How much does a cherry picker cost in the UK?
From £700 to £54,500 — because "cherry picker" covers machines with almost nothing in common. Plus the two running costs this asset carries that others do not.
Anywhere from £700 to £54,500, excluding VAT — a 78-fold spread, because "cherry picker" covers a push-around mast lift and a 38 metre diesel boom alike.
A used electric scissor is £2,750 to £6,500. A used self-propelled boom is £6,950 to £26,853. Those two bands are the best evidenced and cover most buyers.
Prices by platform type
From UK dealer stock in October 2026. All excluding VAT. Listing counts are shown because the evidence is genuinely uneven across these bands.
| Type and working height | Rough range (ex VAT) | Listings | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Push-around / mast lift, 4.5 – 9.9m | £700 – £2,650 | 14 | Indoor work. The cheap end people overlook. |
| Used electric scissor, 7.8 – 11.9m | £2,750 – £6,500 | 12 | Well evidenced across two dealers. |
| Used self-propelled boom, 10 – 21m | £6,950 – £26,853 | 17 | The best-sampled band here. |
| Used rough-terrain diesel scissor, 14 – 22m | £10,875 – £17,730 | 4 | Thin sample. |
| Used large diesel boom, 24 – 38m, and spider lifts | £29,250 – £54,500 | 10 | |
| New trailer-mounted, 12.2 – 21m | £16,840 – £69,850 | 13 | From a full published UK price list. |
Sources: JMS Powered Access, Compass Access, Platform Supermarket, Milo Access Platforms and Griffiths Hire Shops, retrieved 10 October 2026. Asking prices, not sold prices. Van-mounted platforms are deliberately absent from this table — see below.
The cheapest option is the one nobody searches for
Almost everyone pricing a "cherry picker" has a boom lift in mind. But 14 UK listings put push-around and mast lifts at £700 to £2,650 for working heights of 4.5 to 9.9 metres.
They are pushed into position rather than driven, so they are slower across a big site. For indoor maintenance, retail fit-out, warehousing and similar work at under ten metres, that difference does not matter — and the price difference very much does.
Work out your actual maximum working height and whether the machine needs to travel under its own power. If the honest answers are "under ten metres" and "no", you may be about to buy a machine ten times more expensive than the job needs.
Ten machines, as listed
| Machine | Year | Hours | Height | Price (ex VAT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skyjack SJ3219 electric scissor | 2011 | 240 hrs | 7.8m | £2,750 |
| Skyjack SJ3219 electric scissor | 2017 | 200 hrs | 7.8m | £3,850 |
| Genie GS1932 E-Drive scissor | 2021 | 80 hrs | 7.8m | £6,250 |
| Skyjack SJ4632 electric scissor | 2019 | 172 hrs | 11.75m | £6,500 |
| Genie Z45/25 bi-energy boom | 1999 | 1,030 hrs | 15.87m | £6,950 |
| Skyjack SJ6832 RT diesel scissor | — | — | — | £11,990 |
| Niftylift 120T trailer-mount | — | — | 12.33m | £12,500 |
| Niftylift HR12 4x4 boom | 2019 | — | 12.1m | £14,950 |
| Niftylift HR21 Hybrid boom | 2017 | — | 20.8m | £17,995 |
| Genie Z80/60 diesel boom | 2014 | — | 24.4m | £40,295 |
The two Skyjack SJ3219 scissors are worth a look side by side: same model, six years apart, and £2,750 against £3,850. Both have low hours, which is typical of this asset — access platforms often spend more time parked than working, so hours alone tell you less here than they would on a digger.
Van-mounted platforms: one price is not a range
We found exactly one priced UK listing for a van-mounted platform, so we are not going to publish a band and pretend otherwise.
For the record: a 2020 Versalift VTL135-F with a 13.5 metre working height on a Ford Transit 350, listed at £63,750 plus VAT, van and platform together. One dealer’s asking price is not a market, and van-mounts vary hugely with the base vehicle underneath. Treat it as a single data point. If you are pricing one seriously, get two or three quotes.
The same caution applies to used trailer-mounted platforms, where we found only two priced examples. New trailer-mounts are better evidenced because one UK supplier publishes a full price list.
Two running costs this machine carries that others do not
Because a MEWP lifts people rather than loads, it sits under stricter rules than most plant.
- A thorough examination every six months, not twelve. That is the shorter LOLER interval, and it applies for the life of the machine. One UK provider’s indicative guide puts a MEWP examination at roughly £50 to £100 — a published guide rather than a quote, so get your own.
- IPAF operator training. Roughly £150 to £200 for a single category such as 3a or 3b, £220 to £300 for both together. CITB grant funding of up to £140 is available to eligible employers. Budget for everyone who will use the machine, not just one person.
LOLER pricing from CraneCert’s published guide; IPAF course pricing from Elavation and Horizon Platforms, retrieved 10 October 2026. Delivery is quoted separately by every dealer we looked at and none publishes a rate.
What would it cost a month?
Put the ex-VAT price in, since that is what a funder normally advances.
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 £15,000 over 48 months at a 5.15% flat rate (equivalent to 9.9% APR representative), you would repay around £377 a month; total amount repayable approximately £18,090, of which £3,090 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 cherry picker cost in the UK?
It depends enormously on type, because the term covers machines with almost nothing in common. From UK dealer stock in October 2026, excluding VAT: a push-around mast lift reaching 4.5 to 9.9 metres runs about £700 to £2,650; a used electric scissor lift of 7.8 to 11.9 metres about £2,750 to £6,500; a used self-propelled boom of 10 to 21 metres about £6,950 to £26,853; and a large diesel boom of 24 to 38 metres about £29,250 to £54,500. New trailer-mounted platforms of 12 to 21 metres list at about £16,840 to £69,850.
What is the cheapest type of access platform?
A push-around or mast lift, and it is the option most people searching for a cherry picker never consider. Fourteen UK listings put them between £700 and £2,650 for working heights of 4.5 to 9.9 metres. They are pushed into position rather than driven, which makes them slower across a site but perfectly suited to indoor maintenance, retail fit-out, warehousing and similar work. If your work is indoors and under about 10 metres, you may be looking at a machine ten times dearer than the one you actually need.
How often does a cherry picker need a thorough examination?
Every six months, not twelve — because it lifts people. That is the shorter of the two LOLER intervals and it applies to all mobile elevating work platforms. One UK provider’s indicative guide puts a MEWP thorough examination at roughly £50 to £100 per machine, though that is a published guide rather than a quoted price and you should get your own. It is a modest sum, but it is twice a year for the life of the machine, and a platform offered for sale without a current certificate is worth asking about.
Does the operator need training?
In practice yes, and it is a real cost to budget. IPAF is the recognised scheme: UK providers quote roughly £150 to £200 for a single category such as 3a (vertical) or 3b (boom), £220 to £300 for the two together, and more for multi-category courses. CITB grant funding of up to £140 is available to eligible employers, which can take a large bite out of that. If you are buying rather than hiring, factor in training for everyone who will use it, not just one person — a machine nobody is certified to operate is an expensive ornament.
What does a van-mounted platform cost?
We only found one priced UK listing, so we are not going to give you a range off it. For the record, that machine was a 2020 Versalift VTL135-F with a 13.5 metre working height on a Ford Transit 350, listed at £63,750 plus VAT, with the van and platform priced together. One dealer’s asking price is not a market, and van-mounts vary hugely with the base vehicle, so treat that as a single data point rather than a guide. If you are pricing one seriously, get two or three quotes.
Is it better to hire or buy?
It turns on utilisation, and the sums are unusually clear-cut with access platforms because the cheap end is so cheap. A push-around at £700 to £2,650 pays for itself against hire very quickly if you need one regularly. A 24 metre diesel boom at £40,000 that you use six weeks a year almost certainly does not. Hire also absorbs the six-monthly examination and the maintenance. If you are going to own, finance spreads the cost over the period the machine is earning rather than taking it out of working capital. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
Where to next
- Scissor lift finance — the vertical-only machines.
- Boom lift finance — where you need outreach as well as height.
- Arb platform finance — tracked and towable platforms for tree work.
- Construction plant and machinery finance — the main page.
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, exclude VAT, and are not a quote or an offer of finance. Inspection and training figures are published guides, not quotations. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.