How much do electricians cost per hour in the UK?
UK electricians charge roughly £40 to £70 per hour, with £45 to £60 the common band in Bristol and higher rates in London. Most reputable firms price defined jobs at fixed rates rather than open-ended hours: a fuse box swap, an EICR or a socket has a known price before anyone arrives.
The hourly figure exists mostly for calibration, because good electrical firms rarely bill by the open hour. Diagnosis-type work (fault-finding) is the exception where time genuinely varies; installation work prices as a job, since the electrician knows how long a board change or a room of downlights takes.
What moves the rate: location (Bristol sits below London and above the national floor), whether the work is emergency or out-of-hours (typically 1.5 to 2 times standard), and who is actually attending, since a qualified electrician and their apprentice bill differently from two qualified electricians.
The comparison trap to avoid: a low hourly rate with loose scope beats a fair fixed price only if the hours stay honest. A £40-an-hour electrician who takes six hours costs more than a £240 fixed price, and you carried the risk. Fixed written prices move that risk to the person who can control it.
Our structure: published guide ranges for every service, a fixed written price before work starts, and hourly billing reserved for genuine diagnosis, capped by the callout structure so it cannot run away.
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