A GPR survey in the UK is usually priced by the day, and published figures put the range broadly between £500 and £10,000 a day, according to Lucion Group. The reason the spread is so wide is that the day rate reflects the size and complexity of the site rather than a fixed catalogue price. Lucion illustrates this well: a simple, open site such as a playing field might cost in the region of £500 to £700, while a large and complex site, such as an industrial estate or a hospital with a dense network of buried services, can run up to £10,000. The right figure for your project depends on what you are scanning, how much of it there is and how congested it is, so a fixed quote against a clear brief is far more reliable than any headline day rate.
That figure is a third-party price quoted here for context, not our own rate. What it shows is the shape of the market: a low entry point for a small, simple scan, rising into four or five figures as area, congestion and complexity grow. Understanding what moves the price lets you brief a survey sensibly and compare quotes on a like-for-like basis.
What a GPR survey is paying for
Ground penetrating radar sends pulses of radio-frequency energy into concrete or the ground and reads the signals that reflect back, building a picture of what lies beneath without breaking in. The same method is used in two quite different settings, and both feed into how a job is priced.
In the ground, GPR locates buried services, especially non-metallic ones such as plastic pipes, ducts and fibre, as well as voids and disturbed ground. On concrete, it locates reinforcement, embedded conduits and post-tension cables before coring or cutting. A survey pays for the surveyor’s time on site, the equipment, the interpretation of the data, and the deliverable, whether that is markings applied directly to a surface or a coded drawing.
What drives the price
Several factors do most of the work in setting a GPR survey fee.
| Factor | Effect on cost |
|---|---|
| Site size and area | Larger areas take more time to scan and interpret, so cost rises with extent |
| Site complexity | A congested site with dense services or reinforcement takes longer to survey and read |
| Depth and detail required | A deeper or higher-resolution survey needs the right antenna and more careful work |
| Access and conditions | Restricted hours, live traffic, occupied buildings and permits all add time |
| Deliverables | On-site markings are quicker than a full coded CAD drawing to a set standard |
Site size and complexity
The area to be scanned and how much is buried within it are the biggest drivers. An open field with little beneath it is quick; a hospital or industrial site with a vast network of services, or a heavily reinforced slab, takes far longer to survey thoroughly and to interpret. Complexity, not just size, is what fills the days and moves the price.
Depth and detail
Understanding the depth of survey needed for a project takes expert judgement, and it affects the cost. GPR involves a trade-off between depth and resolution: a lower-frequency antenna reaches deeper but resolves less fine detail, while a higher-frequency antenna gives crisp detail near the surface but less depth. Matching the equipment and method to what the job actually needs is part of what you are paying for.
Access, conditions and deliverables
Where and how the work has to be done feeds into the fee. Live carriageways need traffic management, occupied buildings need careful scheduling, and restricted access hours slow the work down. The output specification matters too: marking findings directly on a surface for a coring crew is quicker than producing a coded CAD drawing with a method statement to a specific standard.
Why GPR is rarely priced alone
For underground utilities, GPR is not used in isolation. It is paired with electromagnetic location, which finds the metallic and conductive services that radar can miss, so the two methods together give far more complete coverage. That combined approach is the basis of a PAS 128 utility survey, and it means a “GPR survey” for utilities is usually part of a broader detection survey rather than a standalone line item. On concrete, GPR is similarly combined with electromagnetic techniques where needed to distinguish reinforcement from services. When you compare quotes, check what methods and deliverables are included, not just the day rate.
Why a fixed quote beats a day rate
A bare day rate tells you very little about what your survey will actually cost, because it does not know your site or how many days it will take. A fixed quote against a clear brief is more useful in every way: you know the number before work starts, the provider has committed to the scope, and you can compare firms like for like.
To get an accurate quote, give the surveyor as much as you can up front: the site address and approximate area, whether you are scanning ground or concrete, the depth and detail you need, the access constraints and the deliverable required. The clearer the brief, the tighter and more reliable the price.
Common questions
How much does a GPR survey cost in the UK?
Published figures put GPR surveys broadly in the range of £500 to £10,000 a day, according to Lucion Group, with a simple open site costing around £500 to £700 and a large, complex site running up to £10,000. Your actual cost depends on the site size, complexity, the depth and detail required, access and the deliverables, so a fixed quote against your brief is the reliable figure.
Why is GPR priced per day rather than a fixed rate?
Because the work varies so much with the site. The time needed depends on the area, how congested it is, the depth of survey required and the access conditions, none of which a fixed catalogue price can capture. A day-rate structure lets the price reflect the actual job, and a provider can still give a fixed quote once the scope is clear.
Does scanning concrete cost the same as scanning the ground?
Not necessarily. Both use ground penetrating radar, but the scope differs: locating reinforcement and services around core positions on a slab is a different task from mapping buried utilities across a site. Concrete scanning is often priced by the number of positions or the floor area, while a utility survey is priced by site area and complexity. Tell the surveyor which you need so the quote reflects it.
Is GPR used on its own for a utility survey?
Rarely. For buried services, GPR is paired with electromagnetic location so that both non-metallic and metallic services are covered, because each method finds things the other misses. A utility survey combining the two, delivered to PAS 128, gives far more complete coverage than radar alone, which is why the cost usually reflects a combined survey.
The reliable next step is a quote against your actual site rather than a guess from a headline figure. For buried services, our utility surveys combine GPR and electromagnetic detection to PAS 128, and for slabs and structures our concrete scanning locates reinforcement and services before you core or cut. For the method itself, see our guide on what a GPR survey is, and to choose the right utility confidence level, our guide on PAS 128 survey quality levels explained.