Quick summary (October 2026): Across the last 500 man and van jobs booked with The Van Man Co, a typical job cost about £160. Smaller jobs came in around £100 and bigger ones around £280. By van size, a typical job was about £120 in a medium van, £170 in a large van and £340 in a Luton. The hourly rate on those jobs was usually £40 to £45 for a medium or large van and £60 for a Luton. The Van Man Co prices on time and distance, including the driver’s travel to the pickup and back from the drop-off, so on a typical job more than half the time is driving. These are estimates agreed at booking, and prices vary by driver. To see drivers and prices for your own job, start with the Bristol man and van page.
Most guides to man and van prices give you a range someone else worked out. I’d rather show you ours. I went through our last 500 man and van jobs and pulled out what each one actually came to.
So this isn’t a price list. It’s what people booked, in which van, for how long, and what the price was when the driver confirmed.
If you just want the number: a typical job came to about £160. The rest of this page is why yours might be £70 or £400.
How much does a man and van cost in the UK?
A typical job in our last 500 cost about £160. Here’s how they were spread:
| What the job cost | How many of the 500 |
|---|---|
| Under £100 | About a quarter |
| £100 to £200 | About a third |
| £200 to £300 | About one in six |
| Over £300 | About a quarter |
So more than half of what we book is under £200. A lot of man and van work is small: a sofa across town, a student room, a few boxes into storage. The jobs over £300 are mostly long drives, or a full Luton with two people.
How much does a man and van cost by van size?
The van is the first thing that moves the price, because a bigger van has a higher hourly rate and usually a longer job. For each van, this is what a smaller job, a typical job and a bigger job came to:
| Van | Usual hourly rate | A smaller job | A typical job | A bigger job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (Ford Transit Custom) | £40 to £45 | £70 | £120 | £230 |
| Large (Ford Transit) | £45 | £110 | £170 | £280 |
| Luton | £60 | £180 | £340 | £450 |
Most people book a medium or a large van. Only about one job in eight needed a Luton, and half of those also had a helper, which is part of why the Luton figures are so much higher. The hourly rates are what was applied on these jobs. They vary by driver, so treat them as what’s usual with us. If you’re not sure which van you need, our guide to what size van you need shows your things loaded into each one.
How much does a man and van cost for different lengths of job?
The total is basically the hourly rate multiplied by the time. About half of our jobs were booked for three hours or less.
| Time booked | A smaller job | A typical job | A bigger job |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 2 hours | £70 | £75 | £90 |
| 2 to 3 hours | £110 | £125 | £170 |
| 3 to 4 hours | £145 | £170 | £245 |
| 4 to 6 hours | £200 | £255 | £355 |
| Over 6 hours | £325 | £395 | £520 |
The time booked includes the driver’s travel, which is the part most people don’t expect. Our guide to how long a typical man and van job takes goes through it job by job.
Why the total is really about time
On a typical job, more than half the time is driving. Across our last 500 jobs, the usual loading time booked was an hour, and the usual driving time was about an hour and twenty minutes.
That driving figure isn’t just your journey. At The Van Man Co, the estimate is built from the time and distance involved, and that includes the driver’s travel both ways: from their base to your pickup, and from your drop-off back again. That’s the real shape of the job for the driver, so it’s the shape of the price. It’s also why a driver based nearby usually works out cheaper than one coming across the county for the same job.
We don’t price by counting items. A sofa carried through a wide ground-floor door takes minutes; the same sofa up three flights and round a tight landing takes a lot longer. That’s why the quote is an estimate based on the details you give. If loading takes longer than the time quoted, the extra time is charged at the hourly rate. It’s fairly straightforward, and it’s why accurate details up front matter so much.
What real jobs came to
Averages only tell you so much, so here are six real jobs from that 500. I’ve kept them to the postcode district and a price band, with no names or addresses.
- One sofa, across the same part of Bristol (BS11). Medium van, an hour and a half booked. Under £100.
- Ten large bags, four boxes and a suitcase, BS9 to BS5. Medium van, an hour and three quarters booked. Under £100.
- A three seater sofa, TV cabinet, dismantled table, four chairs, boxes and bags, BS4 to BS5. Large van, two and three quarter hours booked. £100 to £150.
- One Chesterfield sofa across North Wales, LL31 to LL51. Large van, three and a half hours booked, most of it driving. £150 to £200.
- A king size bed, sofa, TV and about twenty boxes, central Bristol to the Forest of Dean (BS1 to GL15). Luton with a helper, four hours booked. £300 to £400.
- Two sofas and a coffee table from near Salisbury to Swansea (SP5 to SA3). Medium van, nearly ten hours booked, almost all of it driving. £300 to £400.
The last one is the useful one. Two sofas is a small job, but it cost about the same as a Luton move with two people, because the driver spent the day on the road.
Where does your driver need to go?
How long do you need the driver at each end?
A rough guide to the total time for loading and unloading.
- Few items: 30 mins to 1 hour
- Studio flat: 1 to 1.5 hours
- 1-bed flat: 1.5 to 2.5 hours
- 2-bed house: 2.5 to 4 hours
Every move is different. Stairs, parking and big or awkward items all add time. If unsure, round up.
Extra loading and unloading time is charged by the hour.
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How your booking & deposit works
How do our prices compare with the market?
As a benchmark, Checkatrade’s cost guide (updated August 2026, figures checked by its RICS and CIOB member estimators) gives these UK hourly rates:
| What you book | Low | High | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 man with a van | £35 | £93 | £64 |
| 2 men with 1 van | £50 | £105 | £78 |
| 3 men with 1 van | £68 | £120 | £94 |
Our usual rates, £40 to £60 an hour depending on the van, sit in the lower half of that range. The same guide notes that prices are often higher in London and parts of the South East. For a closer look at hourly rates on their own, see our guide to what a man and van charges per hour.
What pushes the price up?
- Distance. Longer journeys mean more driving time and more travel back to base. A typical job booked for over six hours came to about £395, and most of those hours were driving.
- Extra help. Some drivers offer a second pair of hands at an extra hourly rate. About one job in four added one, and it typically added about £90.
- Van size. Too small a van means extra trips, and a bigger van costs more per hour.
- Access. Stairs, lifts that can’t be booked and narrow hallways don’t usually carry a separate charge, but they add loading time, which shows up in the quote.
- Parking. If the van can’t stop near the door, every trip takes longer. Parking is the customer’s responsibility at both ends, so sort it before the day.
Which days are busiest?
Fridays and Saturdays, by some distance. Out of our last 500 jobs, about 100 were on a Friday and about 100 on a Saturday, so four in ten between them. Monday to Thursday were fairly even, at 60 to 70 jobs each, and Sunday was the quietest with 40.
Most jobs are booked at fairly short notice as well. Three in ten were booked for the same or the next day, and three quarters within a week of the move.
Charges that sit on top of the quote
Some costs depend on the route rather than the driver, and they’re the customer’s responsibility where the route requires them:
- London Congestion Charge: TfL lists the daily Congestion Charge as £18 if you pay in advance or on the day.
- ULEZ: vans that don’t meet the standards pay the £12.50 daily ULEZ charge.
- Clean air zones elsewhere: cities including Birmingham run their own zones. GOV.UK’s clean air zone guidance explains which vehicles are charged and where.
- Tolls and parking: bridge tolls, pay-and-display and bay suspensions all count.
What’s usually included, and what isn’t
With our drivers, the price covers the driver, the van and loading, and the driver brings blankets, straps and a trolley to protect your things. Packing materials aren’t included with man and van, so boxes and tape are down to you (packing is part of our removals service instead). Basic furniture dismantling, like beds and wardrobes, can usually be handled, but it varies by driver and adds to the loading time.
Whoever you book, check what the quote covers before you agree to it: fuel or mileage, waiting time, dismantling and extra movers.
How payment works
With The Van Man Co, you get an estimate and submit a booking request. Your card details are taken but not charged. When a driver confirms the job, a 20% deposit is charged, and on the day you pay the remaining balance in cash to the driver. On a typical £160 job, that’s £32 by card and the rest on the day.
Is a cheap man and van quote a red flag?
Not always, but it’s worth asking a few questions if a quote comes in well below the figures above:
- What happens if the job runs over? Find out the hourly rate for extra time before the day, not on it.
- Is there a minimum charge? Some services have a minimum booking length.
A very low quote can turn expensive if the final bill doesn’t match the estimate. Our guide to spotting rogue man and van services covers the warning signs.
How to get an accurate estimate
The more detail you give up front, the closer the estimate will be to what you pay. Have these ready:
- Pickup and drop-off postcodes
- What you’re moving: a list of the bigger items, plus a rough count of boxes
- Access at both ends: floors, lifts, stairs, parking and how far the van will be from the door
- Anything that needs dismantling
- Your preferred date and time
If you’re moving a whole house, compare a man and van against a full removals service too. Our guide on whether a man and van is cheaper than a removal company helps you decide which suits the move.
How we worked these figures out
The figures come from the last 500 confirmed man and van jobs booked with The Van Man Co. Cancelled and refunded jobs are left out, and so are full removals jobs, which are quoted separately.
Each price is the estimate agreed at booking, including a helper where one was added, rounded to the nearest £5. It doesn’t include route charges like the Congestion Charge. We don’t record how long each job took on the day, so any extra time paid to the driver isn’t in here either.
A “typical job” is the one in the middle: half of the jobs cost less and half cost more. That’s a fairer picture than an average, because a few long-distance jobs pull an average up. A “smaller job” is the point a quarter of jobs came in under, and a “bigger job” is the point a quarter came in over. About three in ten of these jobs started in Bristol, where we’re based, so the figures lean towards the South West.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does a man with a van cost in the UK?
Across the last 500 man and van jobs booked with The Van Man Co, a typical job cost about £160, with smaller jobs around £100 and bigger ones around £280. For comparison, Checkatrade’s August 2026 guide puts one man with a van at £35 to £93 an hour. The total depends on how long your job takes.
How much is a man and van for 2 hours?
Our jobs booked for up to two hours typically came to about £75, and most were between £70 and £90. The booked time includes the driver’s travel to you and back, so a two hour booking suits a small load over a short distance.
Do man and van services charge per mile?
Some add mileage or fuel on top of an hourly rate. With The Van Man Co, the estimate is built from time and distance and includes the driver’s travel to you and back to base. Ask how travel is costed before you book.
Is it cheaper to hire a van and do it yourself?
It can be on paper, but fuel, parking, extra trips and doing all the lifting yourself narrow the gap. For heavy furniture, stairs or a tight deadline, a man and van often works out better value.
