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Boiler Service Cost: What You Pay and How Often to Book
A boiler should be serviced once every 12 months, and the UK price differs a little between gas, oil and electric combi boilers. Here are the prices for each, what boiler cover costs by the month and the year, how a year of cover compares with a one-off service, who should service a gas or oil boiler, and how skipping a service can affect the warranty.
Boiler service cost in the UK
Checkatrade’s boiler service cost guide gives the UK prices below for a boiler service and for boiler cover, in tables last updated in March 2026. The prices exclude VAT, so check whether a price you are given includes it.
| Service or cover | UK price, excluding VAT | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Gas boiler service | £80 to £120 | £100 |
| Oil boiler service | £75 to £110 | £92.50 |
| Electric combi boiler service | £70 to £110 | £90 |
| Monthly boiler cover, per month | £8 to £13 | £10.50 |
| Boiler and central heating cover, per year | £180 to £300 | £240 |
The same guide gives £95 as the minimum call-out for a commercial boiler of 40 kW or under.
Gas, oil and electric boiler services
A gas boiler service costs £80 to £120, with an average of £100, on Checkatrade’s figures. HSE says anyone employed to work on gas appliances in a home must be a Gas Safe registered engineer and competent in that area of gas work. The areas each engineer is competent in are marked on the back of their Gas Safe Register ID card.
An oil boiler service costs £75 to £110, with an average of £92.50, and Checkatrade says an oil boiler should be serviced every 12 months by an OFTEC qualified engineer. An electric combi boiler service costs £70 to £110, with an average of £90, in the same guide.
Before the engineer starts the service
- A gas boiler engineer is Gas Safe registered
- The competencies on the back of the ID card cover your gas boiler
- An oil boiler engineer is OFTEC qualified
- The price says whether VAT is included
- You know whether the boiler warranty requires a yearly service
How often to service a boiler
Book a boiler service once every 12 months, on Checkatrade’s advice. For a gas boiler, HSE strongly advises that gas appliances, flues and pipework are serviced at least once a year by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
HSE also strongly recommends a carbon monoxide alarm, which costs from £15 and should comply with EN 50291 and carry a British or European approval mark, such as a Kitemark.
Servicing to keep a boiler warranty valid
Checkatrade says an annual boiler service may be required to keep the manufacturer’s warranty valid. T & S Heating in Arnold, one of the Nottingham heating firms compared on boiler guarantees, gives a 15-year warranty on the boilers it installs, covering the boiler, radiators, pipework and labour as long as the system is serviced.
Do not skip the yearly service on a boiler under warranty
If the warranty needs an annual service and you miss one, a repair it would have covered is yours to pay for, and an emergency boiler repair averages £450 excluding VAT, the price of four and a half gas services at £100.
Boiler servicing and the law
A service is not usually a legal requirement unless you are a landlord, Checkatrade’s boiler service guide says. For a landlord, the legal record is a gas safety certificate, officially a Gas Safety Record and also called a CP12, which only a Gas Safe registered engineer can issue and which homeowners are not legally required to have.
Boiler cover cost against a one-off service
Checkatrade puts monthly boiler cover at £8 to £13 a month, with an average of £10.50, and boiler and central heating cover at £180 to £300 a year, with an average of £240. A one-off service is usually cheaper upfront, while cover spreads the cost and may include repairs.
Across those ranges, a year of monthly cover costs £96 to £156, against £80 to £120 for a one-off gas service. At the £240 average, boiler and central heating cover costs £140 more a year than a gas service at £100.
A year of monthly boiler cover against a one-off gas service
| Monthly boiler cover, 12 payments of £10.50 | £126 |
|---|---|
| Less a one-off gas boiler service | minus £100 |
Total £26 more a year for cover
Both rows use Checkatrade's averages, excluding VAT. A plan that leaves out the repair you need puts the full repair bill on top of the £126.
The comparison turns on which repairs a plan pays for, because a boiler repair costs £120 to £750, with an average of £300, or £225 to £675 as an emergency, on Checkatrade’s boiler repair prices.
Asking what boiler cover pays for
Do this
Does the £10.50 a month include the annual service, parts, labour and emergency call-outs, and is there a limit on repairs?
Not this
How much is your boiler cover a month?
Fahrenheit Plumbing & Heating in Beeston has a £7.99 a month care plan that includes an annual service and a 24-hour emergency call-out to the boiler, which comes to £95.88 over 12 months.
Common questions
How much does a boiler service cost in the UK?
A gas boiler service costs £80 to £120 in the UK, with an average of £100, excluding VAT, in Checkatrade's boiler service cost guide. The same guide puts an oil boiler service at £75 to £110 and an electric combi boiler service at £70 to £110.
How often should a boiler be serviced?
A boiler should be serviced once every 12 months, on Checkatrade's advice. HSE strongly advises that gas appliances, flues and pipework are serviced at least once a year by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and Checkatrade says an oil boiler should be serviced every 12 months by an OFTEC qualified engineer.
How much does boiler cover cost?
Monthly boiler cover costs £8 to £13 a month, with an average of £10.50, on Checkatrade's figures. Boiler and central heating cover costs £180 to £300 a year, with an average of £240, and both prices exclude VAT.
Is a boiler service a legal requirement?
A boiler service is not usually a legal requirement unless you are a landlord, Checkatrade's boiler service cost guide says, and a landlord's legal record is a gas safety certificate, also called a CP12. HSE still strongly advises that gas appliances, flues and pipework are serviced at least once a year by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Who can service a gas boiler?
Anyone you pay to service a gas boiler must be a Gas Safe registered engineer, because HSE says anyone employed to work on gas appliances in a home must be Gas Safe registered and competent in that area of gas work. The areas an engineer is competent in are marked on the back of their Gas Safe Register ID card.
Does missing a boiler service affect the warranty?
Missing a service can affect the warranty, because Checkatrade says annual servicing may be required to keep the manufacturer's warranty valid. If the warranty lapses, a repair it would have covered is yours to pay for, at £120 to £750 excluding VAT on Checkatrade's figures, or £225 to £675 as an emergency.
Is boiler cover worth it?
It depends on what the plan pays for, because at the averages a year of monthly boiler cover costs £126, which is £26 more than a one-off gas service at £100. Check whether the plan includes the annual service, and which repairs and emergency call-outs it covers, before you compare the two.
Where the figures come from
- Checkatrade, boiler service cost guide read 2026-09-16
- HSE, gas safety for home owners read 2026-09-16
- Checkatrade, gas safety certificate cost guide read 2026-09-16
- Checkatrade, boiler repair costs read 2026-09-16
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