Painter and Decorator Day Rate UK 2026 — How Much Should You Charge?

Setting your painter and decorator day rate is one of those things that's easy to get wrong in both directions — charge too little and you're busy but broke, charge too much without the work to back it up and the phone stops ringing. Most decorators land somewhere they picked years ago and never revisited, which usually means they're underpriced.

Here's what painters and decorators are actually charging across the UK in 2026, and how to work out the right number for you.

What Decorators Are Charging in 2026

Rates vary a lot by region and by the type of work — domestic repaints sit at the lower end, while high-end or commercial finishing pulls more. As a rough guide for 2026:

London and the South East: roughly £180–£280 per day. The Midlands, North West and similar: around £140–£220 per day. The North East, Scotland and Wales: typically £120–£190 per day.

Specialist work — spray finishing, wallpapering, heritage or high-spec jobs — sits above these, and a lot of decorators charge a half day or a minimum call-out for the small "can you just touch this up" jobs.

These are labour figures. Materials — paint, filler, dust sheets, sundries — are charged on top, not swallowed into the day rate.

Work Backwards From What You Need to Take Home

The reliable way to set your rate isn't copying the decorator down the road — it's working backwards from your own numbers.

Start with what you want to earn for the year. Add up your annual business costs: van, fuel, insurance, brushes and kit, advertising, phone. Add the two together to get the revenue you need to bring in.

Then be honest about how many days you'll actually bill. Out of around 260 working days, knock off holidays, the odd sick day, time spent quoting and buying materials, and the days you simply can't get work. Most sole-trader decorators realistically bill 180–200 days a year, not 260.

Divide the revenue you need by your real billable days and you've got your minimum day rate. Add 10–20% on top for slow spells, bad debt and rising paint prices, and that's your number.

A Worked Example

Say you want £35,000 take-home and your annual costs are £10,000 — you need £45,000 of revenue. If you realistically bill 190 days, that's £45,000 ÷ 190 = roughly £237 a day as your floor. Add a buffer and you might quote £260–£275. That's a very different figure from the £150 a lot of decorators are still charging out of habit.

Day Rate or Price the Job?

For straightforward repaints, a lot of customers prefer a fixed price for the whole job — they want certainty, not an open-ended day count. The trick is to work it out using your day rate behind the scenes: estimate the days honestly, multiply by your rate, add materials, and present it as one clean price. You get the certainty of a fixed quote without underselling your time.

Day rates work better for messy or unpredictable jobs — old plaster, lots of prep, "we'll see how it goes" work — where a fixed price would just mean you carrying all the risk.

Signs You're Due a Rise

A few honest signals it's time to put your rate up: you're booked weeks ahead and turning work away; customers almost never flinch at your price; your costs have climbed but your rate hasn't; and you haven't reviewed it in over a year. A 10% increase rarely loses you the customers worth keeping.

How Dayrates Helps

Once you've set your rate, Dayrates makes the business side quick — send quotes and invoices from your phone between jobs, track what's paid and what's outstanding, and keep your material receipts in one place for the tax return. Try it free for 14 days, no card needed.

Set your rate from your own numbers, review it every year, and charge materials on top. Do that and decorating pays properly instead of just keeping you busy.