What does a moving company do in Amsterdam?
Every moving company arranges loading, driving and unloading. Amsterdam movers also do more than just carry around: they dismantle and assemble cupboards and beds, pack fragile items and arrange the moving lift if the stairs are too narrow.
Amsterdam companies often drive smaller cars than their colleagues outside the city. A tractor with a trailer cannot enter the Jordaan or the Negen Straatjes, because those narrow streets are full of cars. Ask how many cubic meters the car loads and whether they plan two trips.
Moving service in Amsterdam: from private relocation to business relocations
- Private move: your complete move from address to address.
- Business relocations: offices and business premises, usually outside office hours.
- Furniture transport: loose items such as a sofa, cupboard or washing machine.
- Assembly and disassembly: beds, cupboards and kitchens taken apart and put back together.
- Special transport: piano, safe, aquarium or art with your own equipment.
- Packing service and temporary storage between two delivery dates.
Immediately include the moving service you need in your application; ordering separately on the day itself is more expensive. Moving companies in the Amsterdam region also drive around Amsterdam to Zaandam, Amstelveen and Diemen, and a move outside Amsterdam usually takes less loading time.
What does a moving company cost in Amsterdam: rates per home type
The costs for a move depend on the volume in cubic meters, the floors, the accessibility of both addresses and the services you purchase. Amsterdam rates are 10 to 20 percent above the national average, mainly due to parking costs and loading times.
For a studio of 10 to 15 cubic meters you pay 350 to 750 euros. An apartment of 20 to 30 cubic meters costs between 550 and 1,200 euros. A single-family home in North or Nieuw-West costs 1,200 to 1,800 euros. You will only get hard figures once a mover has seen your stairwell.
What pushes the price up or down
- Floors without elevator. Above the second floor, the team adds extra hours per floor.
- A narrow staircase or spiral staircase. Then the moving lift must be added, which costs 150 to 400 euros per day.
- Distance to the car. More than 25 meters over the quay and a surcharge will apply.
- The chosen day. Saturday costs 15 to 25 percent more than the same job on Tuesday.
- Large furniture that must be lifted separately, such as a grand piano or safe.
Scan a quotation especially for the lines that are missing. Boxes, packing materials, the fees for the exemption and waiting fees at a bridge opening cause the most conflict. A cheap moving company that leaves out those items isn't cheap at the end of the day.
Comparing yields more than people expect. The Consumers' Association requested four quotes per move and saw an average difference of 400 euros between them. The highest bid was sometimes twice as high as the lowest, for exactly the same contents.
Moving in Amsterdam: parking exemption for the moving van
You can reserve a place for the moving van in advance almost everywhere within the municipal boundary. You do this with an exemption for work through the municipality of Amsterdam. Count on approximately 5 working days of processing time and fees of 60 to 100 euros.
Additional restrictions apply in the center and the canal belt. Some quays have axle load restrictions and heavy vehicles are not allowed to stand on narrow bridges. Ask explicitly whether your mover is applying for the exemption and whether the fees are included in the amount.
Rent a moving lift and temporary storage in Amsterdam
Amsterdam canal houses often have steep stairs of less than 70 centimeters wide. A double bed or three-seater sofa will not fit through there. Renting a moving lift along the facade is not a luxury but a necessity, and you need space on the street for it.
Porch houses in East, West and South have wider stairs, but no elevator. From the third floor, lugging becomes so slow that an elevator works out cheaper than the extra hours. Count on 150 to 400 euros per day. Send photos of the staircase and facade in advance: the lifting beam above many Amsterdam facades has become a decoration.
If your delivery dates do not match, you can rent storage per month, from 50 to 200 euros. Ask whether entry and exit are charged separately.
This is how you choose between moving companies in Amsterdam
Get three quotes from different moving companies and compare them. Look at how many people are coming, how many hours they reserve and which parts are already included. If a bid is far below the other two, there is an item missing that you will pay later.
- Look up the Chamber of Commerce number and see if the office address is a real business premises.
- A bench that goes up through the facade hangs above the sidewalk. Ask whether lifting work is covered and what deductible applies.
- Browse recent reviews and pay attention to the company's response to a damage report.
- Inquire whether the company is a member of a trade association in the moving sector.
- Ask who will be at the door that morning: a permanent team of experienced movers or casual workers.
A reliable moving company in Amsterdam does not quote a price over the telephone. Walk through the house with your camera, including the attic and storage room. Without a recording, a mover in Amsterdam estimates based on feeling, and such an estimate almost always continues on the day itself.
From moving boxes to key transfer: the move step by step
- You submit your application and have two or three companies take over the property.
- Based on the number of cubic meters you receive a fixed amount or a rate per hour.
- You set the date; the company submits the exemption and reserves the facade lift.
- The moving boxes will be in your hallway seven days earlier, or the packing team will take over.
- On the day itself, cupboards and beds are taken apart and everything is set up in your new home.
- You check every room together with the foreman and you only sign if nothing is missing.
Take that last round seriously, because it will make or break a worry-free move. Photograph a dent or scratch while the car is still on the dock. If you arrive a week later, you must prove that it happened en route.
When movers in Amsterdam and the surrounding area are full
Amsterdam movers are most likely to be full around the first and last day of the month, because rental contracts expire there. The summer months and the student changeover at the end of August are the busiest periods; then book 4 to 6 weeks in advance. If you can shift your date, put that in your application: there will be gaps in the schedule in the middle of the month.
Compare moving companies in Amsterdam: request a quote without obligation
On Moving.nl you fill in once what needs to be done and which Amsterdam street it concerns. Then movers who drive here daily report themselves, with their rating and the number of reviews underneath. Requesting a quote costs nothing and is without obligation, whether it concerns a small move or a complete canal house.
