What does an electrician charge per hour?

An electrician in the Netherlands typically charges somewhere between 45 and 70 euros per hour exclusive of VAT. That is a guide: the exact rate depends on the company, the region and the type of work. In Noord-Brabant you usually sit comfortably within that range. A sole trader with little overhead may be at the low end, while a larger company with more guarantees and round-the-clock availability may come out higher.

Important to know: an hourly rate says little on its own about what you end up paying. A lower rate per hour is not a bargain if more hours go on the clock or unexpected costs arise. Conversely, a slightly higher rate from an engineer who works quickly and accurately can actually work out cheaper. So always look at the total job, not the figure per hour.

The hourly rate is mainly intended for work where you cannot know in advance exactly how long it will take, such as tracing a fault. For a clearly defined job, for example adding a socket or a circuit, we prefer to work with a fixed price. Then it is not about counting hours but about a clear final amount.

The hourly rate covers the engineer's working time: the hours he is actually working at your property. What is usually not included are the additional items you see on the final bill. The most important are the call-out charge, the materials and VAT. It is precisely those items that make the difference between an hourly rate and what you actually pay.

The call-out charge covers the cost of coming to you: travel time, fuel and the time the company spends getting to you. Some companies charge a fixed amount, others include it in the hourly rate or waive it for a larger job. Materials are charged separately: cables, an RCD, sockets, a fuse box. What you need depends on the job and is separate from the labour.

Finally, VAT. For private individuals the high rate of 21% applies to electrical work. Hourly rates are often quoted exclusive of VAT, so add 21% in your head to know what you actually pay. At an hourly rate of 55 euros exclusive of VAT you arrive at around 67 euros per hour inclusive of VAT. Always ask whether a quoted amount is inclusive or exclusive of VAT, so you compare like with like.

An hourly rate and a fixed price are two ways of settling the same work, with a very different sense of certainty. With an hourly rate you pay for the time the work takes. If it goes well, the bill comes out lower; if it drags on, higher. With a fixed price you agree an amount upfront for the whole job, regardless of how long it takes. The risk of overrun then lies with us, not with you.

For most jobs we find a fixed price fairer and more straightforward. You know in advance exactly where you stand and do not have to keep an eye on the clock while the engineer works. That works well for a clearly defined task: adding a socket, replacing a switch, adding a circuit or replacing a fuse box. We come and look, or go through the situation carefully, and then give you a price you can rely on.

An hourly rate suits work that is difficult to estimate in advance, such as tracing a fault or finding an error in the installation. Then nobody knows in advance whether it will take ten minutes or two hours. Even then we agree the rate and call-out charge with you upfront, so there are never any surprises. Not sure which approach suits your job? Just ask: we will explain honestly what is best for you.

Outside normal working hours an electrician may charge a surcharge. That applies to emergency work where someone needs to come straight away, and to work in the evening, at weekends or on public holidays. The surcharge is not arbitrary: outside office hours an engineer needs to be available and on call, and that simply costs more than a planned job on a weekday morning.

How high an emergency or weekend surcharge is varies by company. Sometimes it is a higher hourly rate, sometimes a fixed call-out fee. In a genuine emergency, such as no power or a burning smell in the meter cabinet, getting help quickly matters more than the rate. Even so, you may ask what it will roughly cost before someone comes.

The honest approach: get informed in advance. Ask whether an emergency or evening surcharge applies and how it is made up. A reputable company will say so, even over the phone at eleven o'clock at night. If a job can wait until the next working day, you save the surcharge by simply booking it in.

Comparing quotes on the hourly rate alone is misleading. One company quotes a rate exclusive of VAT without call-out charges; another quotes inclusive of VAT with everything included. On paper one looks cheaper, while you actually pay less with the other. Always compare the total price for the same job, inclusive of VAT, materials and call-out charge.

Ask the same questions of every quote: is the amount inclusive or exclusive of VAT, are call-out charges included, and is the material separate or included? That turns individual figures into a fair comparison. Also look at what you get for the price: a certified engineer who works to NEN 1010 and checks the installation afterwards delivers more value than the lowest price without the paperwork.

Our preference is a fixed price upfront, precisely because that makes comparison so simple. You get a clear final amount for the whole job and do not have to check hours or individual items. If you want to see the full price tables and indicative amounts per job, look at our costs page for the electrician.