How much does a CNC machine cost in the UK?

Roughly, from UK listings in October 2026 that stated a price excluding VAT: an older 2-axis CNC lathe runs about £4,950 to £11,000, a toolroom lathe about £13,950 to £16,750, and a lathe with driven tools or a sub-spindle about £22,500 to £47,500. On the milling side, an older small machining centre runs about £9,000 to £13,950, a mid 3-axis machine about £15,000 to £22,500, and a large or 5-axis used machine about £24,950 to £39,000. Benchtop and training machines start around £5,000. These are asking prices, and used machine tools typically sell below ask.

Because quoting against a specification is the norm in this market rather than the exception. Of the UK dealers we looked at, Percy Martin and Machining Solutions list their entire stock as price on application, and Haas UK, Mills CNC, Hurco and XYZ do not publish list prices either. That has a consequence worth knowing: the prices you can find online skew toward the older, smaller, private-sale end of the market, so they understate what a current machine from a main dealer costs. If you are budgeting from published figures alone, budget high.

We cannot give you a reliable figure, and we would rather say so than invent one. Only two new-machine prices were obtainable from a UK source — an Emcoturn E25 TCM at £87,000 against an RRP of £90,000 — and every other UK manufacturer and dealer quotes on application. A near-new 2021 Hurco VMX 50i was listed at £75,000, which is a useful upper reference point for a recent machining centre. Beyond that, the only way to get a real new price is to specify the machine with a dealer and ask.

More than people expect, especially on a cheaper machine. From one UK supplier’s published option list: an extended tooling and toolholder package is £1,820 to £1,850, an optical tool-setting device £647, a mobile machine base £990, and a control upgrade including training £3,350 to £4,700. CAM software is a running cost on top — Autodesk Fusion is about £612 a year for one user. Set those against a £9,950 used machining centre and you are close to doubling the spend. Workholding, installation and rigging could not be priced from any UK source we found, so budget for them as unknowns rather than assuming they are small.

Three things we could not put a number on, all of which are real. Getting the machine in: machine tools need specialist rigging and sometimes a wall out, and UK movers quote per job rather than publishing rates. Power: a three-phase supply, and an upgrade if the unit does not already have the capacity. And workholding — vices, chucks, fixtures — which UK suppliers quote on application. None of those is optional, and a quote for the machine alone is not a quote for a working machine.

Yes, and it is common. Hire purchase over two to seven years is the usual structure, so the business owns the machine at the end and can claim capital allowances on it. Lenders look at the machine’s age, make and resale market as well as at your accounts — a recognised make with a liquid second-hand market is easier to fund than an obscure one. Tooling and installation can often be included in the same agreement, which is worth asking about rather than paying for separately out of working capital. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.