How much is a new boiler in the UK in 2026 (and when it is free)

New boiler prices in 2026 by type

There are three main types of gas boiler. A combi heats water on demand and needs no tanks. A system boiler works with a hot water cylinder. A regular boiler, also called a conventional or heat-only boiler, uses a cylinder plus a cold water tank in the loft. Our boiler types guide explains which suits which home.

Sources: Checkatrade cost tables last updated October 2026; MyJobQuote last updated 26 August 2026; Heatable updated 9 October 2026. All checked 15 October 2026. Prices vary by home, region and installer.

Two figures help as anchors. Heatable, a boiler retailer, says its median quote for a standard combi replacement in 2026 was £2,300, based on 2,000 of its own quotes, and that most straightforward combi swaps came in at £2,150 to £3,000. MyJobQuote, which collects quotes from tradespeople, puts the average boiler installation at about £2,400. Keep in mind that Heatable sells boilers, so its numbers reflect its own pricing.

Energy supplier E.ON Next publishes fixed starting prices for its own installs. A combi starts from £2,474, a system boiler from £3,093 including the hot water cylinder, and a regular boiler from £2,886 including the cylinder and cold water tank. The page shows no date, so treat these as what it said on 15 October 2026.

Which? also publishes average prices, but its table sits behind a paywall and was last updated in June 2024. We have only used the Which? figures that are free to read, mostly for extras.

Supply only compared with supplied and fitted

Most installers supply the boiler and build it into the quote. Supply-only prices are still worth knowing, because they show how much of a quote is the boiler and how much is labour.

Source: MyJobQuote, last updated 26 August 2026, checked 15 October 2026.

Checkatrade's ranges are much wider: £1,200 to £10,000 for the boiler alone, £1,000 to £2,000 for installation, and £3,000 to £15,000 in total once extras are added. The top of those ranges is far above Checkatrade's own £2,500 to £4,000 for a like-for-like combi, so it covers much bigger jobs than a typical swap.

Like-for-like swap compared with a conversion or a move

A like-for-like swap means the same type of boiler in the same place, using the existing pipes and often the same flue route. A conversion changes the type of system, which takes longer and usually costs more.

Heatable gives one range for converting a regular or system boiler to a combi. Sources: Checkatrade cost tables last updated October 2026; MyJobQuote last updated 26 August 2026; Heatable updated 9 October 2026. All checked 15 October 2026.

MyJobQuote's low starting point for a system to combi job stands out. Heatable and Checkatrade both put conversions well above a straight swap, and Which? says changing a heat-only or system boiler to a combi adds £400 to £800 for the extra labour and pipework. We'd plan on the higher figures.

Moving the boiler

Moving a boiler means new pipework, a new flue position and sometimes a new condensate route to a drain. Checkatrade puts the labour for a move at around £1,000. MyJobQuote gives an average relocation cost of about £750, and labour of £1,000 to £1,300 for fitting a like-for-like boiler in a new spot over 1 to 2 days.

Labour on its own

Source: MyJobQuote, last updated 26 August 2026, checked 15 October 2026.

Checkatrade gives a heating engineer's day rate of around £300 and £1,000 to £2,000 for installation. Its timings match MyJobQuote's for a swap, at 4 to 6 hours, and it says a regular to combi conversion takes 1.5 to 2 days and a system to combi conversion up to 3 days.

Extras and what they cost

Extras explain most of the gap between two quotes for the same boiler. Some are required by building regulations in England, so they should already be in the price. Others depend on your system.

The Which? figures come from a table last updated in June 2024, so prices may have changed since. All sources checked 15 October 2026.

The power flush figures are far apart. Heatable lists a chemical flush as part of a standard quote, while Checkatrade and Which? price a power flush as an extra. Ask which one the installer plans to do, and why your system needs it.

What drives the cost of a new boiler

Labour and where you live

MyJobQuote says homes in London and the surrounding areas can pay £250 to £700 more than homes in the north for the same job. Checkatrade and Which? both say London and the South East usually cost more, and Which? adds that rural areas can cost more than some towns.

The flue

Every gas boiler needs a flue to take exhaust gases outside. If the new boiler can use a short horizontal flue through the same outside wall, it adds little. Heatable lists vertical flue work, where the flue goes up through the roof, among the things that push quotes up, and MyJobQuote says flue and pipework changes add cost. None of the guides we checked gives a separate price for flue work, so ask for it as its own line on the quote.

Cleaning the system, a filter and inhibitor

In England, the revised Part L of the building regulations has applied since 15 June 2022. When a boiler is replaced, the heating system must be cleansed and flushed to the standard BS 7593:2019, treated with inhibitor, and fitted with an in-line filter, as Baxi's summary of the rules explains. These shouldn't appear as optional extras on an English quote. If they are missing, ask why.

Controls and the Boiler Plus rules

Since April 2018, every gas boiler fitted to an existing system in England has needed an energy efficiency of at least 92% under the ErP rating, plus a timer and a room thermostat. A combi also needs one extra energy-saving measure from this list:

• flue gas heat recovery
• weather compensation
• load compensation
• a smart thermostat with automation and optimisation

If you choose a smart thermostat, the guides above price one at £100 to £265. Baxi adds that, under Part L, a replacement combi should be able to turn its output down to match the home's typical heating demand.

Gas Safe notification and building regulations

The Energy Saving Trust says anyone fitting a gas or LPG boiler must be Gas Safe registered. In England and Wales, the engineer must tell the local authority about the installation within 30 days. The Gas Safe Register says you should then get a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate by post within 10 to 15 working days. Keep it, because Gas Safe says it will be useful if you sell your home or remortgage. The engineer notifies as part of the job, but Gas Safe says homeowners should make sure it happens. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules.

MyJobQuote says planning permission isn't normally needed for a like-for-like replacement.

The gas pipe and the condensate pipe

Some installs need a larger gas pipe from the meter. Which? prices this at £100 to £400, and Heatable lists a gas pipe upgrade among the items a full quote should cover. Every condensing boiler also has a condensate pipe that carries waste water to a drain, which matters if you move the boiler.

The boiler itself

Premium models cost more. Heatable puts premium combi installs at £3,000 to £4,500, against £1,800 to £3,500 for a standard like-for-like job. A bigger home with more radiators or more than one bathroom may need a system or regular boiler rather than a combi, and our boiler types guide covers that choice.

Is a new boiler worth it?

Checkatrade says boilers typically last 10 to 15 years. Age on its own isn't a reason to replace a boiler that is safe and working. Running costs and reliability are. The Energy Saving Trust has estimated how much a household saves each year by replacing an older gas boiler with a new A-rated condensing boiler, with a programmer, room thermostat and thermostatic radiator valves.

Estimated yearly savings for gas-heated homes in Great Britain. Source: Energy Saving Trust, Boiler types explained. The page was last updated 20 May 2026 and the savings table uses July 2026 fuel prices. Checked 15 October 2026.

The Energy Saving Trust puts the typical cost of replacing a G-rated gas boiler with an A-rated one, plus thermostatic radiator valves, at £3,500. Divide that by the £350 a year a semi-detached home saves and the payback is about 10 years. With a D-rated boiler in the same house, the saving is £190 a year, and the same £3,500 takes more than 18 years to pay back. These are averages for typical homes, not a forecast for yours.

The sums change when the old boiler keeps breaking down. Repair bills, call-out charges and days without hot water don't show up in an efficiency table.

One more point if you are thinking about a heat pump. The Energy Saving Trust notes that most heat pumps need a hot water cylinder. Taking out a cylinder to fit a combi now may mean putting one back later.

When a new boiler is free or cheaper

Most households pay for their own boiler. A few schemes cover the cost in full or in part, and each one has different rules about who can apply and what it pays for.

ECO4: a free boiler for households on certain benefits

The Energy Company Obligation, now in its fourth phase as ECO4, requires larger energy suppliers to pay for heating and insulation upgrades in lower-income homes. GOV.UK lists these qualifying benefits:

• Universal Credit
• Pension Guarantee Credit or Pension Savings Credit
• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Child Benefit
• Housing Benefit

Homeowners also need an Energy Performance Certificate rating of D to G. Private tenants need a rating of E to G and the landlord's permission. Ofgem says ECO4 runs until 31 December 2026, after a nine-month extension. Our benefits guide goes through each one.

Meeting those rules doesn't guarantee a free boiler. The funding depends on what a survey finds and on which measures the home needs, and a broken boiler doesn't automatically mean a new combi. Our guide to ECO4 broken boiler replacement explains how that decision is made, and the condensing boiler grant page covers what a funded install includes.

ApplyFreeBoiler.uk is run by Reliant Energy Solutions Ltd, an ECO4 installer. If you qualify, our team surveys the home and does the installation, in England and Scotland. GOV.UK also says you can apply through your council or an energy supplier. Read how the free boiler scheme works, or check your eligibility.

LA Flex: if you don't get benefits

Councils can open ECO4 to some households that don't get a qualifying benefit, through a route called LA Flex. Each council publishes its own criteria in a Statement of Intent, and those criteria differ, so we don't quote a single national income limit. Read LA Flex explained and our guide to getting a free boiler without benefits.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme: £7,500, but not for gas boilers

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme gives £7,500 towards an air source or ground source heat pump, £5,000 towards a biomass boiler and £2,500 towards an air-to-air heat pump. Homes heated by oil or LPG with no mains gas can get an extra £1,500 until March 2027. Only one grant is allowed per property.

It doesn't pay for gas boilers, and it doesn't fund hybrid systems that pair a gas boiler with a heat pump. It covers England and Wales. You need to own the property, which includes landlords but not social housing, and you must be replacing a fossil fuel heating system. In Scotland, Home Energy Scotland handles heat pump funding. Our Boiler Upgrade Scheme guide has the full rules.

Warm Homes Plan and Warm Homes: Local Grant

The government's Warm Homes Plan, published in January 2026, commits £15 billion of public investment. That includes £5 billion for low-income schemes, £2 billion of consumer loans, £2.7 billion for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and £1.1 billion for heat networks. The low-income measures it describes are heat pumps, solar panels, batteries, insulation and smart controls. The parts we read don't mention gas boilers.

In England, councils run the Warm Homes: Local Grant for privately owned homes with an EPC rating of D to G. Household income usually has to be £36,000 or less, though some postcodes and benefits also qualify. It pays for insulation, air source heat pumps, smart controls and solar panels, not gas boilers. The plan says the Local Grant and the Social Housing Fund will merge into a single low-income scheme from 2027 to 2028. See our guides to the Warm Homes Plan and the Warm Homes: Local Grant.

Scotland: Warmer Homes Scotland

Warmer Homes Scotland can pay for central heating, including a new gas boiler, as well as insulation, air source heat pumps and storage heaters. You need to own your home or rent it privately, have lived there for at least six months, and the home needs a poor energy rating, a floor area of 230m² or less and a council tax band of A to G.

Someone in the household also has to meet one of the scheme's tests. They include being 75 or over with no working heating, holding a DS1500 or BASRiS form, or getting a passport benefit such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit Guarantee Credit or Scottish Child Payment. There is usually no contribution to pay. You apply through Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282, and Warmworks carries out the work.

Paying in instalments

If no scheme fits, many installers offer finance. Which? gives an example of a £2,600 combi swap with £1,000 paid upfront and the rest at 0% over three years, which works out at about £44 a month, or about £72 a month with no deposit. Check the interest rate and the total you will repay before signing. We compare interest-free deals with the free ECO4 route in interest-free boiler or free ECO4 grant.

How to get a fair quote

1. Get at least three quotes. The Energy Saving Trust recommends this, and the price tables above show how far apart quotes for the same job can be.
2. Check that the engineer is on the Gas Safe Register before they start.
3. Ask for an itemised quote. Heatable says a full quote should cover the flue kit, filter, controls, chemical flush, any gas pipe upgrade, VAT and waste removal, as well as the boiler.
4. Ask how the system will be cleaned and which controls will be fitted. In England, that tells you whether the job meets Part L and the Boiler Plus rules.
5. Confirm who will notify building control and when you should expect the certificate.
6. Compare like with like. A quote for a conversion or a move isn't comparable with a quote for a straight swap.
7. Before you pay anything, check whether you qualify for ECO4 or another scheme.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

All sources were checked on 15 October 2026.

About this guide

Who wrote it. The ApplyFreeBoiler Team. ApplyFreeBoiler.uk is run by Reliant Energy Solutions Ltd, an ECO4 heating and insulation installer. We don't sell or quote for paid boiler installations, so none of the prices here are ours. We wrote the guide because many households ask us what a boiler would cost them if they don't qualify for ECO4.

How we checked it. On 15 October 2026 we read the 2026 boiler price guides from Checkatrade, MyJobQuote and Heatable, the Which? and E.ON Next price pages, and the Energy Saving Trust's boiler advice. Scheme rules come from GOV.UK, Ofgem and Home Energy Scotland. The building regulation points come from the Gas Safe Register, the government's 2018 Boiler Plus factsheet and Baxi's summary of Part L. We didn't average the guides. Where we give a single range across them, it runs from the lowest published figure to the highest.

What we couldn't confirm. A published price for flue work on its own, a regional price breakdown beyond London and the South East, and the current Which? average prices, which are behind a paywall.

Updates. We'll check the prices again in early 2027, and update the funding section when ECO4 closes on 31 December 2026.

Changelog: 15 October 2026, first published.