How Much Does CCTV Installation Cost in the UK?
A basic CCTV system supplied and fitted in a UK home typically costs between about £450 and £1,000 plus VAT. Checkatrade's cost guide (prices last updated May 2024) puts a four camera wired system from around £800 plus VAT installed, an eight camera wired system at around £1,000 plus VAT, and a wireless four to eight camera setup at roughly £450 to £750 plus VAT. Those are national market ranges, not our prices, they are now more than two years old, and the real figure for your property only comes from a quote after someone has looked at it.
Bigger systems, higher resolution cameras and awkward cable routes push the number up. Below we break down where the money goes in the CCTV systems we quote for, so you can read any quote properly and spot the corners a cheap job cuts.
What does a typical CCTV system cost to supply and fit?
The UK market splits roughly into three bands. These figures come from Checkatrade's guide (prices dated May 2024) and a market survey published by crimerate.co.uk, which carries no date, so treat both as a rough guide rather than today's prices.
Basic wireless kit, fitted: around £450 to £750 plus VAT for four to eight cameras (Checkatrade).
Basic wired, four cameras: from around £800 plus VAT supplied and installed (Checkatrade). The crimerate survey found an average all in cost of £584 for a basic four camera system.
Larger wired or IP systems: around £1,000 plus VAT for eight wired cameras (Checkatrade), rising well beyond that for 16 camera IP systems, where the crimerate survey put equipment alone at £1,107 to £1,980.
On labour alone, the same survey found installation quotes of typically £250 to £500 for a basic analogue system and £250 to £800 for a larger IP camera system, with higher rates in the South of England. Checkatrade also suggests budgeting from around £100 a year if you want an annual maintenance visit.
Where the money goes in a CCTV quote
A CCTV price is not just cameras. A full quote usually includes:
The cameras. The crimerate survey lists individual cameras from under £20 retail for a basic bullet camera to around £230 for a wired outdoor model.
The recorder. A DVR for analogue HD cameras or an NVR for IP cameras. The number of channels decides how many cameras you can add later.
The hard drive. Its size decides how many days of footage you keep before the oldest recording is overwritten.
Cable and containment. Coax or data cable to each camera, plus clips, trunking or conduit where cable runs outside.
Power. IP cameras are often powered over the same data cable (PoE) from the recorder or a switch. Analogue systems need a separate power supply.
Labour and set up. Drilling, routing cable, mounting, aiming, configuring recording, and connecting the phone app.
Ask for each of these to be itemised. Two quotes with the same headline figure can hide very different hard drives, cameras and cable routes.
Wired or wireless: how the cost changes
Wireless systems cost less to install because there is little cable to run. Checkatrade puts installation of a wireless system at around £150, against around £500 for the cabling and installation of a wired one. The catch is that "wireless" usually means the video travels over Wi-Fi. Each camera still needs power, from a socket, a battery or a solar panel, and footage quality depends on your Wi-Fi signal at the camera.
Wired systems cost more up front but give a stable picture, no batteries to charge and no reliance on the router. For a detached house, a business or anywhere with long cable runs to outbuildings or a car park, wired is usually the better long term buy. For a small terrace with two cameras front and back, a good wireless setup can be perfectly adequate.
Does camera resolution affect the price?
Yes, in two ways. Higher resolution cameras cost more to buy, and they produce bigger files, so you need a larger hard drive to keep the same number of days of footage. The crimerate survey found IP camera systems about 50% dearer than equivalent analogue kits for the equipment alone.
More pixels are not always the answer. A 4K camera pointed at a whole garden may capture less usable detail of a face at the gate than a lower resolution camera with the right lens aimed at the gate. What matters is picture detail where you need it: the front door, the drive, the side gate. A good installer plans the view of each camera first and chooses the resolution and lens to suit.
What cheap CCTV kits and installs tend to miss
The cheapest price usually saves money somewhere. The common gaps we see with bargain kits and rushed installs are:
Poor aiming. Cameras pointed at the sky, into headlights or straight at a neighbour's windows, which also causes data protection problems.
Infrared glare. Cameras mounted under soffits or near white walls bounce their own night vision back and show nothing useful after dark.
Weak connections. Outdoor joints left without weatherproof boxes, which corrode and fail within a year or two.
Too little storage. A small hard drive that overwrites footage after a couple of days, so an incident is gone before you notice it.
Default passwords. Recorders and apps left on factory logins, which is a security risk in itself.
No handover. Government guidance on domestic CCTV tells owners to ask their installer to show them how to operate the system and how to export footage if required. If nobody shows you, you may not be able to hand clips to the police.
Hidden and extra costs to check for
Some costs only appear once the job starts. Ask about these before you agree a price:
Cable routes through lofts, cavity walls or under floors, and making good afterwards.
Access equipment for cameras on second floor gables or high commercial walls.
A new power supply. If the system needs a new circuit, that is notifiable under Part P and must be done by a registered electrician who can self-certify the work. Taking power from an existing circuit outside a bathroom is not notifiable.
Extra cameras, a bigger hard drive or a spare recorder channel for later.
Remote monitoring subscriptions or cloud storage, which add a monthly cost.
Signs, if a camera will see beyond your boundary. Data protection law then applies under the CCTV regulations in the UK, and the ICO says you must put up signage that indicates CCTV is in operation.
How to compare CCTV quotes
When we price CCTV for homes and businesses around Shifnal, Telford and Wolverhampton, we find the most useful comparison points are:
The number of cameras and exactly what each one will see.
Camera type, resolution and lens angle for each position.
Recorder type (DVR or NVR) and how many spare channels it has.
Hard drive size and how many days of footage that gives at your settings.
Cable type and route, and whether making good is included.
Whether the price includes VAT, set up of the phone app and a handover.
Warranty on the equipment and on the workmanship.
If one quote is far cheaper, check items 3 to 5 first. That is where the savings usually are.
CCTV cost questions, answered
Is CCTV cheaper as part of an alarm system?
Often, yes. Installing cameras at the same visit as intruder alarms shares the labour, cable routes and access costs. Some recorders and alarm panels can also work together, so an alarm event is flagged on the camera app.
How long does a CCTV installation take?
A straightforward two to four camera system is usually fitted in a day or less. Long cable runs, outbuildings, high walls or a large commercial site add time, and your quote should say how long the work is expected to take.
Do CCTV systems need servicing?
They need occasional attention. Lenses get dirty and cobwebbed, hard drives wear out, and recorders need firmware updates. An annual check, which Checkatrade's 2024 figures put from around £100, keeps the picture clear and confirms footage is still being saved.
Can we reuse old CCTV cable?
Sometimes. Older coax can often carry signal for newer analogue HD cameras, which saves labour. It will not carry IP cameras, which need data cable, so a switch to IP usually means new cable to each camera.
If you would like a price for your own property, get in touch with our team and we will visit, look at the views you need and give you an itemised quote.
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