Moving Cost Calculator
Calculate Your Moving Cost Estimate
Fill in your move details to get an estimated price range. The more accurate your inputs, the closer the estimate will be to your final quote.
Disclaimer: Estimates provided by this calculator are based on industry averages and are intended as a general guide only. Actual moving costs vary based on specific inventory, access conditions, fuel surcharges, seasonal demand, and carrier pricing. Coastal Moving Services recommends requesting a written quote before making any financial commitments.
Page reviewed July 2026 by Coastal Moving Services' quote and compliance team.
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Long Distance Moving Cost Estimates
The tables below show typical price ranges for long distance moves across the most common home sizes and distances. Use these as a baseline when reviewing quotes from carriers.
| Home Size | Up to 500 Miles | 500 – 1,000 Miles | 1,000 – 2,000 Miles | 2,000+ Miles | Approx. Cubic Feet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio / 1 Bedroom | $900 – $1,800 | $1,400 - $2,600 | $2,000 - $3,400 | $2,800 - $4,500 | 800 - 1,200 cu ft |
| 2 Bedroom Apartment | $1,600 - $2,800 | $2,400 - $3,900 | $3,200 - $5,200 | $4,200 - $6,800 | 1,200 - 1,800 cu ft |
| 3 Bedroom Home | $2,400 - $4,200 | $3,600 - $5,800 | $5,000 - $7,800 | $6,500 - $10,500 | 1,800 - 2,500 cu ft |
| 4 Bedroom Home | $3,500 - $6,000 | $5,200 - $8,200 | $7,000 - $11,000 | $9,000 - $14,500 | 2,500 - 3,500 cu ft |
| 5+ Bedroom / Large Home | $5,000 - $9,000 | $7,500 - $12,500 | $10,500 - $16,000 | $13,500 - $22,000+ | 3,500 - 5,000 cu ft |
Disclaimer: All figures are industry average estimates compiled by Coastal Moving Services for informational purposes only. Actual costs depend on final inventory volume, carrier pricing, fuel surcharges, access conditions, packing services, and seasonal demand. These figures do not constitute a binding quote. Contact Coastal Moving Services for a written estimate specific to your move.
Variables That Drive Your Quote
As a licensed broker (USDOT# 4090919), we analyze carrier rates based on specific industry data. These six variables directly dictate the cost of your estimate; understanding them is the best way to verify your quote accuracy.
Carriers calculate long distance moves based on total mileage between pickup and delivery zip codes. This is the primary driver of your base tariff. Unlike local moves, long distance rates are calculated per cubic foot per mile.
Industry-standard long distance pricing relies on shipment cubic footage, not square footage. A high-density apartment with lots of furniture can take up more truck space than a larger, sparsely furnished home. We require a detailed inventory list to establish an accurate baseline cubic footage.
Moving rates fluctuate based on carrier supply and capacity. Moves scheduled between May and September—or around month-end dates—carry peak season pricing. Flexibility in your pickup window can significantly influence the final bid.
Professional packing is billed as a service surcharge covering both specialized materials and crew labor hours. Partial packing for fragile items remains the most efficient way to manage move-day costs without sacrificing protection for high-value goods.
Conditions that limit large semi-truck access—such as narrow residential streets, steep driveways, or elevator restrictions—require shuttle service. Failure to disclose these at the time of booking leads to unavoidable post-pickup surcharges.
Storage-in-transit (SIT), hoisting, and vehicle transportation are billed as independent line items. Review your quote to ensure these services are explicitly itemized and categorized by the carrier rather than bundled into the base rate.
Moving Costs by Move Type
Different move types are priced differently. Local moves are billed hourly, long distance moves by cubic footage and mileage, and commercial moves by scope. Here is what to expect for each, or get a free moving quote to see exact pricing for your move.
Local moves under 50 miles are typically billed by the hour with a minimum of two to three hours. The rate covers a crew of two or three movers plus a truck. Stairs, long carries, and heavy items extend labor time. Most local moves for a 1 to 2-bedroom home complete in three to six hours.
Interstate and cross-country moves are priced by shipment cubic footage and total mileage. Carriers charge a base rate per 100 cubic feet per 100 miles with fuel and accessorial fees added. Binding estimates lock in the price at the agreed cubic footage. Always request a binding or not-to-exceed quote for long distance moves.
Same-day moves carry a rush premium on top of the standard hourly rate because the carrier must reprioritize scheduling and dispatch crew on short notice. The premium typically ranges from 15 to 30 percent above the standard hourly rate. Availability is subject to crew scheduling on the day of request.
Office and commercial moves are quoted by scope of work rather than a standard hourly rate. The estimate accounts for the volume of workstations, server equipment, filing systems, and any after-hours or weekend scheduling required to avoid business downtime. Larger relocations typically involve a dedicated project coordinator.
Professional packing is billed as a separate line item added to any move type. Full packing covers every room and includes all materials. Partial packing covers fragile or high-value items only. Unpacking at the destination is available on request. Packing materials — boxes, tape, wrapping paper, specialty crates — are itemized separately.
Carriers offer better rates when they can plan ahead. Booking four to six weeks out gives you access to more competitive pricing and better crew availability. Last-minute bookings in peak season often carry a 15 to 25 percent premium simply due to scarcity.
May through September is the most expensive period to move. If your timeline allows, scheduling your move between October and April, and choosing a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, can reduce your quote noticeably compared to a Friday or Saturday in July.
Long distance moves are priced by cubic footage. Every piece of furniture, every box of books, and every appliance you sell, donate, or discard before the inventory assessment directly reduces your final quote. A pre-move purge is one of the most effective cost-reduction steps available.
Full professional packing is a convenience that comes with a cost. If you can pack non-fragile items such as books, clothes, linens, kitchenware, yourself and reserve professional packing for fragile, high-value, or large items only, you can reduce the packing line item by 40 to 60 percent.
Never accept the first quote without comparing. Getting two or three written binding estimates from licensed carriers gives you both a price benchmark and leverage. Coastal Moving Services matches you with multiple carriers so you can compare before committing to any one of them.
For hourly local moves, every minute of labor costs money. Disassembling bed frames, desks, shelving units, and other large furniture before the crew arrives reduces the time they spend on-site. Movers charge for disassembly time, and even 30 minutes saved translates directly to dollars.
Access fees for stairs, elevators, long carries, or shuttle trucks are among the most common surprise charges on a final invoice. Disclose access details at both pickup and delivery locations before the estimate is finalized so these costs are included in the written quote rather than added on move day.
The national average cost across all move types and sizes is $3,020 per This Old House’s 2025 survey of 1,000 moving customers. Local moves average $1,489. Long-distance moves average $3,129.
The national average for specifically long-distance and cross-country full-service moves runs $4,890 for a typical two- to three-bedroom household. These averages cover a wide range of home sizes and distances, so your actual cost depends on your specific inventory weight, how far you are moving, and which services you select.
Local movers charge $40 to $80 per mover per hour in standard markets. High-cost markets like New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles run $80 to $150 per mover per hour.
Most local moves require a crew of two to four movers depending on home size, so the effective crew rate runs $80 to $300 per hour depending on location and crew size. Most companies also charge a travel fee of one to two hours on top of the actual moving time to cover the crew’s drive to and from their facility.
A cross-country move for a two- to three-bedroom home costs $4,000 to $7,000 on average with a full-service mover. Studio and one-bedroom cross-country moves cost $2,000 to $3,500. Four- to five-bedroom home cross-country moves cost $8,500 to $15,000 or more.
The overall cross-country average across all home sizes runs $4,600 based on Angi’s 2026 data. HomeLove Movers’ February 2026 pricing analysis puts the typical full-service cross-country move for a standard household in the $3,500 to $6,500 range.
A local one-bedroom apartment move costs $550 to $1,100 on average with professional movers. An interstate one-bedroom apartment move costs $1,500 to $3,500 depending on distance, with shorter moves in the $1,500 to $2,000 range and cross-country moves running $2,400 to $4,500.
If you use a container like U-Pack or PODS and load it yourself, a one-bedroom interstate move can cost $800 to $1,800 including transport. If you rent your own truck and drive it yourself, total costs including fuel run $400 to $1,200 for most one-bedroom interstate distances.
The cheapest way to move in 2026 is to rent a truck and drive it yourself, with U-Haul averaging $1,778 for a long-distance move and Budget offering competitive promotional pricing.
The second cheapest option is a container service like U-Pack, which prices only the space you use and runs $800 to $2,500 for most interstate distances for a one- to two-bedroom household.
The third cheapest full-service option is a labor-only crew from HireAHelper to load and unload a rental truck or container. This adds $160 to $390 in professional labor costs while keeping the total well below full-service van line pricing.
If cost is the primary driver and you have the physical capacity and time to self-pack and load, the truck rental or container-plus-labor hybrid consistently produces the lowest total cost across all move types.
The best time to hire movers for the lowest price is between October and April, on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, during the middle two weeks of the month.
Off-peak season moves cost 15 to 20 percent less than summer moves for identical service. Mid-week and mid-month bookings cost 10 to 15 percent less than weekends and month-end dates.
Booking six to eight weeks in advance during any season secures better pricing and scheduling priority than last-minute bookings. The single most expensive combination is a Friday or Saturday move in June, July, or August during the last week of the month, when demand peaks across all three pricing variables simultaneously.
The five most effective steps to avoid being overcharged are:
- Request a binding estimate rather than a non-binding estimate from every company you contact.
- Get a minimum of three written quotes and compare them against the verified prices in this guide.
- Verify the company’s USDOT number at protectyourmove.gov before paying any deposit.
- Read the bill of lading completely before signing it and confirm that the price, pickup date, delivery window, and service list match what was quoted.
- Never sign a blank or incomplete contract and never pay a deposit exceeding 20 to 25 percent of the total quote before the move begins.
The most common mover overcharge comes from non-binding estimates revised upward after loading, which a binding estimate eliminates entirely.
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