Guide
How much does it cost to replace a radiator?
Swapping a radiator is one of the cheapest ways to change how a room feels, and one of the easiest jobs to be overcharged for. Here is what it should cost.
Short answer
Replacing a single radiator starts at £180 + VAT for a like-for-like swap where the new radiator fits the existing pipework and valve positions.
What changes the price
Whether the pipework has to move. A new radiator the same size as the old one, in the same place, is the straightforward version. A different size or a different position means altering pipework, and in a room with a solid floor that is a significantly bigger job.
The radiator itself. A standard white panel radiator and a column or designer radiator are very different in cost, and that sits on top of the fitting.
Valves. If the existing valves are seized or the wrong type, they get replaced at the same time, which is sensible while the system is drained anyway.
Vertical radiators, and Edinburgh flats
If you are short of wall space, which describes most Edinburgh flats with big windows and period features, a vertical radiator gives you the same heat output in a fraction of the width by using height instead.
They are more expensive than a standard panel, but they solve a problem that otherwise has no solution short of moving the pipework across the room.
Before you replace it, check it is the radiator
A radiator that will not get hot is often not a broken radiator. If it is cold at the bottom and hot at the top, the radiator is fine and the system is sludged, and a new radiator will do the same thing within a year or two.
If it is cold at the top only, it needs bleeding, which costs nothing.
We will tell you which of the three you are dealing with before you spend money on a radiator you did not need.
Doing several at once
If you are changing more than one, do them in the same visit. The system has to be drained and refilled either way, and that is a fixed chunk of the time whether you are changing one radiator or five.
If the whole system is being reworked, that becomes a different conversation, and a full new central heating system starts at £5,000 + VAT.
Prices shown are guide prices and exclude VAT. Last updated 4 August 2026. The final figure for any job is confirmed after a free survey.