Need a locksmith in a hurry? Although locksmiths are professionals who can actually do a lot more than just help people who need extra keys cutting and who are locked out of their home or business, it’s for these two emergencies that we call them out the most.
The price of a new door lock supply-only is likely to start at around £15-£25 for a basic cylinder lock for a uPVC door. For a mortice deadlock, prices start at between £25 and £35 and for a BS3621-approved night latch, expect to pay a price starting from around £45.
For a locksmith to come out and repair your lock, expect to pay from £50 for an external lock. Changing or replacing your current lock will cost you from £75 (including materials) but it might be much higher depending on the types of lock you’re wanting to change. If you’ve locked yourself out, it’ll cost you from around £70 to get you back into your home or workplace. There’ll be additional charges if you need to change your lock altogether after locking yourself out or if your locksmith needs to remove a snapped key from your current lock.
Click To Get QuotesYou might be surprised to find this out but there’s no actual legal requirements which have to be met for a person or the company they work for to call themselves or trade as locksmiths. Without those legal requirements in place, the locksmith world can feel sometimes like the Wild West.
In this article, we’re going to be looking at the best ways for homeowners, landlords, tenants, and business owners to get the best deal from a trusted locksmith and to protect themselves from unscrupulous traders.
If you need one now, we’ve partnered up with experienced and vetted locksmiths up and down the UK. We help people get the cheapest locksmith quote without sacrificing any quality or professionalism. Better still, because our partner locksmiths know that we put you in touch with 3-4 of their local rivals as well, this competition drives down the price you pay. To receive personal quotes from established locksmiths local to you, please click on the button below:
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Locksmith prices – what do door locks cost?
The chances are that you’ve found this page because you’re wanting to find out how much a door lock is going to cost. There are two major pricing factors in any quote you’ll receive – the labour charges and the cost of the lock.
As with any tradesmen, if your locksmith supplies your new door lock, there’s likely to be a retail mark-up on the price you pay. However, if you want to purchase your own lock from a DIY store or an internet retailer and then get a locksmith to install it for you, most of them are very happy to do that.
What influences the price of locks? As you’d expect, locks manufactured by household name brands are more expensive. High security specification locks also attract an addition premium (look for Ts 007 3, SS312 Diamond, and BS3261). And, finally, the larger the lock you want to buy, the higher the price will be.
For general locks, you should budget to pay the following as a minimum:
| General locks | Supply only price from |
| Rim Cylinder | £10-£15 |
| BS Rim Cylinder | £15-£20 |
| Patio Door Lock | £10-£15 |
| Garage Door Lock | £15-£20 |
| Window Lock | £20-£25 |
For Euro Cylinder locks for your uPVC doors, minimum prices are as follows:
| Euro Cylinder Lock | Supply only price from |
| Budget | £15-£20 |
| Anti Snap | £45-£55 |
Click To Get QuotesThe budget Euro Cylinder is generally priced at a significant discount to the anti-snap models however please be aware that the level of security the budget version affords is not as high.
For the most popular mortice deadlocks, expect the follow minimum costs for purchase:
| Mortice Deadlocks | Supply only price from |
| 3 Lever | £15-£20 |
| 5 Lever | £20-£25 |
| 5 Lever to BS3621 | £25-£30 |
| 3 Lever Sash | £15-£20 |
| 5 Lever Sash | £20-£25 |
| 5 Lever Sash to BS3621 | £30-£35 |
The British Standards accreditation, BS3261, is a security-focused design and manufacturing specification. BS3261 locks are much better at resisting forced snapping and opening than locks which are not produced to this specification.
On the subject of security, the more levers that a mortice deadlock has, the more protection it will offer homeowners, landlords, tenants, and business owners against break-in.
Click To Get QuotesAnd for night latches for your wooden, standard UK minimum prices are:
| Night Latch | Supply only price from |
| Standard Yale | £20-£25 |
| Yale to BS3621 | £45-£50 |
All of the above price ranges include VAT. Labour, fitting, and call-out charges will be in addition to these prices if you get a locksmith to do the work for you.
Price to repair your locks
External lock repair prices tend to be higher than internal lock repair costs because of the increased level of complexity of external locks and the extra time they take to repair.
What you can expect to pay a locksmith to repair your lock assuming no unforeseen complications and no need to buy in additional parts? Please use the following price guide to give you an idea of a minimum budget to set aside.
| Type of lock repair | Expect to pay at least |
| Garage door lock repair | £50-£60 |
| Internal door lock repair (bathroom/bedroom) | £40-£50 |
| uPVC window lock repair | £50-£60 |
| Door handle repair | £50-£60 |
| Front or back door lock repair | £60-£70 |
| uPVC door lock repair | £60-£70 |
| Patio door lock repair | £60-£70 |
If you need your lock to be repaired outside of normal hours, you are likely to be asked to pay a significant premium on top of these prices. We cover that later in this article.
Click To Get QuotesHow much to change locks?
The cost of changing locks or replacing locks depends on the exact specification of the work you need doing. The prices we have listed in this section of the article are for relatively simple jobs using budget locks – costs shown include labour, call-out, materials, and VAT (if your locksmith is VAT registered). Again, please use these costs as a guide and get quotes from multiple locksmiths to ensure that you’re paying the best price.
Factors which contribute to the cost other than labour and call-out charges include:
- the type of lock you want to replace,
- the security standards of the lock,
- the brand name/manufacture of the lock,
- the type of door or window and how difficult the type makes that work
| Locksmith job | Expect to pay at least |
| Garage door lock replacement | £75-£85 |
| Patio door lock replacement | £85-£95 |
| Night latch (wooden door) | £85-£95 |
| Rim cylinder replacement | £65-£75 |
| Mortice lock | £110-£120 |
| Changing all the locks at a property | £300-£400 |
If you are replacing a mortice lock, the figure we show above may increase substantially depending on whether additional work is required to be done on the door and the frame because of the size of the mortice lock.
The cost of changing all the locks at your property will also vary depending on the number of locks that need replacing, the cost of the locks, labour charges, and the provision of additional keys to you and other members of your household.
Click To Get QuotesHow much does it cost to change a lock on a uPVC door?
The most common type of front and back door in the UK is a standard uPVC door. The minimum size of quote you should expect to receive from a locksmith to change a lock on a uPVC door is:
| Locksmith job | Expect to pay at least |
| Standard Euro Cylinder lock | £85-£95 |
| Anti-snap Euro Cylinder Lock | £105-£115 |
Locksmith prices to unlock house and open door (3)
Much of the work carried out by locksmiths is with homeowners, tenants, and business owners who have either lost their key or whose keys have snapped inside the lock. For this type of work, you should expect to pay:
| Locksmith job | Expect to pay at least |
| Replace lost keys & replace door lock | £75-£85 |
| Broken/snapped key in door | £65-£75 |
| Broken key – keep the same cylinder | £80-£90 |
| Lost key – replace standard mortice & rim locks | £125-£140 |
| Locked out of your home – gain entry | £65-£75 |
How much do locksmiths cost?
How much you pay your locksmith for the services they carry out and any materials they provide will vary on a number of different factors. In this part of our article, we look at how locksmiths decide what to charge and what to look for on your quote or your invoice.
Click To Get QuotesAverage locksmith hourly rates
Locksmiths normally charge for their time by the hour. London locksmiths charge the most (up to £90 per hour and more) and homeowners, landlords, tenants, and business owners can expect to pay the lowest prices (from £60-70 per hour) in the North of England and the more populated areas of Scotland and Wales.
The longer or more complex the job, the higher the invoice you’re going to have to pay. Some locksmiths keep the same charge per hour however others choose to offer a reduced hourly rate past the first hour. For example, you might choose a locksmith with a rate of £70 for the first hour and £35 for all subsequent hours thereafter.
Some locksmiths have call-out charges for the work they do. Call-out charges are often fixed at somewhere between 50% and 100% of the hourly rate (or the first hour’s rate if your locksmith offered reduced fees from the second hour onwards).
If you choose a locksmith who does charge a call-out fee, ask them if the charge is dropped entirely if the job they’re doing for you takes an hour or more. Some will roll the call-out charge into their hourly rate and others won’t. When speaking with a locksmith over the phone prior to arranging for them to visit you, make sure that you ask so that you don’t end up paying more than you want to pay.
On most jobs, the expectation is that the locksmith will bring along the locks and other necessary materials for them to complete the job. Most locksmiths mark up the price they pay on their materials to make additional money on the work they carry out for you. If you have bought your own materials that you want your locksmith to use on the work, please let them know when you speak to them. That way, they won’t end up buying stock they don’t actually need which they’d then have to charge you for.
Depending on the size of the locksmith firm you choose, you may have to pay VAT on top of the hourly rates, the call charge, and any materials used on your job.
Try to use a locksmith as local to you as possible so you don’t have to pay for their travelling expenses and the time it takes to get to you.
For homeowners, landlords, and tenants, most of you will not be able to claim the VAT back from HMRC – you may wish to choose a smaller locksmith to avoid paying VAT altogether. However, if you’re using a locksmith for your business and you’re VAT registered, you can claim the VAT back.
Emergency locksmith costs – what to expect
If you need a locksmith to attend to you outside working hours or at the weekend, you should expect to pay significantly more in labour charges. The same is true for Bank Holidays as well.
You may pay between £10 to £100 per hour more to your locksmith for work at these times – and their call-out charge (if they apply one) might be higher too. Try to avoid calling a locksmith out of hours if at all possible because a relatively simple job may end up costing you well in excess of £200. You may wish to see if your locksmith has any wiggle room to negotiate on the price but you shouldn’t expect it.
Click To Get QuotesWhy do quotes vary from locksmith to locksmith?
Complexity of the job
When you’re speaking to a locksmith to get a quote, try to explain in as much details as you can to your locksmith what it is that you want them to do for you. Experienced locksmiths will be able to give you a fairly reliable estimate of the expected cost of the job if you tell them about the types of lock and their locations.
Non-standard parts
If the doors and windows you need work doing on do not use standard locks (especially smart locks or digital locks), make sure that you tell your locksmith when you’re on the phone to them.
Although many locksmiths stock standard sets of lock in their work vans, they may need to visit their local wholesaler to buy non-standard locks after they’ve turned up if they didn’t know beforehand. You will likely be charged for the travel time and expenses incurred by your locksmith in this situation. You can avoid it altogether by letting them know in advance.
How quickly you need the work to be done
We don’t mean this in the sense of an emergency locksmith attending your property at the weekends or in the middle of the night. If your locksmith has to leave one job to attend to work that you need doing at very short notice, you will likely pay a premium for this speed of service. Try to arrange work with a locksmith as far in advance as possible to get the best rates.
Locksmith quotes – how to be certain
What if my locksmith overcharges me? This is a concern most of us have with tradesmen who we’ve never worked with before. In truth, the instances of rogue tradesmen and rogue locksmiths are rare but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take as much care as you can to protect yourself.
Here’s our guide to making sure that what you’re quoted is what you actually pay:
- how to deal with hourly rates
- your locksmith will give you a rough estimate on the length of time it takes to complete your job. Prior to deciding to choose a particular locksmith, ask them to commit that, if it takes them longer than they expect, the quote will not change. However, if your locksmith offers you a price, you agree to it, and they finish the job quicker than originally agreed, this is probably fair – unless, of course, they say something will take five hours and they’re finished within 30 minutes
- fixed quotes
- ask your locksmith to provide you with a final and overall price for everything (including parts, call-out charges, and VAT) before you give them the go-ahead. On the quote, ask your locksmith to itemise every part of the quote and to sign the quote stating that the overall price for the work will not be higher than is written down on the quote unless you change the specifications of the job. Always, always get your quote on paper. Be very wary if a locksmith is doing all they can to avoid being tied down on a price.
- get a receipt for the work before you hand over any cash
- if there is no receipt, it’s harder to bring a rogue locksmith to justice or hold them to account. Receipts are also useful to prove that you’ve actually had the work done if you are looking to sell your property now or at some point in the future
- does your locksmith have a valid insurance policy?
- ask to see your locksmith’s public liability insurance and, if applicable, their employers’ liability insurance. Public liability insurance will protect you if your locksmith causes damage to your property. If your locksmith has employees, they are legally obliged to have employers’ liability insurance. If they don’t have it, then it’s reasonable to question whether they are a firm you should trust.
How to reduce your locksmith costs
The best ways to cut the cost of your locksmith’s invoice as much as possible are to:
- employ them during working hours
- give as much notice as possible (for example, if you’re having new doors fitted next week and you need them to come around)
- ask about their call-out charging policy
- tell them as much as you can about the exact nature of the work you want them to do for you
- let them know if any of the locks on your door and windows are non-standard so they can stock up in advance rather than collect them when they’re on the job
- find out if they are VAT registered
Click To Get QuotesShould my locksmith belong to any professional organisation?
There is no regulation governing who can call themselves a locksmith. Someone could choose to call themselves a locksmith just by buying a set of tools even if they’ve taken no training in how to do the work.
To make sure you choose the right locksmith, trust your instincts first and foremost. Check them out on the internet to see if any reviews have been left for them by customers. Does their website look legitimate? Can any of your friends or family recommend a locksmith? Have you seen their insurance documents and have they signed their quote in such a way to promise you that what’s on the quote is what you’ll actually pay?
Finding the best locksmith quote for you
We work with dozens of established, trusted, and vetted locksmiths across the UK and we can put you in touch with 3-4 professional firms in your local area. We’ve done the background checking you’d expect to give us the peace of mind that we’re only recommending that the very best in the profession provide you with a competitive quote for the work you need doing. To get 3-4 free quotes from locksmiths in your local area, please fill out the form at the top of the page. Our service is free and you’re under no obligation to accept any quote given to you by our partner installers.
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Alley says
I was charged £500 ..to change cylinder
£325 +vat for euro cylinder highsecuriry
£95+ vat for labour
£420+vat
£500
I think I have been scammed.
Paddy micinish says
I charge just £25 for a single door conservatory lock cylinder change – so yes you were definately scammed !
The barrel costs me less than £15
Bob says
We were just charged £400 plus too. They also took the old lock which they doidn’t own. The industry appears to needs some regulation and reporting process