What is the Average Cost of Moving House in 2025?

• Hiring professional removals to move a 1 or 2-bedroom home costs on average £850- £1500 plus VAT
• A good removal firm will charge around £1400–£4000 to move a 3-4 bedroom home

Read on to discover more in-depth information about moving costs and how to save money on your moving costs.

However, your overriding consideration should be value for money and making your relocation as painless financially and emotionally as possible.

Here we will share the average cost of a home move, and, just as importantly, why you cannot put a price on a stress-free and easy moving day experience.

You may also like to read: Is Moving Home Cheaply a False Economy or Not? Of course, you want to move home as cheaply as possible but when the safety of all your worldly possessions is at stake is now the time to be cutting corners? In this guide, we look at various ways you can save money moving home and whether those shortcuts are a false economy or not.

What is the Average Cost of Moving Home?

What is the average cost of moving a 1 or 2-bedroom home?

• When hiring a removal company, the average costs of moving a 1 or 2-bedroom property are between £850- £1500 plus VAT
• You can hire a Luton van with 2 men for 8 hours for about £850 plus VAT
• Hiring a Luton van with 3 men for 8 hours is going to cost about £1500 plus VAT
• Professional packers charge about £275-£475 for a 1-bedroom home 
• Professional packers charge about £475-£600 for a 2-bedroom home
• If moving yourself, you can hire a Luton van between £110–£160 plus VAT per day
• If you need to hire loading straps, sack barrows, or furniture moving equipment this will add another £80 per day
• If you choose to pack your own 1 or 2-bedroom home then the average packing costs are between £60-£100 depending upon the quality of the boxes purchased

You may also like to read: What are the Average Costs of Moving a 1 or 2-Bedroom Home? In this guide, we look at the average cost of a small home move in more detail.

What is the average cost of moving a 3 or 4-bedroom home?

• When hiring a removal firm, the average cost of moving a 3 to 4-bedroom home is between £1400–£4000
• Hiring professional packers will add another £450-£950
• If you want to hire a van, on average, a 7.5t vehicle costs £380 + VAT per day.
• Collision Damage Waiver reduction will add another £20-£35.
• If you need to hire a GPS then add another £10-£25 for a day’s hire. Remember you will need a lorry-specific GPS, your car version will likely send you down unsuitable routes.
• Your fuel will be another additional cost which needs to be added.
• If you want to pack your own things then a packing kit for a 3-bedroom home costs about £70 but in my experience, these are never enough so plan on using 2 of these kits.

These are just average costs and if you want additional services such as dismantling and reassembling furniture, moving a piano, or you have valuable art that requires packing crates then the costs will be higher.

You may also like to read: What is the Average Cost of a 3 or 4-Bedroom Home Move? In this guide, we take a more in-depth look at the average costs of a larger home move.

Should you Hire a Removal Company?

Sometimes it’s hard to know for sure whether you should hire a removal company to take care of the details of your move, or whether you feel confident that you can manage without professional assistance.

A score of individual circumstances can affect, in one way or the other, this important decision.

However far you are moving and no matter how many things you have that need to be moved, hiring a good removal team will almost always make moving day easier and less stressful.

But how can you be positive that you do need experienced and trained removal men?

Distance

The distance between starting Point A (the place you’re moving out of) and final Point B (the place you’re moving into) is vital for figuring out the next steps of your house relocation.

Moving across town or to a neighbouring city is rather different than moving to another part of the country hundreds of miles away – while moving locally gives you a fairly good opportunity to organise and execute a self-move, long-distance moves without professional guidance are not really recommended for several safety and economical reasons.

Number and nature of goods

As far as the number of household items, there’s a big difference between moving out of a one-bedroom flat or house and leaving a 3+ bedroom home – more possessions automatically mean more time and care when packing them for the move.

Also, let’s not forget that the presence of specialty items such as a piano, a billiard table, or large antique furniture pieces is not the best time to show your self-moving abilities.

Time

One factor will undoubtedly determine whether or not, or how badly you need a crew of movers to prepare your possessions and arrange the move details for you. Time!

If your scheduled moving day is approaching much faster than you can handle it, then it’s time to find a good removal firm.

Helping hands

Moving house has never meant to be a one-man affair so think about whether you can actually rely on your friends for help or not.

Packing up a home can be usually managed on your own (given that you have enough time, of course) but all the heavy lifting come moving day is anything but a joke.

Experience

Is this the very first time you’re moving out of a home and moving into another?

Have you done it before with satisfactory results?

Whether you realise it or not, your previous move-related experience will play an important role in your final decision.

The success of your move is largely dependent on your ability not to get ahead of yourself.

The preparatory steps should be taken one by one and in a way that makes perfect sense for you.

So, 8 times out of 10 you are likely to conclude that circumstances force you to use the quality services of a top-rated removal company.

You may also like to read: Do I Need a Removal Company or a Man and a Van? In this guide, we look at the pros and cons of hiring a removal company vs a man and a van and help you decide which would be best for your particular home move.

Average Removal Costs (Local and Long-Distance Moving)

Average moving costs are just that, an average, and your particular home move may be cheaper or more expensive given the number of items you are moving, how far you are moving, how many people it will take to pack and move your things, the size of the vehicle needed, and how easy access is to your new and old home for loading and unloading.

But here are some average costs for local and long-distance moves.

What is the Average Cost of a Local Move?

A local move is considered to be no more than a 100-mile radius from your old home although some removal firms consider a maximum of 50 miles for a local move.

So based on a 50-mile AtoB journey for a 3-bedroom home the average costs we were quoted were:

• London to Milton Keynes – £1500-£2200
• Birmingham to Oxford – £1400-£1700
• Glasgow to Edinburgh – £1450-£1550
• Cardiff to Swansea – £1475-£1750

If you intend to hire a man and van type service then you are likely to be charged by the hour rather than a fixed price.

In London, for example, you should be ready to pay between £80 and £90  per hour (including a 2-hour minimum charge) for 2 men and a van.

Of course, the more professional helpers you need, the higher the rate will be.

How many hours your removal crew needs to complete the job will also depend on the size of your home and the specific items in it.

As mentioned above, household items that require special packing and transportation needs will increase the average cost of moving house.

You may also like to read: What Do Removal Companies Do? In this guide, we look at the various services that removal companies offer that will make your home move easier and less stressful.

What is the Average Cost of a Long-Distance Move?

Here is the average cost of a home move over 100 miles from your old home, expect the costs to increase for longer distances.

• The average removal cost for a 1 bedroom flat or house starts around £1050
• The average removal cost for a 2 bedroom flat or house starts around £1500
• The average removal cost for a 3-bedroom house starts at around £1850
• The average removal costs for a 4-bedroom house start at roughly £3000

Long-distance moves will almost always be carried out with the help of a good removal company.

When hiring a removal company make sure to:

• Get price quotes from several removal firms so that you can compare the prices and conditions carefully before making up your mind.
• You get the quotes after personal visits from various moving company representatives. You can’t expect to get accurate moving quotes by phone or through e-mail, so request in-house surveys for your own sake and discuss all the move-related issues that may be bothering you.
• Pay special attention to all the extra costs that may be applicable in your case.
• Ask the removals for clarification on how the final moving costs were formed if is not clear enough.

Please note that all of the above removal costs are only estimated average values and your final price will, in most cases, be different due to the score of variables surrounding your own relocation case.

You may also like to read: What to Know When Hiring a Removal Company for the First Time. If you have never hired a removal company before then this is essential reading. In this guide, we discover what removal companies do, what extra services they offer, how to prepare for moving day, and how to avoid moving day scams.

How to Choose the Best Removal Company for You

Choosing the right removal firm for your relocation job is not to be underestimated – you need the peace of mind that your future partner won’t try to scam you in any way, and the services they offer will be one of the best in the business.

Here’s what you need to know when choosing a removal company.

• You are strongly advised to choose a removal company that is a member of the British Association of Removers (BAR) or listed by Trust a Trader for example. Such membership is a sure sign that the company you will have by your side will meet a set of minimum standards. Such high standards work greatly in your favour and include licenced moving vehicles, experience and professionalism of the crews, deposit protection, arbitration, conciliation in case unexpected problems arise, and so on.
• Do not agree on a removal company quote done over the phone as such a remote quotation can never be as accurate as you want it to be. Instead, request an on-site estimation of the removal costs and assessment of possible risks and moving day difficulties.
• Don’t go with only one quote but ask for at least 3-4 from different companies – you need to be able to compare the prices and conditions carefully. Extremely low quotes are usually a sign that somebody may be trying to scam you, so be careful how you proceed.
• The extra moving services and their rates are usually what will make or break the deal when it comes to hiring reputable removal companies.
• Spend some time researching your candidate removals by visiting removal companies’ review websites you can actually trust, such as RemovalReviews.co.uk. Read what past customers had to say about the removal firms you have set your eyes on.

You may also like to read: How to Pick a Good Removal Company. The Ultimate Sep-by-Step Guide. Choosing the right removal firm for your home move is so important that we have written a step-by-step guide using a real-life example of the complete process of picking your moving partner.

Good luck with your home move and be sure to visit our home moving blog which is packed with tips on how to make your home move cheaper, easier, and safer.

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