How much does a square baler cost in the UK?
Twelve real UK listings — and what it means when one dealer group advertises the same baler at four different prices.
An older conventional small square baler — a Jones, a New Holland 940, a Welger — runs roughly £1,695 to £4,650. A current-generation small square baler such as a Massey Ferguson 1840 or a Lely AP830 runs roughly £13,000 to £17,500.
Not one of the twelve listings states a VAT position, and most do not state a year either. These are advertised asking prices.
UK square baler prices, cheapest first
Twelve live UK listings retrieved on 28 October 2026. Sorted by price, with each row naming its source and reproducing what the advert actually said — including where it said nothing about the year.
| Machine as listed | Asking price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| New Holland 940 small square baler, pick-up width 1.58m, year not stated | £1,695 VAT not stated | classified.fwi.co.uk |
| Jones Mk18 small square baler, pick-up width 1.70m, bale 16in x 18in, year not stated | £1,850 VAT not stated | classified.fwi.co.uk |
| Deutz-Fahr HD440 small square baler, 1985, pick-up width 1.65m | £1,950 VAT not stated | classified.fwi.co.uk |
| Massey Ferguson 124 conventional (small square) baler, dealer stock | £3,500.00 VAT not stated | farmads.co.uk |
| Welger AP83 small square baler, 1984, pick-up width 2.00m, bale 49in x 36in | £4,650 VAT not stated | classified.fwi.co.uk |
| Massey Ferguson 1839 conventional baler, private sale, year not stated | £13,000.00 VAT not stated | farmads.co.uk |
| Lely (Welger) AP830 baler, private sale, year not stated | £15,750.00 VAT not stated | farmads.co.uk |
| Massey Ferguson 1840 small square baler (ref TC002838), dealer stock, year not stated | £15,850.00 VAT not stated | farmads.co.uk |
| Massey Ferguson 1840 small square baler (ref TB004194), dealer stock, year not stated | £17,000.00 VAT not stated | farmads.co.uk |
| Massey Ferguson 1840 conventional baler (ref T2040568), 2025 model, dealer stock | £17,500.00 VAT not stated | farmads.co.uk |
| Massey Ferguson 1840 baler, condition stated 'Good', dealer stock, year not stated | £17,500.00 VAT not stated | farmads.co.uk |
| Massey Ferguson 1840 small square baler (ref MA005459/MA005457/MA005458), dealer stock, year not stated | £29,500.00 VAT not stated | farmads.co.uk |
Sources named per row: classified.fwi.co.uk and farmads.co.uk, retrieved 28 October 2026. Asking prices, not sold prices. None of these listings states a VAT position. The £29,500 entry carries three stock references and should not be read as the price of a single machine.
The same baler, at the same dealer group, priced four ways
Four of the twelve listings are a Massey Ferguson 1840 small square baler from the same dealer group. They are advertised at £15,850, £17,000, £17,500 and £29,500.
None of those four adverts states a year. None states an hours or bale-count figure. The only thing that distinguishes them in the listing is the stock reference.
And the £29,500 one is not a single machine. It carries three stock references at once, so it is almost certainly a multi-unit entry. We have left it in the table because it is a real listing, but it would be wrong to quote it as what one 1840 costs — so we do not.
Read against each other, the three single-reference 1840s span £15,850 to £17,500, a spread of about 10% on a machine with no stated difference in age or use. One of the £17,500 adverts does say it is a 2025 model, and one says only that the condition is “Good”.
The practical consequence is that on this asset class you cannot shop on the advert. The price is a starting position set by a branch, and two machines at the same money can be years apart in condition.
What year is it, and how many bales has it done? Has the knotter been serviced, and when — it is the part that costs money and ruins harvests. Is the pick-up in good order, and are the bale chamber and plunger wear items within tolerance? On a machine advertised with no year and no hours, every one of those answers is a price negotiation.
The costs that are not in the asking price
- The knotter. The single most expensive thing that goes wrong on a conventional baler, and the one thing none of these adverts mentions. Ask when it was last serviced and by whom.
- Twine, and a lot of it. A consumable that scales directly with bale count and is a real line in a contracting budget.
- A tractor that suits it. The older machines in this table were built for lower-horsepower tractors; a current 1840 wants meaningfully more at the PTO. If your tractor is marginal, the baler is not the whole purchase.
- VAT, unstated. Not one of these twelve listings says whether VAT applies. At 20% a £17,500 baler is £3,500 more than it looks. Confirm it in writing before you budget.
- Seasonality. This is equipment that earns in a short window. Financing it over the years it will work, rather than paying for it out of one season’s cash, is the usual reason people spread it.
What would it cost a month?
Put the price in ex VAT if you can confirm it, since that is what a funder normally advances. The calculator quotes a flat rate with the equivalent APR beside it.
Prime is an established, profitable business with clean credit. Specialist covers newer businesses and credit that needs explaining — the asset itself carries part of the risk, which is why finance is often available where an unsecured loan is not.
Representative example: on Hire Purchase, borrowing £17,500 over 48 months at a 5.15% flat rate (equivalent to 9.9% APR representative), you would repay around £440 a month; total amount repayable approximately £21,105, of which £3,605 is the cost of finance. This calculator is for illustration only — it is not a quote or an offer of finance, and the rate and repayments you are offered will depend on the asset, term, deposit and your circumstances. CW Asset Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and will receive a commission from the lender that funds your agreement. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
Rates shown are indicative flat rates with the equivalent APR alongside — the two are not the same number. Indicative only and does not constitute a quote or an offer of finance. Subject to status and lender approval.
Common questions
How much does a square baler cost in the UK?
From 12 live UK listings retrieved in October 2026, an older conventional small square baler runs roughly £1,695 to £4,650 — a New Holland 940 at £1,695, a Jones Mk18 at £1,850, a 1985 Deutz-Fahr HD440 at £1,950 and a 1984 Welger AP83 at £4,650. A current-generation small square baler runs roughly £13,000 to £17,500, with a Massey Ferguson 1839 at £13,000 and a Lely AP830 at £15,750. These are advertised asking prices, not sold prices, and none of the listings states a VAT position.
Why is the same baler advertised at four different prices?
We found four Massey Ferguson 1840 small square balers from the same dealer group advertised at £15,850, £17,000, £17,500 and £29,500, and not one of the four adverts states a year or a bale count. The dearest of the four carries three separate stock references, so it is very likely a multi-unit listing rather than one machine, which is why we do not quote it as a single-baler price. The three that are clearly one machine each span about 10%. The honest reading is that on this asset class the asking price reflects the branch and the advert rather than any stated difference in the machine, so condition has to be established by inspection.
Does this cover big square balers?
No, deliberately. Every figure on this page is a conventional or small square baler, because that is what the twelve UK listings we found actually were. Big square balers are a separate and considerably dearer market, and we would rather say the sample does not support a range than publish a guess. If you are pricing a big baler, the calculator on this page still works — put your own quoted figure in — and the finance terms are the same.
Do square baler prices include VAT?
None of the twelve listings we checked states a VAT position either way, which is unusual enough to be worth flagging. Assume VAT is payable on top unless the seller confirms otherwise: at 20% that makes a £17,500 baler £3,500 dearer than the advert suggests. On a finance agreement the funder normally advances the ex-VAT price while the VAT falls due separately and up front, so it sits alongside your deposit rather than spreading across the term. A VAT-registered farm reclaims it on the next return.
Where to next
- Square baler finance — terms, deposits and the lender panel for this asset.
- How much does a combine harvester cost? — where class, not age, sets the price.
- How much does a tractor cost? — the machine on the front of it.
- Farm and rural finance — the main page, with the agricultural lender panel.
CW Asset Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and will receive a commission from the lender that funds your agreement. Prices on this page are third-party published asking and list prices, attributed to their sources and correct at the date of retrieval; they are indicative, are not sold prices, and are not a quote or an offer of finance. VAT basis is stated per row because the sources differ. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval. Tax and VAT treatment depends on your circumstances and is a matter for your accountant.
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