Plasterer Day Rate UK 2026: What to Charge
What should a self-employed plasterer charge per day in the UK? Published guides put the typical plasterer day rate at around £300 on average, with regional ranges from about £150 to £480. This page shows where those figures come from, what official ONS data shows about employee pay, and a calculator to work out the day rate you need to charge to cover your overheads and the days you can’t bill.
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Published UK guides put a plasterer’s day rate at around £300 on average, with regional ranges from about £150 to £480 in 2026. Official ONS figures show employed plasterers earn a median of £16.58 an hour, about £133 for an 8-hour day. A self-employed plasterer charges more than that because the rate has to cover a van, tools, insurance, holidays and unbilled days. On our worked example, matching a median plasterer’s pay needs about £256 a day over 200 billable days.
Plasterer Day Rates: What Published Guides Say
These are the figures quoted by named UK sources, with the date each was last updated. They are averages across very different jobs and areas, so treat them as a sense-check rather than a price list.
| Source | What it quotes | Updated |
|---|---|---|
| Checkatrade tradesperson costs | Around £300 a day, £37.50 an hour | April 2026 |
| Trade2Base plasterer day rates | £150 to £330 a day outside London and the South East; South East £230 to £400; London £280 to £480 | June 2026 |
What Employed Plasterers Earn: Official ONS Data
The Office for National Statistics’ Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (2025, provisional) records the pay of full-time employees in the occupation “Plasterers” (SOC 5321). This is what an employer pays, not what a self-employed plasterer charges, but it is the most reliable benchmark for what the work is worth as a wage.
| Full-time employees, 2025 | Lower quarter | Median | Upper quarter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly pay (gross) | £14.60 | £16.58 | Not published |
| Day equivalent (8 hours) | £117 | £133 | Not published |
| Annual pay (gross) | £28,909 | £34,016 | Not published |
Source: ONS, ASHE Table 14, 2025 provisional, full-time employees, gross pay. Day equivalent is hourly pay multiplied by 8 and is our calculation. “Not published” means ONS judged the estimate not reliable enough to release.
Work Out Your Own Plasterer Day Rate
A sustainable day rate is the income you want, plus the cost of running the business, spread over the days you can actually bill, with a margin for risk and profit. The calculator starts with the ONS median pay as the income target. Change any figure to match your own business.
On the starting figures (£34,016 income, £12,000 overheads, 10% margin), the day rate you need depends heavily on how many days you can bill:
| Billable days a year | Day rate needed | Hourly (8-hour day) |
|---|---|---|
| 180 days | £284 | £35.51 |
| 200 days | £256 | £31.96 |
| 220 days | £232 | £29.05 |
The overheads figure is a planning assumption, not a measured average; yours could be far higher once a newer van or specialist kit is included. For the full method, see our day rate calculator, and to see what you keep after tax, try the self-employed take-home pay calculator.
What Affects a Plasterer’s Day Rate
- Day rate or price work: Homeowner jobs are often priced per room or per square metre rather than by the day.
- Type of plastering: Rendering, lime work and ornamental plaster command more than a standard skim.
- Subcontract or direct: Subcontract day rates for builders are usually lower than direct domestic work.
- Where you work: London and the South East pay the most; Wales and the North the least.
- Output: How many square metres you can skim in a day decides what a price-work job pays per day.
Day Rate or Fixed Price?
Many plasterers quote fixed prices for defined jobs and keep a day rate for open-ended work, extra work and subcontracting. Your day rate still matters either way: it is the number you price every fixed quote from. Read our guide on fixed price vs day rate, and how to quote plastering jobs in the UK.
Tradify lets you save your day rate and per-square-metre prices, then send quotes and invoices from site. 14-day free trial, no card needed.
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Published UK guides put a plasterer’s day rate at around £300 on average, with regional ranges from about £150 to £480 in 2026: Checkatrade tradesperson costs quotes around £300 a day, £37.50 an hour, and Trade2Base plasterer day rates quotes £150 to £330 a day outside London and the South East; South East £230 to £400; London £280 to £480. Rates vary with location, qualifications and the type of work.
ONS data for 2025 shows full-time employed plasterers earned a median of £16.58 an hour and £34,016 a year.
A day rate has to cover everything an employer would normally pay for: the van, tools, insurance, holidays, sick days, pension and the days spent quoting, travelling and doing admin. Spread over the days you can actually bill, that pushes the rate well above an hourly wage.
Add the income you want to your yearly business costs, add a margin for risk and profit, then divide by the number of days you can realistically bill. With £34,016 income, £12,000 overheads, a 10% margin and 200 billable days, that is about £256 a day.
TradeStack HQ helps UK tradespeople find the best tools to run smarter businesses. Some links on this page are affiliate links; we may earn a commission if you sign up, at no extra cost to you. Published figures are quoted from the named sources on the dates shown; ONS figures are for full-time employees and are not charge-out rates. Checked October 2026. See how we test and check.