What It Costs, What It Weighs, and Whether It Fits
Most piano quotes in this city are vague for a reason: the price genuinely depends on the instrument and the building. What should not be vague is how the number is arrived at. This page sets out what a piano weighs, what that means for crew size, what stairs and access do to the cost, and where a piano needs more than a dolly and three people.
What Moving a Piano Costs in New York
Across the 2026 cost guides, a local piano move in New York runs $250 to $550 for most instruments, and $1,200 to $2,800 if it is going out of state. An upright typically sits at the lower end, around $150 to $300, and a grand or baby grand at $250 to $650. Those are market figures rather than ours, and they assume ground-floor to ground-floor access.
Our own pricing works the way the rest of our work does. Hourly starts at $150 an hour for two movers and a truck, and $195 an hour for three, which is the crew most pianos need. There is no minimum number of hours. For a piano you can also take a binding estimate — one guaranteed price agreed before anything is touched — and for an instrument that has to come down three flights, that is usually the sensible choice, because the stairs are the variable and the guaranteed price removes it.
| Piano type | Typical weight | Crew | Market range (local) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spinet or console upright | 300–400 lb | 3 movers | $150–$300 |
| Full upright / studio | 400–500 lb | 3 movers | $150–$300 |
| Baby grand (up to 5’8″) | 500–650 lb | 3–4 movers | $250–$650 |
| Grand (5’8″–7′) | 650–800 lb | 4 movers | $250–$650 |
| Concert grand (7’+) | 900–1,200 lb | 4+ movers | Quoted individually |
Weights are typical ranges by instrument type. Market ranges are 2026 figures from independent cost guides and assume straightforward access. Add roughly $40 to $100 per flight of stairs. Our own rates start at $150 an hour for two movers and $195 for three, with no minimum.
The Staircase Decides the Price
The single biggest cost driver on a piano move is not distance. It is whether the instrument can get out of the building the way it came in.
Stairs are charged in the market at roughly $5 to $10 per step, or $40 to $100 per flight. On our hourly rate the same thing shows up as time rather than a surcharge, but it is the same money — a piano descending a narrow brownstone staircase moves at a pace set by safety, not by hurry.
What matters more than the number of steps is the turn. A straight run is manageable at almost any length. A landing with a tight turn is where an upright can physically stop being movable, and it is why we ask for the staircase details rather than just the floor number. Send a photograph of the stairwell when you book. It takes a minute and it is the difference between an accurate quote and a surprise.
A grand comes apart before it goes anywhere: the lyre and pedals come off, the legs come off, and the body travels on its side on a padded skid board. That is standard practice rather than an upcharge, and it is why a grand is often easier through a tight space than a full upright, which cannot be reduced.
Sometimes the Answer Is a Window
Occasionally a piano cannot leave through the door or the staircase. Older buildings with tight dog-leg stairwells, narrow pre-war hallways, and apartments where the instrument was assembled or craned in before the building was finished all produce this.
When that happens the options are a hoist through a window or balcony, which the market prices at $500 to $1,700 and which requires permits and rigging, or the piano stays where it is. We would rather tell you that at the quoting stage than on moving day with a crew standing in your hallway.
This is the honest reason to get someone to look before you book. Send photographs of the staircase, the hallway turn, the front door and the piano itself, and we will tell you which of those three situations you are in.
What Is Included
Disassembly and Reassembly
Legs, lyre and pedals off a grand and back on at the other end, done by the crew that moved it. Included rather than an $80 to $100 add-on.
Skid Board and Padding
Grands travel on their side on a padded skid board, strapped and blanket wrapped. Uprights go on a piano dolly with the keyboard protected.
Certificate of Insurance
Included at no charge and issued directly to your building. Most managed buildings will not let a piano through the lobby without one.
Floor and Doorway Protection
Runners on the floor and padding on the door frames before anything moves. A piano damages a hallway far more easily than a hallway damages a piano.
Stairs and Long Carries
Handled as part of the job. On hourly they show up as time; on a binding estimate they are priced in up front and the number does not move.
Storage Between Dates
Climate-controlled storage from $50 a month if your piano needs somewhere to go before the new place is ready.
Piano Moving Across New York
Manhattan
Pre-war buildings, service elevators with booked windows, and doormen who want the certificate before the truck is unloaded.
Brooklyn
Brownstone staircases with a turn at the landing — the hardest piano job in the city and the one we are asked for most.
Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island
Two and three family houses, basements and garages, where access is usually easier and the carry is shorter.
Moving more than the piano? Our specialty team also handles pool tables — another large, heavy piece that needs disassembly and expert handling. Our single item moving page covers one-piece jobs, and storage covers the gap if your dates do not line up.
Piano Moving — Frequently Asked Questions
A local piano move in New York typically runs $250 to $550, with uprights at the lower end around $150 to $300 and grands between $250 and $650. Stairs add roughly $40 to $100 per flight. Our own rates start at $150 an hour for two movers and $195 for three, with no minimum, or you can take a binding estimate for one guaranteed price.
A spinet or console upright is roughly 300 to 400 pounds, a full upright 400 to 500, a baby grand 500 to 650, a grand 650 to 800, and a concert grand anywhere from 900 to 1,200. Weight is what sets the crew size: most pianos need three movers, and anything above a baby grand usually needs four.
Not safely, and not in New York. Even the lightest console upright is 300 pounds concentrated on castors that were never designed for travel. Three movers with a piano dolly is the minimum for an upright, and a grand needs four plus a skid board.
Yes, always. The lyre and pedals come off first, then the legs, and the body travels on its side on a padded skid board. It goes back together at the other end by the same crew, and it is included rather than charged separately.
Then it goes out through a window on a hoist, which the market prices at $500 to $1,700 and which needs rigging and permits — or it stays where it is. Send us photographs of the staircase, the hallway turn and the front door when you book and we will tell you which situation you are in before you commit.
In the market, roughly $5 to $10 per step or $40 to $100 per flight. On our hourly rate it shows up as time instead of a surcharge. The number of steps matters less than whether there is a turn at the landing, which is the point where an upright can stop being movable.
Yes, at no extra charge, issued directly to the management company. Most managed buildings in New York will not allow a piano through the lobby without one, so send us the building details when you book.
Almost certainly. Pianos go out of tune from the change in humidity and temperature at the new address rather than from the journey itself, which is why tuners generally suggest waiting two to four weeks after the move so the instrument settles first.
Yes, in climate-controlled storage from $50 a month. Humidity is what damages a piano in storage rather than time, so a piano should never go into an unconditioned unit.
Two to three weeks where you can. A piano move needs a crew of three or four rather than the usual two, and if your building requires a booked service elevator that slot is often the constraint rather than our calendar.
Get Your Piano Moving Quote
Tell us the type of piano, the floor and what the staircase looks like — a photograph is ideal. We will quote you hourly and as a guaranteed price.
Or call 212-365-0707.
