How the price is calculated
Local movers charge by the hour: a rate for the crew and the truck, times the hours it takes to load, drive and unload. The calculator turns that into a price by home size, because most people know how many bedrooms they have, not how many hours their move will take. At the sample rates here, a one-bedroom is $480, and each extra bedroom adds $450 (a bigger crew and more hours):
- 1 bedroom or studio: 2 movers, about 3 to 3.5 hours, $480
- 2 bedrooms: about 3 movers for 5 hours, $930
- 3 bedrooms: $1,380
- 4 bedrooms: $1,830
- 5 bedrooms: $2,280
Then it adds the extras: stairs or an elevator at either home (+$100), a long carry from the door to the truck (+$75), a piano or safe (+$250), packing materials (+$150) and a date this week (+$100). The result is a range, because the real bill goes by the real hours.
What changes the price
- How packed you are. Boxes taped and stacked by the door can save an hour or more
- Access. A third-floor walk-up or a long hallway adds time on both ends
- Distance. These prices assume a local move of roughly 30 minutes or less between homes
- The date. Month-end weekends and summer fill first, and many movers charge more for them
What this calculator does not do
It covers local moves only. Long-distance and interstate moves are priced differently, often by weight and distance, with their own federal paperwork, so get a written estimate from the mover for those. A calculator range is never a binding estimate.
For moving companies
The same calculator goes on your website with your own rates and add-ons. Customers see your price at 10 p.m. instead of calling three companies, and leads arrive with the home size, the floor and the extras they picked. See how much to charge for a local move to set your numbers.