Windows are like unicorns. Everybody knows what they look like. They know that they’re expensive. But the rest is a mystery.
The cost, in particular.
I’m going to say it loud and clear: there is no ‘going rate’ for windows.
In my research for this, I’ve read a hundred websites, forums, and personal accounts. There is a rough idea, but no consensus.
In fact, this is why double-glazing salesmen got such a bad rap. Consumers were in the dark, so they could charge what they liked. Some still do.
So I’m going to give you some different advice, and not pretend I have all the answers – no-one does. Here’s how to get the best price for windows:
- Get a rough idea of prices (below)
- Get multiple quotes
- Negotiate hard.
Point 3 is so, so, so important. I know from personal experience you can save £1000s.
How much do new windows cost?
Roughly £5k-£10k for a 3 bed, 8 window house in the UK. If you have double the windows, it will be slightly less than double the price.
How does the cost break down:
- Windows: £200 per basic window
- Extras: plus 20%-100%
- Labour: ~£100 per window
- Markup: 20%+
A basic window is white and plastic. It opens one way, and is about 1m wide by 1m in height. It has white handles, trickle vents, and poor insulation. You don’t want a basic window now, do you?
Everyone adds extras of some kind, and all of them affect the price. Here are the most common:
- Other colours: +30% to +60%. There are some more standard colours (like anthracite grey) which are on the cheaper side, whereas bespoke colours are much more expensive. Any departure from white will add at least £1000 to the overall cost.
- Other materials: +50% to +200%. If you want wooden or aluminium frames, the cost can easily double, and sometimes triple. This is one reason (apart from durability) why you see so many uPVC windows around nowadays.
- Fancy window profiles: +10% to +20%. These can improve your insulation vs basic window profiles and also look better. A window profile is the cross-section of the window frame, in case you weren’t sure.
- Triple-glazing: +£40 per window. Highly variable, depends on supplier and exact specification of the glass.
- Safety glass: +£30 to +£150 per window. Highly variable, depends on supplier and exact specification of the glass.
- Frosted glass: +£40 to +£90 per window. Highly variable, depends on supplier and exact specification of the glass.
- Fancy handles: £5-£30 per window. If you want chrome, gold, or black, rather than white.
- Size: -50% to +50%. Not really an extra, but you can expect the cost to increase with larger windows. Most sellers have an upper limit – if you want to go even bigger than that, you’ll need to get specialist quotes.
(figures from two online window suppliers that publish their prices – windows24 and tradewindowsonline)
These costs are just for the windows themselves. Labour is less variable. Most jobs can be done in a day by two people. Markup… now this is where it gets interesting.
How to negotiate for windows
Consumers don’t know what windows cost, and that means installers can name their price. It’s called information asymmetry.
One way to solve this is to get multiple quotes. This is always a good idea for services with no transparent price.
But you should also negotiate.
Think of it like this. There’s a lowest price the installer can charge. They need to run their business, after all. And you need to find that price.
I had this exact experience with one of the nationwide installers. They quoted me £9k to start with. But if you dig your heels in, they come down very fast.
Ultimately they offered £6k. That’s three grand less, all of which would have been profit! It matched the lowest price I could get from other providers, and seemed to be the floor at which they could operate profitably.
There are lots of different approaches to negotiating. But you should certainly understand price anchoring. In this case that means: pick a price a long way below their offer, and use that as the reference point when you are counter-offered.
A good book on negotiation is Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss. He mainly negotiates for hostage release. But I bet he gets cheap windows too.
