How Moving Cost is Calculated in Singapore

Are you curious why moving a three-bedroom house in Singapore usually cost a minimum sum of $500? How is the cost of using a moving service calculated in Singapore? Here is insider disclosure of the breakdown of a moving cost. 

This guide can help you compare the services and prices of moving services in Singapore.

How a house move works in Singapore

Moving is the process of transferring your items from one location to another location by using vans or trucks.

A general procedure to engage a moving service in Singapore is as follows:

1. Call to schedule site surveys
2. Get quotes
3. Pick the most suitable mover

How is the moving cost calculated in Singapore

Typically, an overall moving cost breaks down to (1) basic moving services, (2) additional services and products (3) surcharges.  

Here are explanations.

What is basic moving service

A basic moving package in Singapore usually includes

1. Door-to-door relocation with a covered truck, a driver and movers
2. Complimentary basic stretch film wrapping
3. Provision of a certain number of packing boxes for loose items (the number of free boxes differs among different movers)
4. While third-party insurance is generally NOT provided, some movers (like Spaceship, Superstar, etc) are willing to compensate for damaged items to varying degrees.

What are additional services

Due to its complexity, to smoothly move everything from one home to another may require more services than you think.

Here are the most common additional services to aid your move.

1. Special wrapping

Item damage causes pains and that is why you may want to pay a premium for protective wrapping for fragile items such as TVs, mirrors, sofas and bulky furniture.

2. Disassembly / assembly

Disassembly becomes compulsory if your items, like storage beds and large wardrobes, are too bulky to be carried outside of your house. You will also need assembly service to recover items.

Most movers in Singapore provide chargeable disassembly services. Some list it out as a separate service and some include it in a lump sum package value.

3.Packing service

If you have no time or ‘mood’ to packing the house, you are lucky now since some movers, but not all of them can help pack.

The price ranges from $8.5 to $12 per hour.

4. Disposal

Move out responsibly without leaving anything behind for the new owner to settle by engaging a disposal service.

Disposal service is usually priced similar to the moving rate since the amount of manpower and skill level are similar.

5. Condo Entry Permit Application

If you stay in a condo, do remember to obtain an entry permit from the management office or mover trucks cannot enter to move your items efficiently.

Few professional movers like Spaceship have considered this critical part and can apply for the permit on your behalf for merely $15, while the market charges much higher price.

6. Storage

If your new place is not ready to move in or not able to accommodate all items, you can ask movers for recommendations on storage services.

Few movers, including Spaceship, provide one-stop moving and storage services in Singapore. 

7. Floor / Lift padding

In order to protect the floor and lifts from scratch, you can ask for a protective padding service.

What are common moving surcharges

1. Heavy items / Piano

Handling heavy items (>50kg) and musical instruments like piano and organs requires extra carefulness, which incurs surcharges.

If this is not mentioned explicitly in the quotation, you are advised to ask for the pricing to ensure you are charged fairly.

For piano, the market average price ranges from $80 to $150.

2. Long push

Long push means the surcharge for carrying items over a distance typically longer than 20 meters. Different companies practice different schemes to charge long push, such as a lump sum shuttling fee or a percentage of the overall moving price.

The task for you is to ask the exact cost for your long push and compare among different movers.

3. Staircase carry

As the vertical counterpart of long push (horizontal moving), staircase carry is the charge for moving items along staircases when a lift is not available or items are too large to fit into a lift, since it incurs extra efforts and safety risk.

What you might want to buy for your house move

To take a house-full stuff for moving in a safe and secure manner requires quite many boxes and proper packing and wrapping.

Since free packing materials provided by your mover are usually not enough, you can buy from your mover to save time and the trouble of sourcing elsewhere to save few bucks.

Common packing materials you may need are:

1. Carton boxes
2. Wardrobe boxes, specially designed to move hanging clothes
3. Packing tapes
4. Bubble wrap, for an extra layer of protection

What are hidden costs in moving costs and how to avoid them

The moving service industry has met some concerns over hidden costs. While hoping proper regulation and honest players can eliminate the bad players, you can act smart to avoid hidden costs with these insider tips.

1. Clarify what basic moving service entails

A basic moving service is, as a matter of fact, more than merely moving items. Therefore, remember to ask site surveyors about the basic moving package.

Some movers may take advantage of your inexperience and charge for basic packing.

2. Ask site surveyors how they charge each service relevant to your house

3. Ask for a breakdown of the final quotation

Most legitimate charges are listed above so you have a good reference to tell if your mover is charging you wrongly.

A professional mover with highly competitive and transparent pricing in Singapore

Spaceship, the leader in valet storage in Singapore, has accumulated valuable experience in moving services and just launched its moving service to serve you and Singapore.

With a prime focus on Customer Service, we promise to offer the best moving service with utmost care at a completely transparent pricing. Additionally, our full services from packing, wrapping, to disposal and storage meet all of your moving needs at one go.

Interested? Call our friendly moving expert at 6220 0126 now. Alternatively, click