Double Glazing Cost in 2026: Per Window, 3-Bed Semi and Whole House Prices

The double glazing cost on your quote turns on three things: how many windows you have, what the frames are made of, and how easy they are to reach. Get those clear and you can tell a fair price from a padded one before anyone comes to measure up.

This guide sets out 2026 UK prices from five price guides: Checkatrade, MyBuilder, BestBuilders, Costwise and Expertsure. They don't always agree. Where one guide sits apart from the rest, we say so. Every figure is a national guide price for supply and fitting, not a quote for your house.

What's New in Double Glazing Prices for 2026

Window prices climbed between 2022 and 2024. Expertsure puts that down to supply problems, dearer energy in the factories and the price of raw materials, with aluminium hit hardest. It says prices have held fairly steady through 2025 and 2026, with most firms making only small rises.

The guides have been brought up to date this year too. Costwise reviewed its figures in June 2026. MyBuilder updated its guide in August 2026, and BestBuilders re-checked its ranges against live quotes on 1 September 2026. Checkatrade's price table still carries an April 2025 date.

That matters when you read a quote. A fresh guide and an older one can sit hundreds of pounds apart for the same window. So treat any single figure as a guide, and look at the bands side by side, as this page does.

Double Glazing Cost per Window in 2026

For a standard uPVC casement, BestBuilders and Costwise both give £400–£700 fitted. Expertsure is a little lower at £350–£600. Checkatrade is higher at £500–£1,250. So £400–£700 is a fair middle band for a plain opening window of about 1200 x 1200mm, the size BestBuilders bases its figure on.

Here's how other frames and styles compare, each one fitted:

A bay is priced as one unit, not window by window. It often carries weight from the wall above, so the old one has to be propped while the new one goes in. That's why one bay can cost about what three plain windows do.

Window Style Prices: Fixed, Tilt and Turn, Bay and Bow

The style of window moves the price almost as much as the frame. The guides price the same styles quite differently, so here are the bands side by side, all in uPVC and fitted:

• Fixed (non-opening): £300–£550 (BestBuilders), or £200–£400 (Expertsure). It's the cheapest, as there are no hinges or locks.
• Tilt and turn: £500–£1,100 (BestBuilders). Checkatrade gives £600–£1,400, and Expertsure £450–£700, so this is the style the guides agree on least.
• Sliding sash: £600–£1,200 (BestBuilders). Checkatrade and Expertsure both give £700–£1,500.
• Bay with three panels: £1,500–£2,800 (BestBuilders), or £1,200–£2,500 (Expertsure).
• Bow with four or five panels: £2,000–£3,500 (BestBuilders). Checkatrade starts its bow band at £1,500.

Each opening part adds hinges, locks and seals. Expertsure puts that at £40–£80 per opening section. So a window with two opening sashes costs more than one opener beside a fixed pane. If a room only needs one window to open, saying so at the survey keeps the price down.

Double Glazing Cost for a 3-Bed Semi and a Whole House

A 3-bed semi usually has 8 to 10 windows. In uPVC, BestBuilders and Expertsure both put that at £4,000–£6,000. A third calculator site gives the same band for about 10 windows. Costwise works a nine-window semi out at £3,600–£6,300, and MyBuilder says £4,000–£7,000, based on 10 to 15 windows.

Checkatrade is the outlier. It gives £8,000–£15,000, based on a three-bed house with 8 to 12 windows. That's roughly double the others, and its per-window prices start higher too. If a quote lands near Checkatrade's band, ask what the extra pays for.

Whole-house prices by home size, in uPVC unless stated:

These are window prices only. Doors cost extra. So does anything the fitters find once the old frames come out.

What Moves the Price of New Windows

Six things move a window quote more than the rest.

• Frame material. uPVC is the cheapest. BestBuilders says aluminium costs roughly 50–100% more, and timber can cost about double.
• Style and size. Sash, tilt and turn and bay windows cost more than a plain casement. Odd shapes cost more than standard sizes.
• How many windows. Doing the whole house at once costs less per window. Costwise says that's because the survey and delivery are shared, and so is the fitting visit.
• Upper floors. Checkatrade says windows upstairs can cost more, because the fitters may need to hire access equipment.
• Colour and glass. BestBuilders says foiled colours such as anthracite grey add 10–20%. Laminated glass costs extra. So does frosted or self-cleaning glass, and so do lockable handles.
• Where you live. London and the South East cost more. Costwise puts London about 30% above the UK average.

Expertsure shows what the window count does. It works an 8-window semi done in one go at £3,200–£4,800. Split over two years, the same job comes to £3,800–£5,600.

Labour, Access and the Extras Quotes Leave Out

Most window jobs need two fitters. Checkatrade gives a day rate of £250–£300 per fitter, or about £600 a day for the pair. Expertsure puts it at £250–£350 per fitter, and MyBuilder a bit lower at £200–£280. BestBuilders says labour is often 20–40% of the bill.

A 3-bed semi usually takes 2 to 4 days on site, per BestBuilders. The frames are made to measure, so expect 3 to 6 weeks between the survey and fitting day.

A full quote should cover taking out the old windows and getting rid of them. It should also cover the new frames and glass, sealing, making good inside, and the compliance certificate. Watch for the items that often sit outside it:

• rotten timber sub-frames found once the old window is out
• new sills where the old ones are damaged or the wrong size
• replastering where the plaster round the opening breaks away
• access equipment for windows above the first floor
• a weak lintel over an older opening

Checkatrade suggests keeping 10–15% aside for surprises like these. Costwise calls a rotten sub-frame the most common reason a window job comes in above its quote. Ask each firm, in writing, what happens if the frame behind is rotten.

Triple Glazing vs Double Glazing Cost

Triple glazing adds a third pane. BestBuilders puts the extra at 15–40% over double, and Expertsure at 20–40%. For a uPVC window, that's £550–£950 per BestBuilders, or £500–£800 per Expertsure.

The extra saving on heating is small. BestBuilders puts it at £20–£50 a year over good double glazing, so the payback runs past 20 years. Triple glazing makes most sense on a noisy road, an exposed wall or a new build. For most homes, A-rated double glazing with argon gas and low-E glass does the job.

Worked Examples Using 2026 Guide Prices

These use the uPVC middle band of £400–£700 a window. They're sums to test a quote against, not quotes.

Example 1: a small terrace with 5 windows. Five casements at £400–£700 come to £2,000–£3,500, the band Costwise gives for five windows. If one upstairs window needs access equipment, expect that on top.

Example 2: a 3-bed semi with 9 windows. Nine casements come to £3,600–£6,300. Swap one of them for a front bay and the bay alone costs £1,100–£4,000, going by Checkatrade. On many semis the bay is the biggest single line on the quote.

Example 3: a 4-bed detached house with 14 windows. Fourteen casements come to £5,600–£9,800, which matches Costwise's band for 14 windows. In aluminium, the same house would sit well above that.

Example 4: two misted units in sound frames. New sealed units cost £70–£200 each. That's a few hundred pounds, against £400–£700 a window for full replacement.

Is It Worth Replacing Old Double Glazing?

The glass usually goes before the frame. BestBuilders says sealed units last 15–25 years before the seal can fail, while uPVC frames last 20–35 years. Checkatrade gives 10 to 20 years for sealed windows. Expertsure gives 20–25 years for uPVC frames and 30–60 years for timber with regular care.

A failed seal shows as mist or water between the panes. The gas has leaked out and damp has got in, and you can't wipe it away. If the frame is sound, a new sealed unit costs £70–£150 (Expertsure), or £75–£200 a pane (MyBuilder). That's far less than a new window.

Replace the whole window when:

• the frame is warped or rotting, or has split
• it lets in draughts round the edges even when shut
• hinges or locks have worn and parts are hard to find
• more than half your windows need new units, which Expertsure says usually makes a full set the cheaper route

Smaller faults are cheap to fix. MyBuilder prices a broken handle or lock at £50–£150, and a new hinge at £100–£300. Our window repairs section explains when a repair is enough on its own.

If your windows are already double glazed and still working, a new set saves much less on heating. Expertsure puts the saving from swapping 15 to 20 year old double glazing at about £20–£50 a year. Replace for comfort and quiet, or because the frames are failing, not for the energy bill alone.

How to Compare Double Glazing Quotes

Ask each firm to price every window on its own line as well as giving a total. Costwise's advice is to compare per window, not per house, because that's where padding shows. Then check each quote for:

• the frame material and style of every opening, and its colour
• the glass: double or triple, low-E coating, gas fill and energy rating
• whether removal, disposal, making good and VAT are in the price
• the FENSA or CERTASS certificate, or one from another approved body
• how long the guarantee runs on the frames and glass, and on the fitting
• what happens, and what it costs, if rot or a weak lintel turns up

VAT on double glazing is charged at the standard 20% rate, so a price without it isn't comparable. Get at least three written quotes. If one opens high and then drops sharply as soon as you pause, Costwise's view is that the lower number was always the price.

Verdict on Replacement Window Prices

For 2026, plan on £400–£700 a window in uPVC and £4,000–£6,000 for a typical 3-bed semi. The double glazing cost goes up with aluminium or timber frames, with sash windows and bays, and with upstairs access. It comes down when the whole house is done at once. If only the glass has misted, a new sealed unit may be all you need.

Use the guide bands to test quotes, not to replace them. A quote well above them should come with a clear reason, in writing.

Double Glazing Prices in Birmingham

Every figure above is a national guide price. For a local check, Checkatrade's Birmingham listing for windows and doors puts jobs in the city at £5,192–£10,131 (checked 15 October 2026), which sits inside the whole-house bands in this guide. About a quarter of Birmingham's homes were built between the wars, nearly twice the English share (Valuation Office Agency, 2026). A 1930s semi often has a front bay, so the bay line is worth reading closely on any quote. If your house is in a conservation area or on the Calthorpe or Bournville estates, read estate schemes before you order, because made-to-measure windows usually can't be cancelled once they're on order.

Tell us about the job and we'll arrange a free survey and a written quote from a local installer, who measures the windows and gives you their own price. Compare that quote line by line with the guide bands above; you're under no obligation to accept it. Before you sign, read how to choose an installer for the checks worth making on any window company. The uPVC windows page covers styles, energy ratings and certificates. For the rest of the house, see door costs and conservatory costs, and double glazing grants sets out what help with the bill actually exists in 2026.