How much does PPF cost in the UK in 2026?
PPF pricing varies more than almost any other automotive service in the UK — you can pay £600 for protection on the same car that someone else pays £9,000 for. The variance is mostly coverage (how much of the car), film brand (XPEL costs more than Hexis), install quality (computer-cut and seamlessly wrapped vs hand-cut on the car) and how much paint prep the car needs. The bands below are national, and they match the cost calculator: a hatchback in mid-tier film, anchored to published “from” prices where we have them. They are not a formal quote, and they are not a London or regional tariff.
These are national bands for a hatchback in mid-tier film, the same baseline as the cost calculator. Where the directory has a usable sample, the floor is a published “from” price (front-end median £1,495 across 93 prices, which the calculator shows as £1,500 after rounding to the nearest £50; full-body median £3,500 across 42 prices). Full-body floors in that sample sit soft against many shop menus, which often land higher once the car is larger than a hatchback and paint prep is on the job. Real quotes often run higher once paint prep, complexity and film choice are locked. This is not a formal quote. Track pack — £600 to £1,400. Covers leading edges only: front 18-24 inches of the bonnet, headlights, mirror caps, A-pillars and sometimes the leading edge of the front bumper. Cheapest option, protects the panels that catch 80 percent of stone chips. Front-end — £1,250 to £2,100. Full bonnet, full front bumper, full wings, full mirrors and headlights. The most popular package and the one most installers consider entry-level "proper" PPF. Partial — £1,800 to £3,500. Front end plus roof, A-pillars, door cups (the bit your hand grabs), rocker panels and rear arches. Full — £3,250 to £5,400. Every painted panel covered, edges wrapped where possible. Matt/stealth full — £3,750 to £6,200. Same coverage as full but the film converts gloss paint to satin finish.
| Coverage tier | National band | Panels included | Ideal buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Track pack | £600 – £1,400 | Bonnet leading edge, headlights, mirror caps, A-pillars | Budget-conscious, lease cars, leading-edge protection only |
| Front-end | £1,250 – £2,100 | Full bonnet, full front bumper, wings, mirrors, headlights | Most popular UK choice; daily-driver premium cars |
| Partial | £1,800 – £3,500 | Front-end plus roof, door cups, rockers, rear arches | 5-7 year keepers; deep colours; motorway commuters |
| Full body (gloss) | £3,250 – £5,400 | Every painted panel, edges wrapped where possible | Long-term keepers, £80k+ cars, resale-sensitive owners |
| Full body (matt / stealth) | £3,750 – £6,200 | Same as full plus gloss-to-satin colour conversion | Owners who want a stealth finish without a respray |
The headline cost driver after coverage is the film. XPEL Ultimate Plus is the UK market leader and the most expensive — expect a 15 to 25 percent premium over mid-tier films, but the install network is the largest and the warranty is rock-solid. SunTek Reaction is a strong second, slightly cheaper than XPEL with a longer 12-year warranty. STEK DYNOshield sits at a similar tier to XPEL with strong colour-shift options. LLumar Platinum and 3M Pro Series 200 are mid-tier — reliable, well-priced, slightly less self-healing performance. Hexis BODYFENCE is the value option — fine product, shorter warranty, suits budget-conscious owners. Generic unbranded film is sold by some shops at 30-40 percent off branded prices — avoid it: no warranty, often imported gloss-only stock that yellows in 2 years.
A Ford Fiesta needs less film than a Range Rover Sport. Pricing scales with surface area but not linearly — a big SUV is roughly 30-50 percent more film than a hatchback, but labour scales less. Complex panels (curved bonnets, scalloped sills, deep bumper recesses) add labour. Cars notorious for high install times: McLarens (every panel curves in three directions), Lamborghinis, Porsche 911 GT3 (the rear arches are punishing), Tesla Model X (the falcon-wing doors), Range Rovers (sheer surface area). Cars that are quick: hatchbacks, saloons with simple side profiles, anything with flat panels. Expect a 911 to cost 30 percent more than a Golf for the same coverage tier.
London and other high-overhead cities tend to quote higher. Workshop rent, the amount of paint prep, and the size of car being booked all push that way. A studio outside a city centre can come in lower for the same named film and the same panels. That is a tendency, not a measured discount. The price index behind the calculator is national: published prices from 132 installers, with no usable sample per city. Apparent gaps between regions in that data are differences in which services shops advertise, not a verified postcode premium, so this guide does not state a London, Manchester or Glasgow band. Use the national ranges above, then compare two or three written quotes on the same panel list and the same film. A low menu price is still a poor buy if the edge wrap and the warranty are not there. City pages — /installers/in/london, /installers/in/manchester, /installers/in/birmingham — list the studios. They do not list a regional tariff.
A proper quote should include: paint inspection and decontamination, computer-cut or hand-trimmed film install, edge wrapping where possible, post-install cure period, and the manufacturer warranty registration. What may not be included: paint correction (single-stage £300-£500, two-stage £500-£800), ceramic coating over the top (£400-£1,000 added), removal of existing badges or trim (£50-£200), respraying minor chips before fitting (£150-£500 per panel). Ask explicitly what is included. A £1,400 "front-end PPF" quote that does not include paint correction may end up at £2,000 once you ask for it.
For a new car kept 5 years, full front-end PPF (£1,800) prevents stone-chip damage that would otherwise show as 8-15 visible chips on the bonnet alone. A bonnet respray to remove those chips runs £600-£1,200 at a paint shop, and a pre-resale touch-up to fix the front bumper is another £300-£600. Plus the resale value bump for "PPF protected from new" is roughly £500-£1,500 on a premium car. So front-end PPF effectively pays for itself if you keep the car beyond 4 years and intend to sell privately. Full-body PPF is harder to justify on resale alone — it is more of a "love the car" decision than pure economics, and the maths only really works on £80k+ vehicles.
Be wary of: quotes 40 percent below local average (usually unbranded film or cut corners on prep), shops that cannot tell you which specific film product they use, no manufacturer warranty registration, no edge-wrap on full installs (cheap shops cut to the panel edge rather than tucking under), no post-install cure recommendation, fitting in a dusty workshop rather than a clean booth. A genuine £6,000 full-body install is being undercut by a £3,500 install only because the cheap install is using inferior film, skipping prep, or fitting in conditions that will see the film fail in 2-3 years.
Reader questions, answered straight.
Why do quotes vary so much for the same car?
Three reasons. First, film brand — XPEL Ultimate Plus costs the installer roughly 25 percent more per square metre than entry-level Hexis. Second, coverage — "front-end" means different things at different shops (some include just the bonnet and bumper, others include wings and mirrors). Third, install quality — a shop that takes 8 hours to do a bonnet with seamless edges will charge more than a shop that does it in 4 with cut edges. Always ask for the specific film product, the exact panel list, and whether edges are wrapped or cut.
Is there a "right" amount to spend on PPF?
Rule of thumb: front-end PPF on any car worth £25k+ is sensible. Partial PPF on £50k+ starts to make sense. Full-body PPF on £80k+ is reasonable, on £150k+ it is almost expected. Spending £5,000 on PPF for a £25k car is over-investment — you will not recover it at resale. Spending £600 on a track pack for a 911 GT3 is under-investment — the bonnet will still be chipped to bits in 18 months.
Are mobile installs cheaper than studio installs?
Yes, typically 15-25 percent cheaper because the installer has lower overheads. The trade-off is environment — mobile installs done in your driveway are subject to wind, dust and pollen, and the adhesive cure is harder to control. For track pack and front-end work, mobile is fine if the installer brings a portable booth. For full-body, always go to a studio. See our mobile vs studio PPF guide for the detailed call.
Can I save money by buying the film and getting it fitted?
No — and it usually costs more. Brand-certified installers buy directly from the brand at trade prices and pass some saving on. Buying retail and bringing your own film is rarely allowed by certified installers (it voids the warranty registration), and any installer who will fit your supplied film is, by definition, not certified. The total cost is usually higher and you lose the warranty.
Is PPF a fixed price or do installers negotiate?
There is some flex, especially on full-body and partial work where the installer’s margin is bigger. It is reasonable to ask: "what would the price be if I added a ceramic coating?" or "what would the price be if I committed today?" — most installers will move 5-10 percent on a confirmed booking. Hard negotiating below that risks the installer cutting corners. The best deals come from booking quiet periods (January-February) rather than from haggling.
Does PPF cost more on EVs?
Slightly. EVs are heavier, often have larger panels (Tesla Model S/X, Polestar 2, BMW iX) and the absence of a grille means more painted real estate at the front. Expect 5-10 percent more film and labour than an equivalent ICE car. EVs also chip paint faster (heavier kinetic energy on impacts), so the protection case is stronger.
Why can the same install cost less outside London?
Overhead and the cars being booked, more than a difference in the film. London workshops tend to carry higher rent, and the jobs booked there are often larger cars with more paint prep, so quotes trend higher. The same named film, on the same panels, can cost less an hour or two outside the city. We do not put a pound figure on that gap: the published-price index is national, and it does not support a London, Manchester or Glasgow band. Compare written quotes on the panel list and the film name. For a multi-day full-body install you are arranging the car’s time either way, so the postcode is one factor among prep, film and how the edges are wrapped.
Studios in the main cities.
Verified UK installers, with photos, reviews and brand certifications on each profile.
Last updated by Seven Marketing editorial · Pricing data from 453 verified UK installers
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