UK Door Painting Costs: £50–£70 Inside, Up to £250 Outside
Painting an interior door through a professional typically costs £50 to £70 per door, while an exterior or front door usually runs from £80 to £250 depending on prep and material. Labour makes up most of that figure, and VAT or regional day rates can push the final bill higher, so it pays to check both before you book.
TL;DR:
A 750ml tin covers two standard doors with two coats; four doors need about 1.5 litres, so choose a 2 litre tin.
Decorators outside London and the South East charge about £180 to £280 daily, while those regions reach £250 to £350, a 25% to 40% premium.
A confident DIYer should allow a full afternoon for one door, while professionals usually spend one to two hours per door within larger jobs.
Compare written quotes by checking labor hours, included coats and primer, paint brand, preparation, and whether the total includes the 20% VAT charge.
For exterior work, especially on coastal homes where salt speeds wear, schedule painting between May and September to give the finish drier, milder curing conditions.
Table of Contents
What interior and exterior door painting typically costs
Prices split into clear bands depending on how much prep the door needs and what finish you want. For a standard interior door, you’re generally looking at a low end around £50, a typical job around £60, and a high end near £70 when extra coats or colour changes are involved, in line with the cost ranges reported by Checkatrade. Exterior and front doors cost more because they face harsher conditions and often need more preparation, with typical quotes spanning £80 at the simple end up to £250 for heavily weathered or panelled doors.
At the lower end of either range, you’re usually paying for light sanding, one coat of primer where needed, and two topcoats with basic masking of the frame and hardware. Move up the scale and the quote should also cover more thorough sanding, spot-filling, masking of glass panels, and careful cutting-in around hinges and handles.
Several extras commonly sit outside the headline price:
Full paint stripping on a heavily weathered or previously varnished door.
Removing and reinstalling door furniture such as handles, knockers, and letterboxes.
Masking or taping glazed panels on panelled or period doors.
Minor repairs, such as filling cracks or replacing rotten sections of timber, before painting begins.
A quote that looks unusually cheap has often left one or more of these out, which is worth checking before you compare it against a fuller quote. What drives the cost of home painting in the UK breaks down how labour and prep combine to shape a final price.
How much paint you actually need per door
Working out litres before you buy saves you from either running short mid-job or paying for tins you’ll never use. A practical working rate for gloss is around 16 m² per litre, though real-world coverage often sits closer to 14 to 16 m²/L once you account for brush application and absorption into bare wood.
A standard internal door, painted on both faces, works out to roughly 3.0 m² of surface. Two coats on one door therefore need around 0.38 litres of paint, which is why a single 750ml tin comfortably covers two doors with two coats under normal working conditions.
One door, two coats: around 0.4 litres, so a 500ml or 750ml tin is enough with some left over.
Two doors, two coats: around 0.75 litres, fitting neatly into one 750ml tin.
Four doors, two coats: around 1.5 litres, meaning you’ll want a 2 litre tin or two smaller tins.
A 750ml tin of gloss typically covers about two standard doors with two coats, which is a useful rule of thumb when you’re budgeting for a multi-door job. Trade paint from a decorators’ merchant tends to cost less per litre than retail tins from a DIY shed, though premium retail brands can offer a wider colour range if you’re matching an existing scheme. Top exterior paint brands for UK homes covers how brand choice affects both cost and durability outdoors.
How your location changes the price per door
Where you live has a real effect on what a decorator charges, because day rates vary significantly across the UK. Outside London and the South East, typical day rates sit between £180 and £280, while London and the South East often command £250 to £350 a day for the same work.
A single interior door usually takes a professional one to two hours including drying time between coats.
An exterior door with more prep can take half a day or more, especially with stripping or repairs involved.
Converting a day rate into a per-door figure means dividing it by the number of doors a decorator can realistically finish in that time.
Expect a 25 to 40% premium in London and the South East compared with regions such as the North East, Wales, or Merseyside.
For context on broader trade hourly rates, partner data on cleaner hourly rates in April 2026 shows a similar regional pattern across home service trades, not just painting.
Pro Tip: Ask every tradesperson for their hourly or day rate alongside the estimated hours per door, so you can compare quotes on the same basis rather than just the bottom-line figure.
DIY costs and time against hiring a professional
Buying your own paint, brushes, and sandpaper for one door typically costs a fraction of a professional’s total price, but the time and finish quality differ sharply. DIY materials for a room-sized job run around £50 to £120, while hiring a professional for the same scope costs £200 to £500, reflecting labour, equipment, and experience.
A confident DIYer can expect to spend a full afternoon on one door once sanding, priming, and two coats with drying time are factored in.
A professional will usually schedule one to two hours per door as part of a larger job, working more efficiently with the right tools.
Hiring a professional is generally the safer choice for exterior doors, extensive prep, or any job using spray equipment or UPVC-specific coatings.
A professionally applied finish tends to last longer and may come with a workmanship guarantee that DIY painting cannot offer.
How to get comparable quotes from decorators
A written quote is only useful if it lets you compare like for like. Ask every tradesperson for the same details so you’re not caught out by a cheap-looking quote that leaves gaps.
Request the estimated labour hours per door, not just a flat total price.
Confirm how many coats are included and whether primer or undercoat is separate.
Ask which paint brand and product line they plan to use.
Check whether the quote is VAT inclusive, since a VAT-registered tradesperson must add 20% to labour and materials.
Get a start date window in writing, particularly for exterior work that depends on dry weather.
A quote that avoids naming the number of coats, skips any mention of prep work, or dodges the VAT question is usually one to question before you commit. What drives the cost of home painting in the UK is a useful reference to bring to that conversation.
A Brush With Gus: a South West view on door painting jobs
As a painting and decorating team serving the South West, we see the same questions come up on nearly every door job: how many coats, how long it takes, and whether spraying beats brushing. Our services span domestic painting, exterior home painting, UPVC spraying, and airless spraying for a faster, smoother finish on larger or multiple-door jobs.
Coastal properties bring their own challenges, since salt exposure accelerates wear on exterior woodwork and often means extra prep before paint goes on. We typically recommend scheduling exterior door work between May and September, when drier, milder weather gives paint the best chance to cure properly.
Prep and paint quality matter more than the lowest quote
If we had one piece of advice, it would be this: pay for proper prep and the right paint type over whoever quotes the least. Ask any tradesperson for a detailed breakdown and examples of finished doors before you decide.
— Angus
Get a professional quote for your door painting project
Whether you need one front door refreshed or every door in the house resprayed, we offer a direct route to a finish that holds up. We quote on domestic painting, exterior home painting, and UPVC spraying, and we can advise on brush-and-roll versus airless spraying depending on your door type and finish.
When you request a quote from us, you’ll receive:
A clear breakdown of labour and materials for your specific doors.
A realistic timescale based on the number of doors and prep required.
Reference examples from past door and exterior finishing work.
What you get | Detail |
Services covered | Domestic painting, exterior home painting, UPVC spraying, airless spraying |
Quote includes | Labour and materials breakdown, timescale, reference examples |
Coverage area | Cornwall and the South West |
Get in touch through our domestic painting page to request a quote and see examples of our recent door and exterior work.
FAQ
How much should I charge to paint a door?
Tradespeople typically price a standard interior door at £50 to £70, and an exterior door between £80 and £250 depending on prep and material. Pricing should reflect hours worked, paint and materials used, and whether VAT applies.
Is 750ml enough to paint a door?
A 750ml tin of gloss typically covers around two standard doors with two coats each, based on practical working coverage rates. For a single door, 750ml leaves a comfortable margin for touch-ups.
Is it cheaper to paint a door or buy a new one?
Painting is almost always the cheaper option, since even a higher-end professional repaint sits within the £80 to £250 range for an exterior door, while a new door plus fitting typically costs considerably more. Painting also preserves period or matching doors that a replacement can’t replicate.
How much does it cost to respray a door?
Spraying costs vary by door type and whether it’s UPVC or timber, with pricing depending on prep, masking, and the number of doors sprayed in one visit. We recommend requesting a specific quote for UPVC spraying since material and finish affect both time and cost.
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