How Much Does It Cost To Hire Professional Movers?

Introduction to Hiring Professional Movers

How much does it cost to hire a mover? It is one of the most pressing questions about moving. This is 100% understandable because typically moving is a part of a larger life event like buying or selling a house, a new job in a new city, getting married, or having children. All of these events are typically expensive. When you have such a huge transition, it is natural to want to know how to budget for it. Let's untangle the costs behind moving, how to research movers, and what you can do to reduce your final expenses.

Understanding Moving Cost Factors

There are really three main buckets of costs that are associated with moving. These include:

• Packing and packing supplies- These costs can be sneaky because people typically need to make multiple trips to retailers to find and buy.

• Loading- If it's a DIY move, costs come in the form of time, potential damages, hard labor effort, and meals for your help. If you're using professional movers, the effort is minimal, but the tradeoff is paying for their services.

• Transport- If it's a DIY move, costs come from rental trucks, fuel, and insurance, or using friends' pickups. Professional moving companies typically have transportation costs built into their quote and hourly rates.

Factors Affecting Moving Costs

In most cases, movers can’t provide you with exact moving costs because the logistics of the move make it impossible to know exactly how long your move will take. The vast majority of movers also have an hourly rate, therefore, the length of the move determines the charges and there's factors that impact the total cost.

These factors include, but aren’t limited to:

• The amount of belongings you have and how things need to be packed

• The distance between your move-out location and to final destination

• Number of stops (e.g., a stop at a storage facility to pick up more belongings)

• The distance from your home to the loading zone

• Whether or not the movers are going up and down stairs

• If they have to use an elevator

• If your belongings are actually packed and you're ready when the movers arrive

• Furniture is being disassembled, assembled, and rearranged

• Weather complications

• Add-on services (packing and/or unpacking)

• Timing of your move

• Number of movers performing services

 

Types of Moves

The type of move can impact the overall cost as well. Most moving companies will quote differently, based on whether the move is local, long-distance, or labor only. For now, let's concentrate on local and long distance moves, and get to labor only later.

Local Moves

Most local moving companies consider a move under 50 miles a local move (sometimes up to 100, depending upon the mover), within the same metro area, city, and not crossing state lines. Local moves are typically quoted as an hourly rate, including some kind of travel fee either separately or billed as part of the hourly rate. Moving locally is easier for moving companies to provide an estimate or range of what you should budget for. Many companies, including 3 Men Movers, can provide you with a moving cost calculator to give you a ballpark estimate for budgeting.

Long Distance Moves

Long-distance moves typically are greater than 100 miles, involve moving across the state (e.g., Houston to Dallas), or state lines. Many moving companies will require a much more involved quote process that works off the overall weight of household goods, calculating fuel costs, sleepover costs for multi-day driving, and other factors. Depending upon distance and weight of household belongings, these moves can easily range from $7,000 to $15,000.

Average Cost of Hiring Movers

For people moving locally, here are the average moving costs, based on the size of the home:

Home Size	Average Cost	Details
Studio Apartment	$300-$500	2 movers for 3-4 hours
1-Bedroom	$400-$700	2 movers for 4-5 hours
2-Bedroom	$700-$1200	3 movers for 5-7 hours
3-Bedroom	$1200-$2000	4 movers for 7-9 hours
4-Bedroom	$1800-$3000+	4-5 movers for 9 + hours

Of course, these are just averages, and each local move is unique, so you will need to determine costs based on your situation.

For people getting ready for a long-distance move, here are average costs and typical ranges based on the size of the home and distance:

Home Size	Average Cost	Typical Range	Distance Example
Studio/ 1- Bedroom	$2000-$4000	$1999-$4200+	1000 miles
2-3 Bedrooms	$4000-$7000	$3244-$7000+	1000-2500 miles
4 + Bedrooms	$6500-$10000+	$6566-$9228+	1000-2500+ miles

Hiring a Moving Company

The decision to hire a moving company is heavily dependent upon several personal factors, including budget, timeline of the move, perceived effort necessary, and physical ability. The old adage that time equals money holds true for moving. What are you willing to trade? Effort for money? Time? These tradeoffs will typically change with age. And, no shock professional movers' perfect audience are people in the 35 to 60 year old age bracket.

Once you understand what type of move you're doing, what you're willing to trade personally, and personal resources available, then you're ready to start the process of hiring DIY, partial service movers, or a full service moving company. Each type has unique aspects that will require research.

Researching Moving Companies and DIY Options

While tedious, proper research and planning can affect moving costs positively if done right. Hiring the wrong movers or renting the wrong equipment can cost more in the long run, so spending time on this task is extremely important. By doing your homework up front, you will have a better chance of preventing the following issues:

• A poorly maintained truck rental results in breakdowns

• Hiring unlicensed movers who use untrained day laborers

• Damages from fly-by-night movers and loss of ability to collect compensation

• Wasted time and scheduling woes

DIY Moving Options

Typically, the largest cost of a DIY move is the truck rental for long distance moves, so it's important to do proper vetting of equipment rental, what is included for the price, and what are add on charges. For local moves, rental trucks are fairly inexpensive, but it's important to research and rent the right vehicle for the job. This will prevent lost time due to breakdowns, multiple trips due to inadequate space on the truck, and the hassles that come with these issues.

Rental Trucks

For a DIY move, rental trucks are priced very differently for a local move versus long distance move. For example, U-Haul FAQ pages show the difference in truck rental for local versus long-distance, and how each is priced out:

Move Type	Distance	Base Rate	Mileage	Days Included	Return Location
Local	10 miles	$19.95	$1.09/mile	1 day	Same
Long Distance	1200 miles	$1200	Included	5 days	Different City

Both local and long-distance rentals require you to pay for fuel use, return the truck with a full tank, and insurance is optional. The big difference is that local rentals will cost $50-150, depending on distance and size of truck. Long-distance rentals will typically cost $300-$2000, depending on truck size, distance traveled, and season.

Other rental truck considerations when pricing out your DIY move:

• Do they include hand trucks/dollies, or are they an add-on cost?

• Do they include protective blankets, or do they have to be purchased?

• Are there charges for going over mileage allowances on long-distance rentals?

• Age of fleet and condition of rental equipment

• If a long-distance move, where is the nearest return location to your destination?

• Are you towing anything behind the rental truck, and what is required?

As far as other resources when researching rental companies, there are several places to check down how reputable and easy the rental company is to work with, including:

• Google reviews from their location information on Google Business Profile

• Yelp

• Neighborhood forums

• Referrals

• Better Business Bureau

Moving Containers

Moving containers are another way to DIY part of the moving process. PODS is a great example of a container company that can deliver one or more containers to your house, allowing you to pack it yourself at your own pace, and then they arrange for transportation. Understanding your needs first can help you select a cost-effective means for your situation. Some reasons people use on-demand storage include:

• Long-distance moves

• Short distance, but waiting on the purchase of the new place to close

• Remodels or staging, and decluttering

• Unknown moving date

Costs will vary, depending upon the size of container, storage time, and distance transported, but if you can handle the effort, it's a very flexible moving solution.

Here are the average monthly costs for portable moving container rentals:

Container size	Typical Monthly Rental	Delivery & Pickup Fees
8 ft-small	$100-$150	$100-$200 (one time)
12 ft-medium	$120-$180	$100-$200
16 ft-large	$150-$200	$100-$250
20 ft-extra large	$200-$300 +	$150-$300

Long-distance transportation fees from state to state can cost anywhere from $1000 to $5000 plus, and are dependent on the size of the container, distance, peak moving season, and market. Check with your provider as part of the quote process.

Professional Moving Companies

Professional movers can do all the heavy lifting and reduce effort, but researching professional moving companies, regardless of local movers or long-distance movers, should be done carefully. It's smart to get multiple quotes to see the basics like hourly rate and differences between companies, but let's start with the basics on research to select a reputable company to handle your belongings:

Are They a Licensed Mover?

Unlicensed movers may charge you less per hour, but in many cases are operating illegally. Texas, California, and Florida all have state regulations in place that prohibit intrastate movers from operating without a proper license. Interstate movers all have to have federally required licenses to transport goods across state lines. The risks of hiring unlicensed movers include:

• No insurance or liability coverage for damage or loss, adding costs to you when something happens

• No accountability to regulators

• Risk of being scammed, or inflated charges at the end of the move

Confirm Their Business Record and Standing

There are several means to confirm this information, and it will shed light on whether or not they're a reputable company, including:

• Better Business Bureau is a great resource for checking an overall rating, customer reviews, and online complaints lodged against the business.

• The US Department of Transportation will provide information on interstate licensing, and movers, trucks, and websites will have the individual license numbers.

• State DMV websites, for example, Texas Truck Stop, provide searchable information on business name, license, and standing.

• Google, Yelp, TrustPilot, and other review platforms will provide actual customer experiences for you to compare.

We also have another article that goes more in-depth on the topic of selecting reputable movers, if interested.

Now, How Much Do Movers Cost?

This part of the journey is where it can get complicated, and you'll want to pay attention to what each company communicates, details, and lays out about their rates. It's easy to pay attention to an hourly rate figure and get enamored with it, but focus on what you get for the price, not the price itself. The value is in the service provided.

Pricing topics to pay attention to, regardless of a full-service or partial-service move:

1. What are the hourly rates? This is the number most people pay attention to, but understanding how long it will take is where the moving cost calculator comes in handy. At 3 Men Movers, we use our own internal data from completed moves over the last 2 years to provide a moving estimate range based on moves completed within zip codes in our markets. Check each moving company and whether they provide a cost calculator, as it helps with transparency.

2. More importantly, how many movers do you get for the rate? Time equals money, right? The more guys, the faster the move should go. Some default to two movers, others three. Compare the cost per mover per hour to help determine the real value you're getting and how transparent the company is with pricing.

3. What are each company's hourly minimums? Some movers offset lower hourly rates with a longer minimum.

4. What are the travel fees? Many movers charge a moving truck travel fee as part of their quote, which is used to offset travel time and fuel costs. Understanding not only what their fee is, but also how it's calculated, is important. Is it mileage-based or time-based? Or is it a flat fee? Mileage-based is a great means to make sure you're not paying a mover to sit in traffic

Partial Service Movers

When hiring a moving company, asking any moving company about partial services is a great means to control your costs, as long as you are willing and able to take over some of the effort to move smaller items. For an average 3-bed, 2 bath house, having a mover just get the furniture and large items can cut the cost by up to half. But you take over the rest, which is a personal preference. Partial service can also include:

• Just packing services- A great means to save time and effort for a DIY rental move. Many companies, including 3 Men Movers, offer this service. Most companies have an hourly minimum of 2 to 2.5 hours, and the average cost of packing services runs between $700-$1100, but it will turn weeks of DIY effort into hours.

• Labor-only movers- Another great way to save time and effort, if you're doing a rental move for longer distances. They only load your rental without providing the moving truck. Once again, check your mover's hourly minimums, but you can expect to pay $500-$900, depending on the size of the house and readiness.

Full Service Movers

Full-service movers typically can provide all moving services and additional services related to the whole moving process. They have the training and necessary moving trucks to handle all packing needs, basic moving activities of load and transport, but can also handle varying levels of specialty moves. These consist of things like moving pianos, pool tables, gun safes, and other large belongings like autos. Each mover will vary on what they can handle, so it's important to know your needs, make notes, and ask questions about the company's abilities. Moving cost topics to ask about are:

• Are their rates different by service (packing services, car transport, moving services, specialty item fees)?

• If they perform additional services, are the hourly minimums different by service?

• Do they charge extra for heavy items or specialty items?

The benefit of hiring full-service movers is that it greatly reduces your effort greatly. There is a tradeoff in moving costs, but depending upon your needs can actually save time and money.

Hidden Moving Fees

Now, for the part every consumer needs to pay close attention to when hiring professional movers. Some movers' costs will have hidden fees that are not figured out until the movers have completed moving you to your final destination. These can add up, and you should ask questions about them up front to prevent a surprise at the end of your move.

Understanding Hidden Fees

Hidden fees typically fall into the categories below, and are typically added on to offset movers' costs, including:

• Extra fees for stairs, heavy objects, and distance from house to truck- Your mover is charging an hourly rate that should already factor these elements in. Ask questions and take note of which movers are doing so in your comparison.

• Fuel surcharges- If your mover is charging you a travel fee, ask if there is any additional fuel surcharges. One national company is charging up to an 18% surcharge on the total bill, which can add up.

• Supplies charges- Ask if they charge for tape, shrink wrap, or any other supplies they will use during your move (packing supplies are typically quoted as part of a packing service).

Packing Supplies

Whether you move yourself, hire movers, or hire movers and a packing service, packing supplies will be involved, and the cost can sneak up on you in both time finding and buying them, as well as the cost itself. Things to consider about where and how you gather up the packing materials are:

• How much time do you have to prepare for your move? You might be able to hunt for the boxes somewhere besides buying them.

• What's your budget? You may be able to save money if you have time to hit up the local supermarket to gather up produce boxes. If you have the budget, heavy-duty boxes from home improvement stores are the best option.

• Quality materials will save hassle and potentially money by preventing damage. Spend a little extra on the right tape, bubble wrap, and other supplies.

Now, how much should it cost in supplies to pack up a house? That really depends upon how much you're packing, or if you're hiring out for packing services. If you are planning on doing a DIY pack, Home Depot has this handy box calculator that you can input the type and size of dwelling, and it will put together recommended needs and projected cost. This cost calculator can also be a great time saver, so you can budget time as well as money.

Professional movers executing a packing service will typically survey the inside of the house on your direction, and use past experience to develop an estimated use of supplies and provide that as part of the quote. You can use the moving box calculator to draw comparisons to make a final decision about how many moving boxes will be needed.

Tips For Reducing Moving Costs

There are ways to reduce moving costs, and since we all like to save a buck, here are some methods that will help you potentially save money. Some require effort, others just depend on the timing of your move. Some things to think about:

• Develop Your Moving Budget: Budgeting for key factors in your move will help you stick to what's most important for your move and your wallet.

• Plan Ahead: Early planning can help secure better rates and ensure your mover's availability for your preferred moving date, reducing your moving costs.

• Make Use of Cost Calculators: They help with comparisons and budgeting

• Seasonality and Day of Week: Movers and rental companies have seasonality factors to consider. Most people want to move in the summer, while school is out, so demand is higher in the summer months for services and equipment. If you're moving off-season, you should be able to save money. Also day of the week matters; if you can take a day off mid-week, you can gain a cost savings of 5 to 10 percent by doing so.

• Source Free Packing Materials: If you have time, you can cut costs on box expenses by going and collecting them from grocery stores.

• Declutter: Focusing on reducing the number of items to move can lower moving day costs. If you were planning on getting rid of some things, this is the perfect time to do it.

• Choose the Right Moving Method: Which is best: a full-service move, DIY approach, or hybrid solution? Think about your budget, how much time you have, and how much help you'll need. There's no one-size-fits-all answer, so choose what makes the most sense for your move and your comfort level.

In Conclusion

No two moves are exactly the same, which is why it's so important to plan ahead and find the right fit for your situation. Whether you're moving down the street or across the country, knowing what affects the cost—and what options are out there—can help you feel more confident and prepared. Take your time, ask the right questions, and choose the path that makes the most sense for you and your budget.