Costs
Cleaner hourly rate UK: what a cleaner charges an hour
A self-employed domestic cleaner charges roughly £15 to £22 an hour outside London and £20 to £30 inside it. An agency charges more because the rate pays for holiday cover, insurance and a replacement cleaner.
The going rate, and why it varies so much
A self-employed cleaner working directly for householders charges roughly £15 to £22 an hour across most of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and £20 to £30 an hour in London and the higher-cost commuter towns around it. An agency or a cleaning company charges £20 to £35 an hour for the same work.
The gap between the two is not a mark-up on the same service. A company rate has to carry employer's National Insurance, holiday pay, public liability cover, vetting, and somebody to send when the regular cleaner is ill. A sole trader's rate carries none of those, which is why it is lower and why it stops entirely when they are on holiday.
National Living Wage is the floor under all of it. From April 2026 an employer has to pay it to anybody over 21, which is why a company that employs its cleaners will usually quote £18 an hour or more.
What an hour actually buys
Two hours is the usual minimum booking, and it is not an upsell. A cleaner who travels twenty minutes each way to do one hour has spent forty minutes in the van for sixty minutes of work, and the rate would have to double to make that work.
As a rough guide for a regular clean, a two-bedroom flat takes two to three hours, a three-bedroom house three to four, and a four-bedroom house four to five. Those figures assume the place is tidy enough to clean. Clearing surfaces, washing up and picking things off the floor is time that comes out of the same hours, and it is the single largest reason a regular clean feels like it did less than expected.
Hourly or by the job
Regular domestic work is nearly always hourly. One-off work is nearly always priced by the job, because the customer needs a figure before they agree to it and neither side can predict the hours on a house they have not seen.
Where a one-off is quoted hourly, ask for a cap. A cap keeps an hourly price on a job nobody has measured predictable for both sides, and a cleaner who has seen the property will usually offer one readily.
What is normally on top
Products and equipment vary. Many regular cleaners use whatever is in the house, some bring their own and charge a few pounds a visit for it, and most carpet, oven and window specialists bring everything because the equipment is the job.
Parking is worth settling in advance in any town with a permit scheme. A cleaner who has to buy a visitor permit or pay a meter for four hours will usually pass the cost on, so agree who pays for parking before the first visit.
Common questions
Should I pay a cleaner cash?
Payment method is between you and them, but the work still has to be declared by whoever does it. A cleaner working for themselves is responsible for their own tax and National Insurance, and most will invoice or take a bank transfer without being asked.
Do I have to pay if I cancel?
Most cleaners ask for 24 or 48 hours' notice and charge for a late cancellation, because the slot is too late to refill. It should be written down before the first visit rather than discovered after one.
Am I employing my cleaner?
Usually not. A cleaner who works for several households, sets their own hours and brings their own equipment is self-employed. Somebody who works only for you, on hours you set, using your equipment, may be an employee, and that brings holiday pay and employer's liability insurance with it.