What Makes a Brooklyn Move Different
Brooklyn is not Manhattan with cheaper rent. It moves differently, and three things decide how a Brooklyn job goes.
The street. Plenty of Brooklyn blocks will not take a full-size truck anywhere near your door — Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens especially — and alternate side parking decides which side of the road is even usable. The carry from wherever the truck actually stops is part of the job here, not an exception.
The stairs. Brownstone staircases are narrow, they turn, and they were not built with a sofa in mind. A three-storey brownstone can take roughly twice as long as the same amount of furniture in a building with a lift.
The building’s paperwork. Brooklyn co-ops, condos and managed rentals want a certificate of insurance before they will let a crew near the lobby, the lift or the loading dock.
All three are time. Which makes all three a pricing question, and that is what most of this page is about.
Where the Truck Can Actually Stop
The first thing we ask about a Brooklyn move is not how much you own. It is the street.
A lot of Brooklyn was laid out before anything the size of a moving truck existed. On the narrower blocks a full-size truck cannot get close to the door, which means a longer carry, which means more time. Alternate side parking narrows it further, because the usable side of the street changes by the day.
None of that is a surprise to us and none of it should be a surprise to you. Tell us the address and the cross streets when you book and we will plan the carry around what the block will actually allow, rather than finding out on the morning.
On an hourly move the carry is time, in the rate, with no separate long-carry fee. On a flat fee it is priced into the guaranteed number and itemised, so you can see what the street is costing you before you agree to it.
Stairs, and Why They Are the Whole Estimate
If you are moving out of a brownstone, the stairs are the job. A narrow staircase with a turn on every landing can roughly double the time compared with the same furniture in a building with a lift, and a three-storey brownstone is a genuinely different job from a third-floor flat with a service elevator.
We do not charge a fee per flight. On an hourly move the stairs simply take longer and you pay for the time, which you can see and which was in the estimate. On a flat fee the stairs are priced into the guaranteed number before the day.
What actually helps is telling us the truth about the building when you book.
Tell us the floor, and whether there is a lift
The single most useful thing you can say. A fourth-floor walk-up and a fourth floor with a service lift are hours apart, and an estimate that does not know which one you are is not an estimate.
Tell us about the turns
Narrow landings and tight turns mean disassembly. Beds, wardrobes and sofa legs come apart and go back together — it is included in the rate, but it takes time and it is better planned than discovered.
Tell us where the truck can stop
The cross streets, whether there is a hydrant or a bus stop outside, and whether the block takes a full-size truck. This is what turns a guess into a number.
What a Brooklyn Move Costs
Two movers from $150 an hour, three movers from $195, truck included either way. No minimum number of hours. Fuel and tolls are in the rate. Or take a flat fee and we will lock the price before the day.
| Home | Crew | Typical time | Cost, starting from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 2 movers | 2–3 hours | from around $300 |
| 1 bedroom | 2 movers | 3–5 hours | from around $450 |
| 2 bedroom | 2 movers | 4–6 hours | from around $600 |
| 2 bedroom | 3 movers | 4–6 hours | from around $780 |
| Brownstone or 3 bedroom and up | 4 movers | Quoted per job | Ask for a quote |
Times are typical durations for a local move where you are packed before the crew arrives. Costs are starting points, not quotes. In Brooklyn the two things that move them most are stairs and how close the truck can get. Your own move is quoted before you book.
What adds time
- Stairs — roughly an extra hour per flight, and brownstone staircases are slower than the average flight because of the turns.
- Distance to the truck — if we cannot park within about 20 feet of the door, add around an hour; more than 50 feet, up to two. On some Brooklyn blocks this is the largest single factor.
- Packing — these times assume you are packed before we arrive. If you are not, add the packing time or book packing with us.
- Disassembly — beds, wardrobes and anything that will not turn a narrow landing. Included in the rate, but it takes time.
None of these is a surcharge. They are the reasons a job takes longer, and the reasons a flat fee for a brownstone is higher than one for a lift building.
Hourly or a Flat Fee — Which Suits a Brooklyn Move
We offer both, so we have no reason to talk you out of either.
| Hourly | Flat fee | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay | From $150 an hour for two movers, truck included | One price for the whole job, agreed before the day |
| Minimum | None | None |
| Stairs, long carry, parking | No surcharge — they take longer, and you pay for the time | Priced into the quote up front and itemised |
| If the move runs long | You pay for the extra time | The price does not change |
| If the move runs short | You pay less | The price does not change |
| What you need to give us | Floor, lift or stairs, the street, rough inventory | Nothing extra. We also offer an on-site visit or a digital walkthrough at your convenience. |
| Best for | Lift buildings, small loads, straightforward blocks | Brownstones, walk-ups, narrow streets, big loads |
When hourly is the better deal
A one-bedroom in a lift building on a wide street, packed and ready. There is little that can go wrong, so there is little risk to price in — and if the crew finishes in three hours you pay for three, not for someone’s estimate of five.
When a flat fee is worth it
A three-storey brownstone, a block a truck cannot get down, or a month where the number has to be the number. You are buying certainty, and the price is agreed before anything is loaded. It does not change afterwards.
The honest version: hourly is usually cheaper on a straightforward move, and a flat fee is usually better value on a brownstone. Tell us the building and the block and we will tell you which one we would pick in your position — including when that is the cheaper of the two for us.
Your Certificate of Insurance, Included
Most Brooklyn co-ops and condos, and plenty of managed rental buildings, want a certificate of insurance from your mover before they will let a crew use the lobby, the lift or the loading dock. It names the building as additionally insured, and many managing agents specify at least a million dollars of general liability cover.
Yours is included in your price. There is no separate charge for it, on an hourly move or a flat fee.
Most movers need five to seven business days to produce one, which is why buildings ask for it early. We can usually issue it the same business day.
Get it to your building as far ahead as you can regardless. A building that has not received the certificate will turn the crew away at the door, and that is the most expensive thing that can go wrong in a move, because nothing has been carried and the day is gone.
Send us your building’s requirements or your managing agent’s details when you book and we will deal with them directly.
Neighbourhoods We Move
We move the whole borough. A few areas come up often enough to be worth saying something specific about.
Williamsburg
Converted warehouses and newer towers with service lifts and strict move-in windows, next to old walk-ups with no lift at all. Which one you are in changes the job completely.
Park Slope
Brownstone country. Narrow staircases, turns on every landing, and streets that do not always take a full-size truck. The kind of move where a flat fee usually earns its keep.
Bushwick
A lot of walk-ups and a lot of loft conversions with awkward access. Tell us the floor and whether there is a lift and we can price it properly.
Bay Ridge
More lift buildings and easier parking than the brownstone belt, which usually means a faster, cheaper job than people expect.
DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights
Co-ops and condos with the strictest paperwork in the borough, and cobbles. Get the certificate of insurance moving early here.
Greenpoint and Crown Heights
A mix of everything — walk-ups, new builds, and blocks where the truck stops further away than you would like.
Moving somewhere not listed? We cover all of Brooklyn. Tell us the address and the floor and we will price it.
Why Brooklyn Books Us
Moving this borough since 1979
More than 220,000 completed moves. We have been up most kinds of staircase Brooklyn has.
The price is agreed before anything is loaded
Take a flat fee and the number is fixed before the truck arrives. It does not change once your things are on it.
No per-flight stair fee
Hourly from $150 for two movers, no minimum. Stairs take time, and time is what you are already paying for.
Certificate of insurance included
Included in your price rather than billed as an extra, and usually issued the same business day. USDOT #382368.
Other Services You Might Need
Apartment moving
Walk-ups, lift buildings and the paperwork that goes with them. Apartment movers in NYC.
Local moving in NYC
How local moves are priced and run across the five boroughs. Local movers in NYC.
Packing and unpacking
Professional packing with materials supplied, booked on its own or with a move. Packing services.
Get a Free Quote for Your Brooklyn Move
Tell us the building and the block — floor, lift or stairs, and whether a truck can get down the street. From $150 an hour for two movers with no minimum, or a flat fee locked before the day. Certificate of insurance included.
Movers for Every Brooklyn Neighbourhood
Williamsburg
Loft conversions off Wythe, waterfront towers on Kent, and the older walk-ups south of Broadway.
Greenpoint
Two and three family row houses with shared staircases, plus the new waterfront buildings.
Everywhere Else in Brooklyn
Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, Sunset Park, Dumbo, Prospect Heights and the rest of the borough.
