What to charge / Handymen · Checked 16 October 2026
The 2026 price guides agree closely on a handyman’s hourly rate outside London: about £30 according to Fantastic Services and Checkatrade, £33 on average from Taskrabbit and £27 from HaMuch. London runs from around £45 to £65. Below are half-day and day rates, minimum call-out charges, prices for common jobs and a calculator for your own rate.
Rates
| Rate | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| An hour outside London, Fantastic Services | around £30 [1] | £45 to £65 in London and the South East. Includes VAT where applicable. |
| An hour, Taskrabbit national average | £33 [2] | From its platform and market research, updated 1 October 2026. |
| Minimum call-out, usually the first hour | £40 to £60 [1][3] | Fantastic Services. £60 to £90 in London. Checkatrade gives £40 to £50. |
| For a full day of 7 to 8 hours | £188 to £260 [1][4] | Fantastic Services. £300 to £450 in London. HaMuch’s average day rate is £188. |
| For a half day of 3 to 4 hours | £90 to £150 [1] | Fantastic Services. £150 to £220 in London. |
| An hour, HaMuch average | £27 [4] | From £10 to £45 depending on area, excluding VAT and call-out charges. |
| An hour through a larger firm | £60 [3] | Checkatrade says larger firms often subcontract to individual handymen and charge more. From an older guide, last updated 2023. |
Job prices
What customers are typically quoted, from published UK price guides. Use them as a check on your own quotes, not a fixed price list.
| Job | Typical price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Hang pictures or shelves | £40 to £70 [2] | Taskrabbit |
| Assemble one item of flat-pack furniture | £40 to £80 [2][1] | Taskrabbit. Fantastic Services gives £40 to £120, or £60 to £150 in London |
| Fit a curtain or blind | £40 to £80 [1] | Fantastic Services. £60 to £150 in London |
| Fix a sticking door | £50 to £90 [2] | Taskrabbit |
| Replace a tap washer | £50 to £100 [2] | Taskrabbit |
| Replace a door handle or lock | £50 to £100 [2] | Taskrabbit |
| Replace a light fitting | £60 to £100 [2] | Taskrabbit |
| Patch and fill a wall | £60 to £120 [2] | Taskrabbit |
| Mount a TV on the wall | £60 to £120 [1] | Fantastic Services. £90 to £200 in London |
| Regrout or reseal a bath or shower | £80 to £150 [2] | Taskrabbit |
| Hang a door, labour | £80 to £200 [1] | Fantastic Services. £120 to £300 in London |
| Put up 8 basic shelves | £200 [3] | Checkatrade, 4 to 8 hours, from a May 2024 table |
| Draught-proof a whole home | £200 to £400 [1] | Fantastic Services. £250 to £500 in London |
Fantastic Services says its 2026 figures include VAT where applicable. Taskrabbit’s task prices are from its October 2026 guide and do not say whether VAT is included. Materials are usually extra.
Your numbers
Start from what you want to earn, add what the business costs to run, and divide by the hours you can actually charge for. Travel, quoting, paperwork and chasing payments are not chargeable hours, so be honest about them.
The starting numbers are examples, not a recommendation. Change them to match your year. The result is before income tax and National Insurance, and before VAT if you are registered.
Before you set a price
Pricing well
Most handymen set a minimum of an hour, or one to two hours according to Taskrabbit, to cover the journey and the time to set up. Fantastic Services puts the usual minimum at £40 to £60. Say so when you take the booking, and suggest the customer saves up a few small jobs for the same visit.
A list of odd jobs suits a half-day or day booking better than an hourly clock. It fills your diary in blocks, saves you a second journey and gives the customer a fixed figure to agree to.
TV mounting, flat-pack assembly and curtain poles take about the same time each visit. A set price is easier to accept than an hourly rate and rewards you for being quick.
If you buy the fixings, brackets or sealant, list them on the invoice. A markup is normal, and Taskrabbit tells customers to expect 10 to 30%, so be open about it if asked.
Swapping a light fitting like for like is fine for a handyman. Anything beyond that needs a Part P registered electrician, and any gas work needs a Gas Safe engineer. Pass those jobs to someone qualified and say so when the customer calls.
A good rate only helps if the customer reaches you. Most callers who hit voicemail ring the next name on the list. If you miss three calls a week and two in five would have become a £120 job, that is about £624 of work a month going to someone else. See what a missed call costs, or how While You Work answers calls for handymen while you are on a job.
Questions
Around £30 outside London, according to Fantastic Services and Checkatrade. Taskrabbit’s national average is £33 and HaMuch’s is £27. In London expect £45 to £65 an hour from Fantastic Services, £51 on average from Taskrabbit and £61 from HaMuch.
Fantastic Services gives £188 to £260 for a full day of 7 to 8 hours outside London, and £300 to £450 in London. A half day of 3 to 4 hours is £90 to £150. HaMuch’s average day rate is £188.
Most charge a minimum, usually the first hour. Fantastic Services gives £40 to £60, or £60 to £90 in London, and Checkatrade gives £40 to £50. Fantastic Services says the charge usually rolls into the total once the job goes ahead.
Taskrabbit gives £40 to £70 for hanging pictures or shelves. Checkatrade gives £200 for putting up eight basic shelves in a living room, about 4 to 8 hours of work.
Fantastic Services gives £60 to £120 outside London and £90 to £200 in London.
Only if registered. HaMuch notes that a lot of handymen are not VAT registered. Registration is compulsory once taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in the last 12 months, and VAT is then charged at 20%.
Figures checked on 16 October 2026. Price guides change, so check the source before you rely on a figure. Where a source says whether a price includes VAT, the page says so; where it does not, treat the figure as unconfirmed on VAT.
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