Painter and decorator day rates explained: day rate vs fixed price

Across the 2026 UK cost guides compared below, most painter and decorator day rates outside London fall between about £150 and £355, usually for one person's labour with materials and sometimes VAT on top. A day rate suits small or uncertain jobs, but for a clearly defined repaint a fixed written price is usually safer, because the decorator, not you, carries the risk of the job running over.

What is a typical painter and decorator day rate in the UK?

Across the 2026 UK cost guides below, most painter and decorator day rates outside London fall between about £150 and £355, with London and the South East higher. The guides measure different things, so the spread is wide. Treat each figure as a national or regional average, not a local price, and check whether it includes materials and VAT before you compare it with a quote.

Whito’s comparison notes that two of the biggest UK trade cost guides disagree by up to £175 a day, and that the guides don’t say whether their averages include London, VAT-registered firms or vetted platform members. Northampton sits in Trade2Base’s Midlands band, so the middle of these ranges is a fairer reference point than either end. Trade2Base is written for decorators setting their own rates, and it suggests specialist, exterior and commercial work should be priced 15 to 30% above its standard figures.

What a decorator’s day rate covers, and what it leaves out

A day rate covers one person’s labour for one working day, and usually nothing else. Paint, filler, caulk, sandpaper, masking and access equipment are normally charged on top, and a second decorator means a second day rate. Before you compare two figures, ask what hours “a day” means, whether travel and setting up count, and whether materials are included or added at cost.

Those questions matter more than the headline number. A decorator at £200 who adds materials with a mark-up can cost more than one at £240 who includes them. Fantastic Services says its figures include VAT where applicable, and warns that quotes may be labour only or supply-and-apply, so you should always confirm whether paint and materials are in the price.

VAT is the other quiet difference. A business only has to register for VAT once its taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, according to GOV.UK. Many smaller sole traders are below that, so their rate carries no VAT. A VAT-registered firm may quote ex-VAT, and the standard VAT rate is 20%. Ask for every figure “including VAT” so you compare like with like.

Day rate vs fixed price: which is better for you?

For most homeowners, a fixed price is better for clearly defined work such as a bedroom, a hallway or a whole house repaint, because the decorator carries the risk if it takes longer. A day rate suits jobs where nobody can see the full scope until work starts, such as stripping old wallpaper from tired plaster, or small jobs that fit into a set number of days.

The key difference is who carries the risk of overrun. On a fixed price, an extra day of filling is the decorator’s problem, unless it was caused by something genuinely unforeseeable or by you changing the job. On a day rate, every extra day is yours. HomeBuilding & Renovating makes a similar point about the wider building trade: a quote should give you a fixed final cost and is considered binding, while an estimate is only a rough approximation.

How to work out what a day rate job will really cost

Multiply the day rate by a realistic number of days, add materials, then add VAT if the decorator is registered. The number of days is where quotes really differ, so ask the decorator to write it down. If they won’t estimate the days, you have no way to check the total, and you are effectively agreeing an open-ended bill.

The worked example below is a hypothetical, not a quote. It takes £220 a day, a figure inside Trade2Base’s Midlands band, and a decorator who estimates two and a half to three days for a double bedroom with walls, ceiling and woodwork.

Drying time is the hidden cost on day-rate jobs. Coats need time between them, and in one small room a decorator can run out of work while paint dries. A decorator pricing a fixed job will often plan around that by working on two rooms at once. On a day rate, nothing forces that planning.

Our painter and decorator cost guide for Northampton gives typical job ranges you can use as a sense-check against whatever total you get.

Why do some decorators prefer to quote a day rate?

Decorators quote day rates when they can’t see the full job, when the work is small or varied, or when the customer is likely to keep adding things. It protects them from underpricing. That is fair for genuinely uncertain work, but on a straightforward repaint a refusal to give a fixed price is worth asking about.

A day rate is not a warning sign on its own. Plenty of honest decorators use one for small jobs. What matters is whether they will put an estimate of days in writing and keep you updated if it changes. Decorators who quote a fixed price will usually want to visit first, because they need to see the walls, the woodwork and the access before committing to a figure.

Northampton’s housing shows why. A Victorian terrace with tall ceilings, layers of old paper and decades of gloss on the skirting is hard to price blind. A 1970s Development Corporation house with plain plastered walls, or a newer home at Upton or Grange Park, is usually more predictable once someone has looked at it.

Five things to agree in writing on a day rate job

On a day rate job, get five things in writing before work starts: the rate including VAT, the estimated number of days, how materials are charged, the working hours a day covers, and what happens if it runs over. A short message or email is enough. It gives you a record if the bill grows.

1. Estimated days and a review point. Agree that the decorator tells you before going past the estimate, not after.
2. Materials. At cost with receipts, or with a stated mark-up.
3. Half days. Whether a short final day is charged as a half or a full day.
4. Lost days. Who pays if rain or a delay from another trade stops work.
5. Scope. Which rooms and surfaces are included, and how many coats.

The law gives you some backstop. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a trader must do the work with reasonable care and skill. If a contract doesn’t fix a price or say how it will be worked out, you only have to pay a reasonable price, and if no finish time is fixed the work must be done within a reasonable time. “Reasonable” is decided on the facts, so a clear written agreement is far easier to rely on than an argument after the event.

Comparing a day rate quote with a fixed price quote

Turn both into a single total for the same work. Take the day rate, multiply by the estimated days, add materials and VAT, then put it next to the fixed price. If the totals are close, the fixed price usually wins, because the risk of overrun sits with the decorator rather than with you.

Then check the work behind each figure. A cheaper total can mean fewer days of preparation or one coat instead of two, which tends to show sooner as patchy or flaking paint. Compare what each decorator plans to do to the walls before painting, not just the price. Our guide on how to choose a painter and decorator covers the questions to ask and the warning signs to watch for.

When does DIY make sense, and when should you get a decorator?

If the job is a single room in good condition and you have the time, doing it yourself can make sense. Once there’s old paper to strip, high stairwells, lots of woodwork or exterior work, the hours add up quickly and a professional finish is harder to get. That is where a fixed written price is worth having.

Dean has more than 30 years in the trade and quotes fixed written prices per job rather than open-ended day rates. He visits, looks at the surfaces and gives you a free written quote for the work described, with any extras agreed in writing before they are done. For a house or flat in and around Northampton, call 07539 779 036 or see our interior painting page for what a room job includes. Whatever the published averages say, a written quote after a visit is the only real figure.

Header photo: Ivan S on Pexels. Photos of our own work appear further down the page.

Last updated 9 October 2026 by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.