What does a garden designer really cost in the UK?
Garden design prices can look as if they were plucked from the air. Here’s what the figures really are, what you get at each stage, and where you can save.
Rachel Hannah
If you’re wondering what a garden designer costs in the UK, the honest answer is anything from a few hundred pounds to several thousand, and the build is a separate bill again. That range isn’t much help on its own, so I’ve gathered the current figures from UK price guides, checked in October 2026, and set out what each one buys.
One thing first. These are typical ranges from price comparison guides, not quotes. Every designer sets their own fees, and the size and slope of your garden, and how much help you want, all move the number.
The short answer
MyJobQuote, updated in September 2026, puts the cost of garden design at £600 to £4,500, with an average of around £1,950. For a small garden with a simple layout and planting plan, it suggests £600 to £1,200, and for an average sized garden, £1,200 to £2,500. Hourly rates run from £60 to £200.
What you’re paying for, stage by stage
Most garden designers work in stages, and many price each one separately. These figures are from BestBuilders’ 2026 guide, which draws on several UK trade sites.
The first consultation
A visit to talk through what you want, see the garden and agree the brief. Typically £100 to £300.
A survey
The measurements of the plot and everything already in it. A full topographical survey, which you’ll need on a sloping garden, is typically £300 to £800.
The concept plan
The big idea: where the terrace goes, how the paths flow, where you’ll sit in the evening sun. Typically £400 to £900.
The full design
A scaled master plan, a planting plan and a written specification, so a landscaper can price and build it. Typically £900 to £2,500 all in.
The planting plan on its own
If the layout already works and you just want the right plants in the right places, a planting plan alone is typically £300 to £800.
3D visuals
Pictures of the finished garden before a spade goes in. Usually an extra, at around £200 to £600.
Overseeing the build
On bigger projects, some designers manage the tender and keep an eye on the build. This is usually charged at 10 to 15% of the build cost, and BestBuilders notes it’s mainly for builds over about £20,000.
Then there’s the build
The design is usually the smaller part of the bill. BookaBuilder’s 2026 guide puts landscaping at about £80 per square metre for a basic job, rising to £250 or more per square metre for a full redesign, with a new patio at £70 to £160 per square metre. So a full redesign of a 50 square metre garden can easily pass £10,000.
That’s why the design matters so much. It’s far cheaper to move a path on paper than in stone.
Why prices vary so much
The size and shape of the garden
A small courtyard and a long, sloping plot are very different jobs. Slopes need levels, steps and often retaining walls, and all of that has to be drawn.
How much is included
One designer’s fee might buy a sketch and a plant list. Another’s might include visuals, a full specification and visits during the build. Always compare what’s in the package, not just the price.
Experience
An established designer with a long portfolio will usually charge more than someone starting out. That isn’t always better value, but it can mean less risk.
Online garden design: the gentler price
Online garden design, sometimes called eDesign, works from your photographs, measurements and answers to a questionnaire, rather than site visits. With no travel involved, it usually costs less. When I checked the price pages of two UK online garden design studios in October 2026, packages ran from about £145 for a single border planting plan to about £1,300 for a large garden with 3D visuals.
It suits most gardens well, especially small gardens, courtyards and balconies. It suits less well if the site is steep or complicated, or if you want someone on site making decisions as the build goes. I explain how it works for rooms in What is eDesign? How online interior design really works.
Don’t forget VAT
Check whether a quote includes VAT. A business only has to register for VAT once its taxable turnover passes £90,000 a year, so some smaller studios won’t charge it and larger ones will, at 20%. It makes a real difference when you compare two quotes.
5 ways to spend less without cutting corners
1. Start with a planting plan
If the layout already works, you may only need the plants changing, and that’s the least expensive kind of design.
2. Design it all, then build in stages
A full plan means each phase fits the whole, even if the terrace comes this year and the borders next.
3. Keep what’s good
A mature tree, an old wall, a good stretch of paving. Working around what you already have costs less, and it gives a new garden instant age.
4. Do the simple jobs yourself
Planting, mulching and laying gravel are well within reach for most people, once there’s a plan to follow.
5. Ask for a written fee before you start
Agree exactly what’s included, how many changes are allowed and when you pay, before any work begins.
Garden design at Sunday Ambience
Garden, landscape and plant styling is coming soon, designed online in the studio’s rustic luxury style: weathered timber, stone, terracotta and relaxed planting. When it opens, an outdoor space will be priced as a room, from £495. You can see the look and register your interest here.
If it’s a room rather than a garden you’re pricing, I’ve written the same kind of guide in How much does an interior designer cost in the UK?
Or simply send me a few photographs and tell me what isn’t quite working. I design everything online, from your photos and measurements, I read every message myself, and there’s no obligation of any kind.