Window film is priced by the glass, not by the room — most jobs are quoted per square metre, then adjusted for the film type and how awkward the windows are to reach. Here is what moves the number, so a quote makes sense before you get one.
Almost nobody in the Irish market publishes real pricing, which is exactly why people end up ringing round for three quotes just to get a feel for it. We would rather explain how it is worked out — you can judge a quote much better once you know what it is built from.
What drives the price
1. The film type
A basic privacy film costs less per square metre than a high-performance solar or a thick security film. The more the film has to do — reject heat, hold glass together under impact — the more it costs to make and to fit.
2. The amount of glass
Since it is priced per square metre, total glass area is the biggest single factor. One large picture window can be cheaper to film than several small, fiddly panes covering the same area, because the labour is in the edges and the handling, not the middle.
3. Access and difficulty
Ground-floor windows you can stand at are quick. Stairwell glass, high skylights, conservatory roofs, anything needing ladders or careful furniture-moving takes longer, and time is part of the price. A small job in an awkward spot can cost more than a big job in an easy one — which is why area alone never tells the whole story.
4. Residential vs commercial
Commercial jobs — shopfronts, offices, partitions — are often larger, sometimes need out-of-hours fitting, and may call for specific film ratings. All of that feeds into the quote.
Why a photo quote beats a price list: because a price list can’t see your windows. A picture of the glass and the room, plus a rough measurement, lets us give a fixed price for your job in 24 hours — no site visit, no guesswork.
Film vs the alternatives
It is worth putting film next to what people consider instead, because cost is only fair to judge against the same outcome:
| Option | Relative cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Window film | Low | Fitted to existing glass, keeps the daylight, no building work |
| Obscured / solar glazing | High | New sealed units and frame work — a replacement job |
| Blinds or shutters | Medium | Ongoing view/light trade-off, and they don’t block UV or heat the way film does |
Getting a straight quote
Send a photo of the window and the room on WhatsApp with a line about what you want to fix. You get a fixed price within 24 hours — and if a cheaper film would do the job, we will point you to it. For what each film actually does, start with privacy or solar control film.