Cost guide
How much does cctv cost?
Four cameras and a recorder fitted is £450 to £1,200, and eight cameras £900 to £2,000. Cable runs and access are most of the difference between a low quote and a high one on the same house.
Typical prices
Ranges, not quotes. A quote depends on your room.
| Work | Typical UK price |
|---|---|
| Four camera domestic system fitted | £450 to £1,200 |
| Eight camera domestic system fitted | £900 to £2,000 |
| Extra camera added to an existing recorder | £120 to £250 |
| Recorder upgrade with larger storage | £150 to £400 |
| Small commercial system, 8 to 16 cameras | £2,000 to £6,000 |
| Annual service and lens clean | £90 to £200 |
Stand where each camera will point before anything is fixed, at the height it will sit. Five minutes on a stepladder settles more arguments than any specification sheet.
What moves the price
- Camera count, and how far each one is from the recorder position.
- Whether cable can be run in a loft and dropped, or has to be clipped externally and sealed.
- Resolution and sensor quality, which decide whether the footage identifies anybody.
- Recorder storage, which sets how many days are retained.
- Whether scaffolding or a tower is needed for high level positions.
- Commercial systems, which add signage, retention policy and sometimes a monitoring contract.
Who quotes for it
1 of the 133 electricians listed on this site take on cctv.
Most of them in one place: Sheffield (1).
Questions about cctv
Wired or wireless cameras?
Wired, wherever a cable can be got to. Wireless cameras depend on a battery or a nearby socket and on a signal reaching a camera through an external wall, and both fail at the least convenient time of year.
Will it work if the broadband goes down?
Recording continues, because the recorder is local. What stops is the remote view on the phone and any cloud backup. That is an argument for a recorder somewhere safe rather than for a cloud only system.