The honest answer is that it depends on two numbers you already know and one you have not agreed yet: your sale price, your outstanding mortgage, and the fee the agent will charge. Everything else on the sheet moves very little. This page works the sum through in the order the money actually leaves, so you can see which line is worth an hour of your attention and which is not.
How much to sell a house? Start from the fee, because it moves the most
On a commission the fee is a percentage of the eventual sale price, so it scales with the house. That single fact is why the total varies more between two sellers than between two agents. A percentage that sounds small becomes the largest line on the sheet on any normal house price, and the difference between two quotes half a percentage point apart is real money. Before you compare anything, establish whether each quote is stated inclusive or exclusive of VAT, because the standard rate is 20 percent and a fifth of the biggest line is not a rounding error.
What does it cost to sell a house beyond the fee? The fixed lines you can price today
The conveyancer's fee is quotable before you instruct anyone, and the firms will give you a written quote covering their own charge and the disbursements they pay out on your behalf. The EPC is required before marketing and lasts ten years, so check whether the property already has a valid one before you pay for another. Removals depend on volume and distance and are the line people forget until the week before. None of these three moves with the sale price, which is why they matter less to the total than they feel like they should.
How much does it cost to sell a property, and what is left after it?
The cost of selling is only half the question. The number that decides what you do next is the sale price less the fee and its VAT, less the fixed lines, less the mortgage you are redeeming. That is the seller's net proceeds, and it is the figure a good agent puts in front of you at valuation rather than a percentage. Working it on your own numbers takes a minute in the free sheet and tells you something a national average never can, which is whether the move you are planning is affordable at the price you are being advised to ask.
Fees for selling a house UK sellers can price before they instruct
Most of the sum is unknowable until an offer arrives, but a useful part of it is knowable today. The certificate is a fixed order and lasts ten years, so either you need one or you do not. A conveyancing quote can be had before you market and changes little afterwards. Removals can be quoted from a date and a distance. Add those three together and you have a floor for the whole exercise, which is often enough to tell you whether the sale clears the mortgage before you have spoken to a single agent. After that, the commission is the only large number still moving, and it moves with the price.
Other questions people ask
Does the buyer pay any of this?
No. The agent's fee, the seller's conveyancing and the EPC are the seller's. The buyer has their own conveyancing, survey and any stamp duty, which are not on this sheet.
What if the house sells for less than the asking price?
On a commission the fee falls with it, because it is a percentage of the sale price. On a fixed fee it does not, which is the trade in the two models.
Should I use the asking price or the offer in the sheet?
Both, one after the other. The gap between the two answers is the part of your budget that depends on the negotiation rather than on the contract.