Decking Cost Calculator
Built decking costs £80–£140 per m² in softwood timber and £120–£220 per m² in composite, including the frame. A typical 15m² deck lands at £1,500–£3,300 depending on the boards and how far off the ground it stands.
Open the calculator →Price decking in 30 seconds
3 steps, using the figures from our cost guide.
How this calculator works
Every figure in this calculator is the one published in the cost table on our decking guide. Pick the option that matches your job and the calculator returns that published range, adjusted for your region - it does not model anything the guide does not already say.
That is deliberate. A calculator whose rates drift from the page it sits under is worse than no calculator, because two numbers on the same site disagree.
What it cannot know: access, the condition of what is already there, and anything structural. Those are what separate three real quotes from each other.
Published decking costs (2026)
| Option | Typical 2026 cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Softwood deck (per m²) | £80–£140 | |
| Hardwood deck (per m²) | £140–£220 | |
| Composite deck (per m²) | £120–£220 | |
| Typical 15m² softwood deck | £1,500–£2,200 | |
| Typical 15m² composite deck | £2,200–£3,300 | |
| Balustrade (per metre) | £60–£150 | |
| Steps (per step) | £80–£200 |
These are the figures from our decking cost guide.
The driver the calculator can't read
The calculator prices boards and frame by area and material, but the driver it cannot read is height off the ground. A deck raised to meet a back door needs posts, bracing and often a balustrade, and that labour is not in a per-metre board price. Composite costs more up front and less over its life; softwood is the reverse. Budget for the frame honestly, because a cheap frame is where a deck fails first, long before the boards wear.
If the deck sits on a slope that needs holding back, the retaining wall guide covers that, and the wider landscaping cost guide the rest of a garden redesign.
Decking calculator — FAQs
Built: £80–£140/m² for softwood, £140–£220 for hardwood and £120–£220 for composite, including a standard frame. Raised builds and balustrades add to that.
If you will not oil timber every year, yes - composite costs roughly 50% more up front and nothing thereafter. Budget hollow boards can creak and fade; solid-core mid-range is where the value sits.
Not if it sits under 300mm high and, together with outbuildings, covers no more than half the garden. Above 300mm - a raised deck - needs an application.
10–15 years for maintained softwood, 20–25 for hardwood. The frame usually outlives the boards; re-boarding an existing sound frame costs roughly half a new deck.
Related cost guides
- Decking cost guide — The full price guide
- All landscaping services — Browse the hub
- All BestBuilders services — Every trade we cover
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