Summary
- In Manchester, just 10 of the 60 trade business websites checked by Marketit displayed a price for their own work.
- The other 50 did not publish a qualifying price.
*Marketit research | October 2026*
In Manchester, just 10 of the 60 trade business websites checked by Marketit displayed a price for their own work. The other 50 did not publish a qualifying price.
How many Manchester tradespeople show prices online?
Marketit checked 60 trade business websites in Manchester in October 2026, covering five trades. 10 displayed at least one concrete price for their own work (16.7%); 50 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 Manchester?
| Type of business | Sites checked | Sites showing a price |
|---|---|---|
| Plumbers and heating engineers | 12 | 3 |
| Electricians | 12 | 1 |
| Removal companies | 12 | 3 |
| Carpenters and joiners | 12 | 1 |
| Roofers | 12 | 2 |
| Total | 60 | 10 |
No single trade accounts for most of Manchester’s published prices. Plumbing and heating businesses and removal companies each contribute three of the ten sites, while roofers account for two. The electrician and carpentry groups contribute one each.
How does Manchester compare with other UK cities?
Manchester’s share, 16.7%, is close to the 16.9% recorded across the nine cities outside London. London is the clear exception in the study, with 26 of 60 sites publishing a price. The other city samples are too small to support a firm ranking.
The Manchester sample has at least one price-publishing website in each of the five trades. This does not mean that prices are easy to compare: even a site that lists a single starting price counted as showing a price.
What do plumbers, electricians and removal firms charge in Manchester?
The Manchester 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 Manchester price estimates or actual amounts paid by customers.
| Service | Median advertised price | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Annual boiler service | £92.50 | 14 firms |
| New boiler installation | £1,775 | 14 firms; mostly starting prices |
| 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 Manchester, 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.