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Security Service Hourly Rate: Why Quality Matters More

An hourly rate alone says little about quality and reliability. Learn what clients in Berlin should really look for when hiring a security service.

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One security company offers 24 euros per hour, another 34 euros. Many clients in Berlin make their decision based solely on the security service hourly rate. Yet this number alone tells you little about what actually arrives at the site in the end. Is the post truly staffed? Is the person deployed qualified for the task? Is there cover for sickness, and is performance monitored and documented? These are precisely the questions that determine the value of a guarding service, not the figure on the quote sheet.

In this article we explain why the skills shortage in the security industry is changing the price debate, how a credible hourly billing rate is made up, and how to recognise a reliable quote. Our aim is to help you compare a security service hourly rate in Berlin without being misled by the lowest price. Wachschutz Berlin is an owner-managed master-craftsman company run by Marco Wieland, operating in Berlin and Brandenburg.

Skills Shortage in the Security Industry Despite Record Employment

The skills shortage in the security industry manifests itself in an apparent paradox: more people are employed in the security sector than ever before, and yet companies cannot find enough suitable staff for all their contracts. As of 31 December 2025, approximately 290,674 people were working in the economic sector covering guard and security services and detective agencies, according to data from the BDSW and the Federal Employment Agency. As of 30 June 2025, employment stood at around 290,871 individuals, of whom 276,987 were in private guard and security services. Sector revenue in 2024 was approximately 14.02 billion euros; for 2025 the BDSW projected 14.75 billion euros.

Record employment and a staffing bottleneck are therefore not mutually exclusive. In the DIHK Skilled Labour Report 2024/2025, 71 percent of security companies reported difficulties filling vacancies. Notably, 79 percent of the affected businesses had even searched unsuccessfully for workers without a completed vocational qualification. The shortage therefore affects not only highly specialised experts, but particularly reliable staff for day-to-day operational duties.

The number of open positions in the guard and security trade stood at 5,478 nationwide in February 2026. Berlin was among the federal states with high staffing demand, with 474 open positions. For clients in Berlin, this has a direct consequence: your security service is competing with events, public transport, construction sites, retail, and property protection for the same workforce. Anyone who wants to retain suitable personnel must pay adequately. A provider that calculates noticeably below market level is usually unable to sustain that retention in the long term. This is why looking at open vacancies and qualifications is the real basis for any assessment of a security service hourly rate.

Why the Security Service Hourly Rate Is the Wrong Primary Criterion

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Why the security service hourly rate is the wrong primary criterion becomes clear as soon as you break the billing rate down into its components. The price you pay covers far more than the wage of the employee standing on site.

What a Credible Hourly Billing Rate Includes

Many misunderstandings about guarding costs in Berlin arise because hourly wage and hourly billing rate are confused with one another. The hourly wage is what the employee earns gross. The hourly billing rate is what you as the client pay for the entire service. These two figures are inevitably different.

A look at Berlin's collective agreement figures makes this tangible. According to the Berlin collective agreement brochure, the agreed hourly rates from January 2025 ranged, depending on the activity, between 14.60 and 20.95 euros gross: basic stationary security services 14.60 euros, activities requiring a knowledge test 14.95 euros, qualified security personnel 16.14 or 16.95 euros respectively, master-level staff 20.95 euros. In addition, supplements apply: 10 percent for night work, 25 percent for Sunday work, and 50 percent for work on public holidays. These collectively agreed rates have been in effect since 1 January 2025; before making a contractual decision, it is worth checking against the most current Berlin collective agreement brochure.

A gross wage of 14.60 euros therefore cannot be equated with a selling price of 14.60 or 20 euros. On top of the wage come the employer's share of social security contributions, supplements, the risk of absences, and all overhead costs. If you as a client receive a security service hourly rate quoted just above the collectively agreed wage, you should be on your guard. Arithmetically, that leaves barely any room for cover staff, monitoring, and the proper payment of supplements.

A professionally calculated hourly rate typically includes the following components:

• Gross wages and collectively agreed pay for the personnel deployed, varying according to qualification
• Employer contributions to social insurance, added on top of the gross wage
• Night, Sunday, and public holiday supplements in accordance with collective agreements
• Holiday and sickness cover, so that the post remains staffed even in the event of absence
• Recruiting and onboarding of new employees
• Training and qualification certificates in accordance with Section 34a of the German Trade Regulation Act (GewO)
• Uniforms, communication equipment, and other gear
• On-site management and quality control
• Scheduling and round-the-clock availability
• Insurance, administration, and reserves, as well as a reasonable profit margin

As a rough market reference, hourly rates for guarding services range from 33 to 55 euros per hour, depending on qualification and type of assignment. If a security service hourly rate is offered significantly below this, it is worth asking where savings have been made. In many cases, the cover reserve, site management, or adequate onboarding is missing.

What an excessively low security service hourly rate actually costs

A low price only pays off as long as nothing goes wrong. That is precisely the problem, because security needs to work exactly when something does go wrong.

A post that is left unstaffed at the weekend because no cover reserve was planned leaves a commercial property or a construction site unprotected. An employee who has not been adequately briefed will turn away legitimate visitors or allow unauthorised persons to pass. An alarm that is dealt with too late or not at all because no reachable operations manager exists turns a minor incident into major damage. In all of these cases, the consequential costs arising from break-ins, vandalism, business interruption, or reputational harm far exceed any savings made on the security service hourly rate.

There is also the question of staff stability. The shortage of skilled workers means that providers offering very low rates struggle to retain their personnel. Frequent changes mean that new staff members who are unfamiliar with your property must be trained repeatedly. The value of a reliably delivered security hour is therefore regularly higher than the price of a mere hour of presence.

An offer in the range of 33 to 55 euros per hour reflects the real costs for qualified, available, and managed personnel. An offer significantly below this usually reflects a gap that you will end up paying for later.

Qualification is task-dependent, not optional

What qualification security personnel require under Section 34a of the German Trade Regulation Act (GewO) depends on the specific task. For many guarding duties, a 40-hour instruction course is generally sufficient. For more demanding activities, however, the proficiency examination under Section 34a GewO is required by law, for example for patrol rounds in public traffic areas, for store detectives, for door staff at nightclubs, and for certain supervisory roles at large events and in refugee accommodation facilities. Qualification is therefore not a voluntary premium feature but, depending on the deployment, a mandatory requirement.

The statutory requirements are, however, not a complete quality guarantee. A formal instruction course or proficiency examination says nothing about local knowledge, communication skills, or behaviour in stressful situations. For a commercial property in Charlottenburg or a construction site in Potsdam, what matters is that the deployed staff member not only passed the examination but also knows the specific procedures of the property in question and responds correctly when it counts.

Comparing quality of security services in Berlin: These questions matter more than the hourly rate

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The pure security service hourly rate can be compared in a matter of seconds, but it reveals the least about actual reliability. Far more informative are questions that target the organisation behind the price. We recommend putting the same points to every provider and comparing the answers side by side.

The following table helps you evaluate offers in a structured way. As a guide: a provider with a clear organisational structure will answer each of these points in writing and with specifics. A provider without a solid structure will give evasive answers or refer vaguely to experience.

A provider with a dedicated site manager, low staff turnover, and a clear cover arrangement delivers a predictable service. A provider who gives evasive answers to each of these questions is, in many cases, selling you only the presence of a person, not the security of your property. Especially when it comes to guarding costs in Berlin, the lowest security service hourly rate is rarely the cheapest option when the service is not delivered reliably.

Regional proximity is a tangible criterion. Short travel distances and local knowledge noticeably reduce response times in the event of an alarm or staff absence. With our operational area covering Berlin and Brandenburg, we are present in districts such as Mitte, Spandau, Neukolln, and Marzahn-Hellersdorf, as well as in the surrounding region, including Potsdam, Oranienburg, and Bernau bei Berlin. This proximity is not a marketing argument but the practical difference between a replacement arriving within 30 minutes and an unmanned post. Anyone who genuinely wants to assess the quality of security services in Berlin must include on-site response capability in the comparison, alongside the price.

Frequently asked questions about security service hourly rates

Conclusion: Think about security in terms of value, not price

The shortage of skilled workers in the security industry is shifting the benchmark. Anyone who wants to deploy suitable, vetted, and available personnel cannot calculate the security service hourly rate as low as they please. A strikingly low quote is therefore rarely a good sign; it is usually an indication of insufficient reserves, high staff turnover, or unclear qualifications. Instead, compare the organisation behind the price: qualifications, dedicated site management, substitution arrangements, availability, and documentation. These factors determine whether your site in Berlin and Brandenburg is reliably protected.

Wachschutz Berlin is an owner-managed master craftsman's business run by Marco Wieland. Our range of services extends from stationary property protection to patrol services on construction sites and event security, always with transparently calculated guarding costs in Berlin. Further information on costs and the scope of services can be found in our guide to the costs of a security service in Berlin.

Every security concept is tailored individually to the specific risk situation. This article does not replace a personal security consultation.

We are happy to advise you on which qualifications and organisational structure your specific deployment requires, and we will prepare a transparently calculated quote. Request your free initial consultation now: straightforward, objective, and tailored individually to your situation.

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