A Handwerker (tradesperson) in Germany billed an average of €69 net per hour for a master and €61 for a journeyman in the second half of 2023, with Hamburg at the top and Saxony at the bottom of the range, and 2026 forecasts put the journeyman hour at €65 to €70. The article sets those rates next to the renovation prices per square metre published for Munich, Berlin and Hamburg, the bathroom cost table of a German building society, the construction price index of Destatis and the BAFA grants and tax credit that reduce the bill.
What a Handwerker charges per hour in Germany, by trade and by region
A Handwerker in Germany billed an average of €69 net per hour for a master (Meister) and €61 net per hour for a journeyman (Geselle) in the second half of 2023, according to the Preisatlas Handwerk survey of 534 firms by OneQrew reported by the Deutsche Handwerks Zeitung on 2 April 2024, with roofers and carpenters at €68, plumbing and heating (SHK) at €65, electricians at €64, joiners at €63 and painters and plasterers at €62 per hour on average. The rate is the price the customer pays per hour (Stundenverrechnungssatz), not the wage of the worker.
The regional spread in the same survey runs from Hamburg, with an average of €75 for a master and €67 for a journeyman, to Saxony with €53 and €46, and the newspaper concludes that tradespeople in conurbations charge more than in rural regions and that the gap between the western and eastern federal states persists. The figures are net of value added tax; a private customer pays 19 percent on top under Section 12(1) of the Umsatzsteuergesetz.
| Trade, Germany, second half of 2023 | Average net rate per hour |
|---|---|
| Roofers and carpenters | €68 |
| Plumbing, heating and metal trades (SHK) | €65 |
| Electricians | €64 |
| Joiners and cabinet makers | €63 |
| Painters, plasterers and stucco workers | €62 |
| Bricklayers | €60 |
| Tilers | €58 |
| Drywall installers | €50 |
| Building cleaners | €38 |
The rows for bricklayers, tilers, drywall installers and building cleaners come from the same 2024 survey data as reproduced in the 2026 rate guide of Repleno on the cost of a master and journeyman hour, which forecasts €65 to €70 net for a journeyman hour and €72 to €78 for a master hour in 2026, with electricians at €68 to €71 (journeyman) and €75 to €85 (master), painters at €63 to €67 and €70 to €76, plumbing and heating at €68 to €72 and €75 to €82, and roofers at €72 to €75 and €80 to €90. The same guide puts the average at €54 net in the eastern states and €64 in the western states, a gap of about 15 percent.
Why the hourly rate is four times the minimum wage
The statutory minimum wage in Germany is €13.90 gross per hour from 1 January 2026 and rises to €14.60 on 1 January 2027, according to the German customs administration's page on the Mindestlohngesetz, and the building trades have higher sector minimums: €14.93 in the electrical trades for 2026, €15.55 for painters and varnishers from 1 August 2025 to 30 June 2026, and €14.96 (wage group 1) or €16.60 (wage group 2) for roofers in 2026, according to the customs administration's overview of sector minimum wages.
The difference between a €15 wage and a €65 billing rate is the firm's cost structure. The billing rate covers the gross wage, the employer's social contributions, the firm's overheads for vehicles, tools, insurance, premises and administration, unproductive hours for travel and quoting, and a profit margin; the Repleno guide describes the 2026 forecast as driven by the minimum wage increases and by cost inflation.
Construction prices as a whole are rising faster than general inflation. The Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis) reported in press release 241 of 10 July 2026 that prices for new residential buildings rose 5.0 percent between May 2025 and May 2026, that prices for maintenance work on residential buildings (Instandhaltungsarbeiten) were 5.6 percent higher than a year earlier, that fitting-out work (Ausbauarbeiten) rose 5.1 percent, and that within the trades electrical installation rose 6.4 percent, roofing and carpentry 7.3 percent each, heating installation 5.0 percent, thermal insulation 5.0 percent, masonry 3.8 percent and concrete work 3.6 percent.
What a renovation costs per square metre in Munich, Berlin and Hamburg
A core renovation (Kernsanierung) of a flat costs about €550 to €1,700 per square metre in the city of Munich against a national range of about €400 to €1,200, because the Baukosteninformationszentrum (BKI) regional factor for the city of Munich is about 1.55, for the Munich district about 1.29 and for Leipzig about 0.81, according to the Neuwest cost report for Munich, which also puts Munich Handwerker rates 20 to 40 percent above the national average and a facade renovation at up to about €220 per square metre in Munich against from about €60 in Leipzig.
For Berlin the Neuwest cost report for Berlin, 2026 lists a core renovation at €400 to €1,200 per square metre of living area, so €40,000 to €120,000 for a 100 m² flat, a bathroom renovation at €1,500 to €3,500 per square metre of bathroom, roof renovation at €100 to €300 per square metre, facade renovation at €80 to €250, masonry at €40 to €120 per square metre of wall, drywall at €30 to €80 and screed at €20 to €60 per square metre. The Berlin contractor Builda prices three packages in 2026 on its apartment renovation page: cosmetic renovation at €350 per square metre, core renovation at €800 and an upgraded renovation with underfloor heating and hidden doors at €900, with a completed 150 m² flat at €120,000 and an 85 m² flat at €74,500.
| Measure, 2026 quotes | Munich (Neuwest) | Berlin (Neuwest, Builda) | Hamburg (Profimaler Hamburg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core renovation per m² of flat | €550 to €1,700 | €400 to €1,200; €800 package | €800 to €1,200 |
| Bathroom per m² of bathroom | not listed | €1,500 to €3,500 | €1,500 to €3,000 |
| Facade per m² | up to about €220 | €80 to €250 | €100 to €250 (insulation) |
| Electrical installation per m² of flat | not listed | not listed | €80 to €150 |
| Replacement window, each | not listed | not listed | €500 to €1,200 |
The Hamburg column comes from the renovation cost guide of Profimaler Hamburg for 2026: core renovation at €800 to €1,200 per square metre, general renovation at €400 to €1,200, roof insulation at €50 to €150 and facade insulation at €100 to €250 per square metre, electrical installation at €80 to €150 per square metre, windows at €500 to €1,200 each, a new heating system at €15,000 to €35,000 and living rooms and bedrooms at €150 to €400 per square metre. The regional multipliers in the Reduco renovation cost table of 24 August 2026 point the same way: Munich and Upper Bavaria plus 30 to 35 percent, Hamburg and northern Germany plus 15 to 20 percent, rural eastern Germany minus 20 to 40 percent against the national average, with triple-glazed windows at €500 to €1,200 each and external wall insulation (WDVS, 140 mm) at €130 to €250 per square metre.
The BKI itself publishes more than 400 regional factors for every urban and rural district and states on its regional factors page that construction cost levels within Germany differ by more than 40 percent. The contractor figures above are market quotes from named firms with their year, not statistical averages, and two quotes for the same flat in the same city can differ by the full width of the ranges.
What a bathroom renovation costs in Germany and how the bill splits
A bathroom renovation in Germany costs €900 to €3,500 per square metre in the fourth quarter of 2025, which means €3,600 to €14,000 for a 4 m² bathroom, €5,400 to €21,000 for 6 m² and €9,000 to €33,500 for 10 m², with labour at about 60 percent and materials at about 40 percent of the total, according to the bathroom cost guide of the building society Schwäbisch Hall, which draws on the cost database of the German chambers of architects.
| Item, Germany, fourth quarter 2025 | Cost |
|---|---|
| Standard WC, installed | about €1,045 |
| Barrier-free WC, installed | about €1,415 |
| Washbasin, installed | about €1,015 |
| Bathtub, installed | about €1,920 |
| Shower tray, installed | about €1,370 |
| Tiles, low, medium, high quality, per m² | about €115, €155, €195 |
| Removing old tiles and preparing the substrate, per m² | about €65 |
The barrier-free WC in the table costs €370 more than the standard model, and a level-access shower needs the 2 cm maximum step and the 120 cm or 150 cm movement area of DIN 18040-2, which the article on DIN 18040-2 dimensions for a barrier-free flat sets out together with the KfW loan 159 that funds such a bathroom with up to €50,000 per dwelling. Replacement windows, priced at €500 to €1,200 each in the Hamburg and Reduco tables, change the daylight factor and sound rating of the room, which the article on daylight and window rules under DIN 5034-1 covers.
- Bathroom of 6 m²: €5,400 to €21,000 in the fourth quarter of 2025 (Schwäbisch Hall).
- Painting a 20 m² room, about 60 m² of wall and ceiling: €480 to €900 at €8 to €15 per m² in 2026 (Aroundhome, quoted in the article on tenant painting rules).
- New kitchen installation only: €500 to €2,000 in 2026 (System-Idee, quoted in the article on kitchen prices).
- Replacement window: €500 to €1,200 each in 2026 (Profimaler Hamburg, Reduco).
Which grants and tax credits reduce a renovation bill in Germany
The Bundesamt für Wirtschaft und Ausfuhrkontrolle (BAFA) pays a basic grant of 15 percent of eligible costs for building-envelope measures such as wall, roof and window work under the federal funding for efficient buildings (BEG Einzelmaßnahmen), plus 5 percent when an individual renovation roadmap (individueller Sanierungsfahrplan, iSFP) exists, on eligible costs of up to €30,000 per dwelling per year, or €60,000 with an iSFP, with a minimum eligible investment of €300 gross and the mandatory involvement of an energy efficiency expert, according to the BAFA information page on building-envelope measures in the version of July 2026. For buildings with several dwellings the caps are €15,000 or €30,000 for the second to sixth dwelling and €8,000 or €15,000 from the seventh.
| Programme, Germany, 2026 | Rate | Cap | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| BAFA BEG, building envelope | 15 percent, 20 percent with iSFP | €30,000 or €60,000 eligible costs per dwelling per year | energy efficiency expert involved, minimum €300 gross |
| KfW loan 159, barrier reduction | loan, rate set on the day of the offer | €50,000 per dwelling | application via a bank before work starts |
| KfW grant 455-B, barrier reduction | 10 percent, 12.5 percent for the full standard | €2,500 or €6,250 per dwelling | 2026 funds exhausted since 30 July 2026 |
| Income tax credit, Section 35a(3) EStG | 20 percent of labour costs | €1,200 per year | invoice and bank transfer, labour only |
The income tax credit is the one item that applies to almost every job priced above. Section 35a(3) of the Einkommensteuergesetz reduces the income tax by 20 percent of the labour cost of craft services in the taxpayer's home, at most €1,200 per year, and paragraph 5 requires an invoice and payment to the tradesperson's bank account; only labour, not materials, counts, according to the text of Section 35a EStG. A painting invoice of €3,000 with €1,800 of labour therefore returns €360 through the tax return, and a bathroom invoice of €12,000 with €7,200 of labour reaches the €1,200 cap.
The credit is available to tenants as well as owners, which matters for the painting obligations discussed in the article on Schönheitsreparaturen and tenant painting rules, and for the installation of a kitchen, whose 2026 prices and delivery times the article on fitted kitchen prices in Germany sets out.
Frequently asked questions about costs and subsidies in Germany
The answers below repeat the figures and legal references from the article in short form, so that each answer can be read on its own.
- What does a Handwerker cost per hour in Germany?
- The Preisatlas Handwerk survey of 534 firms in the second half of 2023, reported by the Deutsche Handwerks Zeitung on 2 April 2024, found an average of 69 euros net per hour for a master and 61 euros for a journeyman; the 2026 forecast of Repleno is 65 to 70 euros for a journeyman and 72 to 78 euros for a master.
- Which German city has the highest Handwerker rates?
- Hamburg, at an average of 75 euros net per hour for a master and 67 euros for a journeyman in the 2023 survey; Saxony had the lowest at 53 and 46 euros. Munich rates run 20 to 40 percent above the national average according to the Neuwest cost report.
- What does a full renovation cost per square metre in Munich, Berlin and Hamburg?
- Core renovation (Kernsanierung) is quoted at about 550 to 1,700 euros per m² in Munich (Neuwest, regional factor 1.55), 400 to 1,200 euros per m² in Berlin (Neuwest 2026) and 800 to 1,200 euros per m² in Hamburg (Profimaler Hamburg 2026).
- What does a bathroom renovation cost in Germany?
- Schwäbisch Hall quotes 900 to 3,500 euros per m² in the fourth quarter of 2025, so 5,400 to 21,000 euros for a 6 m² bathroom, with labour at about 60 percent of the total, a standard WC at about 1,045 euros and a bathtub at about 1,920 euros.
- How much have renovation prices risen in Germany?
- Prices for maintenance work on residential buildings were 5.6 percent higher in May 2026 than in May 2025, and electrical installation prices rose 6.4 percent, according to Destatis press release 241 of 10 July 2026.
- Which subsidies reduce a renovation bill in Germany?
- BAFA pays 15 percent of eligible costs for building-envelope measures plus 5 percent with an individual renovation roadmap, on costs of up to 30,000 or 60,000 euros per dwelling per year; Section 35a EStG refunds 20 percent of labour costs up to 1,200 euros per year; KfW loan 159 funds barrier-free conversions.