How Much Does Crane Hire Cost?

The cost of crane hire depends on the crane the lift needs, how long it is on site and what has to happen around it. This guide explains each factor and what to send us for a fast quote.

Overview

What decides the cost of crane hire

How much crane hire costs depends on the crane the lift needs, how long it is on site and what has to happen around it. There is no single day rate, because the same crane can cost very different amounts on two jobs a mile apart. Below is what moves the price, and what to send us if you want a quote back quickly.

In short

The crane: the weight and the radius decide the size of crane, and bigger cranes cost more to bring and rig.
Time: a day, or several days, rigging and derigging included.
The site: access, ground conditions, set-up space and how far the crane stands from the load.
The crew: operator only, or an appointed person, slinger and signaller as well.
Extras: road closures, traffic management, out of hours working, escorts and ground protection.
The contract: crane hire or a contract lift.

We do not publish a price list, and a rate quoted with no lift behind it tells you very little about what your job will cost.

The crane

The crane the lift needs

The biggest single factor is the crane itself, and that comes from the weight of the load together with how far the hook has to reach. Capacity falls as the radius grows, so a modest load a long way out can need a far larger crane than people expect. Our guide What size crane do I need? explains how the crane is chosen.

Bigger cranes cost more for the machine itself, for the time it takes to rig and derig, and for the lorries that bring counterweight and boom sections. A crane that arrives ready to lift is one job. A crane that needs a morning and several loads of ballast before it picks anything up is another.

Some jobs carry one-off costs, and where they do, the first day of the hire normally carries them. Transport for ballast and counterweight, extra matting, specialist tackle: each has to be delivered and collected again, and that is usually shown on day one rather than spread across the hire.

How much ballast a crane needs varies by job. The same make and model can work on one job with the counterweight it carries and need extra loads on the next, which changes the price without changing the crane.

Crane type matters too. A spider crane, a pick and carry crane, a loader crane and an all-terrain crane are priced differently because they cost different amounts to own, move and operate. Types of crane compares them.

Liebherr LTM 1450-8.1 rigged beside the waste plant building — A large crane brings its counterweight and boom sections on separate lorries, and that time is part of the price.

Time on site

How long the crane is on site

We price crane hire by the day or by the week, and the day covers more than the lift itself. Rigging, derigging and any waiting time all sit inside the hire, which is why an hour on the hook is still a day on the job.

A single lift is a day, and it is worth lining up anything else that needs the crane while it is there.
A day also covers several lifts on the same site, a large crane that takes time to set up, or a job where the sequence depends on other trades.
Multi-day and weekly hire is quoted by the day or the week, with any one-off costs normally falling on the first day.

The cost most people could avoid is standing time: the crane is there and ready, and something else is not. A machine still bolted down, a delivery that has not turned up, a permit nobody chased. Get everything ready before the crane arrives and you pay for the lift instead of the wait.

Working hours

The working day, overtime and out of hours

A crane hire day normally starts at 08:00 and runs for eight hours on site for smaller mobile cranes, or ten hours for heavy cranes, with a half hour break on top. If the job runs beyond that, overtime is charged pro rata by the hour rather than as another full day.

Weekends, nights and public holidays attract a premium, because the crew are paid more for working them. It is often worth paying. Shutting a road or stopping a production line on a Tuesday afternoon usually costs you far more than the premium does.

The site

The same lift on two different sites is not the same job. What we look at:

Access: whether the crane and its support vehicles can get in, turn and leave. Narrow entrances, height restrictions and weight limits can force a larger or a more specialised crane.
Set-up space: a mobile crane needs room for its outriggers at full spread. Where there is not room, the crane works on a reduced spread and loses capacity, which can mean a bigger crane.
Ground conditions: outrigger loads are concentrated. Soft ground, basements, cellars, drains and service ducts may need mats, spreader plates or an engineered assessment. Weaker ground needs larger mats, and larger mats sometimes need a lorry of their own, so the same crane on the same lift can cost more on one site than another.
Distance from the load: the further the crane has to stand from what it is lifting, the more crane the lift takes.
What is overhead: power lines, buildings and trees change where the crane can stand and how the load is flown.

A site visit, or even a few decent photographs, usually saves money here. Without them we have to quote the crane that covers the worst case.

50m mobile tower crane set up beside a new school building in Whitley Bay — Where the crane can stand, and how far that is from the load, often decides the crane more than the weight does.

Hire or contract lift

Crane hire or a contract lift

A contract lift costs more than hiring the same crane for the same day, because the price includes the survey, the lift plan, the appointed person, the supervision, the slinger and signaller and the insurance for the lifting operation. Crane hire has the lower rate because you provide those things yourself.

Compare the total cost of getting the lift done safely. If you would have to buy in an appointed person, arrange slingers and extend your insurance, a contract lift is often cheaper as well as simpler. If you already have all of that, crane hire is better value. Our guide to crane hire or contract lift sets out who carries what.

Extras

What else can appear on a quotation

Depending on the lift, some or none of these apply:

Road closures and traffic management, including the notice period the council requires.
Out of hours, weekend or night working, usually to avoid disrupting a road, a shop or a production line.
Ground protection, such as mats or spreader plates, and any reinstatement afterwards.
Escorts and permits where the crane or the load is an abnormal load.
Extra crew: a lift usually needs the operator, a lift supervisor and a slinger and signaller, and some jobs need more, such as a second slinger at roof level to release the slings, or riggers to position the load.
Specialist lifting tackle: standard slings and shackles come with the job, but spreader beams, long or high capacity slings and purpose made lifting frames are an extra.
A site visit and lift planning on complex jobs.
Standby or abortive charges if the crane is held up or turned away on the day.

Every lift, whatever it costs, has to be planned and supervised under regulation 8 of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER), following the BS 7121 code of practice. Planning is not an optional extra to be taken off a quotation.

Getting a price

How to get an accurate price quickly

Most quotes stall because something simple is missing. Send us these and we can usually price the job the same day:

What you are lifting, with the weight and rough dimensions. If the weight is a guess, say so.
Where it is now and where it is going, including height and how far from where a crane could stand.
The site address, with photographs of the access and the lift area, or a site plan.
When you need it, and whether the date can move.
Whether you have an appointed person, which decides whether you need crane hire or a contract lift.

We quote in two ways. An indicative price helps you budget a project or price a tender before the details are settled. A firm price follows once we know the load, the site and the date, and that is the one to work to. We aim to come back the same working day either way.

If you are pricing a tender, be careful which service you budget for. A crane hire rate looks cheaper, but if you have no appointed person you will need a contract lift, and finding that out after the job is won is an unwelcome surprise. Ask for the service you will actually be able to use.

Detail also keeps the price down. With it we can quote the smallest crane that does the job safely, instead of the bigger one that covers everything we were not told.

Questions

Common questions

How much does crane hire cost?

It depends on the crane the lift needs, how long it is on site, the access and ground conditions, the crew and whether the job is crane hire or a contract lift. Send us the weight, the reach and some photographs of the site and we will price it properly rather than guess.

Is crane hire charged by the hour or the day?

By the day or by the week rather than by the hour, because rigging and derigging take time whatever the lift itself takes. Where a job carries one-off costs, such as extra transport or matting, those normally sit on the first day.

Does the price include the operator?

Yes. Crane hire includes a trained operator. It does not include an appointed person, a lift plan or a slinger and signaller, which you provide on crane hire and we provide on a contract lift.

Why is a contract lift more expensive?

Because it includes the planning, supervision, extra crew and insurance for the lifting operation. If you would have to buy those in, the total cost is often lower than crane hire.

What happens if the job overruns?

Overtime is charged pro rata for the hours worked beyond the hire, not as a second day. Weekend, night and public holiday working carries a premium rate.

Can I get a rough price for a budget?

Yes. We give indicative prices for budgeting and tendering, and a firm price once the load, site and date are settled. We aim to reply the same working day.

What makes crane hire more expensive than expected?

Usually reach rather than weight, restricted set-up space that forces a bigger crane, ground that needs protecting, road closures, or waiting time on the day.

Can you give a price over the phone?

For a simple, well described lift we can often give a good indication on the call. Anything with awkward access, poor ground or an unknown weight needs a proper look first, because a number given blind helps nobody.

Get a quote

Get a price for your lift

Call us on 0800 008 6096 or email office@synergy-lifting.co.uk. Tell us what you are lifting, where it has to go and what the site is like, and we will quote the right crane for the job.

Find out more about our crane hire and contract lifting and machine delivery and installation services.