The short answer
Cost varies a lot with the type and style of pond. A built garden pond is not rocket science to price. Packages start from a few hundred pounds and run up to many thousands. You can go as luxury and unique as you like.
Average garden pond cost
Our average garden pond is around £5,000 to £7,000, built for ponds of all shapes and sizes.
A DIY build costs a lot less because you only buy the materials.
A simple patio pond can start from a couple of hundred pounds, all the way up to £60,000, £70,000 or £80,000 depending on budget and space.
What affects the price
Six things move the number up or down more than anything else. Tap each to read more.
The footprint and depth set the base material and labour. Bigger features need more liner, more rock and more time in the ground.
Some shapes take longer to build and need more skill. Tight curves, formal edges and multi-level designs all add hours.
A sloping site means extra excavation and retaining walls before the pond itself is built.
If a digger can reach the site, the build is faster and cheaper. Hand-dug projects through narrow passages take significantly longer.
Removing spoil and waste matters. The further it has to be barrowed from the build site to a driveway or road, the more it adds.
Hand-set stone, hidden plumbing, planted shelves and custom edge treatments all push the figure up.
What about a small pond?
A smaller pond can cost the same as, or more than, a larger one. People usually want higher attention to detail on small features.
Think of a bonsai tree, which costs more than a larger tree of the same age because of the time spent shaping it.
The cost of a koi pond
Our average koi pond packages are around £8,500 to £16,000.
A traditional builder might make a raised fish pool for around £5,000 to £6,000.
As a worked example, a base price of £15,999.98 buys an 11ft by 16ft by 3ft koi pond with a waterfall on its edge.
Streams and waterfalls
Average stream builds come in at £6,000 to £8,000.
The smallest fairy features start at £1,498.98, with DIY kits from a few hundred pounds.
For the £15,999.98 base price you could have an 8m re-circulating stream.
There is no real limit to the size, scope and cost.
Self-contained fountains
Custom, one-of-a-kind works of art.
A good starting point for a professionally designed water feature is a couple of thousand pounds.
For the £15,999.98 base price you could have an installed masterpiece using metals such as brass, copper and titanium, plus fire, lighting and hand-carved stone.
Watch: how much does a pond cost?
Mark walks through the numbers and the trade-offs behind them.