Summary
- London stands out in Marketit’s review of trade business websites.
- Of 60 London firms checked, 26 published at least one price for their services.
- That is 43.3% — far higher than the proportion recorded in the other nine cities together.
*Marketit research | October 2026*
London stands out in Marketit’s review of trade business websites. Of 60 London firms checked, 26 published at least one price for their services. That is 43.3% — far higher than the proportion recorded in the other nine cities together.
How many London tradespeople show prices online?
Marketit checked 60 trade business websites in London in October 2026, covering five trades. 26 displayed at least one concrete price for their own work (43.3%); 34 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 London?
| Type of business | Sites checked | Sites showing a price |
|---|---|---|
| Plumbers and heating engineers | 12 | 9 |
| Electricians | 12 | 7 |
| Removal companies | 12 | 7 |
| Carpenters and joiners | 12 | 2 |
| Roofers | 12 | 1 |
| Total | 60 | 26 |
Most of the difference comes from three trades. Nine of the 12 plumbing and heating sites showed a price, as did seven electrical businesses and seven removal companies. By contrast, just two carpenter and joiner sites and one roofing site showed one.
How does London compare with other UK cities?
Outside London, 91 of 540 websites published a price, or 16.9%. London’s 43.3% is substantially higher in this sample. The study did not investigate why: differences in the businesses listed by Google, the market and website practices could all play a part.
London was also the only city with enough comparable electrician prices to report a small local figure: five sites published a median first-hour or hourly charge of £100, compared with £90 across nine sites elsewhere. Five prices are not enough to establish a typical London rate.
What do plumbers, electricians and removal firms charge in London?
The London 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 London 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 |
| Annual boiler service | £92.50 | 14 firms |
| One person and a van, per hour | £52 | 12 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 London, 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.