Moving & storage
Furniture Moving Cost Calculator
Prices moving individual furniture, where access and dismantling drive the labour.
Result
A planning estimate, not a quote. Access, the age of the equipment, what is found once it is opened up and local labour rates all move the real figure, sometimes a long way.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Hours times crew times rate, plus materials and the call-out. Single-item and within-home furniture moves are priced on labour, with a minimum, because the truck time and travel are the same whether one item moves or several. The variables are weight, whether it comes apart, and the route: a sofa through a straight hallway is quick, and the same sofa up a turning staircase with a tight landing can take four times as long and need another person.
What moves the number
- Route access, including stair turns, doorway widths and lift availability.
- Whether the item dismantles, since many large pieces have to.
- Weight and whether it needs more than two people.
- Whether protection of floors and walls is required on the route.
Where this one goes wrong
Measure the item against the route rather than assuming it will fit, because the fact that it came in does not mean it will come out by the same path: doors get replaced, walls get built, and handrails get added. A sofa that will not go has to be dismantled or, on cheaper pressed board furniture, cut up. Protecting the route matters on a within-home move in particular, since banging a doorframe or marking a stair wall while moving a wardrobe is a repair that costs more than the move. Pressed board furniture frequently will not survive being taken apart and put back together, which is worth saying first.
Before you quote
- Measure the item against the narrowest point of the route.
- Confirm whether the item can be dismantled, and by whom.
- Protect floors, walls and doorframes on the route.
Questions
About this calculator
Why is there a minimum charge for moving one item?
Because the crew, the truck and the travel cost the same whether one item moves or a houseful. A single-item move often takes a fraction of the day and the same journey, which is what the minimum covers. It is also why moving several items at once is better value.
It came in, so why might it not come out?
Because the route may have changed. Doors get replaced with narrower ones, walls get built, handrails get added, and carpet raises floor levels. It is worth measuring the item against the tightest point rather than assuming, since the alternative is dismantling it on a landing.
Will flat-pack furniture survive being moved?
Often not if it has to come apart. Pressed board is designed to be assembled once, and the fixings weaken when undone and redone. For anything cheap it is worth deciding whether moving it is worthwhile at all before paying someone to dismantle it.
The formula
total = hours x people x rate + parts + call-out, then sales tax
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How to use this calculator
- Hours on site (h). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 6 h.
- People needed. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $165.
- Parts and materials ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $90.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $95.
- Sales tax (%). Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to estimated total, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Hours on site | 6 h |
| People needed | 1 |
| Labour rate charged | $165 |
| Parts and materials | $90 |
| Call-out or diagnostic fee | $95 |
| Sales tax | 0% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Estimated total main result | $1,175 |
| Labour | $990 |
| Before tax | $1,175 |
| Sales tax | $0 |
About $1,175: $990 of labour, $90 of parts and a $95 call-out.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only labour rate charged, this is what happens to estimated total. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Labour rate charged ($) | Estimated total |
|---|---|
| $83 | $683 |
| $124 | $929 |
| $165 example above | $1,175 |
| $248 | $1,673 |
| $330 | $2,165 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Hours on site (h)
- Measured in h, between 0 and 400, starting at 6 h.
- People needed
- A number, between 0 and 40, starting at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($)
- A money amount, starting at $165.
- Parts and materials ($)
- A money amount, starting at $90.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($)
- A money amount, starting at $95.
- Sales tax (%)
- Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Estimated total | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Labour | A money figure. |
| Before tax | A money figure. |
| Sales tax | A money figure. |
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.