How much do Barbers earn (average for the UK)
How much do Barbers earn (average for the UK) is a good question.
Here’s how it works.
From my experience of writing this in March 2025. Up until today, we employed all of our Barbers.
We would hire some straight from our own Barber School (without qualifications). We would hire Barbers from different cities.
But we would always hire them. How much our barbers would earn was around £2,300 in their bank after tax.
They have the option for overtime once they’re busy, and we gave them £20 for every haircut they did in overtime. If the Barber did just 10 extra haircuts per week, they would see an extra £800 on top of their base salary.
They would also receive holiday pay in addition to this, which is unheard of in our industry.
Before I left NOTJUST Barbers, we offered the Barbers the chance to go self-employed after 12 months. The 12-month employed period gave the Barbers enough time to get established, so they could confidently switch to self-employment if and when they felt comfortable.
With the switch to self-employed, the Barbers would earn around £3,300.
Nice jump, but then they pay their own taxes and have no holiday pay.
But they have full control of their schedule. When they work, when they don’t.
Some Barbers would see around £400/m in tips too.
Overtime pay is non-existent in self-employed situations.
If you want to earn more, you cut more clients.
As a business owner, however, this can vary significantly.
I was 50% owner of NOTJUST and saw an average of around £4,500 per month on a normal month.
If you own the shop 100%, you’ll see more than that, of course.
There were some months when I saw almost £15,000 because the NOTJUST Barber Academy (now CUTTING CLUB) would be busy.
There was a year when I did almost £90,000.
But that’s because I owned the shop, all the Barbers were fully booked, and we had the Academy busy too.
Like most things in life, it mostly comes down to you. If you want to earn more, you have to do more work.
I’d say the average Barber (in the UK) earns around £2,700 per month.
They’re not mind-blowing figures, but they're a good start.
To earn more, it comes down to cutting more clients, increasing your prices, and offering additional services and products.
I know Barbers who earn more.
I know Barbers who earn less.
I’ve helped people who had never done any Barbering before and helped them start earning £2,500 per month just months after finishing my Barber school. (CUTTING CLUB)
There are always factors in play.
The things that will impact how much the average Barber earns:
You might want to be a mobile Barber from day one. It’s normal to charge anywhere from £30 to £50 for a mobile Barber service. Of course, there are people who charge significantly more than this as well. I’m wanting to keep things modest for you here.
However, earning £30 or £50 per hour is a very good income. You just have to get the clients who will pay.
Another way that will impact how much the average Barber earns:
You might be happy to become a junior Barber simply because you want to learn, you understand there's a process to becoming a Barber, and you’re happy to work your way up.
This is a great start if you’re young, you have time, and no real responsibilities.
To try to answer the question: How much do Barbers earn (average for the UK) is quite difficult due to the many variables.
But I would happily and confidently say that the average Barber earns around £2,700 per month.
Your salary can be sky high, though
Imagine this scenario:
You own the Barbershop 100%.
You cut clients and make £7,000 per month.
However, you also have four barbers working in your shop, and you have the standard 50/50 split with them.
They’re also earning £7,000 per month, but you take 50% of each of theirs.
Now the numbers look different:
You £7,000 + £3,500 + £3,500 + £3,500 + £3,500 = £21,000 per month.
Of course, you have overheads to pay.
There are 3 levels of tax to pay.
VAT, Corporation tax, and income tax.
After all overheads and taxes are paid, you can expect to receive about 50% of that figure.
However, you can see how learning to become a Barber, and if you want to open a shop, can be very lucrative.
1 shop alone can be enough to set you up for life, if done right.
For me, I didn’t like the hiring and the firing process.
I also didn’t want to have a business partner in that particular business model anymore.
I found a much deeper purpose in helping others become barbers, opening their own shops, or establishing their own academies, as well as helping them go travelling.
I’m very lifestyle-focused. Always have been.
I was always happy to earn less because I didn’t want to do overtime. I didn’t want to squeeze people in. I love going on holiday every month.
I built that shop to support my lifestyle. And I happily took a pay cut for it because I was living exactly as I wanted.
How much do Barbers earn is an important question, but what’s a more important question is:
Why do you want to become a Barber?
Once you know that, how much you earn on average as a Barber in the UK is secondary.
The fact is, if you get into Barbering for money, you’re getting into it for the wrong reasons. Yes, you can make a very good income from it, but there are many expenses associated with it.
I’ve sat there with people who say: “I just want to earn more money so I can retire and support my family”
Which is their choice if they have no other option.
I don’t think opening more shops solely to earn more will ever bring someone true happiness.
The fact that they’re opening shops as a retirement strategy suggests that they don’t enjoy it and can’t wait to make it a passive income.
I’ve witnessed this first-hand.
So, when it comes to the question “how much do Barbers earn (on average for the UK).
My truest answer is:
It varies.
As a stand-alone Barber, I think £2,700 on average is a good number.
If you want to earn £10,000 or more per month, you need your own shop.
But, if you’re doing it solely for money, I'd say switch careers because owning a shop just for money probably isn't worth the hassle.
A good route to earning more money as a Barber is to have a studio space with minimal overheads and no business rates, and figure out how to keep raising your prices over time by building demand.
I know Barbers who earn £60,000+ per year from their one-person studio with a £ 400 per month rent.
It’s not difficult to earn a good living as a Barber.
If you want to get started, you can download my free How to Skin Fade training here
Nathshapes