Electrician rates Cost Calculator

How this calculator works

Every figure in this calculator is the one published in the cost table on our electrician rates 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.

Day rate, price work or a call-out charge

Electricians don’t all bill the same way, and the method changes what you pay more than most people expect. Some charge by the hour, some quote a flat day rate, and some price the whole job up front – that last one is often called price work. For a quick visit like a single socket or a light fitting, expect a call-out or minimum charge that covers travelling to you and the first hour on site, whether the job takes ten minutes or fifty.

Hourly and day rates suit open-ended jobs where nobody can see what’s behind the wall yet. A fixed price suits a defined job, because the risk of it running long sits with the electrician, not you. If you’re getting quotes, check you’re comparing like for like – a low day rate means little if the job takes twice as long.

Who turns up matters too. A time-served, qualified electrician costs more per hour than an apprentice or an electrician’s mate, and for anything on the fixed wiring you want the qualified person doing or signing off the work. On a bigger job you might see both on site, which is normal and usually keeps the labour bill down.

Small job versus rewire: swapping a like-for-like accessory is quick and rarely notifiable. A rewire is a different animal – cables pulled through the whole house, a new consumer unit, and floors up. It’s priced as a project, and the quote may or may not include making good afterwards. Plastering, filling chased walls and redecorating can add up, so ask whether that’s in the figure or down to you.

Some work in the home is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations in England and Wales – things like new circuits and consumer unit changes, plus any work in a bathroom or other special location. That work has to be certified, either by an electrician on a competent-person scheme who notifies building control for you, or signed off directly by your local authority. You can read what Part P covers in the government’s Approved Document P.

Whatever the job, you should come away with paperwork. New or altered circuits get an Electrical Installation Certificate; smaller changes get a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate. Ask which certificate you’ll receive before work starts, and check the electrician is registered with a competent-person scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT if the job is notifiable.