Flat pack assembly is one of the cheaper trades to hire — there are no materials to buy and most jobs finish the same day — but pricing varies a lot between assemblers and between jobs. This guide explains the pricing models you’ll meet, the ranges we typically see, and what makes a quote climb.
In short:
- Hourly: usually £25–£45 per hour, highest in London and the South East.
- Minimum charge: commonly £30–£50, so one small item rarely costs less.
- Per item: around £35–£70 for a chest of drawers, £40–£80 for a double bed frame, £60–£120 for a two-door wardrobe.
- Extras to ask about: wall fixing, packaging removal, stairs and parking.
All figures on this page are indicative ranges based on typical quotes. Your job may sit outside them — the only reliable number is a quote for your actual items and postcode. Figures from other companies were checked on their own pages on 18 October 2026.
The two pricing models
Hourly rate. The assembler charges for time on site, usually £25–£45 per hour depending on region and experience, often with the first hour as a minimum. Simple and transparent, but you carry the risk of a slow build.
Per item (fixed price). The assembler quotes a set price per piece — say, one figure for a bed frame, another for a six-drawer chest. You know the total before anyone arrives, and a fiddly build is their problem, not yours.
Many assemblers mix the two: fixed prices for common items they’ve built a hundred times, hourly for anything unusual. Our guide to hourly vs fixed pricing digs into which to choose.
Typical per-item ranges
These are the ballparks we commonly see quoted across the UK. Big-city prices (especially London) sit toward or above the top end.
| Item | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Bedside table, small shelf unit | £15–£35 |
| Chest of drawers (4–6 drawers) | £35–£70 |
| Standard bed frame (double) | £40–£80 |
| Bunk bed or cabin bed | £60–£120 |
| Bookcase or tall shelving unit | £25–£60 |
| Desk (straight, no drawers) | £25–£55 |
| Wardrobe, hinged, 2 door | £60–£120 |
| Large modular wardrobe (e.g. IKEA PAX with interiors) | £120–£300+ |
| Sofa or sofa bed (flat pack) | £40–£90 |
Drawers are the great time sink of flat pack — each one is a small box to build — so anything with six drawers costs meaningfully more to assemble than its doorless twin.
What pushes a quote up
- Access. Third-floor flat, no lift, narrow Victorian stairs — carrying and unpacking time is real time.
- Drawer count and doors. More moving parts, more minutes.
- Wall fixing. Anchoring wardrobes and chests to the wall (which you should do — it’s a genuine safety issue with children around) adds drilling time, and solid or crumbly walls slow it further.
- Disposal. Taking away the cardboard and polystyrene is often a small extra charge; some assemblers include it.
- Distance and parking. Congestion zones, paid parking, and jobs at the edge of an assembler’s patch can all add a little.
Extras to ask about
Some assemblers include these; others charge for them on top. Airtasker’s IKEA assembly cost page (updated 23 September 2026) publishes ranges for the first two, which give a useful sense of scale:
| Extra | Airtasker’s published range |
|---|---|
| Wall fixing into plasterboard (specialist anchors) | £20–£50 |
| Wall fixing into brick or concrete | £30–£80 |
| Packaging removal | £20–£60 |
- Wall fixing. Tell the assembler your wall type when you ask for a quote — plasterboard, brick or dot-and-dab — so the price and the fixings are right first time.
- Packaging removal. Say whether you want the cardboard taken away or left flattened for your own recycling — it changes the price.
- Stairs and no lift. Rarely a separate line, but carrying heavy boxes up several floors adds time, so mention it.
- Parking. Paid bays, permit zones and the London congestion charge can appear on the bill. Say if there’s free parking nearby.
Our price estimator lets you flag all four, and they travel with your list to the quote form, so every quote covers the same job.
How our ranges compare with published prices
TaskRabbit’s furniture assembly cost guide (updated 1 October 2026) puts the UK average at around £26 per hour. Its city averages are £34 per hour in London (average job £109), £31 in Birmingham (£95) and £28 in Manchester (£83). That sits inside our £25–£45 range, with London towards the top as you’d expect.
The average job totals are the more useful number: £83–£109 across those three cities. If a quote for a couple of everyday items is far above that, ask why; if it is far below, check it includes wall fixing and travel.
What brings a quote down
- Batching. The second and third items are always cheaper per piece than the first — travel and setup are already paid for. If you’re furnishing a room, get it all built in one visit.
- Flexibility. Assemblers fill gaps in their diary at better rates than they interrupt a full day.
- Preparation. Boxes in the right rooms, floor space cleared, old furniture out of the way — some assemblers will knock a little off a job they know will run smoothly.
Getting a fair price
Get more than one quote, and make sure each one answers the same questions: does it include travel, wall-fixing, and packaging disposal, and is it fixed or estimated? A cheap hourly rate with an open-ended time estimate can cost more than a sensible fixed price. Our hiring guide covers the rest of the vetting.
Frequently asked questions
How much does flat pack assembly cost per hour in the UK?
Most assemblers and handymen we see quote somewhere between £25 and £45 per hour, with London and the South East at the top of that range. Many also set a minimum charge — commonly £30 to £50 — so a single small item rarely costs less than that, however quick the build.
Is it cheaper to pay per item or per hour?
Per-item (fixed) pricing usually works out better for large, slow builds like wardrobes, because you are protected if the job overruns. Hourly usually wins for a batch of small, quick items. If you are unsure, ask for a fixed quote and compare it against a realistic hourly estimate.
Do assemblers charge for travel?
Some build travel into their minimum charge; others add a call-out fee for jobs outside their usual patch. Always check whether the quote includes travel, parking and congestion charges where relevant.
Prices and timings on this page are indicative, based on typical quotes we see across the UK. Your job may cost more or less — the only way to know is to get quotes for your specific items and location. This site earns a fee when we pass enquiries to assembly firms; this never changes what you pay.