A professional painter carefully using a roller to paint an apartment wall.

Apartment painting cost: How much should you budget in 2025?

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Price guide

£800 - £2,200

low

£800

median

£1,500

high

£2,200

Low, median and high bar chart distribuiton

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Key Facts

  • Apartment painting costs in the UK typically range from £800 to £2,200, depending on location, apartment size, wall condition, and finish requirements.
  • Apartments with poor-condition walls may need additional preparation, such as patching holes or sanding, which increases labour time and costs. Well-maintained walls typically require less prep work, reducing overall expenses.
  • Opting for high-quality paints and finishes may offer better coverage and longevity, potentially reducing the need for frequent repaints.

Giving your apartment a fresh coat of paint is one of the most cost-effective ways to transform your living space. This simple upgrade instantly makes your interior look refined and elevated, potentially increasing your property’s value. While DIY might seem tempting, professional painters deliver superior, long-lasting results that ultimately make your investment worthwhile.

In the UK, the cost of painting an apartment ranges between £800 and £2,200, depending on factors like size, wall condition, and paint quality. This guide will break down the average costs and important factors every homeowner should consider to help you budget accurately and find the best house painter for the job.

Apartment painting price list

Disclaimer: Airtasker’s cost estimates come from thorough research on industry and third-party rates. Please only use the listed prices as a benchmark when setting your budget.

Apartment painting costs vary greatly based on location. Painters in highly urbanised cities charge more than those in smaller rural areas. In addition, places where painting materials aren’t as accessible might have higher painting service costs. 

To help you understand how much it costs to repaint an apartment, refer to this table:

City
Price range
London
£950 - £2,200
Birmingham
£893 - £1,339
Manchester
£1,042 - £1,563
Leeds
£968 - £1,452

a man holding a can of paintA tradesman carefully preparing paint during a home renovation project.   (Source: Shutterstock)

Factors affecting apartment painting costs

Now that we've discussed the cost of apartment painting based on location, it's time to tackle the different factors that influence the cost of the service.

Apartment size

The size of your apartment significantly influences your overall painting costs, with larger spaces naturally requiring more time, paint, and labour. For bedroom painting costs, expect to pay between £150 to £500 per room, depending on wall condition, ceiling height, and the complexity of trims and fixtures. 

If your apartment includes outdoor areas, factor in additional deck painting costs, which typically range from £73 to £212, depending on size and condition. Deck surfaces require specialized weather-resistant paints and often need more extensive preparation work, including sanding and sealing, which can increase your project budget by 20-30% compared to interior spaces. 

You might also like: Apartment Cleaning Cost Guide

Materials

Most painters will already provide the materials needed for the project. But if you want to supply your own materials and just pay for the labour fee, you can always ask your painter if that's something they can accommodate. Nonetheless, take note of the materials needed for apartment painting. The rule of thumb is the higher the paint quality, the higher the service fee. While it's more expensive to buy good-quality paint, you can be assured that the result will last for years.

Material
Price
Brushes £3 per piece
Tray £2 per piece
Drop cloth £10
Rollers £6
Tape £1 per roll
Ladder £20


Task complexity

Aside from painting, your painter might also need to do other tasks that might require more time and labour to complete. These include prepping walls, moving furniture, and cleaning up waste. Since these tasks take more time and effort, they will be included in the final cost of the service. You might also be required to pay more if you have higher ceilings to paint or walls with intricate details.

The cost of painting the exterior of an apartment building might also be different from interior painting. Often, exterior painting is more expensive, as it requires more paint ingredients to strengthen toughness, moisture resistance, and UV colour corrosion.

Reasons to book a professional apartment painter

You're probably wondering whether to hire a professional painter or just take on the task yourself. While it's cheaper to go the DIY route, there's no guarantee that you'll be satisfied with the result. Here are the top reasons why hiring a pro painter is the better option:

They help you save time

Let's face it: Painting your entire apartment is a big job. What might take you a full week of evenings and weekends can be knocked out by professionals in just a day or two. They arrive with everything they need, protect your furniture, and clean up when they’re done. You don’t have to spend your precious free time balancing on ladders or washing paint rollers in the bathtub. 

Instead, you can simply leave for work in the morning and come home to freshly painted walls.

They provide quality work

Most DIY paint jobs go wrong before the first stroke of paint. This is because professional painters don't just slap paint on walls. Instead, they carefully prepare each surface. They’ll fix holes, sand rough patches, and clean walls properly before painting. They’ll also use the right primers and know exactly how many coats your walls need. This thorough preparation makes a professional paint job look good for years instead of months.

They actually save your money in the long run

Hiring painters might seem expensive at first, but do the math. You need to buy quality paint, primers, rollers, brushes, trays, drop cloths, painter’s tape, and maybe even ladders. Professionals already have all the tools and can often get paint at trade discounts. Plus, if your DIY job goes wrong, you might end up paying professionals to fix it anyway. A properly done professional paint job also lasts longer, meaning you won’t need to repaint as often. 

When you add it all up, the professional option often makes more financial sense. When you hire a pro painter, you no longer need to worry about the materials needed for the project. They are equipped with all the necessary painting supplies to complete the job promptly and orderly. 

a man painting a white wall A handyman painting a white wall with a roller. (Source: Shutterstock)

Post a task for apartment painting

Now that you have an idea of how much it costs to paint an apartment, it's time to hire a professional and give your home a new look. All you need to do is post a task to connect to nearby painters and review competitive offers. Once you find the right Tasker for your needs, you can make arrangements and discuss your project goals so that both of you are on the same page. 

Is it your first time posting a task? Consider including these details:

  1. Your budget
  2. Your location
  3. The size of your apartment
  4. Number of ceilings

The more information you provide, the easier it is for Taskers to provide accurate price quotes.

FAQs

Yes, your wall needs to be dry and free from dust and grease before you paint them. Holes, cracks, and peeling paint need to be addressed to create a smooth surface for your paint to stick on. You can do this by washing your walls or using a paint primer to ensure better adhesion.

It depends on the size of your apartment, the number of rooms you have, and how high your ceilings are. A 2-bedroom apartment can take up to 3 to 4 days to paint with a team of 2 to 3 people working together. However, professional painters might not need more than 2 days to paint an average-sized apartment. 


Pieces of furniture are often moved to the centre of the apartment while your walls are being painted. You can also cover them with drop cloths or plastic. Once the job is complete, you can return your furniture pieces to their original places.


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