Bearded Bros has been a Brighton removals firm since 2013, with over 10,000 moves out of our Springfield Road depot. If you're moving a 2-bed flat near Brighton seafront across to Hove, or shifting a family home from Lewes out to Eastbourne, the first thing you want to know is what removals cost in Brighton and Sussex actually look like in 2026. Prices vary, and any firm quoting you a fixed figure before they understand your move is guessing. This guide walks you through typical price ranges, the seven things that genuinely move the number up or down, and how to get an accurate quote without a stranger walking through your house.
The figures below are indicative ranges drawn from public UK removals industry data published by Compare My Move and reallymoving for 2024 and 2025, sense-checked against the jobs we see most often around Brighton and the wider Sussex area. They're a starting point, not a promise. Your actual price depends on the factors in the next section, and we'd always rather give you a real quote than a number off a chart.
For a single sofa, a fridge-freezer, or a few boxes going across town (say Kemptown to Hanover, or Hove to Portslade), you're typically looking at £80 to £200 for a quick local job. This covers a small van, two crew, and an hour or two on the clock.
A studio or 1-bed flat moving locally within Brighton and Hove tends to land in the £350 to £650 range. A 2-bed flat is usually £500 to £900. Top-floor flats with no lift, narrow hallways, or restricted parking push the price toward the upper end because they take longer and need more crew.
A 2-bed terraced house moving locally, fully loaded, is commonly £600 to £1,100. A 3-bed semi tends to fall between £900 and £1,800 (Compare My Move's 2025 UK average for a 3-bed local move sits in this band). A 4-bed family home often runs £1,400 to £2,800. These figures are for a same-day local move with a couple of crew and one or two vans, and they assume sensible access at both ends.
A 5-bed or 6-bed house, or any move with awkward access (think those tall Regency townhouses near the seafront, or properties up steep lanes near the South Downs), can run £2,000 to £4,500 plus. The drivers here are volume, time, and sometimes a Hiab or extra crew to clear stairs and tight bends.
For Sussex moves further out, say Brighton to Chichester or Eastbourne to Crawley, add a distance element, usually £100 to £300 depending on miles, route, and whether crew need overnight accommodation.
There are seven real cost drivers. If a quote moves up or down on you, it's almost always one of these.
Volume of items. Removals are priced by what fits in the van, not how many rooms you have on paper. A minimalist 3-bed and a heavily lived-in 3-bed can cost wildly different amounts.
Distance. A move within Brighton and Hove sits at the cheap end. Once you cross the South Downs to Chichester, Tunbridge Wells, or further into the UK, the cost rises with mileage, fuel, and crew time.
Access and parking. Top-floor flats without a lift, long carries from van to door, narrow lanes that won't take a Luton, parking suspensions in central Brighton. They all add time, and time is the meter.
Packing requirements. A full professional pack, where the team boxes everything for you, usually adds £200 to £600 depending on volume. A part pack for kitchens and fragile items only costs less. Packing yourself costs nothing in labour but takes you a couple of full weekends.
Dismantling and reassembly. Wardrobes, beds, garden furniture, exercise machines, anything that needs taking apart and putting back together adds time at both ends. We offer this on request and price it into the quote.
Timing. Moving on a weekday outside school holidays is the cheapest window. Friday is the busiest day in UK removals, end-of-month is the busiest week, and summer is the busiest season. All of which push prices up. If you have flexibility, ask for a midweek slot in late January or early February.
Storage. If your sale and purchase dates don't line up (and in the current market, they often don't), you'll need somewhere for your stuff to live in between. We run a self-storage facility on Springfield Road near London Road station, plus longer-term crated storage in Newhaven, and rolling storage into a removal usually works out cheaper than booking it as a separate job.
Some Sussex removals firms quote an hourly rate for small jobs and a fixed price for full house moves. Both have a place.
Hourly makes sense when the job is small, the access is easy, and you're not sure exactly how long you'll need. A man-and-van style job moving a few items across Brighton is a classic case. The risk is that if anything overruns (a parking issue, a forgotten loft, traffic on the A23), the bill grows.
Fixed-price makes sense for any properly-sized move, especially anything with packing, multiple vans, or a longer distance. You know the total in advance, and the firm carries the risk of overrun. This is how we quote almost every house move we do. It's better for the customer, and it forces us to plan properly.
The way to avoid surprises either way is the same: make sure the firm actually understands what they're moving before they price it. A vague conversation on the phone produces a vague quote.
A few practical levers, all of which we genuinely recommend.
Declutter before you quote, not after. Charity shops, the tip at Hollingdean, Facebook Marketplace. Anything you don't take saves money. Quote the smaller volume.
Pack yourself if you've got the time. A full professional pack is brilliant if your week is already chaos, but if you can give it two weekends, you'll save a few hundred pounds. We sell boxes, tape, bubble wrap, and reusable plastic crates at the Bearded Bros box shop, and the crates can work out cheaper than cardboard if you've got a big move.
Prepare access at both ends. Reserve a parking bay if you're in a controlled zone (Brighton and Hove City Council does temporary parking suspensions, so apply at least 10 working days ahead). Move cars off the drive. Take down the gate if the van won't fit.
Label boxes by room and contents. It speeds up the unload at the new place, which means fewer crew-hours on the clock.
Don't pack the things you can't insure. Cash, jewellery, passports, original documents. Keep those with you in the car.
We do almost all our quoting remotely. You send us a quick video walk-through of your home on your phone, or detailed photos, plus the addresses, dates, and any access notes. We come back to you with a written quote, usually within a working day, that itemises what's included.
If your move is straightforward, the video quote is enough. If it's complex (lots of large furniture, awkward access, or a partial-pack job), we'll arrange a free in-person survey. Either way, the price you see is the price you pay, barring genuine changes you flag to us before move day.
Things we'll ask you for: the addresses (or postcodes), the move date, a rough item list or video, anything heavy or unusual (pianos, safes, hot tubs), parking notes at both ends, and whether you want us to pack.
If you've got this far, the most useful next step is a real quote on your real move, not another guess at an average. Send us a video or some photos, your addresses, and your date, and we'll come back to you within a working day. No pressure, no surveyor turning up, no obligation.
You can read more about how we run our domestic and commercial moves on our removals service page, browse short and long-term storage options on storage page (or jump straight to storage enquiry), and grab boxes and packing materials at box shop.
Q1: How much do removals cost in Brighton and Sussex?
A: It depends on volume, distance, access, and whether you want us to pack. As a guide, a 1-bed flat moving locally is typically £350 to £650, a 3-bed house £900 to £1,800, and a 4-bed home £1,400 to £2,800. The only way to know what your move will cost is a real quote, so send us a video and your addresses and we'll come back within a working day.
Q2: Is it cheaper to move on a weekday?
A: Usually, yes. Fridays and the last weekend of the month are the busiest slots in UK removals, so prices and availability tighten. A Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday outside school holidays is generally the cheapest window, and you'll have more choice over which crew you get.
Q3: Do removal companies charge by the hour or by the job?
A: Both models exist. Hourly pricing is common for small local jobs (a single item, a few boxes, a studio flat). Fixed-price quotes are standard for full house moves, packing jobs, and anything going further afield. Fixed pricing means you know the total upfront and the firm carries the risk if things take longer than expected. We quote almost every house move on a fixed price.
Q4: What information do you need to provide an accurate quote?
A: The addresses (or postcodes) at both ends, the move date, a rough item list or a quick video walk-through of your home, anything heavy or unusual (pianos, safes, garden equipment), and parking and access notes at both properties. With that, we can usually send a written quote within a working day.
Q5: Can storage reduce costs if my dates don't line up?
A: It often can. Booking storage as part of a removal (where we move you, hold your items at our Brighton or Newhaven facility, then deliver to your new place when you're ready) usually works out cheaper than treating it as two separate jobs. It also means your belongings are only loaded and unloaded twice, not four times.
Q6: Do I need to buy my own boxes and packing materials?
A: Only if you're packing yourself. We sell quality removal boxes, tape, bubble wrap, and reusable plastic crates at our box shop, and you can hire wardrobe boxes for the day if it's just clothes you need to move properly. If you'd rather we packed everything for you, we'll bring all the materials with us as part of the pack service.
