Summary
- Fifteen per cent of the Bristol trade business websites in Marketit’s study displayed a price for their work.
- Nine of the 60 sites checked showed at least one price.
*Marketit research | October 2026*
Fifteen per cent of the Bristol trade business websites in Marketit’s study displayed a price for their work. Nine of the 60 sites checked showed at least one price; the other 51 did not.
How many Bristol tradespeople show prices online?
Marketit checked 60 trade business websites in Bristol in October 2026, covering five trades. 9 displayed at least one concrete price for their own work (15.0%); 51 displayed none. A site counted if it showed a price for a job, hourly work, a day’s work or a call-out. General cost guides and “free quote” prompts did not count.
Which trades publish prices in Bristol?
| Type of business | Sites checked | Sites showing a price |
|---|---|---|
| Plumbers and heating engineers | 12 | 2 |
| Electricians | 12 | 3 |
| Removal companies | 12 | 3 |
| Carpenters and joiners | 12 | 0 |
| Roofers | 12 | 1 |
| Total | 60 | 9 |
Electricians and removal companies each accounted for three price-publishing websites. Two plumbing and heating firms and one roofer displayed a price. None of the 12 carpenter and joiner websites had a qualifying price.
How does Bristol compare with other UK cities?
Bristol’s 15.0% was below the 19.5% recorded across the full ten-city sample, but the study cannot confidently rank Bristol against most of the other cities. London was the notable exception, with 43.3% of sampled sites displaying a price.
In Bristol, the biggest contrast was between electrical and removal services on one side and carpentry on the other. A lack of prices on a website should not be read as evidence of a particular charge or level of service.
What do plumbers, electricians and removal firms charge in Bristol?
The Bristol sample contains too few like-for-like prices to establish what these services typically cost locally. The wider UK study did, however, find the following advertised examples for relevant services. These are UK-wide reference figures, not Bristol price estimates or actual amounts paid by customers.
| Service | Median advertised price | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Electrician: first hour or hourly charge | £90 | 14 firms |
| Electrical safety report (EICR) | £195 | 11 firms |
| One person and a van, per hour | £52 | 12 firms |
| Two people and a van, per hour | £65 | 9 firms |
Some businesses advertise starting prices rather than the final cost of a job. A first-hour charge is also not necessarily the same as an ongoing hourly rate. Prices may depend on the scope of the work, and websites do not always make the VAT position clear.
What to check before requesting a quote
When a website gives no price, ask the firm to explain what the quote covers. Check whether it includes VAT, travel, call-out charges, materials and any extra cost for evening or emergency work. For hourly services, ask whether a minimum booking period applies. These points can make two published prices difficult to compare even when both firms display a figure.
About the research
These figures come from Marketit’s UK Tradesperson Price Transparency Report 2026. For Bristol, 12 businesses in each of five trades were selected from Google Maps listings with their own websites. Up to 21 pages per site were reviewed using an AI-assisted process and a written set of rules. The 600-site study covered ten cities in October 2026. This was not a random sample, prices may have been missed, and the results describe the sampled websites rather than every local business.