from start to finish, with clear pricing before you decide. We do not handle payments and we never take commission on the job. We simply help local households find local providers they can trust.

DomusVesta is currently pre-launch and signing up members ahead of a town-by-town rollout across the UK. If you would like verified, properly insured electricians within reach the moment you need one, create your free account today. It is free, and it means the next job is a great deal less stressful.