By Emily Rivers
Last updated 5th June 2025

Cost Guide: Painting The Exterior of A House

It’s gone in and out of fashion over the years, but the truth is that painting the exterior of your home is a great way to boost the kerb appeal and give its external appearance a proper freshen up. In this guide, we’ll cover how much this project is likely to cost you, as well as explaining all of the different factors that will affect the price you pay.

There’s lots of things for you to consider, but with external painting and decorating the chances of you doing it yourself isn’t usually one of them. Working at height is best left to the professionals, and if you don’t have the skills to properly prepare your property’s exterior masonry, you’ll find the paint may not even properly adhere.

So, read on to find out how much you’re likely to pay to get the exterior of your house painted.

How much does it cost to paint a house exterior?

We’ve averaged the price of painting the exterior of a property in the table to the right, and split it out by location. Of course, where you live will have a big impact on how much you’re likely to pay for any project, with London generally being the most expensive, which is why we’ve included a range of locations all over the UK.

Of course, the main thing that will affect the price is the size of your home. Our prices are for a medium sized home – think something like a 2-3 bedroom semi-detached property. To paint the exterior of a home like that, you should expect to pay somewhere from £1200-£1500. For a small home, or particularly a bungalow, it could be as cheap as £600-£800. However, for large homes, you could pay anywhere from £2000+, depending on how much work is involved.

Cost to paint the exterior of a house

What other things will affect the price?

There are a huge number of other factors that will affect the overall quote you get for your home exterior painting project – too many for us to cover here! Remember that if you’d like the tradespeople you get quotes from to explain the quote they give you, just ask them – they’ll be happy to go over why their prices are what they are.

However, in this guide we’re going to cover some of the common factors that will make a big difference to the price you’ll pay.

The type of exterior walls

One thing that will could make a difference to your quote is the finish of your exterior walls. This means whether they’re in simple brick work or have already been covered over with pebbledash or another kind of render. In general, it’ll be cheaper to paint over recently applied render or pebbledash than it will be for naked brickwork. However, if the pebbledash or render is old, it could be more expensive.

The cheapest type of external wall to paint is already painted render, as the surface should already be fairly smooth and ready to simply be painted straight over.

The quality of the walls and amount of prep work required

Another factor to consider is the amount of preparatory work that could be required before your walls are ready to be painted. This essentially boils down to the condition of your exterior walls – if your house has been recently built or the exterior walls recently repointed, your quote could be 10-20% cheaper than a property with old walls that will need a lot of work.

The amount of preparatory work will depend on the type of wall you’ve already got and the condition of it. In the worst cases, you may need to re-render the wall, or totally repoint it – this can add serious expense, so it’s worth taking the time to discuss this with the tradespeople you ask to quote.

Whether scaffolding will be required

For most exterior painting jobs, scaffolding will be required, as it’s not safe for painters to operate at height for extended periods of time without it. Scaffolding is usually factored into the prices that tradespeople quote, so needing it shouldn’t add a lot of money to the overall price.

However, if you live in a bungalow, or have some other type of access to the high areas of the exterior walls of your home, like balconies, you could save yourself at least £200 on the price of hiring and erecting scaffolding.

The size of the property

As we’ve already mentioned, the size of the property will be one of the most important things that affects the price. The simple truth is that the greater the area of exterior wall that needs to be painted, the more you’ll pay – there’s not really any way around this!

Painting soffits and fascias

A common task that goes along with painting the exterior of your home is painting the soffits and fascias. Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to get these parts of your home’s guttering system painted at the same time as the rest of the property, as the scaffolding will be up anyway.

Refreshing the paintwork on your soffits and fascias is another great way to boost the kerb appeal of your home. However, getting this done will add to the price - budget for around another £800-£1800, depending on the size of your home.

Painting windows

Similarly, if you’ve got wooden window frames, getting the exterior frames painted at the same time as the rest of the external walls of your property is a great idea. It’ll really spruce up the external appearance of your home – not only that, but it can protect your window frames as well.

Of course, it will add to the overall price. Expect to add between £300 and £600 extra, depending on the number of windows that need to be painted.

Quality of materials

Specialist masonry paint is more expensive than traditional interior paint, so expect the material costs to be higher than with internal painting and decorating projects. More expensive paint generally lasts longer and adds more weather protection to the exterior of your home, so it’s often worth using higher quality materials for a job like this.

Brands like Sandtex, Dulux Weathershield and Johnstone’s generally cost between £4-£8 per litre. Ask your decorator for advice on the paint to choose, as they will have had experience with lots of brands.

How long does it take to paint the outside of a house?

Expect it to take at least three to four days to paint the outside of an average-sized house. This is assuming that you have two decorators working on your home. If your home is bigger, with more than two storeys or more than five bedrooms, it could take up to six days.

Ready to get quotes to paint your house's exterior? Post your job on HaMuch now to get in touch with reliable painters and decorators in your area.


Estimates for common painter & decorator jobs;

Rates for other trades

Paint exterior of house cost in the UK
Paint exterior of house cost in the UK (excluding VAT or callout charges)
Location in UKPaint exterior of house cost
Paint exterior of house near London£1,300
Paint exterior of house near Birmingham£1,125
Paint exterior of house near Leeds£1,100
Paint exterior of house near Glasgow£1,140
Paint exterior of house near Sheffield£1,080
Paint exterior of house near Bradford£1,100
Paint exterior of house near Liverpool£1,075
Paint exterior of house near Edinburgh£1,215
Paint exterior of house near Manchester£1,120
Paint exterior of house near Bristol£1,190
Paint exterior of house near Kirklees£1,100
Paint exterior of house near Fife£1,210
Paint exterior of house near Wirral£1,070
Paint exterior of house near North Lanarkshire£1,120
Paint exterior of house near Wakefield£1,095
Paint exterior of house near Cardiff£1,160
Paint exterior of house near Dudley£1,120
Paint exterior of house near Wigan£1,080
Paint exterior of house near East Riding£1,255
Paint exterior of house near South Lanarkshire£1,125
Paint exterior of house near Coventry£1,120
Paint exterior of house near Belfast£1,005
Paint exterior of house near Leicester£1,130
Paint exterior of house near Sunderland£1,115
Paint exterior of house near Sandwell£1,120
Paint exterior of house near Doncaster£1,085
Paint exterior of house near Stockport£1,125
Paint exterior of house near Sefton£1,065
Paint exterior of house near Nottingham£1,140
Paint exterior of house near Newcastle Upon Tyne£1,120
Paint exterior of house near Kingston-upon-Hull£1,225
Paint exterior of house near Bolton£1,100
Paint exterior of house near Walsall£1,125
Paint exterior of house near Plymouth£1,185
Paint exterior of house near Rotherham£1,085
Paint exterior of house near Stoke-on-Trent£1,125
Paint exterior of house near Wolverhampton£1,120
Paint exterior of house near Rhondda, Cynon, Taff£1,145
Paint exterior of house near South Gloucestershire£1,190
Paint exterior of house near Derby£1,125
Paint exterior of house near Swansea£1,080
Paint exterior of house near Salford£1,115
Paint exterior of house near Barnsley£1,090
Paint exterior of house near Tameside£1,120
Paint exterior of house near Oldham£1,115
Paint exterior of house near Trafford£1,115
Paint exterior of house near Aberdeen£1,235
Paint exterior of house near Southampton£1,175
Paint exterior of house near Highland£1,145
Paint exterior of house near Rochdale£1,110
Paint exterior of house near Solihull£1,120
Paint exterior of house near Gateshead£1,120
Paint exterior of house near Milton Keynes£1,310
Paint exterior of house near North Tyneside£1,120
Paint exterior of house near Calderdale£1,095
Paint exterior of house near Northampton£1,300
Paint exterior of house near Portsmouth£1,155
Paint exterior of house near Warrington£1,105
Paint exterior of house near North Somerset£1,190
Paint exterior of house near Bury£1,105
Paint exterior of house near Luton£1,285
Paint exterior of house near St Helens£1,080
Paint exterior of house near Stockton-on-Tees£1,135
Paint exterior of house near Renfrewshire£1,155
Paint exterior of house near York£1,115
Paint exterior of house near Thamesdown£1,165
Paint exterior of house near Southend-on-Sea£1,190
Paint exterior of house near New Forest£1,155
Paint exterior of house near Caerphilly£1,160
Paint exterior of house near Carmarthenshire£1,005
Paint exterior of house near Bath£1,190
Paint exterior of house near Wycombe£1,325
Paint exterior of house near Basildon£1,230
Paint exterior of house near Bournemouth£1,145
Paint exterior of house near Peterborough£1,375
Paint exterior of house near North East Lincolnshire£1,130
Paint exterior of house near Chelmsford£1,200
Paint exterior of house near Brighton£1,230
Paint exterior of house near South Tyneside£1,120
Paint exterior of house near Charnwood£1,125
Paint exterior of house near Aylesbury Vale£1,310
Paint exterior of house near Colchester£1,125
Paint exterior of house near Knowsley£1,075
Paint exterior of house near North Lincolnshire£1,180
Paint exterior of house near Huntingdonshire£1,360
Paint exterior of house near Macclesfield£1,145
Paint exterior of house near Blackpool£1,050
Paint exterior of house near West Lothian£1,175
Paint exterior of house near South Somerset£1,120
Paint exterior of house near Dundee£1,205
Paint exterior of house near Basingstoke & Deane£1,300
Paint exterior of house near Harrogate£1,100
Paint exterior of house near Dumfries & Galloway£1,215
Paint exterior of house near Middlesbrough£1,140
Paint exterior of house near Flintshire£1,060
Paint exterior of house near The Wrekin£1,110
Paint exterior of house near Newbury£1,275
Paint exterior of house near Falkirk£1,125
Paint exterior of house near Reading£1,305
Paint exterior of house near Wokingham£1,310
Paint exterior of house near Windsor & Maidenhead£1,305
Paint exterior of house near Maidstone£1,205
Paint exterior of house near Redcar & Cleveland£1,135
Paint exterior of house near North Ayrshire£1,130
Paint exterior of house near Blackburn£1,070
Paint exterior of house near Neath Port Talbot£1,115
Paint exterior of house near Poole£1,145
Paint exterior of house near Wealden£1,240
Paint exterior of house near Arun£1,210
Paint exterior of house near Bedford£1,325
Paint exterior of house near Oxford£1,330
Paint exterior of house near Lancaster£1,075
Paint exterior of house near Newport£1,160
Paint exterior of house near Canterbury£1,090
Paint exterior of house near Preston£1,050
Paint exterior of house near Dacorum£1,295
Paint exterior of house near Cherwell£1,325
Paint exterior of house near Perth & Kinross£1,655
Paint exterior of house near Thurrock£1,255
Paint exterior of house near Tendring£1,090
Paint exterior of house near Kings Lynn & West Norfolk£1,230
Paint exterior of house near St Albans£1,285
Paint exterior of house near Bridgend£1,140
Paint exterior of house near South Cambridgeshire£1,255
Paint exterior of house near Braintree£1,185
Paint exterior of house near Norwich£1,135
Paint exterior of house near Thanet£1,070
Paint exterior of house near Isle of Wight£1,155
Paint exterior of house near Mid Sussex£1,230
Paint exterior of house near South Oxfordshire£1,335
Paint exterior of house near Guildford£1,300
Paint exterior of house near Elmbridge£1,305
Paint exterior of house near Stafford£1,145
Paint exterior of house near East Hertfordshire£1,270
Paint exterior of house near Torbay£1,150
Paint exterior of house near Wrexham Maelor£1,065
Paint exterior of house near East Devon£1,115
Paint exterior of house near East Lindsey£1,040
Paint exterior of house near Halton£1,075
Paint exterior of house near Warwick£1,115
Paint exterior of house near East Ayrshire£1,120
Paint exterior of house near Newcastle-under-Lyme£1,125
Paint exterior of house near North Wiltshire£1,150
Paint exterior of house near South Kesteven£1,190
Paint exterior of house near Epping Forest£1,305
Paint exterior of house near Vale of Glamorgan£1,165
Paint exterior of house near Reigate & Banstead£1,290
Paint exterior of house near Chester£1,070
Paint exterior of house near Mid Bedfordshire£1,305
Paint exterior of house near Suffolk Coastal£1,075
Paint exterior of house near Horsham£1,230
Paint exterior of house near Nuneaton & Bedworth£1,125
Paint exterior of house near Gwynedd£1,140
Paint exterior of house near Swale£1,175
Paint exterior of house near Havant & Waterloo£1,155
Paint exterior of house near Teignbridge£1,140
Paint exterior of house near Cambridge£1,260
Paint exterior of house near Vale Royal£1,060
Paint exterior of house near Amber Valley£1,130
Paint exterior of house near North Hertfordshire£1,275
Paint exterior of house near South Ayrshire£1,130
Paint exterior of house near Waverley£1,295
Paint exterior of house near Broadland£1,120
Paint exterior of house near Crewe & Nantwich£1,130
Paint exterior of house near Breckland£1,125
Paint exterior of house near Ipswich£1,080
Paint exterior of house near Vale of White Horse£1,255
Paint exterior of house near Salisbury£1,190
Paint exterior of house near Gedling£1,140
Paint exterior of house near Eastleigh£1,180
Paint exterior of house near Broxtowe£1,135
Paint exterior of house near Stratford-on-Avon£1,130
Paint exterior of house near South Bedfordshire£1,325
Paint exterior of house near Angus£1,240
Paint exterior of house near East Hampshire£1,210
Paint exterior of house near East Dunbartonshire£1,140
Paint exterior of house near Conway£1,020
Paint exterior of house near Sevenoaks£1,260
Paint exterior of house near Slough£1,300
Paint exterior of house near Bracknell Forest£1,315
Paint exterior of house near West Lancashire£1,075
Paint exterior of house near West Wiltshire£1,150
Paint exterior of house near Ashfield£1,140
Paint exterior of house near Lisburn£1,010
Paint exterior of house near Scarborough£1,175
Paint exterior of house near Stroud£1,200
Paint exterior of house near Wychavon£1,125
Paint exterior of house near Waveney£1,085
Paint exterior of house near Exeter£1,140
Paint exterior of house near Dover£1,085
Paint exterior of house near Test Valley£1,200
Paint exterior of house near Gloucester£1,195
Paint exterior of house near Erewash£1,125
Paint exterior of house near Cheltenham£1,200
Paint exterior of house near Bassetlaw£1,095