Moving costs · Magdeburg
What a move in Magdeburg costs comes down to four things: the volume, the labour, the journey and the extra services. This page sets out the market ranges by flat size, the price per cubic metre, the usual hourly rates and a worked sample calculation — neutral and sourced, not the self-promotion of any single firm.
In 30 seconds
Four entries are enough for a rough guide. The result is a non-binding market range based on the prices on this page — not an offer. The binding price is quoted by the partner firm once it has reviewed your details.
Prices by flat size
The table brings together the price figures of two moving portals for Magdeburg. The upper value stands for a fully carried-out move with a lot of volume and extra services, the lower one for a lean, self-prepared move. They are ranges, not fixed prices.
| Flat size | Typical volume | Team | Market range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-room | approx. 10–15 m³ | 2 crew + lorry | €350–1,360 |
| 2-room | approx. 18–25 m³ | 2–3 crew + lorry | €600–2,000 |
| 3–4-room | approx. 30–45 m³ | 3–4 crew + lorry | €800–2,810 |
| House | from approx. 50 m³ | 4+ crew + lorry | €1,200–7,310 |
Many moves are priced by volume. The usual figure is €15 to €30 per cubic metre. As a rule of thumb: roughly 10 cubic metres per room. A 2-room flat therefore comes to about 20 cubic metres, a 4-room flat quickly to 40 cubic metres and more.
For the request you don't have to calculate the volume exactly. What matters more are photos of the bulky items, the number of boxes and whether large furniture will be dismantled. The partner firm derives the volume from that.
As a rough box calculation: an average household comes to about 20 to 30 moving boxes per room, once you count in books, kitchen and clothing. Books belong in small boxes, because full crates of books otherwise get too heavy to carry; light material such as bedding or cushions can go in large ones. Labelled boxes sorted by room speed up both the loading and the unpacking — and less time means lower costs.
For a quick self-assessment, a rough scale helps: a 1-room flat usually gets by with 20 to 30 boxes and around 10 to 15 cubic metres, a 2-room flat with 30 to 50 boxes and about 18 to 25 cubic metres, a 3- to 4-room flat with 60 to 90 boxes and 30 to 45 cubic metres. If you know you have a lot of books, a large kitchen or a workshop, reckon upwards — it's exactly such particulars that belong in the request, because they shift the volume, and with it the price, the most.
Many firms price by the hour instead — above all for smaller, well-prepared moves. The hourly rate includes the team and the lorry; on top comes a one-off call-out charge. The table below grades the usual rates by team size and gives a rough day rate for when a firm sets a whole day rather than charging by the hour.
The starting point is the documented market anchor for 2 crew with a lorry; each additional carrier works out at roughly €25 to €35 per hour. The day rate corresponds to about a full working day of seven to nine hours and is worth it when a whole day comes together anyway.
| Team (incl. lorry) | Hourly rate | Call-out (one-off) | Day rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 crew + lorry | €79–89/hr | €120–159 | approx. €590–720 |
| 3 crew + lorry | €109–125/hr | €120–159 | approx. €790–1,000 |
| 4 crew + lorry | €135–160/hr | €120–159 | approx. €980–1,290 |
The hourly price looks low, but what matters is the number of hours. A long carrying distance, a missing lift or a far-off parking spot drive exactly those hours up. That's why a no-stopping zone right outside the door is often worth it on time grounds alone. For a small, well-prepared flat, hourly billing is usually cheaper; for a large household with many unknown factors, a day rate or a fixed price gives more planning certainty.
What costs extra
Worked through
Assume: a 2-room flat with around 20 cubic metres, third floor with no lift, a move within Magdeburg with a no-stopping zone outside both addresses. Here's how an offer might look — it's a transparent calculation, not a fixed price:
| Item | Basis | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 3 crew + lorry | approx. 6 hrs × €140 | €840 |
| Call-out | flat rate | €140 |
| No-stopping zone, 2 addresses | 2 × ~€140 | €280 |
| Packing material | boxes, film, blankets | €90 |
| Total (guide value) | within the 2-room range | ~€1,350 |
The guide value sits in the upper half of the 2-room range (€600–2,000), because the missing lift on the third floor increases the labour time. Pack yourself and apply for the no-stopping zone yourself and you push the total down markedly; add a furniture hoist and you land higher.
A student, 1-room flat with around 12 cubic metres, ground floor to ground floor, everything packed herself, no no-stopping zone needed:
| Item | Basis | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 2 crew + lorry | approx. 4 hrs × €84 | €336 |
| Call-out | flat rate | €130 |
| Material | own boxes | €30 |
| Total | lower end of the 1-room range | ~€500 |
A family, 4-room flat with around 45 cubic metres, fourth floor with no lift, a furniture hoist, a packing service for the kitchen, a no-stopping zone at both addresses:
| Item | Basis | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 4 crew + lorry | approx. 8 hrs × €150 | €1,200 |
| Furniture hoist | half a day | €250 |
| Kitchen packing service | partial service | €300 |
| No-stopping zone, 2 addresses | 2 × ~€140 | €280 |
| Total | upper third of the 3–4-room range | ~€2,030 |
The three examples show the spread: from the lean student move for around €500 to the big family move with a hoist and a packing service for a good €2,000, it's not the room count alone that decides but the interplay of volume, access and the extra services chosen. Each of these calculations is a guide value, not an offer — the binding price is quoted by the partner firm once it has reviewed your details.
Beyond Magdeburg
For a move within Magdeburg the driving distance barely matters. Head into the surrounding area or over a longer distance, though, and a kilometre share is added. The usual figure is €0.25 to €0.50 per kilometre, on top of the actual move made up of labour, volume and the call-out.
Because the kilometre share stays modest over medium distances, the volume shapes the price on long-distance routes too. The table below shows, for the most common destinations from Magdeburg, the distance and a market range running from a 1-room flat to a 3- to 4-room flat. The values match the detailed price calculations on the individual route pages.
| Destination from Magdeburg | Distance | Motorway | Market range (1-room to 3–4-room) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leipzig | approx. 125 km | A14 | €500–2,190 |
| Hannover | approx. 150 km | A2 | €510–2,210 |
| Berlin | approx. 155 km | A2 / A115 | €520–2,220 |
| Dresden | approx. 230 km | A14 / A4 | €540–2,250 |
| Hamburg | approx. 280 km | A2 / A7 | €560–2,280 |
| Munich | approx. 525 km | A14 / A9 | €610–2,400 |
What's striking is how little the distance shifts the price: between Leipzig (125 km) and Hamburg (280 km) the lower bounds are only about €60 apart. That's down to the low per-kilometre rate — the lion's share is still the volume. Only on a genuine long haul like Munich (525 km) does the distance share weigh in noticeably.
For each of these routes there's a dedicated page with the exact price calculation, the key route facts and notes on the destination city — for instance the move from Magdeburg to Berlin, to Hamburg or to Leipzig.
For the area around Magdeburg — towards Halberstadt or Bernburg, say — the firm adds the kilometre share to the base price. What matters is stating the origin and destination address precisely in the request, so the distance is right and the price doesn't have to be corrected on moving day.
Fixed price, hour or flat rate
Moving firms bill in three ways, and which is cheaper depends on your move. With a fixed price the firm quotes a set sum after the survey. The advantage is planning certainty: whatever takes longer on moving day is the firm's problem, not your budget's. The precondition is an honest assessment beforehand — which is why a fixed price almost always comes with an on-site or video survey.
The hourly rate is worth it for small, well-prepared moves. If you've packed yourself, have everything ready and a short route, you often pay less than with a fixed price — but you carry the risk if something takes longer. An hourly model is only honest with a clear statement of how many hours are realistically involved.
The day rate sits in between: the firm reserves a whole working day at a set rate. That suits medium households where a full day is foreseeably going to come together but the exact scope is still open. Beyond half a day it's usually cheaper than pure hourly billing.
As a rule of thumb: the smaller and more predictable the move, the more the hourly rate pays off; the larger and more complex, the more valuable the certainty of a fixed price. When in doubt, have both variants quoted and compare them against your specific case. A reputable offer sets out, in every model, what's included and what costs extra.
What the price covers
A professional moving firm is liable by law for transport damage — under the rules for moving contracts, with a base amount per cubic metre of loading space tied to the weight. This basic liability covers simple damage but reaches its limit with valuable individual pieces. For expensive furniture, instruments or electronics you can add extended transport insurance; it costs extra, but with high-value goods it's the cheaper safeguard than bearing the risk yourself.
This is exactly where the difference lies between a registered moving firm and a few privately organised helpers: pay only friends and a hire van and you save on the price, but with scratched parquet or a broken cupboard you have no one to answer for it. The cheapest price is therefore not automatically the best — anyone transporting a lot of value should check the liability in the offer explicitly. What else a reputable firm should bring to the table is on the home page, under the vetting criteria.
Easy to overlook
The moving firm's price is only part of the bill. Around the move come further items that belong in no moving offer but still weigh on the budget. Plan for them early and there's no surprise on moving day.
One of these items can be softened for tax: with a job-related move, moving costs are deductible as work-related expenses, and there's a tax reduction for tradespeople's services in the home. So keep all the receipts — including the moving firm's.
Where saving pays off
The biggest lever on the moving price is labour time — and that can be cut through your own effort. The table shows, on the sample 2-room flat (guide value ~€1,350), how strongly individual measures work. The savings can be combined.
| Measure | Approximate saving |
|---|---|
| Packing yourself instead of a packing service | €200–500 |
| Applying for the no-stopping zone yourself (instead of the provider package) | €100–150 |
| A weekday date instead of the end of the month | up to ~10% of the base price |
| Clearing out beforehand, registering bulky waste with the SAB | less volume |
Pull all four levers and you realistically knock several hundred euros off the total for a 2-room flat — without cutting corners on the actual transport. The downside is time: packing yourself, putting up signs and clearing out all take lead time. If you don't have it, better to leave these steps to the firm and pay the extra consciously.
Why two moves cost differently
Two flats of the same size can cost very different amounts. The main reason is labour time, and that hinges on access. A missing lift on the third or fourth floor — common in the period-building districts of Stadtfeld, Buckau and Sudenburg — lengthens every trip and thus the hours noticeably. If a cupboard won't fit through the stairwell, a furniture hoist for €150 to €300 is added.
A long carrying distance works the same way: if the lorry stands thirty metres off because there's no space outside the door, that distance is walked with every box. A no-stopping zone for around €128 to €158 per day is therefore often cheaper than the labour time saved.
The date affects the price too. At the end of the month and around public holidays the firms are fully booked; a weekday in the middle of the month can often be booked more cheaply. Packing yourself instead of a packing service saves a further €200 to €500.
What works downwards is above all good preparation: boxes packed and labelled ready, furniture dismantled and clear access at both addresses. The less the firm has to organise itself on moving day, the shorter the time — and time is the most expensive item. Clear out before the move and register bulky waste with the SAB in good time on top, and you transport less volume and pay accordingly less.
"From €59.95" — what that really means
On some Magdeburg firms' pages you'll see prices like "from €59.95", "from €79" or "from €114". These are starting prices for the smallest conceivable consignment — a single transport of a few boxes, say — and not the price for a complete flat move. For a 2-room flat with loading, driving, carrying and unpacking, the real price sits within the ranges shown above.
This page therefore shows price ranges rather than a single "from" teaser price. For your move, insist on a written fixed-price offer that itemises the individual items. That's the only way to compare two offers honestly.
Where you can save concretely on a move in Magdeburg: pack the boxes yourself instead of ordering a packing service and you save €200 to €500. A weekday date rather than the end of the month often lowers the base price. Apply for the no-stopping zone yourself and you save the service provider's surcharge of around €100 to €150 — though for the self-application the €16 official fee plus sign hire and putting them up still apply, so what you save is only the provider surcharge. And clear out before the move and register the bulky waste with the SAB in good time — the free allowance covers up to 4 m³ once a year — and you transport less volume and pay less in the end. Together, these four levers can add up to several hundred euros on a 2-room flat, without you cutting any corners on the move itself.
Frequently asked
At market rates a 1-room flat runs between roughly €350 and €1,360, a 2-room flat between €600 and €2,000, a 3- to 4-room flat between €800 and €2,810 and a house between €1,200 and €7,310. These are market ranges, not fixed prices; the fixed amount is set by the partner firm once it has reviewed your details.
Usually €15 to €30 per cubic metre. As a rule of thumb, you reckon on about 10 cubic metres of goods per room. A 2-room flat with around 20 cubic metres therefore works out at roughly €300 to €600 for the volume alone, on top of which come the call-out, labour and any extra services.
The providers' market price is around €128 to €158 for a one-day zone, with further days about €32. The city's official administrative fee, by contrast, is only €16; the market price additionally includes sign hire and putting the signs up. Details are on the page about the no-stopping zone.
Read on: No-stopping zone in Magdeburg · Moving helpers in Magdeburg · How it works.