How Much Does Interior Painting Cost in the UK in 2026?
For a professionally painted standard room in the UK, expect to pay roughly £250 to £500, with small rooms from about £180 and large or complex spaces reaching £800 to £1,200, according to Checkatrade’s cost guide. A whole three-bedroom house interior sits anywhere from £2,000 to £8,000 depending on what is included. The gap between those figures is the real story, so this guide explains what drives it and how to read a quote.
TL;DR
- A standard room usually costs £250 to £500 to have painted professionally; small rooms start around £180 and large, complex ones can reach £1,200.
- Painters and decorators typically charge £200 to £350 per day, and more in London and the South East.
- Wall condition, ceilings, woodwork, paint quality and furniture moving move the price far more than the paint itself.
- Compare quotes line by line: check what is included, whether VAT is added, and who protects the floors.
- A free written quote from a local firm is the quickest way to replace national averages with your actual number.
Table of Contents
- What painting a room costs, by room type
- What painting a whole house interior costs
- Day rates, hourly rates and per-square-metre pricing
- What changes the price most
- Does VAT apply to your quote?
- Worked examples
- How to compare painting quotes
- Our perspective: why we quote one job at a time
- Getting a Hereford quote for your painting
- Is hiring a professional worth it?
- FAQ
- Sources
What painting a room costs, by room type
Published guides agree on the broad picture, even if their exact numbers differ. The table below uses figures from Checkatrade’s 2025/2026 data, which covers walls and typically the finish a professional would deliver.
| Room type | Typical professional cost |
|---|---|
| Small room (box room, bathroom) | £180 to £350 |
| Standard bedroom | £260 to £500 |
| Living room | £400 to £1,000+ |
| Large or complex space | £800 to £1,200 |
MyBuilder’s price guide lands in the same place: £300 to £500 for a standard bedroom or living room, including walls, ceiling and woodwork, with large open-plan spaces at £800 to £1,200. Another guide puts the average for a 12m² room at about £400, taking one to two days.
Treat these as a map, not a quote. Two bedrooms of the same size can differ by £200 or more once ceilings, doors, skirting and wall condition are counted.
What painting a whole house interior costs
The same Checkatrade data gives these ranges for a full interior repaint:
| Property | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| 2-bed house | £3,000 to £6,000 |
| 3-bed house | £4,000 to £8,000 |
| 5-bed house | £8,000 to £12,000 |
You will see lower numbers elsewhere. One guide gives £1,000 to £3,000 for painting a home, and the figures depend heavily on whether woodwork and ceilings are included, how many coats are specified and how much preparation is needed. When you see a headline price for a house, ask what it covers before you trust it.
Day rates, hourly rates and per-square-metre pricing
Decorators price in three ways, and it helps to know which one you are looking at.
By the day. Professional painters and decorators generally charge £200 to £350 per day as of 2026, with rates often higher in London and the South East. A 12m² room with woodwork typically takes one to two days, so a day rate of £250 produces a room price in the £250 to £500 range before materials.
By the hour. Handymen may charge less, typically £20 to £30 per hour, but may lack the specialist experience for high-quality decorative finishes, according to the same guide. For a feature room or a whole-house repaint, a trained decorator’s speed and finish usually earn the difference back.
By the square metre. One recent guide puts standard interior work at £8 to £25 per m² is a different Which? page, so we leave the exact figure unattributed here: per-m² labour rates for walls and ceilings generally sit in the low tens of pounds, and rise in the capital. Per-m² pricing is easy to compare but hides preparation, so ask whether filling and sanding are inside the rate.
What changes the price most
Wall and ceiling condition
Preparation is often the most time-consuming and costly part of a professional paint job. Filling, sanding and fixing cracks take longer than the painting itself in many older homes, and painting over poor plaster will not give a good finish however good the paint is.
Which? Trusted Traders point out that quotes often assume sound surfaces. If walls need extensive crack filling or plaster repair, the bill and the timeline both grow, and sometimes a separate plasterer is needed. In Herefordshire’s many period and older properties, this is the line most likely to change your final price.
Paint quality
Trade-standard paints such as Dulux Trade or Johnstone’s Trade generally offer better opacity and coverage, around 14 to 17m² per litre, than budget paint, according to this cost guide. Premium brands such as Farrow & Ball or Little Greene can add £100 to £300 to a job compared with standard trade emulsions, per the same source.
Cheap paint is rarely a saving. It needs more coats, and labour is the biggest part of the bill.
Scope: ceilings, woodwork and extras
Walls only, walls and ceilings, or walls, ceilings and all woodwork are three very different jobs. Skirting boards, door frames, doors, radiators and coving each add hours. Stripping wallpaper is a separate cost again; one guide puts wallpaper removal at around £350 per room, though that is an average, not a rule.
Location
Professional painting is typically at the upper end of published ranges in London and the South East, according to Which?. National averages therefore overstate what many people pay in places like Herefordshire and understate what they pay in the capital. Local quotes beat national figures for this reason.
Furniture and floor protection
Ask whether the quote covers moving furniture and protecting floors, or whether you are expected to clear the room. Which? advises confirming this up front to avoid hidden costs. An empty room is quicker to paint, so clearing it yourself can reduce the price.
Does VAT apply to your quote?
Some painters are sole traders below the VAT threshold and do not charge VAT. The current registration threshold is £90,000 of taxable turnover over 12 months, as raised in April 2024. A business above it must register and add 20% VAT. On an £4,000 house repaint that is a £800 difference you should see coming, so always ask whether a quote is VAT-inclusive before comparing two of them. The rules are set out on GOV.UK.
Worked examples
These are illustrations built from the ranges above, not Cornerstone prices.
A 4m by 3m bedroom, walls, ceiling and woodwork, sound surfaces. One to two days of work. At £200 to £350 a day, labour alone is £200 to £700, which is consistent with the £260 to £500 published range once you allow for the shorter end of the job.
A bedroom with cracked, uneven walls. The same room now needs filling, sanding and perhaps patch plastering. The painting is the same, but you are adding a day or more of preparation, and possibly a plasterer.
A three-bed semi, everything repainted. Walls, ceilings and all woodwork, throughout. Within the £4,000 to £8,000 range, where you land depends on paint grade, wall condition and whether furniture is cleared before work starts.
How to compare painting quotes
- Get at least two or three written quotes. Prices vary significantly between decorators in the same area, as MyBuilder notes.
- List the surfaces. Walls, ceilings, skirting, doors, frames, radiators, coving: each should be named.
- Check preparation. Ask what filling, sanding and making good is included, and what happens if hidden damage appears.
- Check coats and paint. Ask the brand, the line and the number of coats.
- Check protection and clearing. Who moves furniture, and how are floors covered?
- Check VAT and insurance. Is the total VAT-inclusive, and is the firm insured?
- Check the timeline. How many people, how many days, and will the same team stay to the end?
A quote that is suspiciously low usually leaves one of these items out.
Our perspective: why we quote one job at a time
Most people who call us have already seen a national average and want to know what it means for their home. Our honest answer is that the paint is the cheap part. The price is mostly about the walls underneath, and how carefully the room is prepared.
That is why we visit before we quote. A free site visit lets us see cracks, old patches, tired plaster and woodwork that has been painted too many times. Then we write the quote down, so you can see what is covered.
We are a local Hereford building firm, and we work on one project at a time. The same dedicated team stays with your job from start to finish, rather than being pulled between several sites. For decorating, that means consistent finish from room to room and a tidy home each evening. Our customers mention cleanliness more than almost anything else, and we treat it as part of the job, not an extra.
Because we also do drywall, plastering and carpentry in-house, a cracked wall or a damaged skirting board does not need another contractor. You deal with one firm, one quote and one team. We are fully insured, and we offer flexible payment options so a larger repaint does not have to be a strain.
— Trey
Getting a Hereford quote for your painting
If you are in Hereford or the surrounding area, we offer interior and exterior painting and decorating, along with the plastering and carpentry that often go with it. Quotes are free, with no obligation, and written. Visit Cornerstone Hereford to see our services and ask for a site visit.
Is hiring a professional worth it?
For a spare room, doing it yourself can be a fair saving. For hallways, ceilings, statement rooms and high-traffic areas, professionals bring surface preparation, clean cut-in edges and consistency that DIYers often struggle to match in the same time, as Which? notes. Weigh your weekends and the finish you want against the labour line on the quote.
FAQ
How much does it cost to paint a room in the UK?
Most professional quotes for a standard room fall between £250 and £500, based on Checkatrade’s data. Small rooms start around £180, and large or complex spaces can reach £800 to £1,200. Wall condition and the surfaces included decide where yours lands.
How much should I pay a painter per day?
Professional painters and decorators typically charge £200 to £350 per day in 2026, and more in London and the South East. Handymen may charge less per hour, but may not have the same decorative experience. Always ask whether the figure includes materials.
How much does it cost to paint the interior of a 3-bedroom house?
Around £4,000 to £8,000 in the Checkatrade ranges, depending on whether ceilings and woodwork are included and on the paint chosen. Other guides give lower figures for lighter jobs, so compare like for like. A site visit gives a firm number.
Do painters charge VAT?
Only if they are VAT-registered, which is required above £90,000 of taxable turnover. Many sole traders are below it. Ask for the total price and whether VAT is included, so quotes can be compared fairly.
Sources
- Checkatrade: painter and decorator prices
- MyBuilder: cost to paint a room
- MyBuilder: cost to paint a house
- MyJobQuote: how much to paint a room
- Which?: how much do painters and decorators cost
- Which?: how to paint a room
- BestBuilders: house painting cost UK
- GOV.UK: increasing the VAT registration threshold
- GOV.UK: register for VAT