OptiTech Automation · Original research · August 2026
What UK gas and heating engineers charge for a call-out in 2026
We read the published prices of 31 UK gas and heating firms. Of the 20 that state a standard-hours figure, the median minimum is £90. Published emergency minimums sit around £115, about 1.40× the daytime rate. 39% advertise "no call-out fee", common where boiler work is quoted as a fixed job, but a first-hour minimum often still applies. Every figure below links to the firm’s own page.
By Cristian Moise, founder · Data accessed 18 August 2026
Where gas and heating engineers sit against the other trades
The chart below puts the gas and heating engineers median in context with the other trades in the study. The full national picture (regional differences, the out-of-hours premium and the VAT question) is in the main study.
Every firm we recorded
The 20 firms below publish a standard-hours figure. Each links to the page it came from, accessed 18 August 2026. “Out-of-hours” is the published evening/weekend or emergency minimum where the firm states one.
| Firm | Town | Standard | Out-of-hours | VAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol Plumbing & Heating Co Ltd 'To investigate any boiler related fault we charge £60 + vat for the first visit'. | Bristol | £60 | n/a | ex VAT |
| My Plumber (gas engineer) 'First Half Hour £67', 'Subsequent Half Hours £54'; out of hours 'First Half Hour £78'. | London | £67 | £78 | not stated |
| Clyde Boiler Installations Ltd 'Only £69 for Call Outs'. | Glasgow | £69 | n/a | not stated |
| All Superb Ltd (boiler repair) '£80 + VAT minimum, first hour' before 11pm; '£150 + VAT minimum, first hour' after 11pm. | Stockport | £80 | £150 | ex VAT |
| Birmingham Boiler Repairs 'No call-out fee', '£80 No VAT' first hour, '£35 per ½ hr after', same-day £99, weekend £110. | Birmingham | £80 | £110 | no VAT charged |
| R.W. Miller Plumbing & Heating '£80 diagnostic, fixed price before work starts'; covers the first hour on-site. | South London | £80 | n/a | not stated |
| Boiler Repairs in Glasgow (BRiG) 'Our £80 boiler repair charge in Glasgow includes ... call out charge, fault diagnosis and 30 minutes of labour.' | Glasgow | £80 | n/a | not stated |
| Gregor Heating 'Gas/LPG Call-out, including first hour £84.00'; same day '£108.00'; 'Out-of-Hours call-out, make safe only £120.00'. | Bristol / Bath | £84 | £120 | inc VAT |
| Norwich Heating Engineer Ltd '£84 (inc VAT) - 1st hour', '£60 (inc VAT) - 2nd hour and thereafter'; evening/weekend '£96 (inc VAT) - 1st hour'. | Norwich | £84 | £96 | inc VAT |
| Nottingham Boiler Solutions 'Boiler repairs from just £89'; 'heating system diagnostic survey for £89'; parts extra. | Nottingham | £89 | n/a | not stated |
| HydroHeat Boiler Installations '£70 inc VAT' (<20 min), '£90 inc VAT' (20-60 min), '£45 inc VAT' per half hour over 60 min. | Coventry | £90 | n/a | inc VAT |
| Appollo Gas Services Ltd 'Our Call Out Charge of £90.00 is deducted from the final repair cost.' | Blaydon-on-Tyne | £90 | n/a | not stated |
| Goode Plumbing & Heating 'We charge a minimum 1-hour fee of £90 + VAT (plus materials).' | Brighton | £90 | n/a | ex VAT |
| Action Plumbing & Heating '£90.00 for the first hour', '£50.00 for each additional hour'. | Belfast | £90 | n/a | not stated |
| O'Neil Gas and Plumbing Services 'the first hour of our Gas Safe register Engineer's time costs £96 (Inc. Vat)'. | Ayr | £96 | n/a | inc VAT |
| Heatworks Heating & Renewables 'Boiler repair labour: £102' inc VAT; minimum one hour; no additional fees for emergency call-outs. | Southampton | £102 | n/a | inc VAT |
| JD Plumbing & Heating (Manchester) Ltd 'Our call out fee is £105 + VAT which includes 1 hour of labour.' Homepage says £95 + VAT (inconsistent). | Manchester | £105 | n/a | ex VAT |
| Celsius Plumbing and Heating (Edinburgh) Ltd Standard first hour £110, +£55 per additional half hour; out of hours £170/£85. 'We do not charge a call out fee on to… | Edinburgh | £110 | £170 | inc VAT |
| Thames Boilers 'The initial diagnostic visit is £120, which covers the first hour of work.' | Greenhithe, Kent | £120 | n/a | inc VAT |
| PlumbersNI 'Diagnostic call-out + first hour from £120'; 'All prices include VAT.' | Belfast | £120 | n/a | inc VAT |
Download the data
Every figure in this study, by firm, with the exact wording and a link to the source page. Free to reuse with a credit and a link back to this page (CC BY 4.0).
Method
A census of published prices, not a survey of charged prices. We located UK trade businesses via web search on 18 August 2026 and recorded only figures visibly stated on the firm’s own website; directory listings and third-party price guides were excluded. Where a range was published, the midpoint was used and the range kept in the notes. Firms that publish are self-selected towards transparency and the confident end of pricing, so read these as published, not average, prices. Prices are as displayed and not VAT-normalised, and medians are rounded to the nearest pound (exact values are in the dataset). All figures were correct on the access date; websites change.
OptiTech Automation builds booking and job-management software for UK trade businesses. This study is independent of any customer relationship; no firm in the sample was contacted or is a customer.
The fee that’s already paid is never disputed.
Whether or not you charge a call-out fee, the argument at the door happens when the customer didn’t know the number. OptiTech Automation puts your price on the booking page, repeats it in the confirmation, and takes it as a card deposit at booking, into your own account.