Murphy Bed Cost Calculator
Price a fold down wall bed for a guest room, studio or home office, including the mechanism, the surrounding cabinetry and what it costs to have it installed properly.
Check the mattress depth limit before you buy. Most vertical wall beds accept a mattress up to 250mm to 300mm thick, and a plush pillow top at 350mm simply will not fold into the cabinet no matter how good the hardware is.
Horizontal fold beds need less floor projection but far more wall width, roughly 2.1 metres for a queen. They suit rooms with low ceilings such as attics and under stair spaces, which is exactly where a vertical bed will not fit.
💰 Ways to save
- Buy the hardware kit separately and have a local cabinetmaker build the box to suit your room. A branded Italian or German piston mechanism costs $700 to $1,400 on its own, and a cabinetmaker will build a matching melamine carcass for $900 to $1,600, which usually beats an imported complete unit once you add shipping and the cost of fixing the fit.
- Keep the carcass in white melamine and put your money into the front doors only. Nobody sees the inside of a wall bed cabinet, and specifying two pack polyurethane throughout instead of just on the visible faces typically adds $600 to $1,300 to a queen unit for no visible benefit.
- Skip the side storage towers if the room already has a wardrobe. Towers are the single biggest jump in the configuration ladder, often adding 50 to 60 per cent to the price, and in a guest room used a dozen nights a year the storage frequently goes unused while the cost is permanent.
- If you are doing other joinery in the house, get the wall bed quoted in the same package as the wardrobes or the study. Cabinetmakers price a single small job with a full mobilisation and delivery loading, and folding it into a larger order commonly saves $400 to $900 in setup and transport alone.
or from $31/week over 5 years , indicative finance
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## What a Murphy bed costs in Australia in 2026
Pricing reviewed: June 2026.
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Pricing reviewed June 2026. Indicative Australian costs, not a quote.
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Understanding murphy bed costs in Australia
What a Murphy bed costs in Australia in 2026
Flat pack wall bed kits imported and sold online start around $1,200 for a single and $1,600 to $2,600 for a queen, supplied only. Mid tier locally assembled units with gas piston hardware and a decent melamine carcass run $2,800 to $4,500 installed. Custom cabinetmaker built wall beds with side towers, integrated lighting and a two pack finish typically land between $5,500 and $12,000 depending on wall width and finish level.
The spread comes down to three things: the mechanism, the amount of surrounding cabinetry, and the finish. The bed itself, meaning the frame that folds, is a surprisingly small share of the cost. On a $7,000 full wall unit, the folding frame and hardware might be $1,800 and everything else is joinery.
Mechanisms and why they matter more than the box
There are two mechanism families. Coil spring systems are the older and cheaper approach, and they must be tensioned to match the weight of your mattress. They work, but they are unforgiving: swap in a heavier mattress in three years and the balance is wrong, and a badly balanced wall bed is genuinely dangerous.
Gas piston systems are self compensating across a mattress weight range, usually stated as something like 25kg to 45kg. They are smoother, quieter and safer, and they add roughly $400 to $700 over a spring kit. European branded hardware from manufacturers like Hafele or Sedona adds $1,000 to $1,500 but brings soft close on both directions and a warranty that means something in Australia.
Vertical fold beds pivot at the head and project roughly 2.1 metres into the room for a queen, needing about 1.6 metres of wall width. Horizontal fold beds pivot at the side, need about 2.1 metres of wall and project only 1.6 metres, and are the answer for rooms with sloped or low ceilings. Horizontal hardware costs about 40 to 60 per cent more than vertical for the same size.
Configuration is where the budget goes
A bare bed cabinet is the cheapest thing you can buy and it looks like exactly what it is: a box on a wall. Adding side storage towers, typically 400mm to 600mm wide each with adjustable shelving and doors, transforms the appearance and adds 50 to 60 per cent to the price, so roughly $1,400 to $2,600 on a queen.
A full wall unit that runs floor to ceiling and wall to wall, with bridging shelves over the bed cabinet, roughly doubles the base price. This is the configuration that reads as built in joinery rather than furniture, and it is what most people actually have in mind when they picture a wall bed.
Integrated fold down desks are the most complex option. Done properly, the desk is on its own pivot so items left on it stay level as the bed comes down. Done cheaply, the desk is fixed to the bed underside and must be cleared every single time. The good version costs $1,200 to $2,200 more than a plain bed cabinet and is worth every dollar in a room that genuinely doubles as an office.
Installation, walls and the practical constraints
Every wall bed must be mechanically fixed into structure. In a timber framed house that means catching studs at the cabinet fixing points, and if the studs do not align you need to open the wall and add noggins. In a brick or concrete wall it means chemical anchors. Professional installation runs $500 to $900 for a straightforward unit and $900 to $1,400 where the walls are out of plumb and the cabinet has to be scribed and packed.
Skirting boards are the small detail that catches everyone. A wall bed cabinet sits flush against the wall, so either the skirting is cut out behind it or the cabinet is packed forward by the skirting thickness, which then leaves a gap at the sides. A good installer resolves this before delivery, a poor one discovers it on the day.
Floor clearance matters too. The bed legs land on the floor when open, so thick carpet, floor rugs or an uneven slab will affect how the bed sits. Most quality units have adjustable feet, budget kits often do not.
Comparing against the alternatives
The honest comparison for a guest room is not against another bed, it is against the value of the floor space. A queen bed occupies roughly 3.5 square metres permanently. In a capital city apartment valued at $10,000 per square metre, reclaiming that space for daily use is worth far more than the $4,000 the wall bed costs.
Against a sofa bed, a wall bed wins comprehensively on sleep quality because it takes a real mattress rather than a thin folding one, and it typically costs a similar amount once you compare a decent sofa bed at $2,500 to $4,500 against a mid tier wall bed. The trade off is that the sofa bed also gives you seating.
What to check before you order
Confirm the maximum mattress thickness, usually 250mm to 300mm, and buy the mattress to suit rather than the other way around. Confirm the ceiling height required, because a vertical queen typically needs 2.15 metres minimum. Confirm the warranty covers the mechanism specifically and for how long, since ten years on hardware is the benchmark and two years suggests a kit built to a price.
Finally, ask to operate a unit before buying. The difference between a well engineered wall bed that a child could lower with one hand and a cheap one that needs a deliberate heave is completely obvious in ten seconds, and it is not something any product photograph will ever show you.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Murphy bed cost in Australia?
Flat pack kits start at $1,200 for a single and $1,600 to $2,600 for a queen supplied only. Mid tier units with gas piston hardware are $2,800 to $4,500 installed, and custom cabinetmaker built wall beds with side towers and a two pack finish run $5,500 to $12,000.
Is a gas piston mechanism worth the extra cost?
Generally yes. Gas pistons add roughly $400 to $700 over a coil spring kit but they self compensate across a mattress weight range of about 25kg to 45kg, so changing mattresses later does not throw the balance out. Spring systems must be retensioned by hand whenever the mattress weight changes.
What does installation cost?
Professional installation of a standard wall bed runs $500 to $900. Where walls are out of plumb, skirting has to be cut back or the cabinet needs scribing and packing, expect $900 to $1,400. If the wall studs do not line up with the fixing points, opening the wall to add noggins adds a further $300 to $600.
How much space does a wall bed need?
A vertical fold queen needs about 1.6 metres of wall width, 2.15 metres of ceiling height, and projects roughly 2.1 metres into the room when open. A horizontal fold queen needs about 2.1 metres of wall width but only projects 1.6 metres, making it the option for attic rooms and low ceilings.
Can I put any mattress in a Murphy bed?
No. Most vertical wall beds accept a mattress up to 250mm to 300mm thick and within a stated weight range, typically 25kg to 45kg. A thick pillow top at 350mm will not fold into the cabinet, and an out of range weight will either make the bed slam down or prevent it staying closed.
Are wall beds cheaper than a sofa bed?
They are broadly comparable. A quality sofa bed is $2,500 to $4,500 and a mid tier wall bed installed is $2,800 to $4,500. The wall bed takes a proper mattress so it sleeps far better, while the sofa bed also gives you daytime seating. Wall beds win where sleep quality and reclaiming floor space matter more than seating.
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