Metal driveway gate prices 2026: what steel gates cost

Metal driveway gate prices depend mainly on the width of the opening, the design, the steelwork, the posts, the finish and whether the gates are opened by hand or by a motor. As a guide, MyBuilder (updated August 2026) puts manual driveway gates of all materials at roughly £700 to £3,500, automatic gates at £1,500 to £7,500 and electric gates at £1,800 to £8,500, with sliding and bi-folding designs among the dearer options.

Those are national figures, not our prices, and Kent and Surrey sit in a dearer region. Less.co.uk puts electric gate prices in the South East about 10% above its national average, and MyJobQuote also says South East prices run above the national average. Steel Stairs and Gates makes metal driveway gates to measure and will price your own opening from a photo, in writing, within the working day. This guide covers the published ranges, what moves them and the rules to check.

Metal driveway gate prices: typical UK ranges

Read each line as a sense of scale, not a quote, and do not add lines from different guides together. Checkatrade's figures exclude VAT; the others do not say.

Plain, narrow gates sit low in each band; wide, ornate or motorised pairs sit high in it, or above.

Want a real price for your own drive in Kent or Surrey? Send a photo of the opening, your postcode and a rough width through the quote form, or ring 07861 936 888, and we will price the gate for your site rather than leave you guessing from a national guide. The written estimate comes back within the working day.

What changes the cost of a metal driveway gate

• Width and height. The opening sets how much steel goes in and how heavy the posts must be. A wide single leaf loads its hinges and hanging post heavily, more so in wind, so as openings get wider a pair of leaves is often the more practical choice: each leaf is lighter, one can be held with a ground bolt while the two latch together, and the posts work less hard. The right split depends on the height, weight and infill of the gate, the posts, the ground and whether it will be motorised.
• Design and infill. Straight bars are the quickest pattern to make. Scrolls, finials, arched tops and laser-cut panels all add cutting and welding hours, and solid sheet adds weight the posts and hinges must carry.
• Material. Aluminium is light and resists corrosion; steel balances strength, looks and cost. Most new gates sold as wrought iron are ornamental mild steel, as the real thing has not been made commercially in the UK since the 1970s.
• Posts and piers. MyJobQuote lists steel posts at about £250 to £400. A brick pier must be solid, upright and well founded to carry a gate; MyBuilder puts a rebuild at £800 to £1,500 each.
• The ground. Footings in soft earth are quicker than holes cored through concrete, and a sloping drive needs rising hinges or an angled bottom rail.
• The old gates. Removal and disposal usually adds £80 to £300 (MyBuilder and MyJobQuote).
• Coating. Galvanised only costs less than galvanised plus a powder coated colour.

Checkatrade's tips for keeping the cost down are sound: stick to a standard size and a simpler design, choose a visible motor rather than a concealed one, fit only the access controls you will use, and compare itemised quotes.

Swing or sliding?

Swinging leaves are normally cheaper but need clear space to open into. Section 153 of the Highways Act 1980 says a gate opening on to a street must not be fitted so that it opens outwards (there is a narrow exception for some public buildings), so for a private drive beside the road, plan on swinging gates opening into the property.

A sliding gate avoids the swing problem but usually costs more, Checkatrade notes, because it often needs a track, drainage and extra groundwork. Less.co.uk prices a concrete track on its own at £300 to £600.

Finishes: galvanised, powder coated or both

When hollow sections are properly vented and drained for the bath, hot-dip galvanising coats their insides as well as the outside, which no paint brush can reach. A galvanised coating can protect steel for many decades, but how long depends on its thickness and the local air: Galvanizers Association figures for the UK and Ireland show zinc wearing away at quite different rates from place to place.

Colour comes from a powder coat baked over the zinc, and if that is chipped, the zinc beneath carries on protecting the steel and greatly cuts the risk of rust at the bare spot. As standard, our outdoor gates are hot-dip galvanised before any colour goes on.

On price, galvanised only is the cheapest finish up front. A powder coat adds to the bill, because the gate makes a second trip to a coating plant, but it gives you a colour and a longer life from the coating as a whole.

Electric driveway gates: what automation adds and the safety rules

Typical published figures for the add-ons:

• Motors. About £1,000 to £1,800 plus VAT for the motors alone (Checkatrade), or £1,500 to £3,000 for a full kit with controls and safety devices on existing swing gates (Less.co.uk). Underground motors cost the most (MyJobQuote).
• Power. About £300 to £800 to bring a supply to the gate (MyJobQuote and Less.co.uk).
• Intercom. From around £200 for a basic intercom to £2,000 for a video or smartphone system (MyJobQuote).
• Safety edges and photocells. About £200 to £400 (Less.co.uk).
• Upkeep. Servicing runs to roughly £100 to £200 a year (Less.co.uk), and power for the motor usually under £15 a year (Checkatrade).

Once it has a motor, a gate counts as a machine. The Health and Safety Executive says whoever builds a powered gate must meet the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 and supply a Declaration of Conformity and user instructions. HSE's powered gate basics add that the same applies when a manual gate is converted to run on a motor.

BS EN 12453 is one of the main standards used to assess powered-gate safety, including the hazards of a moving leaf and limits on its closing force. HSE warns that meeting the standard alone does not necessarily satisfy every essential requirement of the 2008 Regulations.

Gate Safe's advice for homeowners:

• Have a trained gate automation installer do the work, not a DIY kit or a general electrician.
• Fit at least two different types of safety device or feature, chosen and placed after a risk assessment for that particular gate.
• Have it serviced by a suitably trained installer at least every six months, and more often if use or conditions call for it. This is Gate Safe’s recommendation, not a legal interval for a private home.

HSE says workplace health and safety law does not place ongoing duties on a householder just for owning a powered gate, although anyone working on it is still bound by safety law. It recommends that domestic gates are checked regularly, and owners can still be liable if an unsafe gate causes harm or damage.

Our driveway gates are built with a motor in mind: posts that can take the extra load, fixing points on the frame, a rigid leaf and a ducted footing, so cable can be drawn in later without breaking the concrete out. If a motor is on your list, now or later, say so when you send your photo, and the quotation will set out exactly what it includes.

Planning and highway rules

Permitted development normally allows a gate up to 1 metre tall next to a highway used by traffic, or its footpath, and 2 metres elsewhere. An existing gate that is already taller can generally be maintained or altered, as long as the work does not make it any higher and none of the other exclusions applies.

The rights do not apply at a listed building or where your boundary adjoins one, and a council can withdraw them. In a conservation area, permission may be needed to demolish a gate, fence or wall that is 1 metre or more high beside a highway, waterway or open space, or 2 metres or more elsewhere. Article 4 directions and planning conditions can also remove the usual rights. Read the Planning Portal guidance and ask your council. Gate Safe says a motor needs no planning permission in itself, though it is still worth checking with the council.

If vehicles will cross the public pavement or verge to reach a new entrance, you normally need the highway authority’s permission for the dropped kerb or vehicle crossover, and sometimes planning permission too. In Westerham, Sevenoaks and Tonbridge that is Kent County Council, whose application fee was £500 in 2026; it says contractor prices for the kerb work vary from £1,000 to £2,500. Around Caterham, Oxted and Godstone it is Surrey County Council, whose fee was £383 (non-refundable) in 2026, and the crossover must be built by one of its approved contractors. A new access on to a classified A, B or C road needs planning permission as well.

How we price a made-to-measure gate

We have been making architectural metalwork for more than 32 years, and a gate from us comes with:

• one team that measures, makes and hangs it, so no second firm adds its own margin;
• a design drawn to your measured opening, sloping drives included;
• posts, frame and footing ready for a motor, so one can be added later without digging up the drive;
• a free survey, and a quotation that stays fixed unless you change the design.

1. Use the quote form to send three or four photos, one from a few steps back that takes in the whole opening, with a tape measurement across it, whether the drive slopes, whether you want a motor now or later, and your postcode, and we reply with a written estimate.
2. If that suits, our free site survey checks the true opening, the slope behind the gate, any piers, pipes or cables where the posts will go, and where the open leaves will rest.
3. Drawings follow, with a fixed quotation that holds unless the design is altered; any revision is confirmed in writing before cutting starts.
4. Each gate is cut and welded at our Westerham Hill workshop, sent out for galvanising and, if you choose a colour, powder coating, then brought to you and hung by our own team. A pair is normally hung, adjusted and latching by the end of one visit.

Where the gate hangs on new posts, setting them in concrete is part of our job. Electrics and making good are normally left to you or your builder, and the quotation lists what is in and what is out. When comparing firms, check each quote covers the same items.

Questions about gate prices

Why do the cost guides differ so much?

Some price the gate alone, some include posts and fitting, and Checkatrade leaves VAT out. Use them to judge scale, then get a price for your own opening.

Can I add a motor to my existing gates?

Often, if the gates and posts are strong enough; weak posts or a flexing leaf add cost. The same machinery rules apply as for a new powered gate. Send us a photo of the gates and posts. If they are not up to it, we can price a new gate built ready for a motor, or a steel post set tight against a weak pier.

Do driveway gates need planning permission?

Not usually, if the gate stands no taller than 1 metre beside a road or 2 metres elsewhere and the house is not listed. The planning section above covers the exceptions, including conservation areas and new entrances.

Do you charge to come and measure?

No. The survey is free, and you are under no obligation afterwards.

How long will the job take?

MyBuilder says fitting takes one to two days for a manual gate and up to a week for an automated one. A made-to-measure gate also needs some weeks in the workshop, plus galvanising and coating.

Steel driveway gates in Kent and Surrey

A picture of your opening and its rough width brings a written estimate within the working day. We make steel driveway gates, side gates and estate gates at our Westerham Hill workshop and hang them for homes across west Kent and east Surrey, from Westerham, Biggin Hill and Tatsfield to Oxted, Caterham, Sevenoaks and Tonbridge. You can see more on our gates page.

Ring 07861 936 888, answered at any hour, or send your photo through the quote form or to info@steelstairsandgates.co.uk.