European Moving Price Index 2026: What a Cross-Border Move Actually Costs

Cost by distance and volume

This is the core table. Both distance and load size drive the price, so a single average would be meaningless. Each cell is the median quoted price; the sample size is shown underneath.

Moves over 2,500 km include destinations reached by sea or requiring customs clearance, which is why the last row rises steeply.

Why price per cubic metre is misleading

Per-cubic-metre pricing is the figure most often quoted in the industry, and it is the easiest one to get wrong. A small load pays for the same truck, driver and border paperwork as a large one, so the unit price collapses as the load grows.

Median price per cubic metre by load size. A 3 m³ move costs roughly twelve times more per cubic metre than a 50 m³ household move, which is why quotes should always be compared at the same volume.

The busiest routes

Median quoted price on the routes with the most requests. Cells with fewer than ten quotes are left empty rather than estimated.

Routes leaving the United Kingdom cost noticeably more than mainland routes of the same length, because every load needs customs clearance and a ferry or tunnel crossing.

The cost of leaving the United Kingdom

Compared at the same distance and the same load size, a move that starts or ends in the United Kingdom costs consistently more than a mainland route. Every shipment needs customs clearance and a ferry or tunnel crossing, and that cost does not shrink with the size of the load.

The gap narrows as loads grow, from +49 % at 10–20 m³ to +26 % at 30–50 m³ over the same distance, because the border cost is spread over more volume. Small British moves carry the heaviest penalty.

How far ahead people plan

The median gap between asking for a quote and the requested moving date is 56 days. The spread is wide, and the size of the move predicts it better than the destination does.

Based on 7,640 requests with a stated moving date. Planning time grows with the load: 45 days for moves under 10 m³, 54 days at 10–20 m³, 65 at 20–30 m³ and 71 days for 30 m³ and above. Belgians plan earliest at a median of 73 days, Finns latest at 35.

Method

• Source. Every quote Flyto Relocation issued between 1 January and 16 September 2026 where both the volume and the price were recorded. Test records and cancelled enquiries are excluded, and where a customer received several quotes only the most recent one is counted.
• What the price covers. Full-service moves: loading at origin, transport, and delivery at destination. 79 % of the sample is Flyto’s standard service level and 17 % the premium level, which includes packing. Prices exclude VAT.
• Quoted, not invoiced. These are prices offered to customers, not final invoices. Extra services agreed later, such as storage or a second delivery attempt, are not included.
• Medians, not averages. A handful of very large or very unusual moves would distort an average, so every figure is a median and every cell states its sample size. Cells with fewer than ten quotes are omitted.
• Not a census. This is Flyto’s own quote book from a period of rapid growth, so the number of requests per month reflects the company’s expansion rather than European demand. The index therefore reports prices and proportions, and makes no claim about seasonal demand.
• Volume is customer-estimated at the time of the request and refined before the move, so individual volumes carry some uncertainty; the effect on medians at this sample size is small.