What Do Office Plants Actually Cost? A Transparent UK Pricing Guide

Ask most commercial plant companies what office plants cost and you will not get a number. You will get a site visit, a proposal, and a quote built around a 3 or 5 year maintenance contract. Published pricing is rare in this industry.

We think that makes it unnecessarily hard to budget. So here are the actual numbers — both for the traditional hire model and for buying outright from us.

The two ways to pay for office plants

1. Plant hire (rental) with a maintenance contract. The contractor supplies plants and planters, visits every 3–4 weeks to water and replace failures, and charges a weekly or monthly fee per plant. Contracts typically run 12 months to 5 years, often with a 3-month notice period and auto-renewal.

2. Buying outright. You own the plants and planters from day one. There is no ongoing fee. You water them (or add optional care services), and a failed plant is replaced under guarantee or protection cover rather than a contract.

Both models have their place — we provide ongoing care for a number of our own commercial clients. The difference we care about is that ongoing service should be a choice, not a condition of having plants.

What plant hire typically costs in the UK

Published UK trade pricing puts rental for a large office plant (around 180cm) at roughly £3.70–£5.50 per plant per week, with medium plants at £3.15–£4.15 and desk plants around £1–£1.30. Maintenance visits and replacements are included.

That sounds small until you multiply it out:

• One large plant: £192–£286 per year, or £577–£858 over a 3-year term
• Five large plants (a typical small office): £2,900–£4,300 over 3 years
• Ten large plants (a typical medium office): £5,800–£8,600 over 3 years

At the end of the term, the plants and planters are usually collected — under a hire agreement they were never yours to keep.

What buying outright costs at Plant Drop

Our prices are on every product page, but as a guide for office-scale specimens (180–200cm, the size that suits typical 2.6–3m office ceilings):

• Kentia palm, 180–200cm — £295
• Branched corn tree (Dracaena), 150–170cm — £345
• Mature olive tree, 180–220cm — £395
• Rubber bush, 180–200cm — £495
• Fiddle-leaf fig tree, 170–180cm — £595

Or as ready-curated office collections, plants and planters included:

• 5-piece collection (small office, 10–20 people) — £1,495 one-off
• 10-piece collection (medium office, 20–50 people) — £2,995 one-off

No installation charges either

Hire quotes often present “design and installation included” as part of the value. When you buy from us there is simply nothing to install: plants arrive in their nursery grow pots, which sit directly inside your decorative planters — lift in, and the scheme is done. Keeping plants in grow pots is also better for them: drainage stays perfect and repotting is easy.

If you prefer a permanent soil-planted finish, our Professional Planting Finish (£50–£195 per plant by size) means everything arrives potted and dressed.

The 3-year comparison

Small office, 5 large plants: hire £2,900–£4,300 over 3 years, with the scheme collected at the end — or £1,495 once, and it is yours. Typical saving: £1,400–£2,800.

Medium office, 10 plants: hire £5,800–£8,600 over 3 years — or £2,995 once. Typical saving: £2,800–£5,600.

Hire does include maintenance, so the fair question is: what does looking after the plants yourself really involve?

What about maintenance?

The plants we recommend for offices — kentia palms, dracaena, rubber plants, ZZ plants, snake plants — are chosen because they forgive inconsistent care. A five-plant office needs about ten minutes of watering a week, and every plant comes with plain-English care guidance plus lifetime advice from our horticultural team.

If you want cover beyond our 30-day guarantee, our Plant Protection plan replaces a failed plant for a one-off fee of around 20% of the plant's value per year of cover — for a £295 kentia, that is about £59 a year, versus £192–£286 a year to rent one.

And if you would rather not think about the plants at all, we do offer ongoing care for commercial clients — the point is simply that it is optional, and priced separately, rather than bundled into a multi-year term. Need help planning the space first? Our Interior Plant Consultation & Plant Plan starts at £250.

Frequently asked questions

Do office plants require a maintenance contract?

No. Most commercial suppliers require a 3–5 year hire contract, but it is not the only way. Plant Drop supplies office plants outright — you own them, there is no contract and no monthly fee, and care services are optional.

How much do office plants cost for a small office?

Buying outright: around £1,495 for a curated 5-piece collection including planters, or £155–£595 per statement plant. Renting: typically £2,900–£4,300 over a 3-year contract for five large plants.

Is it cheaper to buy or rent office plants?

Over any contract term, buying is usually significantly cheaper — typically less than half the 3-year cost of renting — and you own the plants at the end. Renting includes maintenance visits, which suits offices that want zero involvement.

Do you deliver and install office plants?

Yes. Plants arrive ready-planted; in London we hand-deliver with our own team, elsewhere in mainland UK we use a specialist plant courier. Add the Professional Planting Finish and everything arrives potted in your chosen planters.

What happens if a plant dies?

Every plant carries our 30-day replacement guarantee, and the optional Plant Protection plan extends cover for 1–3 years at roughly 20% of the plant's value per year.

The bottom line

Some offices genuinely want a fully hands-off service, and ongoing care — from us or anyone else — is worth paying for in that case. But for most small and medium offices, buying well-chosen, easy-care statement plants outright costs less than half as much over three years, involves no installation, and the plants are yours.

Want to see the work first? Recent projects include office planting at The Shard, a zoned open-plan office on the South Bank and five floors at St Paul's House — or browse all office projects and hospitality projects.

Plant Drop For Work — or send us a business enquiry and we will price your space transparently, with or without ongoing care.