Hog Roast Cost: £8 to £20 a Head for Full Service

How much does a hog roast cost in the UK?

A fully catered hog roast in the UK usually costs £8 to £20 a head, with most published packages carrying a minimum charge of roughly £500 to £900 that covers the first 50 to 100 guests. That figure normally includes the pig, the machine, a chef to cook and carve, rolls, stuffing, apple sauce, crackling and disposable plates. Sides, desserts, crockery and extra staff are added per head.

Prices quoted across the industry vary widely, from as little as £4 a head for large numbers to £20 and more for a plated meal, because the word hog roast covers everything from pork in a bap to a two-course served dinner. Compare what is included, not the headline.

Why is there a minimum charge?

A hog roast costs much the same to deliver for 40 people as for 100. The pig is a fixed size, the machine takes a day, and the chef is on site for six hours or more. So the price per head falls as numbers rise, until the job needs a second pig or a second machine. For small groups, a minimum charge is the honest way of pricing that, and it is why a hog roast for 30 can cost more per head than for 150.

What pushes the price up?

Menu. Pork in a roll is the base. A plated meal with roast potatoes, vegetables and gravy, or a second meat such as a turkey or a lamb, costs more.

Service. Waiting staff, crockery instead of disposables, and a buffet set-up with serving staff add labour.

Travel. Many hog roast businesses include a set radius and charge mileage beyond it.

Date. Summer Saturdays and December parties are busy; some caterers price accordingly.

Site. A field with no vehicle access, or a venue that insists on the machine being set up hours early, adds time.

What is the cheaper route?

Machine hire, where you hire the machine and a pig and cook it yourself, is commonly priced at a few hundred pounds including gas and delivery, against a catered minimum of £500 to £900. It saves money and costs you a day: an early start, several hours of cooking, and carving for a crowd. Our guide to machine hire against full service sets out what you take on.

How do you compare two hog roast quotes?

Ask each for one total price for your date and numbers, with VAT, and then check: how many staff, for how long; whether rolls, stuffing, apple sauce and crackling are included; plates, napkins and cutlery; any gazebo or serving table; travel; and what happens to leftovers. Ask where the business is based: county-named hog roast websites are not always run from the county, and our guide on local or franchise hog roast businesses explains how to check.

Where do these figures come from?

From UK hog roast businesses' own published price lists and UK price guides, read in September 2026. They are ranges for planning, not quotes. For a price for your event, ask the caterers listed on this site directly; each listing shows where the business is based and its food hygiene rating from the council that inspected it.