Composite Door Cost in 2026: Front Door, Bifold and French Door Prices

The composite door cost you'll see most often in 2026 price guides is £1,500. That's a fair middle. But a plain door can come in near £1,000, and a premium one with decorative glass can pass £2,500. The gap comes from the glass, the colour, the lock and whether the frame needs work.

This guide covers front doors first, then bifold and French doors for the back of the house. The prices come from Costwise, Checkatrade, MyBuilder, MyJobQuote, BestBuilders and Expertsure. All of them are national guide prices for supply and fitting. Use them to test a quote, not to replace one.

Composite Door Cost by Style in 2026

Costwise splits composite front doors into three price bands. Each one covers the door and the fitting:

The UK average on Costwise is £1,500. MyBuilder also puts a new front door at about £1,500 with fitting, and says most people pay £1,000–£2,000. A second calculator site lands in the same place, at £1,150–£2,500, with a typical £1,500.

Expertsure sets the outer edges wider. It starts at £850 for a basic door and runs to £3,000+ for a premium one. So if your quote sits near £1,500 for a door with some glass, it's in line with every guide here.

Front Doors in uPVC, Aluminium and Timber

A composite door isn't the only choice for the front of the house. Here's how the other materials compare, fitted:

• uPVC: £700–£1,200 (Costwise). Expertsure gives £700–£1,000, and BestBuilders £600–£1,400.
• Aluminium: £1,400–£3,500 (BestBuilders), or £1,500–£4,000 (MyJobQuote).
• Timber: Checkatrade gives £550–£1,800 for a basic wooden door. BestBuilders puts a hardwood door at £1,200–£3,000.

Watch for a low uPVC figure of £250–£500 in some guides. MyBuilder and MyJobQuote both list it, but it's the price of the door alone, with no fitting. The calculator site makes the same point. A fitted uPVC door starts nearer £700.

Composite doors cost more than uPVC because the slab is thicker, with an insulated core and a tougher outer skin. Costwise says you're mainly paying for the door unit itself. That covers the slab, the outer frame, the multi-point lock and cylinder, the hinges, the handle, the letterplate and the weatherseals.

What Moves the Composite Door Cost

Five things decide where a quote lands.

• Glass and colour. A plain door costs £1,000–£1,400. Add colour and decorative glass and it moves to £1,400–£1,800, going by Costwise. Expertsure says glass and hardware upgrades add £200–£600.
• Side panels. A glazed panel beside the door, or a fanlight above it, adds to the price. Each one widens the opening the fitters have to work round.
• The frame. If the old frame is rotten or the wrong size, a new outer frame adds £160–£420 (MyJobQuote). Expertsure gives £200–£400.
• The lock. Ask for a 3-star cylinder, rated TS007 by the Master Locksmiths Association. Ask too whether the doorset has been tested to PAS 24 or carries Secured by Design.
• Labour and region. MyJobQuote puts the labour part at £150–£350, plus £20–£60 more in London and the South East. Costwise says a standard swap takes two fitters about half a day. It puts a London composite door at about £1,800, around 20% above the UK average.

BestBuilders says the door itself is usually two-thirds of a fitted price. That means the fitting line on a quote should look modest. If labour looks large, ask what extra work it covers.

Bifold Door Cost in 2026

Bifold doors fold back in sections to open most of a wall. They cost far more than a front door, and the price climbs with every panel. Checkatrade puts the average job at about £5,000.

Here are the main bands, with fitting included:

Expertsure also prices by panel count. A 3-panel uPVC set costs £1,950–£2,800, and a 3-panel aluminium set £3,150–£4,670. Each extra panel adds £700–£1,000. A fitter quoted by MyJobQuote put it at about £1,000 a leaf, which tells the same story.

Checkatrade puts labour at £600–£1,200. Expertsure gives £600–£1,000. A 3-panel set usually goes in within a day. Structural work changes the picture. If the opening has to be made wider, budget for a new lintel and a structural engineer on top.

French Door Cost in 2026

French doors are a pair of hinged doors that open out to the garden. Costwise gives an average of £1,800, with most jobs between £1,100 and £4,000. MyJobQuote's average is about £2,000.

By material, with fitting included:

The type of job moves the price more than the material. A like-for-like swap in an existing opening costs £1,000–£1,500 on Expertsure's figures. MyJobQuote gives £1,750–£2,250, for the same job. Turning a window into French doors costs £1,700–£2,500 (Expertsure), or £2,350–£2,650 (MyJobQuote).

A new opening in a wall costs the most. Expertsure puts it at £2,500–£5,000 or more, and MyJobQuote at £3,100–£3,400. Costwise prices the structural part alone at £800–£2,500, before the doors. A new or wider opening needs a lintel and building regulations sign-off.

Sliding Patio Door Cost in 2026

Sliding patio doors sit between French doors and bifolds on price. One pane slides behind the other, so nothing swings into the room or out over the patio. That makes them a good fit where space is tight on either side.

The second calculator site puts a uPVC sliding patio door at £1,500–£2,200, fitted, with a typical £1,850. BestBuilders gives a wider £1,500–£4,000 for patio and sliding doors across all materials. Expertsure starts lower: £800–£2,600 (uPVC) and £1,165–£3,075 (aluminium).

The gap between guides is mostly about size and frame. A slim aluminium slider across a wide opening costs far more than a standard uPVC pair. As with French doors, the cheapest job is a straight swap in the opening you already have. Checkatrade prices a brick cut-out for French or patio doors at £900–£1,100, before the doors themselves.

French Doors or Bifolds: Which Costs Less

French doors are the cheaper way to open a wall to the garden. Costwise puts a typical set at about £1,800, against about £4,000 for aluminium bifolds. Expertsure says French doors cost 50–70% less than bifolds for a similar opening.

The catch is the width. Costwise says French doors suit openings up to about 1.8 metres. Past that, bifolds make more sense, and so do sliding patio doors. So the cheaper door is only the better buy if your opening is the right size for it. The bifold, patio and French doors page explains how each one opens and which openings suit it.

Building Regulations, Glass and Locks

The guides don't agree on whether a new front door needs building regulations sign-off. Costwise and MyJobQuote say a replacement external door is building work. Checkatrade says a straight swap usually doesn't need approval, while a wider opening may. The safe course is the same either way: ask for the certificate. Costwise points out that a buyer's solicitor will ask for it when you sell.

A fitter registered with a government-approved body, such as FENSA or CERTASS, can self-certify the work. If the fitter is not registered, you have to tell building control yourself and pay its fee. Get this agreed before the order goes in. Our building regulations section sets out where the line falls for glazed doors.

Glass in and beside a door has to be toughened or laminated, per BestBuilders. For the lock, the guides point to the same two checks. Ask for a TS007 3-star cylinder, and ask whether the doorset has been tested to PAS 24. Expertsure lists both alongside multi-point locking with three or more locking points.

Worked Examples Using 2026 Guide Prices

These are sums to test a quote against. They aren't quotes.

Example 1: a plain composite front door in a sound frame. Costwise puts this at £1,000–£1,400. A quote of about £1,200, then, is in line.

Example 2: a composite door with glass and colour, plus a new frame. The door sits at £1,400–£1,800 on Costwise's figures. If the old frame has rotted, add £160–£420 for a new one (MyJobQuote).

Example 3: swapping old patio doors for a 3-panel aluminium bifold. Expertsure prices this at £3,150–£4,670, fitted. Add a fourth panel and expect a further £700–£1,000.

Example 4: turning a back window into uPVC French doors. Expertsure gives £1,700–£2,500 and MyJobQuote £2,350–£2,650. The spread comes from how much brickwork has to come out below the old window.

How to Compare Door Quotes

Get at least three written quotes, and check that each one includes the same things. Costwise says a fitted price should cover the outer frame, the multi-point lock, the cylinder, the hinges, the handle, the threshold and the weatherseals.

Then check each quote for:

• the cylinder grade, and whether the doorset is tested to PAS 24
• the glass, and how much of the door is glazed
• taking away the old door and making good round the frame
• the FENSA or CERTASS certificate, or one from another approved body
• VAT at the standard 20% rate
• for bifold and French doors, who handles the lintel and building control

The second calculator site points out that a door more than 50% glazed brings stricter rules into play. So ask how much of yours is glass. A low quote that leaves out the frame, the cylinder or the old door's removal isn't a low quote once you add them back.

Verdict on Front, Bifold and French Door Prices

For a front door in 2026, plan on £1,000–£2,500 in composite. The middle is about £1,500. The composite door cost rises with glass and colour, with side panels, and with a new frame if the old one has gone. At the back, uPVC French doors start near £1,100, while aluminium bifolds start near £3,000 and climb with every panel.

Check what each quote includes before you compare the totals. The frame, the lock and the opening work are where prices really differ.

Door Prices in Birmingham

The figures on this page are national guide prices, not Birmingham quotes. About a quarter of Birmingham's homes were built between the wars, nearly twice the English share (Valuation Office Agency, 2026). Older openings aren't always a standard size, so ask each installer whether the price is for a made-to-measure doorset and whether the frame behind the old door is sound. If your home is on the Calthorpe or Bournville estates, read estate schemes before you order a new front door: the estate's consent comes first, and a door made to measure for your opening may not be cancellable once it's on order.

To get a price for your own door, call or send the form. A local installer arranges a free survey and gives you a written quote, and you're under no obligation to accept it. Before you sign anything, it's worth reading how to choose an installer. For styles, locks and energy ratings, see composite doors; for a lock or hinge that has failed on a door you want to keep, see door repairs. The double glazing costs and conservatory costs guides cover the rest of the house.