How much does it cost to move apartments in Germany?

After weeks, or even months, of searching, you’ve finally found your next home and signed the lease.

Congratulations! The hard part is over. Except, of course, for the part where you actually have to pack up and move all of your stuff.

Moving is known to be one of life’s more stressful tasks, and in Germany, it can also be a surprisingly expensive one.

Your final bill will depend on several factors: how far you’re moving, how much you own, to what extent you can rope in your friends in to help and whether your new place needs a kitchen or flooring. The good news is that there are options for all budgets. And if you have time to plan ahead, you can avoid any nasty surprises. 

EXPLAINED: The hidden costs of renting in Germany

Here’s a breakdown of what to budget for at each stage of the process.

Preparation

Doing the prep work yourself, is by far the cheapest option.

Boxes, tape and bubble wrap are not particularly expensive, and you might be able to save a bit by finding some of it for free on second-hand from sites like eBay Kleinanzeigen.

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The bigger expense here is often the end-of-tenancy clean, known in German as Endreinigung. Landlords in Germany can be strict about handover condition, and a thorough clean is usually essential if you want your deposit back in full.

You could do this yourself, or you can expect a professional cleaning agency to charge between €28 and €35 an hour. (Sometimes they bill by the square metre.) 

The clean usually covers degreasing the oven, descaling the bathroom, washing the windows and wiping down baseboards. Several platforms operate nationwide and let you compare fixed rates, add-on services such as minor repairs and customer reviews before booking.

It’s also worth thinking about renter’s contents insurance, or Hausratversicherung, before you move rather than after.

This is different to your landlord’s building insurance; it covers your own furniture, electronics and clothing against theft, fire, burst pipes, storm damage and, crucially, damage while moving apartments. Policies generally run from €5 to €15 per month, depending where you live and how much you own. 

Moving

If you’re a student or young professional with a solid friend group nearby, the cheapest way to move (within the same city) is the classic German approach: recruit a few pals, book a cargo van through a car-sharing app and compensate everyone with beer and pizza. It’s a well-established tradition in big cities, and the unspoken rule is that you return the favour when it’s their turn to move.

READ ALSO: How much do you need to earn to rent an apartment in Germany?

A large van from the carshare service Miles, can be borrowed from around €1.29 per kilometre, plus a €2 unlock fee and roughly €0.35 per minute for parking.

Tack on pizza for five people (around €50) and a crate of beer (€15 – €25), and you might expect to pull off your move for just over €100, depending how far you need to drive.

Of course, this only works if you actually have people available and willing to give up an evening, or a Saturday.

If you’re new to the city, or otherwise need to handle the move alone, hiring professionals may be the more realistic (and less stressful) option.

A common price for these services is between €50 to €80 per hour for a two-person team. But prices vary considerably by distance and city.

A short move within the same city can sometimes be arranged for €500 to €800 via listings on eBay Kleinanzeigen, where individuals and small firms post quotes directly. Longer moves, including furniture and assembly, cost significantly more: relocating from Wiesbaden to Berlin, for example, could easily run to around €3,000.

READ ALSO: What are the best German cities to move to in 2026?

To compare multiple offers at once, sites like umzugsauktion.de or Taskrabbit let you describe your furniture and both locations, then collect several quotes.

Settling in

By the time you arrive at your new place a new deposit and your moving costs may have left you with a hole in your pocket. Luckily, there are several options for furnishing affordably.

Kleinanzeigen remains the go-to for discounted second-hand furniture, while IKEA, Höffner and Mömax are the classic German staples for flat-pack basics, lighting and storage.

READ ALSO: More than Ikea – Where else to buy furniture in Germany

Furnishing an empty flat to a functional standard, mixing IKEA basics with second-hand finds, realistically costs between €1,000 and €5,000. The biggest expenses here tend are often a fitted kitchen without appliances (€500 to €2,000) followed by a mattress and bed frame (€500 to €1,200), a sofa (€300 to €800) and major appliances like a washing machine or fridge (€300 to €600).

Taskrabbit, Myhammer and other similar sites can be great for finding handymen and women to assist you in drilling holes or assembling anything you can’t do on your own. 

If your new place needs a fresh coat of paint before you move in, budget around €700 for walls and ceiling. 

Tip: Buy only what you absolutely need first, and plan to add more and replace bits over the coming months. You can resell whatever you replace, and collect things gradually. This allows you to curate an apartment that suits your style and requirements without bankrupting yourself, or giving yourself a mammoth shopping list up front.