The price of moving in Amsterdam — €200 in the quote, €400 on the invoice
A local two-room flat move in Amsterdam in 2026 costs €350–700 — provided you have a written quote, a lift in the building, and a two-week buffer for the city parking permit to come through. If any one of those three is missing, the final invoice runs 25–40% higher. Most people moving house only learn this when the van is already at the door and the movers are looking at the staircase from the third floor to the fourth.
What it costs today, and why
Local moves within Amsterdam in 2026:
- 30 m² studio (Amsterdam-West to Amsterdam-Oost): €250–400
- 60 m² two-room flat: €350–700
- 90 m² three-room flat: €600–1,100
- House with a garden (including small furniture and appliances): €900–1,500
Inter-city move (Utrecht to Groningen, Rotterdam to Maastricht): €600–1,500.
International move from neighbouring Germany or Poland: from €1,200, rising fast. From Ukraine the picture differs: prices start at €1,800 and depend more on paperwork than on distance.
The rate is built from three blocks: the movers' time (typically two crew plus a driver), the van and fuel, and the hours. A standard shift is a three-hour minimum. Each extra hour costs €60–90, depending on whether you hired a large KvK-registered firm or a neighbour with a van.
The parking permit is its own line item
The city of Amsterdam does not let a van simply park outside your door. Occupying two parking spaces for 4–6 hours requires an ontheffing — a temporary parking exemption, applied for via the municipal website 5–14 days in advance. It costs €35–60.
Without the permit, the fine in a paid-parking zone is €65 per hour, and movers usually break off and reposition the van as soon as an inspector appears. That turns a three-hour move into a five-hour move, and every extra hour is billed at the hourly rate.
A moving company's quote will list the parking permit as a separate line — sometimes openly, sometimes with a note saying "we will arrange it for an additional fee". Worth clarifying before you sign the quote, not after.
Stairs, lifts, packing
Three classic surcharges that cost real money and almost always surface on the invoice rather than in the quote.
Stair-carry without a lift. A typical Amsterdam grachtenpand has narrow spiral staircases, and any piece of furniture wider than 60 cm has to go in through the window with an external hoist (verhuislift). The hoist costs €150–300 per day, is booked separately, and also requires a parking permit. If you choose to carry by hand instead, the movers add €50–150 per floor.
Stair-carry when there is a lift, but a small one. Not every European sofa fits an Amsterdam lift. The same rule applies: hoist, surcharge, or creative on-site disassembly.
Packing materials. Boxes, film, tape, corner protectors — "not included by default". Realistic cost for a two-room flat: €80–150. The quote may carry a line saying "materials — billed actual", and that phrase means the invoice will show whatever number the driver writes in.
Together, those three surcharges easily turn a €350 quote into a €550 invoice. Not because the moving firm cheated you, but because the quote did not contain what you assumed was included.
What liability insurance actually buys
Any KvK-registered mover should hold AVB — aansprakelijkheidsverzekering bedrijven (business liability insurance). The policy covers damage caused during the job: a broken mirror, scratched parquet, a knocked-over antique lamp.
Without AVB, the customer has nothing but the worker's goodwill. A "friend-of-a-friend" mover usually has no AVB — which is exactly why their price runs at half the market. The policy costs the company €30–80 per month, and that cost is built into the prices of legal movers. When someone offers to move a two-room flat for €200, you save precisely the value of your right to compensation.
Asking for a policy number takes 30 seconds. Most moving firms show it in the quote without being asked.
Who actually works in this sector
The Amsterdam moving market consists of three layers.
Large firms (De Verhuizers, Hulshoff, Mondial Movers): KvK, AVB, employees, own fleet, prices 30–50% above the average, booking 2–4 weeks ahead.
Mid-sized ZZP crews: one driver plus two crew, usually registered, usually insured, mid-range prices, faster to respond.
"Friend with a van": KvK possibly, AVB usually not, prices 30–40% below average, paid in cash in practice — and all the liability stays with the customer.
The third layer makes up an estimated 30–40% of the market. It is invisible on Trustpilot because it has no registered brand. Complaints about lost deposits and broken furniture surface in diaspora groups on Facebook.
Before you book, look at public reviews of the chosen company — Trustpilot, Google Reviews, Dutch diaspora groups on Facebook. Complaints about unregistered movers tend to live there, since without a registered brand they do not appear in the more conventional channels.
When something goes wrong
Scenario one: movers arrive two hours late. The job was meant to start at 09:00, the van turned up at 11:00, and you have to hand back the keys to the previous landlord at 16:00. You panic, the crew works faster, something gets broken. Under the AVB policy this is a covered claim — but only if you have written evidence of the arrival time (a photo of the van at the door with a timestamp).
Scenario two: broken furniture. Photograph the condition of every valuable item before the move. Without "before" photos it is virtually impossible to prove that the crack in the chest of drawers appeared during the move.
Scenario three: an invoice 40% above the quote. If the quote was written and was not marked as "indicative", you have 14 days to dispute the invoice with Geschillencommissie Verhuizen — the Dutch moving-disputes mediator. The service has a fee (€50–100), but most rulings go in favour of the customer.
Checklist: four weeks, two weeks, the day itself
Four weeks out:
- Get at least three quotes from different firms (do not jump on the cheapest)
- Ask each: KvK number, AVB policy number, parking permit included
- Book a verhuislift if one will be needed
- Apply for a parking permit at the gemeente
Two weeks out:
- Confirm the date and time with the chosen firm in writing (WhatsApp counts)
- Buy packing materials yourself — savings versus buying through the moving firm: 30–50%
- Photograph the condition of valuable furniture
On moving day:
- Take a photo of the van at the door with a visible timestamp
- Sign the werkbon (work sheet) only after checking that everything has arrived
- Pay by iDEAL or bank transfer, not cash — that is the only way to have proof of payment
Why Avrora does the maths differently
On most moving platforms the customer sees one figure — the quote. What lies inside it surfaces on the day. Avrora requires workers to break the quote down by block: hourly rate, parking permit, materials, stair-carry, insurance. The customer states up front whether there is a lift, which floor, and how much volume — and the quotes that come back are calculated on the same grid.
KvK checks run automatically through the KvK API, not on trust. The chat between customer and mover runs in seven languages — Dutch, English, Russian, Arabic, Turkish, French and Polish — which matters when you are not certain the agreement about €50 for stair-carry was understood the same way on both sides.
You can sign up as a mover on the Founding Provider programme from Amsterdam and Twente. To post a job, go to the moving category page.
FAQ
How much does it cost to move a two-room flat in Amsterdam in 2026? €350–700 with a lift and a parking permit in place. Without them: €450–900.
Can I book a move with one day's notice? You can, but without a parking permit, in which case the van sits in a zone where it risks a €65-per-hour fine. Most moving firms will not take the job on those terms.
What is included in a standard quote? Movers' time (three-hour minimum), van, fuel within the city. What is almost always excluded: parking permit, packing materials, stair-carry, hoist, overtime.
Do I have to pay BTW on a move? Yes. The standard rate is 21%. It is added to the invoice automatically, but if a quote is shown "excluding BTW", be ready to add 21% to the total.
What about heavy items that do not fit in the lift? Book a verhuislift — an external hoist that lifts furniture through the window. It costs €150–300 per day, requires 1–2 weeks' notice, and needs its own parking permit.
How do I check that a moving company will not vanish? Look up the KvK number on kvk.nl/zoeken — it takes 30 seconds. An active business is visible there; absence from the register, or uitgeschreven status, is a reason to find another firm.
An address is just a line in a contract. A move is everything that fits between two addresses, and most of the cost lives in that gap.