How Much Is a Cleaner per Hour in the UK? (2026 Hourly Rates)

How much is a cleaner per hour? In 2026, most people in the UK pay a domestic cleaner around £25 an hour, with cleaning agencies typically charging £25 to £30 an hour and London and the South East at the top of the range. That figure is for regular cleaning. For one-off jobs like a deep clean or an end of tenancy clean, a fixed price based on the size of the property is often better value than paying by the hour. This guide explains what affects hourly rates, what a fair rate looks like against the minimum wage, and how to compare hourly and fixed-price options.

What is the average cleaner hourly rate in the UK?

According to Checkatrade’s house cleaning cost guide, updated in April 2026, independent domestic cleaners typically charge around £25 an hour, while cleaning agencies usually charge between £25 and £30 an hour. Rates vary a lot by area and by the type of work, so treat these as a guide rather than a fixed figure.

Type of cleaner	Typical hourly price in 2026	What you get
Independent (self-employed) cleaner	Around £25	Usually the same person each visit; cover for holidays and sickness varies
Cleaning agency	£25–£30	Vetting, insurance and replacement cover handled by the agency
One-off deep or move-out clean	Often priced by job, not by hour	A team, products and equipment, and a set checklist

What is the going rate for a cleaner in 2026?

The going rate for a regular domestic cleaner in the UK in 2026 is about £25 an hour, and £25–£30 through an agency. Specialist work costs more per hour, and many one-off jobs are quoted as a single price rather than by the hour. Checkatrade’s April 2026 figures break down like this:

Type of cleaning	Typical 2026 price (Checkatrade)
Regular domestic cleaning, independent cleaner	Around £25 an hour
Regular domestic cleaning, agency	£25–£30 an hour
Weekly clean of about three hours	Around £75 a visit
After builders cleaning	£30–£35 an hour
End of tenancy cleaning	£100–£500 for the job, depending on size

How much does a cleaner cost per week or month?

Multiply the hourly rate by the length and frequency of visits. Most homes book two to four hours, because many cleaners set a minimum visit. At the typical £25 an hour, that works out as follows (a month is taken as 4.33 weeks):

Visit pattern	Cost per visit	Approximate cost per month
2 hours, fortnightly	£50	About £108
2 hours, weekly	£50	About £217
3 hours, weekly	£75	About £325
4 hours, weekly	£100	About £433

Agency rates of £30 an hour add roughly a fifth to these figures. If you want a single thorough clean before starting regular visits, a one-off deep clean at a fixed price often makes the regular visits quicker afterwards.

What’s a fair rate compared with the minimum wage?

From April 2026, the National Living Wage is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over, £10.85 for 18 to 20-year-olds and £8 for under-18s. The Living Wage Foundation’s voluntary real Living Wage, set in October 2025, is £13.45 across the UK and £14.80 in London.

These are wages, not prices. A self-employed cleaner or company charging £25 an hour isn’t pocketing all of it. The hourly price has to cover:

• Travel time and fuel or fares between jobs, and parking in cities
• Cleaning products, cloths, vacuum cleaners and replacement equipment
• Public liability insurance, and employer’s liability insurance for companies with staff
• Holiday, sickness and quiet weeks, which self-employed cleaners don’t get paid for
• Tax, National Insurance, booking and admin

If a price looks far below the going rate, ask how the cleaner is paid, whether they’re insured and what happens if something is damaged.

What affects how much a cleaner charges?

Where you live

London and the South East cost the most, because of higher living costs, travel time and parking. Rural areas can also cost more than you’d expect if the cleaner has a long drive to reach you.

Regular or one-off

Weekly or fortnightly cleaning is usually cheaper per hour than a one-off visit. Regular work is predictable for the cleaner, and each visit is maintenance rather than catching up.

Minimum booking

Many cleaners and agencies set a minimum visit of two or three hours to make the travel worthwhile. A one-hour tidy is often poor value for both sides.

Who provides the products

If the cleaner brings everything, expect a slightly higher rate. If you provide products and a vacuum, make sure they’re stocked and working.

The type of cleaning

Ironing, inside ovens and fridges, carpets and heavy limescale are all slower, specialist jobs. A deep clean covers far more than a regular clean, so it takes much longer.

Vetting and insurance

Companies that DBS-check cleaners and carry liability insurance usually charge more than an unvetted individual, but you’re paying for accountability if something goes wrong.

Should I employ a cleaner directly?

Most domestic cleaners are self-employed or work through a company, which means they handle their own tax. If you hire someone directly, set their hours and tell them how to work, they could count as your employee, and you may need to pay at least the minimum wage, holiday pay and handle payroll. HMRC’s employment status guidance explains the difference. If you’re unsure, ask the cleaner whether they’re registered as self-employed and whether they have their own insurance.

Hourly vs fixed price: which is better value?

Hourly pricing suits regular cleaning, where the job is similar each week and you can agree what gets done in the time. For one-off jobs, it has a catch: the clock keeps running if the oven, the limescale or the carpets take longer than expected, and you don’t know the final bill until the end.

A fixed price by property size works the other way round. You know the cost before you book, and the team’s job is to finish the checklist, not fill the hours. As an example, here are our fixed prices for end of tenancy, deep and pre-tenancy cleans:

Property size	Fixed price	Hours at £25 an hour for the same money
Studio flat (all appliances included)	£135	About 5.5
1 bedroom, 1 bathroom	£175	7
2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom	£230	About 9
3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom	£325	13
4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms	£435	About 17.5

A proper end of tenancy clean on a two-bedroom flat takes a team several hours, because it covers the inside of cupboards, skirting boards and bathroom limescale as well as the everyday surfaces. Across more than 9,000 move-out cleans we completed between March 2023 and September 2026, the typical final price, extras included, was £260. For deep cleans, it was £271. The full list, including extras such as ovens and carpets, is on our prices page, and our guide to end of tenancy cleaning costs goes into more detail.

How to get good value from a cleaner

• Agree a written task list so you both know what’s covered in each visit.
• Ask about insurance and vetting, especially if the cleaner will have keys.
• Book longer, less frequent visits if a short weekly visit isn’t getting through everything.
• Declutter before they arrive, so time goes on cleaning rather than tidying. Our article on what to empty before a deep clean helps.
• Use a fixed-price company for one-off jobs such as move-outs, post-renovation and deep cleans.

Frequently asked questions

Need a one-off clean at a price you know up front? Our end of tenancy and deep cleaning services are fixed-price, carried out by DBS-checked cleaners with £1M public liability insurance, and backed by a 72-hour re-clean guarantee. Book online 7 days a week, or find your local team on our areas page.