What does a contractor cost in the Netherlands?

Planning a renovation, a new bathroom or toilet, or an extension? Here is roughly what a contractor (aannemer) costs in the Netherlands, how to compare quotes and which agreements to put in writing. The amounts are indicative figures from public sources for 2026, not quotes: the real price depends on your home, the materials, the region and how busy the contractor is. Updated in October 2026.

Hourly and day rates

Price comparison sites give differing hourly rates for 2026, usually excluding VAT:

  • €30 to €50 an hour (Offerteadviseur)
  • €35 to €60 an hour, or €200 to €400 a day (Trustoo)
  • €50 to €85 an hour excluding VAT (Homedeal)

A Knab survey of 20,000 self-employed workers puts the average 2026 hourly rate of a self-employed contractor at €55 excluding VAT. A self-employed contractor often charges less per hour than a larger building firm, and according to Offerteadviseur rates in the Randstad are higher than in the east of the country. Building is also getting more expensive: according to CBS, input prices for building new homes were 5.0% higher in August 2026 than a year earlier (a provisional figure). A quote from last year says little about today's price.

Fixed price, estimate or hourly rate

The price is usually agreed in one of these three ways:

  • Fixed price (aanneemsom): one amount for all the work and materials, whether the job takes more or less time. This is usual for larger jobs. If the work turns out harder than expected, you normally don't pay extra under a fixed price (ACM). For changes you ask for yourself, see extra work below.
  • Estimate (richtprijs): the contractor may exceed it by no more than 10%, unless the contractor warned you as early as possible of a further overrun, giving you the chance to reduce or simplify the work (article 7:752 of the Dutch Civil Code).
  • Hourly rate (regie): you pay the hours worked plus the materials. Useful for small or unpredictable jobs, but the final amount is not fixed. Ask for a timesheet.

What a good quote contains

You don't pay for a quote (offerte), unless the contractor told you in advance that you would (ACM). A good quote states:

  • the company's details, with its KVK (Chamber of Commerce) number
  • a clear description of the work and the materials
  • the price, with materials, labour and VAT listed separately
  • who removes the demolition waste: a 6 m³ skip costs about €200 to €300 (Offerteadviseur)
  • the start date, the completion date, the payment schedule and how long the quote is valid
  • any provisional sums (stelposten): estimated amounts that are not fixed yet, for example for tiles or sanitary ware

Many price sites don't say whether their amounts include VAT, so always ask for the total price including VAT.

What common jobs cost

Indicative figures for 2026, including materials and labour:

  • Toilet (fully renovated): €1,500 to €3,000 for a small toilet of 1 to 1.5 m² and €2,000 to €4,500 for a toilet of 2 m² (Offerteadviseur). Homedeal gives €1,300 to €4,500, including demolition.
  • Bathroom (complete, 6 to 8 m²): €5,000 to €10,500, €8,000 on average (Offerteadviseur). Trustoo gives €8,500 to €15,000 for 5 to 10 m², including basic sanitary ware and tiles.
  • Kitchen: fitting alone costs €800 to €2,500 (Offerteadviseur), a new kitchen with fitting and appliances €7,000 to €15,000 (Homedeal).
  • Dormer: €7,500 to €14,500, including fitting, standard finish and VAT (Trustoo).
  • Extension: €2,200 to €3,200 per m² with a standard finish (Offerteadviseur). According to Homedeal, a 15 m² extension costs €37,500 to €45,000 on average.

Pipework that has to move, the amount of tiling and the finish are what mostly decide where your price falls within such a range.

VAT: 21% or 9%?

Work on your home is usually charged at 21% VAT. Insulating, painting, plastering and wallpapering a home that is more than 2 years old are charged at 9% (Belastingdienst, the Dutch Tax Administration). For insulation, the lower rate covers only the labour: the insulation material is charged at 21%. So the lower rate does not apply to all labour on older homes. If your quote covers different kinds of work, ask which part is charged at 9%.

Comparing quotes

  • Ask two or three contractors to quote for exactly the same work, so you can really compare the prices.
  • Check in the KVK Business Register that the company name and KVK number on the quote match.
  • Ask for references or photos of earlier work, and whether the company is insured for damage during the work.
  • Only sign when you are sure: your signature often binds you to the agreement (ACM).
  • You only have to make a down payment if you agreed to one; for services there is no statutory maximum amount. If the contractor goes bankrupt, you usually lose a down payment (ACM). So rather agree to pay in instalments, each after a finished part of the work.
  • If the contractor is a member of BouwGarant, you can take out a renovation guarantee before the work starts. Among other things, it covers the extra cost of finishing the work if the contractor goes bankrupt.
  • Put every agreement in writing: the work, the price, the schedule and the payment schedule.

Extra work and handover

If you ask for something extra or different during the job, that is extra work (meerwerk). The contractor may only charge more for it if they told you in time that the price would rise, unless you should have understood that yourself (article 7:755 of the Civil Code). So agree extra work in writing beforehand, with its price.

For renovations whose contract was signed on or after 1 January 2024, two rules from the Building Quality Assurance Act (Wkb) apply:

  • After handover (oplevering), the contractor remains liable for defects that were not discovered at the time, unless they cannot be attributed to the contractor (article 7:758(4) of the Civil Code).
  • When the contractor tells you that the work is ready for handover, you receive a file with drawings, the materials used and information for use and maintenance, among other things, unless you agree otherwise (article 7:757a of the Civil Code).

The well-known 5% rule, under which you deposit 5% of the price with a notary, applies only when you have a new home built, not to a renovation (articles 7:765 and 7:768 of the Civil Code). If the work is not done properly, you may still hold back part of the bill until your complaint is resolved (ACM), as long as that part is in proportion to the problem.

Do you need a permit?

Building and renovating usually needs an environmental permit (omgevingsvergunning). Some work needs no permit, such as ordinary maintenance or, under conditions, a dormer at the back of your home. Even then the work must meet the building rules (Bbl) and neighbour law (Rijksoverheid, the Dutch government). Do the permit check (Vergunningcheck) in the Omgevingsloket: the result is an indication that gives you no rights. Agree who applies for the permit, you or the contractor.

Finding a contractor on AtaList

On AtaList you describe your job once in a free request, in the language you prefer. Contractors who match your job send you an offer; you then ask the ones you like for a detailed quote. You pay AtaList nothing and AtaList takes no commission: you agree the price and the work directly with the contractor.

From 22 October 2025 to 21 October 2026, customers in the Netherlands posted 273 approved requests for a contractor on AtaList. 223 of them (82%) received at least one offer. Half of those 223 requests received their first offer within 65 minutes, and an average of 3.7 different companies responded to an answered request. These figures describe the past year and are no guarantee for your request. The requests were most often about floors, bathrooms, toilets, kitchens, windows and doors.

Post a free request for a contractor or browse the contractors on AtaList. AtaList does not check diplomas or skills, so make the checks above with a contractor from AtaList too.

Sources

Consulted in October 2026. The amounts from the cited comparison sites are indicative prices and can differ widely between contractors.