The Short Answer
On our estimates, a gardener charges about £18 to £45 an hour for general maintenance, or £150 to £300 a day, and most have a minimum charge of £25 to £45 per visit. The Gardeners' Guild's survey of qualified, self-employed members put the average at £30 to £40 an hour for regular, full-day customers in 2025.
Hourly rates usually don't include taking the cuttings away, and occasional customers can expect to pay more than regular ones. Hedges and big clear-ups are usually priced as a job.
Gardener prices
| Service | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Hourly rate | £18 to £45 |
| Day rate | £150 to £300 |
| Minimum visit charge | £25 to £45 |
| Hedge trim, typical garden hedge | £100 to £300 |
How long common jobs take
Our rough timings, to help you work out how many hours to book:
- mowing a lawn: 45 to 90 minutes;
- weeding: 30 to 90 minutes;
- lawn maintenance: one to three hours;
- trimming a hedge: one to two hours;
- a general maintenance day: five to eight hours.
Times change with the season and the size of the garden. One-off visits usually cost more per hour than a regular booking, and many gardeners give regular customers a lower rate.
Hiring a gardener
- Agree what's included: mowing, edging, weeding, pruning, and whether they take green waste away (the Guild says hourly rates generally exclude removing cuttings and chemical treatments).
- Waste: if they take your garden waste away, check they're a registered waste carrier. If it's fly-tipped and you didn't check, you can be fined.
- Insurance and experience: ask about both; Citizens Advice suggests checking a trader's public liability insurance before work starts.
- Minimum charges cover their travel to small jobs, so a regular slot is better value than odd hours.
- Qualifications: experience counts for most gardening, but some gardeners have horticultural NVQs or apprenticeships, and for tree work the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead's tree team advises that the contractor should be able to show a certificate of competence, usually from NPTC (see tree surgery).
- Ask to see their work: examples of gardens they look after, and how long they've been going.
Bigger jobs
For an overgrown garden, see garden clearance; for hedges, hedge trimming; for trees, tree surgery.
Get gardener / garden maintenance quotes
Gardeners price by the hour or visit. Tell them what and how often.
Free, no obligation. We're paid by MyJobQuote when a tradesperson buys your job, never by you.
Frequently asked questions
What is a fair hourly rate for a gardener?
About £18 to £45 an hour on our estimates. The Gardeners' Guild's 2025 survey put qualified, self-employed gardeners at £30 to £40 an hour on average for regular customers.
Is £25 an hour good for a gardener?
It's within our £18 to £45 range, and below the Guild's £30 to £40 average for qualified gardeners, so it's reasonable for general maintenance by someone less experienced.
How much does garden maintenance cost per month?
It depends on hours: two visits a month of two to three hours each is roughly £70 to £270 a month on our hourly estimates.
How long does it take a gardener to mow a lawn?
About 45 to 90 minutes for a typical lawn, on our estimates. Many gardeners have a minimum charge for short visits.
Is it cheaper to have a regular gardener?
Usually, per hour: one-off visits tend to cost more, and many gardeners give regular customers a lower rate.
Do gardeners take away green waste?
Many do, often for an extra charge, so agree it in advance and check they're a registered waste carrier.
Do gardeners charge VAT?
Only if they're VAT-registered, which is required once turnover goes over £90,000 a year. Many sole-trader gardeners aren't.
How we priced thisView sources (5, 4 official)
Rules come from the legislation and official guidance, read at source. Prices are our estimates: we check them against trade price data, retailer shelf prices and specialists' price lists, then build them up from their parts so the totals add up. Below are the sources behind the page; the trade price guides we only compare against aren’t listed. Where sources disagreed, we've said so. More on our method.
- OfficialRegister for VAT: when to register, GOV.UK. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- OfficialDispose of household waste, GOV.UK. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- OfficialBefore you get work done on your home (England), Citizens Advice. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- IndustryHow much do gardeners charge? 2025 garden maintenance charges, The Gardeners' Guild. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- OfficialHow to select an arboricultural contractor, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. Checked 16 Oct 2026.
