How much do removals cost?

The average UK removals cost is £928 for a three bedroom house but costs vary widely depending on house size, how much stuff your moving and how far - and whether or not you shop around for the best deal.

Angela Kerr Director, Editor

KEY INFORMATION

How much do removals cost?

• The average UK removals cost is £928 for a three bedroom house.
• Factors that influence cost include the distance you’re moving, size of the property and the volume of your belongings.
• A packing service may cost around £400-£500 for a 3 bedroom house and it may cost more for fragile items.
• You could be charged extra fees if your move is delayed, such as hourly waiting charges from your removals company and storage fees. So check this in advance.
• Shopping around is essential to save money and get the best service. Find a local, reputable removal company and get a quote today

Average cost of removals in 2025

The average cost of removals for a 3 bedroom house is £928. But costs can vary widely depending on a number of factors including size: the average removals cost for a 1 bedroom house is £484 while the average removals cost for a 5 bedroom house is £1,612.

Here are the average removals cost by house size, estimated by our partners, Reallymoving.com

If you are moving locally – so within a town or to a neighbouring city – then removal companies are likely to charge you per hour. It is very unusual to be charged by distance travelled.

You’ll usually have to pay a two-hour minimum charge and a minimum of two removal men.  The price will then go up depending on how much time your move will take and how many removal men you will need.

However, if you’re moving along distance your removals costs will be greater because it will take the removals company longer.

The cost will also depend on:

• The volume of your belongings. If you’re moving a lot of belongings it will cost more, especially if you’ve got heavy or bulky items.

• If you require additional services like if you want your belongings packed or unpacked.
• Whether or not you shop around for the best deal. You can get instant quotes from local and national removal firms using our find a removal firm service.

Removals cost calculator

Get removals quotes instantly with our removal costs calculator. Just tap in the size of your property, your current post code and your new post code. You will then receive instant online removal quotes from five regulated removal companies.

You can also use our cost of moving house calculator to work out how much stuff you will need moving. This will mean you can get more accurate quotes.

Removals costs by distance

If you’re moving a long distance, your removals costs will be higher. You’ll still expect to pay a fixed cost based on the size of your property, the amount of belongings you’re moving, the distance and how easy your property is to access.

But it’s more difficult to estimate long distance removals costs because there are lots of different variables, such as whether the removers need to stay overnight during the move.

However, as a rough guide moving a one-bedroom flat across the country could cost around £800 rising to £2,000 for a four-bedroom property.

Our partners, Reallymoving.com, estimate that the average removal covering 100+ miles would cost (including VAT):

You can use our removal costs calculator to get removals quotes from regulated firms for your long-distance move.

Do I need a removals survey to get an accurate removals cost?

It’s essential you get a couple of firms to do a pre-move removals survey to assess the contents of your home to give you an accurate quote. They’ll go through your house from top to bottom, including your loft, garage and shed, listing everything that needs to be moved.

During the removals survey, they’ll also assess how easy access is to the house and ask you whether you want any extra services like a packing service or have items that will need extra care during the move.

While the removals assessor is with you make sure you point out anything that isn’t coming with you, so it isn’t included in the quote.

Don’t forget to inform them of items that can’t be seen – for example, the contents of your loft – so there aren’t any surprises on the day. You can use our cost of moving calculator to work out how much stuff you need moving.

Find a local, reputable removal company and get a quote today

What to ask a removals company

There are a number of questions to ask a removals company before booking them in. Here’s your checklist:

• Is the quoted price the final price you’ll pay? You’ll want to make sure you won’t be landed with extra costs if the estimator has underestimated the volume of your items.
• How long have both you as an individual and your company been in business?
• Are you a member of the Ombudsman Services or British Association of Movers?
• Can I provisionally book now and pay when I have exchanged contracts?
• What happens if for some unforeseen circumstance my move day changes?
• Do you have storage facilities in the event of a delay to my onward property? What are the costs?
• How many members of staff will be here on the given moving days?
• How much is packing and unpacking, and how does it work? (if required)

Find more information and more questions to ask in our guide How to find the right removals company.

Comparing DIY vs professional removers

If you’re considering DIY removals rather than getting professional removers, here’s what you need to weigh up.

Pros and cons of DIY moving vs hiring professionals

The pros of moving yourself:

• Saves money: The main benefit of moving your belongings yourself or with the help of friends is that it will save money compared to hiring professional removers.
• No hidden fees: If you hire professional removers, you may need to pay extra fees such as if your removals are delayed. This won’t happen if you’re doing it yourself.

The cons of moving yourself:

• Costs can add up: If you need to hire a van, this will eat into any savings. Also, if you have to buy packing materials costs can add up.
• Time and energy: Carrying heavy boxes and furniture can be hard work and time consuming.
• Stressful: Moving house can be a stressful time. If you have to add in doing the removals yourself on top this may add to your overall stress levels.
• Lack of equipment: When you hire professional removers they’ll usually have access to equipment like dollies and straps to make the moving process easier.
• You’ll need to move heavy or bulky items: Don’t underestimate how heavy or bulky some pieces of furniture may be, even if you have dismantled them to move them. Do it wrong and you could hurt yourself or damage the furniture or property.
• DIY means DIY: If you book a professional removals firm, if you find packing a harder job than you’d anticipated you can usually ask them to add on a packing service, as long as you leave enough time. If you’re moving yourself, you won’t be able to do this.

Find a local, reputable removal company and get a quote today

How much are you moving?

This is the key question that every removal firm will want to know. No two properties are alike so an accurate quote can’t be based simply on the size of your home. You could be a minimalist living in a four-bedroom house with fewer belongings than a hoarder in a one-bedroom flat.

You need to be able to give the removals firm an accurate idea of how much they are going to need to move. Not only will this make your quote accurate, it will also avoid any nasty shocks on the day. Get the amount of stuff wrong and you could run over your allotted time with the removal firm incurring an extra charge. Or, worse still you could run out of room in the removals truck.

Our removals cost calculator has an option to work out how much you will need moving by breaking it down room by room.

When working out how much stuff you have don’t forget about the contents of your garden, loft, garage and shed.

Get removals quotes instantly with our removal costs calculator. Just tap in the size of your property, your current post code and your new post code. You will then receive instant online removal quotes from five regulated removal companies.

Removals Costs: the extras

When working out how much removals cost you also need to consider any extra services you might need. These will all add to the cost of moving so think carefully about what you opt for.

Unexpected removals costs and penalty charges

Everything doesn’t always run smoothly on moving day and if things go wrong you could face some extra charges from your removal firm.

Common reasons for moving delays

• Our research reveals 115,000 home moves have been delayed each year because funds didn’t arrive on time and sellers took longer to vacate properties.
• A shocking 20,500 moves had to be cancelled altogether because of funds not arriving in time.
• The survey found movers in a property chain are more likely to be affected by delays. One in four (25%) homeowners buying in a chain report delays or cancellations on moving day.

KEY INFORMATION

The financial cost to homeowners of moving delays

Some 26% of homeowners who experienced delays or cancellations had to pay fees as a result. Our research found the average fees incurred were £509 but one in seven (14%) lost over £1000.

The extra removals costs you may incur if your house move is delayed may include:

• Hourly waiting charges from removal companies: These may be charged if delays mean removals staff have to wait around.
• Storage fees: If your house is packed up but there’s a delay in getting into your new home, you may be charged storage fees.
• Removal company cancellation charges: Check your moving firm’s cancellation policy. You may lose money if you cancel at the last minute due to problems completing your house purchase. Though most firms are understanding and should be able to accommodate your new date.
• Hotel/ accommodation costs: Depending on the length of the delay and how far you’re moving, you may need to cover accommodation costs for your removers if there are delays.
• Late completion charges: A late key charge may be payable if there is a delay in the keys being released for your new home. This covers the extra cost of the removal team having to wait to start unloading at the new property. Most removal firms offer a ‘late key waiver’ you can pay for to avoid a penalty charge. This cost around £40-£50 but means you could avoid waiting charges of £60 per house plus VAT.

These costs vary, so make sure your quote includes them.

Do I need removals insurance?

Your removal firm may include insurance but make sure you understand what level of protection they offer. It can often be limited to ‘transit insurance’ meaning your belongings are only covered while they are on the move. This cover is also usually very limited – you could get as little as £40 per item regardless of its actual value. So, make sure you check. Good firms will offer up to £10,000 cover for individual items and £50,000 total cover.

You certainly want your removal firm’s insurance but on top of that you may want to check whether your home insurance policy cover your belongings when being moved by a removal company.

Compare removal quotes from local and national firms

When do we pay the removal firm?

That depends on your removal firm. Most will ask for payment in full in advance of your move, typically at least a week before moving day. This is standard practice for all members of the British Association of Removers (BAR). 

Save an average £254 on your move by comparing removal quotes today

How to cut your removal costs

Here’s how to cut the cost of removals.

• Shop around. You can get instant quotes from local and national removal firms using our find a removal firm service. Make sure you know how much stuff you need the removals firm to move. We can help with this with our removal costs calculator which includes a tool to help you add up everything you own.
• Invite at least two removal firms to do an at-home survey. That way they can see exactly where you live and what they will be moving. This way you know you are getting accurate quotes.
• Consider your moving day: Most of us move house on a Friday which means it is a busy day for removal firms and so expensive for you. Similarly, Mondays are busy too. Opt to move mid-week and you could be able to get a discount from the removal firm as it is quieter day for them. Tuesday is often the cheapest day to move house.
• Be flexible: If you can fit in with the removal firm’s schedule either by changing your move day or opting for an early morning or late afternoon move, you could be able to negotiate a discount from the removal firm.
• Ask the removal firm if they offer any discounts. Some will give you a discount if you are a student, key worker or member of the armed forces.
• Get organised: If you make the remover’s job easy, they will be speedy, and you could avoid any penalty costs for overrunning. So, make sure everything is packed properly and labelled with which room it is going to in your new home. Be completely packed by the time the removal firm arrives so you can get out of their way. If you have any furniture that will need dismantling do this the day before too, and be ready to unplug and disconnect white goods (washing machine, fridge etc) if you are taking them with you.

Find a local, reputable removal company and get a quote today

Frequently Asked Questions