uPVC: the default for a reason
White uPVC with a standard A-rated double glazed unit is the cheapest route to modern thermal performance, which is why it dominates UK streets. A standard casement runs about £500 to £1,250 supplied and fitted, basic units start nearer £350, and the material asks for almost nothing afterwards: no painting, no treating, an occasional wipe.
The trade-offs are visual and structural. Frames are chunkier than aluminium, big openings need more reinforcement, and colour and woodgrain foils, the route to something less clinical than white, push the price toward the other materials. For a straightforward house doing a straightforward job, none of that usually matters.
Aluminium and timber: what the premium buys
Aluminium's pitch is glass: slim frames mean bigger panes and more light from the same opening, and the material suits large sliders and contemporary extensions where uPVC would look heavy. Modern thermally broken frames have closed most of the old efficiency gap, and powder-coated finishes hold their colour for decades.
Timber is the material period homes were built with, and in conservation areas it is sometimes the only material the planners will accept. It insulates well and can outlast both rivals when maintained, but maintained is the operative word: painting or staining on a cycle is part of the ownership deal, and the price sits at the top of the range.
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Match the material to the house and the years you plan to stay. A rental or a house you will sell soon rarely repays timber; a Victorian terrace in a conservation area rarely suits budget uPVC, and the planning rules may say so out loud, as covered in planning permission and replacement windows.
Whatever the frame, the glass carries the performance, so compare U-values across quotes rather than material slogans, covered in double or triple glazing. Then compare quotes from trusted window and door installers with the same material specified in each, so the prices are answering the same question.
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