Orangery Cost Calculator
An orangery sits between a conservatory and a full extension — brick base, substantial frame, glazed lantern. This prices it, and shows what a plain extension would cost instead.
Open the calculator →Price an orangery in 30 seconds
4 steps. Covers size, frame material, the roof lantern and region — with the brick-extension comparison alongside.
How this calculator works
An orangery is priced per square metre on the frame, with the lantern and the masonry base added separately — those are the two things that distinguish it from a conservatory, and they do not scale with floor area in the same way.
The breakdown shows a plain brick extension of the same size alongside, at around £2,600/m². That comparison is the honest one to make: at 16m² the two land close together, and a full extension gives you a properly insulated room usable year-round. Choose the orangery because you want the light and the character, not because you expect it to be cheaper. It pays to price the two honest alternatives alongside it. If it is really the glazed, light-filled feel you are after, a straightforward conservatory costs considerably less and, kept thermally separate from the house, sidesteps the building-regulations question an orangery raises. At the other end, if you already have a tired conservatory, replacing just the roof with a modern insulated one is a fraction of an orangery’s cost — our conservatory roof cost calculator prices that route.
On regulations: conservatories are exempt from most building regulations when thermally separated from the house. An orangery with a substantial solid roof typically fails that test, so full regulations including Part L apply. That changes the specification and the price, and it is the thing installers are vaguest about. Ask any quote to state in writing whether it is being built as an exempt conservatory or a fully building-regulations orangery, because the same footprint priced the two ways can differ by thousands, and a quote that stays silent on it is usually the cheaper conservatory specification with an orangery name.
Orangery costs by size and frame (2026)
| Specification | Typical 2026 cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 3×3m uPVC, brick base | £20,000–£26,000 | Compact |
| 4×4m aluminium with lantern | £28,000–£38,000 | The most common build |
| 4×5m hardwood, bifolds, UFH | £40,000–£55,000 | High specification |
| Roof lantern (supply only) | £2,500–£6,000 | Per unit |
| 4×4m brick extension, for comparison | £50,000–£70,000 | Fully insulated, year-round room |
Ranges match our orangery cost guide. Note the comparison line — a full extension is not far off at larger sizes.
Orangery calculator FAQs
An orangery has substantial masonry — brick piers and dwarf walls — with a glazed lantern set into a largely solid roof. A conservatory is predominantly glazed with a fully glazed roof. The orangery reads as part of the house; the conservatory reads as an addition. That distinction is not just cosmetic: the solid roof and masonry that make an orangery feel like part of the house are also what push it across the building-regulations line, so the look you are paying for and the paperwork you are taking on tend to arrive together.
Usually yes, and this is the key difference from a conservatory. The exemption requires thermal separation from the house, under 30m², and a predominantly glazed roof. An orangery with a substantial solid roof and open access generally fails that, so full regulations including Part L insulation apply.
At small sizes, yes. At 16m² and above the gap narrows considerably, and a full extension gives you a properly insulated room usable in January and July. Choose an orangery for the light and the character, not on the expectation of saving money.
Normally not — an orangery is treated as an extension and usually falls within permitted development limits. Consent is needed on listed buildings, in conservation areas, on flats and maisonettes, or where permitted development rights have been removed. As with any extension, applying for a lawful development certificate even when consent is not needed gives you written proof for a future sale, which is cheap now and saves an awkward gap in the paperwork when a buyer's solicitor starts asking questions.
Related cost guides
- Orangery cost guide — full 2026 pricing
- Conservatory calculator — the cheaper glazed option
- Extension cost calculator — price a full brick extension
- Conservatory vs orangery vs extension — compared side by side
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