How to Raise Your Prices as a Tradesperson UK
Most tradespeople know they should be charging more. Materials are up. Fuel is up. Insurance is up. Van costs keep climbing. But the day rate hasn’t moved since 2021. That gap between what things cost and what you’re charging is where your profit disappears.
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Raising your prices feels risky, but staying where you are is riskier. Here’s how to do it properly without losing the customers that matter.
Quick Answer
Review your rates every year and raise them at least in line with your rising costs. Quote new customers at the new rate straight away, give regular customers around 30 days’ notice in a short, factual message, and don’t discount just because someone pushes back. Small annual rises of around 5 to 10% are far easier for customers to accept than a big jump after years of standing still.
Why Most Tradespeople Don’t Raise Their Prices
The fear is always the same: if I put my prices up, customers will go elsewhere. It’s understandable. But it’s usually wrong.
The UK State of the Trades Report, a survey of 500 UK tradespeople by Jackson Woodturners, found tradespeople expect to raise prices by around 9.5% on average in 2026. Plenty of your competitors are already doing it or planning to. The question isn’t whether prices are going up across the industry – they are. The question is whether you’re going up with them or falling further behind.
When Is the Right Time to Raise Your Prices?
There are several clear signals that it’s time to put your rates up:
- You’re booked out weeks or months in advance – high demand means the market will bear a higher price
- You haven’t raised prices in over 12 months – inflation alone justifies an annual review
- Your costs have gone up – materials, fuel, insurance, tools – if your outgoings have increased while your rates haven’t, your margin is shrinking
- You’re turning down work – if you’re busy enough to say no, you’re busy enough to charge more
- You’ve gained new qualifications or accreditations – additional skills justify a higher rate
How Much Should You Raise Your Prices?
For new customers: raise immediately
The easiest place to start is with any new customer who hasn’t worked with you before. They have no reference point for your old prices, so just quote at the new rate. No announcement needed, no awkward conversation. Start as you mean to go on.
For existing customers: give notice
For regular customers you’ve worked with for a while, give them advance notice – typically 30 days. A short, professional message is all that’s needed. Keep it factual, not apologetic.
How much to increase
Industry data suggests UK tradespeople are planning average increases of 9.5% in 2026. As a starting point, match inflation as a minimum, because anything less means you’re effectively taking a pay cut every year. The ONS put CPI inflation at 3.1% in the year to August 2026, and motor fuel prices were up 23.0% over the same year. For anyone who spends the day driving a van between jobs, that second figure matters more. If you’re significantly underpriced compared to local competitors, a larger one-off increase may be needed to get back to where you should be.
Work out your own number in three steps
A national average won’t tell you what your business needs. This quick calculation will:
- Add up last year’s business costs that come out of your rate: van, fuel, insurance, tools, phone, software, accountant. Leave out materials if you charge for them separately with a markup.
- Estimate how much those costs will rise over the next year. Look at your own renewal quotes and fuel receipts, not the headlines.
- Add the rise you want in your own take-home pay, at least in line with inflation. Divide the total extra by your turnover to get the percentage your prices need to go up.
Worked example: a sole trader turns over £60,000 a year, with £24,000 of business costs and £36,000 left as profit. If costs rise 6%, that’s £1,440 more to cover. Keeping take-home pay in line with 3.1% inflation needs another £1,116. That’s £2,556 in total, or about 4.3% of turnover, so a £220 day rate needs to go up to about £230 just to stand still. Anything above that is a real pay rise.
Our self-employed take-home pay calculator shows what a new rate leaves you after tax and National Insurance, and our guide on how to work out your day rate covers building a rate from scratch.
Check your rate against your trade
Before you settle on a number, see how it compares with typical UK day rates for your trade: Electricians, plumbers, gas engineers, builders, bricklayers, joiners, plasterers, painters and decorators, roofers, tilers, landscapers, tree surgeons, groundworkers, kitchen fitters. If you’re well below the typical range for your area and experience, that’s a strong sign you can raise prices further than inflation alone.
What About Quotes You’ve Already Sent?
Honour any quote a customer has already accepted at the price you gave. Changing it after they’ve said yes damages trust and can lead to a dispute. For quotes that are still open, check the validity period you put on them. If a quote has expired, it’s reasonable to re-quote at your new rate, as long as you explain why.
To avoid this next time, put a validity period on every quote, typically 30 days, so you aren’t tied to old prices when materials or fuel go up. Our free quote template is a good starting point.
How to Tell Customers Your Prices Are Going Up
Keep it simple, professional, and brief. You don’t need to over-explain or apologise:
That’s it. The vast majority of good customers will accept a reasonable increase without complaint, especially if you’ve been reliable, done quality work, and treated them well. The customers who kick up a fuss over a modest price increase are often the ones who were already difficult to work with.
What to Do if a Customer Says You’re Too Expensive
Don’t discount automatically
The moment you drop your price without reason, you’ve told the customer your original quote was inflated. Hold your rate and justify it with your experience, your reliability, and your track record.
Explain the value
A customer who understands what they’re paying for is more likely to accept the price. Your rate includes more than labour – it includes your expertise, your insurance, your tools, your travel, and the guarantee that you’ll turn up and do the job properly.
Let them go if needed
Not every customer is worth keeping. A customer who only stays with you because you’re the cheapest will leave the moment someone undercuts you anyway. The customers worth retaining are the ones who value your work, and they’ll accept a fair price increase. For more on handling pricing objections, see our guide on how to handle a customer who says your quote is too high.
Make Annual Price Reviews a Habit
The tradespeople who never have to make big, uncomfortable price jumps are the ones who review their rates every year and make small, consistent increases. A 5–10% annual increase is barely noticed by most customers. A 30% jump after five years of keeping prices flat feels like a shock.
Set a reminder at the start of every new tax year to review your rates against your costs. If your outgoings have gone up, your rates need to go up with them. Keeping track of your costs and margins is much easier with the right tools – Tradify lets you track job costs, time, and materials against what you’re charging, so you can see exactly where you stand on every job.
Try Tradify Free for 14 DaysThe Bottom Line
Putting your prices up is one of the most important things you can do for your trade business. Not just for your income, but for your sanity. Undercharging leads to overworking, stress, and resentment. Charging what you’re worth gives you the margin to do better work, invest in better tools, and build a business that’s actually worth running.
Start with new customers. Give existing customers proper notice. Keep the message professional and brief. And review your rates every single year without fail.
Try Tradify Free for 14 DaysFrequently Asked Questions
Apply new prices immediately to all new customers – they have no reference point for your old rate. For existing customers, give 30 days’ advance notice with a short, professional message explaining rising costs. Be confident and do not apologise. Most customers who value your work will accept a reasonable increase. The ones who leave over a modest rise are often not your best customers anyway.
Industry data from 2025–26 shows UK tradespeople are planning average increases of 9.5%. As a minimum, match inflation each year – anything less is an effective pay cut. If you have not raised prices in several years and are significantly below local market rates, a larger one-off correction may be needed. After that, small consistent annual increases of 5–10% are far less disruptive than infrequent large jumps.
The clearest signals are: you are booked out weeks or months ahead; you have not increased rates in over 12 months; your costs (materials, fuel, insurance, tools) have gone up while your rates have stayed flat; you are already turning down work because you are too busy; or you have gained new qualifications or accreditations. Any one of these is sufficient justification for a price review.
Keep it short and factual: “From [date] my rates will be increasing to [new rate] to reflect rising costs across materials, fuel and insurance. I wanted to give you as much notice as possible.” Do not over-explain or apologise – both signal uncertainty and invite pushback. Send the message in writing (text or email) so there is a record and the customer cannot later claim they were not informed.
Do not discount automatically – that tells the customer your original quote was inflated. Explain the value: your rate covers expertise, insurance, tools, travel, and the reliability of a tradesperson who turns up and finishes the job properly. If they still push back, you have a choice: hold your rate and risk losing them, or make a case for why the increase is justified. Customers who only stay because you are the cheapest will leave as soon as someone undercuts you regardless.
Every year, at a minimum. Set a reminder at the start of each new tax year to review your rates against your costs. Small consistent annual increases of 5–10% are far less disruptive to customers than a large jump after years of staying flat. Tradespeople who review annually rarely face the uncomfortable conversation of explaining a 25–30% increase all at once.
Related Guides
- When to Turn Down Work as a Tradesperson UK
- Why You Can Be Fully Booked and Still Broke
- How to Increase Your Profit Margins as a Tradesperson
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