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How Much Does a Carport Cost in the UK? A Straight Answer for 2026
Ask this question online and you'll get a shrug dressed up as an answer — "it depends on your requirements." It does depend, but not on anything mysterious. It depends on three things: how big it is, what it's made of, and whether you're paying someone to put it up.
Here's what the numbers actually look like in 2026, where the money goes, and how to work out your own figure before anyone quotes you.
Carport Cost: The Short Answer
A fitted single carport in the UK typically runs £2,000 to £4,000, with £3,000 being about average. A double is £3,500 to £6,500, averaging around £5,000. Those are Checkatrade's 2026 figures and they match what we hear from customers.
A DIY kit you fit yourself is a different animal: £1,000 to £2,500 for a lean-to, £1,200 to £2,000 for a freestanding single bay.
That gap — often two or three thousand pounds — is almost entirely labour. Which means the single biggest decision you'll make about cost isn't the carport at all. It's whether you're holding the drill.
The three ways to buy a carport
1. Fitted, by a specialist installer
You ring a company, someone comes out and measures, and a few weeks later a team turns up and builds it. £2,000 to £6,500 depending on size.
You're paying for the structure plus two to three days of labour, plus the installer's margin on the materials. Straightforward single bays on an existing base go up in one to three days; a double or anything bespoke is three to five.
This is the right route if the job is complicated — awkward levels, a wall that needs attention, a base that needs digging out — or if you simply don't want the job. There's no shame in that.
2. A kit you fit yourself
£1,000 to £2,500 for the structure, delivered to your door, and a weekend of your own time.
Fitting a lean-to canopy or carport is a two-person job because the eaves beam and the roof sheets are long and awkward, not because it's technically difficult. Most sizes go up in a day. You need a drill, masonry and HSS bits, a silicone gun, a spirit level, a mallet, a 13mm spanner and a pair of step ladders. That's it.
If you've ever put up a fence, hung a door, or fitted your own guttering, you can fit a carport.
Our own made-to-size aluminium canopies and carports sit in this bracket — cut to your measurements and delivered, from £769.99.
3. Timber, built on site by a joiner
Timber frames remain popular and materials come in around £1,200 to £2,500 for a single bay. Wooden carports are usually cheaper to build than metal ones — but they need treating, they move with the weather, and they don't last as long. Factor in the maintenance before you compare the sticker price.
What actually drives the price up
Size — but not the way you'd think
Price doesn't climb smoothly with size. Most manufacturers price in bands, so going from 4.4m wide to 4.6m might cost you nothing, while 4.9m to 5.1m might be a jump. If you're near a band edge, it's worth checking whether coming in slightly smaller saves you real money — or whether the next size up is nearly free.
The roof
Polycarbonate is the standard. 16mm triple-wall is the sensible spec for a carport or a canopy over a patio — it's strong, it insulates, and it takes a British winter. Thinner sheets are cheaper and they show it.
Glazing colour matters more than people expect.
Clear lets the most light through and is right against a north-facing wall or over a dark kitchen window.
Opal diffuses the light and cuts glare — the usual choice over a patio or a seating area. Bronze knocks back heat and light, good for a south-facing suntrap.
Heatguard is the one to pick if the space gets uncomfortably hot in July.
Same frame, same price on most systems. Choose it for the light you want, not the budget.
Frame colour
White is standard. Anthracite grey (RAL 7016) and brown (RAL 8016) are usually a surcharge — commonly around 15% — because they're a separate powder-coating run. Anthracite has become the default on new-build and it does look sharper against modern brick, but it isn't free.
Brown
Post height
Standard posts give roughly 2.25m of clearance. That suits a car. A van, an SUV, or anything with a roof box or aerials needs the 3m upgrade — usually a modest per-post cost, but get it wrong and you're looking at an expensive mistake with a dent in it.
Measure your vehicle including the roof bars. People forget the roof bars.
The bit nobody mentions: the base
Post brackets fix down with stud anchors, and stud anchors need solid concrete to bite into. Gravel won't hold them. Block paving laid on sand won't hold them.
If you haven't got concrete, budget £50 to £100 per square metre for a slab, or roughly £1,800 to £3,000 for a full 12ft × 14ft pad. That's often the single biggest line on the job, and it's almost never included in a carport quote.
You don't always need a full slab. Digging out a pad at each post position — around 400mm square and 600mm deep, finished flush with your existing surface — is usually enough, and it's a fraction of the cost. Worth asking before anyone talks you into concreting the whole drive.
Fitting it yourself: what you actually save
Builder's labour runs £150 to £200 a day, and a carport is a two to three day job for a team. Add the installer's markup on the kit itself — commonly £500 to £1,500 — and you're looking at £1,000 to £2,000 of the quote that isn't the carport.
Put another way: if a fitted carport is £3,000 and the kit is £1,500, you're being charged £1,500 for a day's work by two people. Sometimes that's money well spent. Often it isn't.
Do you need planning permission?
Usually not. A carport is normally permitted development in England, but the rules are worth knowing before you order:
Eaves no higher than 2.5m
Maximum height 4m for a dual-pitched roof, 3m for anything else
Within 2m of a boundary, the whole structure drops to a 2.5m maximum
It can't sit forward of the principal elevation of the original house
You must stay within the 50% garden coverage rule
Different rules apply in conservation areas, on listed buildings and their curtilage, and for flats and maisonettes. If you're in any of those, check with your local planning department before you spend a penny.
None of this is complicated, but it's worth five minutes on your council's website. A carport that breaches the eaves height is a carport you may have to take down.
What one costs from us
Our Evolution aluminium canopies and carports are made to your measurements and start at £769.99 including VAT and free UK delivery.
Some real sizes, all inclusive of VAT and delivery:
What you're covering | Size | Price |
Small patio or back door | 2.5m × 1.6m | £769.99 |
Patio seating area | 3.5m × 2.6m | £1,190.46 |
Larger patio | 4.0m × 3.1m | £1,584.80 |
One car alongside the house | 5.0m × 2.6m | £1,736.00 |
Those are white frame with clear 16mm triple-wall polycarbonate. Grey and brown carry a colour surcharge.
Everything is cut to the size you order — not rounded up to the nearest standard size, not "close enough". You set the width and the projection, the price appears, and that's what you pay.
Compare that against £2,000–£4,000 fitted and you can see where the money goes.
(The Evolution is a lean-to — it fixes to a solid wall. If you need a free-standing frame in the middle of the drive, ring us and we'll point you at the right thing.)
Quick answers
Is a carport cheaper than a garage? Considerably. A single garage runs well into five figures once you've got foundations, walls, a roof and a door. A carport does the main job — keeping frost, rain and bird mess off the car — for a fraction of it.
How long does a carport last? An aluminium frame with a powder-coated finish will outlast most of what's around it. Polycarbonate roof sheets carry manufacturer guarantees and typically stay serviceable for well over a decade. Timber needs treating and will want replacing sooner.
Will it stand up to snow? Look for a stated loading. Ours are designed to 600 N/m², which covers normal UK domestic snow loading. If you're somewhere exposed — coast, hilltop, open countryside — ask about an uprated specification rather than hoping.
Do I need a downpipe? Not on a decent system. On the Evolution the eaves beam is the gutter and the posts are the downpipes — water runs away inside them. Nothing hangs off the front.
Can I fit one to a conservatory or timber cladding? No. The wall needs to be solid brick or block. Render is fine if there's masonry behind it. A conservatory frame won't take it.
Working Out Your Own Carport Cost
Measure the width along the wall and the projection out from it
Add the roof — 16mm triple-wall unless you've a reason not to
Decide on frame colour, and budget for the surcharge if it isn't white
Check your post height against the tallest thing you'll park under it
Look at what you're fixing down to, and price a concrete pad if you need one
Decide whether you're fitting it or paying someone
Do those six and you'll have a realistic figure — and you'll know more than most people who ring for a quote.
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