What does an electrician cost in South Africa?
Last reviewed: 17 September 2026 · We review and update this guide regularly to keep prices current.
There is no fixed price for electrical work in South Africa — rates are set by each business. The figures below come from published sources, so you have a benchmark before you ask for a quote.
Published rates
Procompare tracks the quotes people receive from local electricians each year, and Completo publishes ranges from contractors on its platform. Their figures: Procompare electrician prices and Completo's 2026 electrician cost guide.
| What you pay for | Published range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly rate | R400 – R800 (average about R600) | Procompare quote tracking |
| Hourly rate (contractor survey) | R450 – R900 | Completo 2026 contractor pricing |
| Emergency call-out fee | R600 – R900 | Procompare quote tracking |
| Electrical COC inspection | R900 – R1,900 | Procompare quote tracking |
| COC inspection (wider range) | R850 – R2,500 | Completo 2026 contractor pricing |
Rates generally exclude materials and replacement parts. After-hours, weekend and public-holiday work is commonly billed at 1.5–2× the standard rate.
What pushes the price up
- After-hours and emergencies. Evening, weekend and public-holiday call-outs attract premium rates — published call-out fees rise to R600–R900 or more.
- Distance. Travel is often billed from the business's base, so an electrician far from your suburb costs more to reach you.
- Access and condition. Old wiring, brittle DB boards and chasing into walls add hours and materials.
- Parts. Breakers, cabling, light fittings and plug points are billed on top of labour.
Before you accept a quote
- Ask whether the call-out fee is included in the first hour or charged separately.
- Ask for labour and materials to be itemised on the quote.
- Only a person with a valid wireman's licence (issued by the Department of Employment and Labour) can legally issue an Electrical Certificate of Compliance — ask for it.
- Get the quote in writing before any work begins.
- For bigger jobs like rewiring or a DB board replacement, compare two or three quotes.
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