How Much Does a Plumber Cost? Hourly and Call-Out Rates

Plumber rates in the UK

Checkatrade’s plumber cost guide, last updated in June 2026, gives the rates below for standard and emergency plumbing work, and Checkatrade’s boiler repair prices give the hourly rate for a gas engineer.

Rate	Low to high	Average
Plumber, per hour	£40 to £60	£50
Plumber, per day	£325 to £375	£350
Emergency plumber, per hour	£75 to £150	£100
Emergency call-out fee	£100 to £120	£110
Gas engineer, per hour, plus parts	£50 to £80	£65

Plumber hourly and day rates

Checkatrade puts a plumber’s hourly rate at £40 to £60, with an average of £50, and the day rate at £325 to £375, with an average of £350. On those averages, a day costs the same as 7 hours at the hourly rate, so a day rate works out cheaper once a job runs past 7 hours.

Checkatrade’s call-out fee guide describes the day rate as standard labour, excluding parts and emergency call-out fees. Parts, and any emergency call-out fee, are charged on top.

Work on a gas boiler is a job for a Gas Safe registered engineer. 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, and Checkatrade’s boiler repair prices put a gas engineer at £50 to £80 an hour plus parts, with an average of £65. Because the parts come on top, the hourly rate is only part of a boiler repair bill.

Prices for common plumbing jobs

The job prices in Checkatrade’s plumber cost guide are UK prices excluding VAT.

Job	UK price, excluding VAT	Average
Unblock a toilet	£75 to £150	£100
Repair a burst water pipe	£50 to £200	£150
Install a radiator	£150 to £180	£165
Replace a water tank	£360 to £450	£405
Fix a leak	£77 to £128	£100

VAT applies if the plumber is VAT-registered, so check whether each price you are given includes it. Two quotes for the same job only compare like for like once both show VAT the same way.

Emergency plumber costs and call-out fees

Checkatrade puts an emergency plumber at £75 to £150 an hour, with an average of £100, and the emergency call-out fee at £100 to £120, with an average of £110. On those averages, an hour of emergency work costs twice an hour of standard work.

Example emergency job prices

Checkatrade’s call-out fee guide, last updated in March 2026, gives example prices for common emergency jobs. A gas leak or gas pipe repair is a job for a Gas Safe registered engineer.

Emergency job	Example price
Gas leak or gas pipe repair, a simple repair to a small section of copper pipe	£165
Boiler breakdown, a simple part repair such as a new electrode	£275
Loss of boiler pressure, repressurising with a filling loop	£182
Blocked or overflowing toilet	£100
Broken pipe, a small section of uPVC	£100
Blocked drain, cleared by rodding	£175

Burst pipe repair out of hours

Repairing a burst pipe at night or at the weekend adds the emergency call-out fee to the price, on Checkatrade’s figures. On that guide’s averages, the £150 repair and the £110 fee come to £260.

Among the Nottingham plumbing and heating firms compared on emergency cover, Nottingham Gas & Plumbing in Forest Fields has emergency plumbers on call 24/7 and aims to arrive within an hour, depending on location. M & S Plumbing & Heating in Gedling takes 24/7 emergency call-outs, and T & S Heating in Arnold is open 24 hours, seven days a week.

Fixed quotes and estimates

Citizens Advice says a quote is a promise to do the work at an agreed price, while an estimate is the trader’s best guess. A plumber cannot charge more than a quote without a good reason, such as extra work you agreed to pay for or an obvious mistake in the quote, and a rise in the plumber’s own costs does not count.

Giving the go-ahead makes a contract even if nothing is written down, and anything you took into account before agreeing, such as a price given over the phone, is part of it. A fixed-price quote settles the figure before the work starts, and MCB Heating in St Ann’s is one Nottingham firm that gives them.