How Much Does Artificial Grass Cost in the UK? Honest 2026 Price Guide
How Much Does Artificial Grass Cost in the UK? Honest 2026 Price Guide
In the UK in 2026, fully installed artificial grass costs between £30 and £150 per square metre, depending on the spec and what’s actually included. Wolsten installs at £115–£150/m² fitted — full sub-base, treated edging, kiln-dried sand infill, manufacturer warranty. This guide explains the price gap and how to compare quotes fairly.
Two installers can quote you £55/m² and £115/m² for the same garden and both be telling the truth — because they’re quoting for two completely different jobs. The headline number on its own tells you very little. Here’s what’s actually in the price.
UK artificial grass pricing at a glance (2026)
| Tier | Installed £/m² | What you typically get |
|---|---|---|
| DIY / supply only | £10–£25 | Grass roll only. No groundworks, no sub-base, no fitting. |
| Budget installer | £30–£50 | Thin sub-base or none, softwood edging, often 30mm pile or contract grade. |
| Mid-range installer | £55–£85 | Some sub-base, 35mm pile residential grass, basic edging, partial disposal. |
| Comprehensive (Wolsten) | £115–£150 | Full engineered sub-base, treated timber edging, galvanised staples, 28–40mm Grass Direct ranges, full disposal, manufacturer warranty. |
What you’re actually paying for at £115/m²
Most installer quotes are deliberately vague about what’s included. Here’s the full specification we deliver at our £115/m² Everyday-range price — every line is included, every time, no surprises on the invoice:
- Free on-site survey with a fixed written quote within 1 working day.
- Removal and disposal of your existing lawn or turf — fully off-site, not left in the back alley.
- Excavation to 75–100mm depth, sized to the ground condition.
- Geotextile weed membrane to stop weed growth from below.
- 65–75mm of compacted MOT Type 1 hardcore, laid in layers and compacted with a whacker plate.
- Granite dust or sharp-sand blinding layer, screeded and laser-levelled to a true finish.
- Treated timber edging — proper hardwood treated for ground contact, not softwood that rots in 3 years.
- Precision-cut artificial grass from our Grass Direct approved ranges (28mm Everyday up to 40mm Luxury).
- Joint tape and adhesive for seamless, invisible joins between rolls.
- 100mm galvanised staples around the perimeter at 200–300mm spacing — most installers skip this step entirely.
- Kiln-dried Grano sand infill brushed through the pile for durability, ballast and pet-odour control.
- Full site clean-down and waste removal.
- Walkthrough and aftercare guide before we leave.
- Manufacturer product warranty plus a 2-year Wolsten workmanship guarantee.
Add up the labour, materials, plant hire and disposal on this spec and you arrive at a sustainable per-m² rate around £115. Quotes much lower than this are skipping one or more of the lines above. That’s not a moral judgement on cheaper installers — it’s just maths. The sub-base layer is the single biggest determinant of how long the lawn lasts, and it’s also the line cut first when the price has to come down.
A recent example: our Chorley install in Lancashire. The customer’s existing real turf was lifted, 2″x2″ treated timber surrounds laid as the perimeter, then 5 tons of MOT Type 1 and 2 tons of sharp sand laid in layers and compacted with a whacker plate. 30mm grass laid over the top, rolls joined seamlessly. Three days on-site, fixed price agreed at the survey, no surprises on the invoice.
UK installer market pricing in 2026
Pricing across the UK artificial grass installer market in 2026 spans a wide range. Public sources (Checkatrade, MyBuilder, MyJobQuote, As Good As Grass) put the typical installed price between £55 and £90 per square metre, with London adding a 20–30% premium. Independent installers in the North West generally sit at the lower end of this range; national chains and franchises at the upper end.
That national average hides a lot of variation. A £55/m² quote will sometimes mean a rushed install with 30mm of sub-base, plastic edging, and grass that’s flattened in two summers. A £90/m² quote from a franchise can mean a proper job with a 10-year warranty — but you’ll often pay £15–£20/m² of that for the franchise’s overheads and national marketing budget, not the actual install. Our position at £115–£150/m² sits above the market average because we don’t cut the sub-base spec, we don’t use softwood edging, and we don’t subcontract the install. The people pricing your job are the people doing your job. That’s it.
Why supply-only prices (£9.99–£23.99/m²) aren’t a fair comparison
Search “artificial grass” online and you’ll find rolls advertised from £9.99/m². That number is real — but it’s for the grass roll on its own, delivered to your driveway. No groundworks, no edging, no disposal, no fitting. For a typical 30m² garden you’d be left with £300 of grass and £0 of installation.
A proper installation isn’t the grass — it’s the layered system underneath. Excavation, membrane, MOT Type 1 hardcore, blinding layer, edging, staples, infill, joint tape, labour and disposal account for roughly £85–£100 of every £115/m² we charge. The grass itself is typically £15–£35/m² of that, depending on the range. The supply-only headline isn’t dishonest — it’s just answering a different question.
What drives your price up or down
The same installer can quote two different gardens at meaningfully different per-m² rates and both be priced fairly. Four variables do most of the work:
1. Garden size and the minimum project value
Every install has a fixed cost element — mobilisation, survey, plant hire, disposal — that doesn’t scale with the size of the lawn. On a 10m² yard that fixed cost is spread thinly, pushing the per-m² rate up. On a 50m² lawn it’s spread further, bringing the per-m² rate down. Most reputable installers carry a minimum project value (ours is £1,500, roughly 8–10m² installed) — below that, the per-m² maths stops working.
2. Ground condition
Existing turf is the easiest start point — lift, excavate, build sub-base. Concrete slabs, block paving or buried Victorian hard standing add breaking-out costs and disposal weight. Heavy clay with no drainage adds remediation. Each of these is itemised separately on a Wolsten quote so you see what you’re paying for, rather than absorbed into a vague per-m² figure.
3. Access
If we can wheel a 1-ton dumper from the road to the back garden, the job runs efficiently. If everything has to be carried by hand through a side gate, or up and down stairs to a balcony or roof terrace, labour hours double — and that gets priced in. Worst case: narrow alleyway access in a Victorian terrace can push a job from 2 days to 4 days on-site.
4. Edging and shaping
Our standard treated-timber edging is included in the £115/m² rate. Railway sleepers, steel edging, block-paving borders or curved decorative edging are all available, but carry an extra line item. The same applies to shaping around inspection covers, fixed ornaments, garden beds and trees — each cut and seal adds time.
Two less-common scenarios — heavily waterlogged clay with no existing drainage, and listed-property or conservation-area restrictions — can both push the cost up significantly. We’re upfront about this at the survey stage rather than at invoice stage.
Real Wolsten pricing by garden type
These are the price bands we see on actual North West jobs in 2026. All-in installed prices including everything in the inclusions list above:
| Garden type | Typical size | Installed price range |
|---|---|---|
| Victorian terrace yard | 10–20 m² | £1,500–£2,850 |
| New-build estate rear | 15–30 m² | £1,725–£4,500 |
| Post-war semi rear | 25–45 m² | £2,875–£6,750 |
| Detached / bungalow | 50–80 m² | £5,750–£12,000 |
| Large or sloped garden | 80–120 m²+ | £9,200–£18,000+ |
Three things worth pointing out about these numbers. First, they’re all-in: there’s no additional disposal fee, no “groundworks supplement” line that shows up later, no VAT surprise. Second, the lower end of each band is our Everyday-range 28mm Canterbury grass; the upper end is the Luxury-range 40mm Amalfi. Third, the spread within each band reflects ground condition — a back garden with buried flagstones costs more than one with workable topsoil.
Recent jobs at these prices
The price bands above aren’t theoretical. Here are three real jobs from across the North West and Cheshire that show the spread — different sizes, different specs, different price points, all-in fixed pricing on every one.
Everyday 30mm
Knutsford, Cheshire
Word-of-mouth referral from son Callum’s recent job. Old turf lifted, 2″x2″ treated timber surrounds laid, then 3 tons of MOT and 1.5 tons of sand levelled with a whacker plate. Single roll of 30mm ‘Miami’ grass trimmed to perfection.
All-in: £1,725–£2,850
“We were passed the details of Wolsten from our son, and we were happy they could fit us in. Highly recommend, the quality of astroturf is fantastic.”— Ian, Knutsford
Everyday 30mm
Chorley, Lancashire
Ashleigh had been let down twice by other installers before getting in touch. Old turf out, 2″x2″ treated timber surrounds in, then 5 tons of MOT and 2 tons of sand compacted to level. 30mm grass laid and joined seamlessly.
All-in: £2,800–£3,800
“I was messed around twice before finding Wolsten. A price was given and the job delivered within 3 days. I honestly can’t speak any more highly of the company.”— Ashleigh, Chorley
Luxury 40mm
Leigh, Wigan
Same groundworks as the Chorley job (5 tons MOT, 2 tons sand, timber surrounds) but finished with our 40mm Luxury-range grass for a noticeably plusher feel underfoot. Same garden size, premium spec.
All-in: £3,600–£4,500
“5 Star service. I would recommend, in particular Ryan was always really helpful.”— Janet, Leigh
Other recent installs: Failsworth, Manchester (30m² family garden, 20mm pet- and child-friendly pile, 4 tons MOT and 1.5 tons sand, 3 days on-site), plus jobs in Hindley (Wigan) and Westhoughton (Bolton). See the full project gallery on our artificial grass hub →
Hidden costs to watch for in cheaper quotes
When you’re comparing quotes, the headline £/m² number is almost never the full story. Six things commonly appear later as extras on cheaper-looking quotes:
- Disposal of existing turf or slabs. Often quoted at “£200–£400 per skip” and added after the install starts. We include disposal in every quote.
- Sub-base depth. A £55/m² quote sometimes specifies just 25–40mm of MOT Type 1. The proper depth is 65–75mm. Cutting this corner is what causes lawns to sink at 18 months.
- Edging upgrades. Softwood edging is sometimes quoted as standard and treated-timber priced as a £200–£600 upgrade. Ours is included.
- Difficult-access surcharge. Common on Victorian terrace jobs — sometimes only mentioned after the survey, never on the website.
- VAT. Always ask whether a quote is inclusive or exclusive of VAT. A £65/m² ex-VAT quote becomes £78/m² inc-VAT — closer to mid-range than budget.
- Snag-list call-back fees. Some installers charge to return for any adjustment after the install. Our workmanship guarantee covers two years of call-backs at no charge.
Cheap install vs proper install: the 15-year maths
Here’s the trade-off in numbers. A £55/m² install that fails at 5 years — sinking sub-base, lifting edges, flattened pile — needs the whole lot pulled out and redone. That’s £55/m² now, plus another £85–£100/m² in 5 years’ time once disposal of the failed install is added. Total over 15 years: £140–£155/m². Plus mud and disruption for 2 weeks while it’s being redone.
A £115/m² Wolsten install on a proper sub-base lasts 15–20 years (we warranty 10 of those). Total over 15 years: £115/m². On raw maths, properly-done is cheaper before you even count the difference in how the lawn looks and performs in the meantime. Cheaper-looking is rarely cheaper in the long run.
Frequently asked questions about artificial grass cost
Why is your price higher than the £55/m² I saw advertised?
Because we’re not quoting for the same job. The £55/m² advertised by some installers covers a thinner sub-base, softwood edging, no galvanised staples and partial disposal. The grass is the visible part; the install is the invisible part underneath. Skip the sub-base and the lawn sinks. We don’t take jobs we can’t stand behind for 15 years, so we won’t price below the level where that’s possible.
Is VAT included in your quote?
Yes. Every Wolsten quote is inclusive of VAT. The number we write down is the number you pay. If you’re a VAT-registered business and want a VAT invoice, just ask.
How much does the survey cost?
Nothing. On-site surveys are free, no obligation, and you’ll have a fixed written quote within 1 working day. We’d rather tell you artificial grass isn’t right for your garden than sell you a lawn you’ll regret.
How much extra for pet-friendly?
Nothing extra for the spec change itself — our Family (37mm) and Luxury (40mm) ranges are both already pet- and child-safe with kiln-dried sand infill that neutralises ammonia. The only optional add-on is a 2-yearly pet-safe odour-rinse aftercare visit, priced separately.
Can I pay in instalments?
Yes. We split most jobs into a deposit (typically 25% on order, securing materials) and a balance on completion. For larger jobs we’ll structure stage payments around milestones. No interest charges, no finance company, no deposit required to receive the quote.
What’s the cheapest job you’ll do?
Our minimum project value is £1,500. Below that, the fixed costs (mobilisation, survey, plant hire, disposal) make the per-m² maths unworkable — and the resulting price-per-m² would feel unfair to both of us. £1,500 is roughly 8–10m² installed, which suits most front gardens and yard-sized rear gardens.
Why is artificial grass per square metre more expensive than turf?
Real turf costs £20–£40/m² supplied and laid, but needs about £80–£120 of maintenance per year (feed, mowing, weedkiller, moss treatment, water) and 20–30 hours of your time. Over 10 years that’s £800–£1,200 plus 200+ hours of your weekend. Artificial grass costs more on day one and almost nothing thereafter.
Get a fixed quote within 1 working day
Every Wolsten quote is itemised, fixed in writing, and inclusive of VAT. No deposit required to receive it, no pushy follow-up sales. Free on-site survey across the North West, Lancashire and Cheshire.
