Moving Yourself vs. Hiring Movers: The Real Math

Moving yourself vs. hiring movers: the short answer

If you are moving a studio or a one-bedroom apartment across town and you have able friends, moving yourself is almost always cheaper. If you are moving a full house, moving a long distance, or moving on a tight schedule, hiring movers often costs less than people assume once every DIY expense is counted.

The mistake is comparing a mover's full quote to the advertised daily rate of a rental truck. The truck is only one line of a DIY budget. The real math looks at everything on both sides.

What a DIY move cost really includes

Start with the truck rental cost, then keep adding. Get a written price for each of these lines before you compare:

Then add what the rental counter does not quote:

• Fuel. A loaded rental truck burns far more fuel per mile than a car, and the largest trucks burn the most. On a long drive, fuel becomes one of the biggest lines in the budget
• Equipment. Dollies, furniture pads, straps, and a ramp, if they are not included
• Lodging and meals on a multi-day drive, plus the trip back if you need one
• Towing or shipping your car when you are driving the truck instead
• Help. Food, drinks, and favors owed to the friends who show up
• Time off work to pack, load, drive, unload, and return the truck

What the cost of hiring movers covers

Published cost guides that track moving prices put a local move with two movers and a truck somewhere between several hundred and a few thousand dollars, depending on the hours, the crew size, and access at both homes. A cross-country move typically runs several thousand dollars. Those figures change over time, so treat them as a sense of scale and get a written quote for your own move.

Those prices buy more than a truck. A professional crew brings the truck, the fuel, the dollies and pads, trained people who load so that nothing shifts, and basic liability coverage for your belongings. Local moves are typically billed hourly based on crew size and truck needs. Long-distance moves are usually quoted as a flat rate based on distance, inventory, and added services. Our breakdown of the cost to move out of state goes deeper.

The costs that never show up on a receipt

Three things belong in the comparison even though nobody sends you a bill for them.

Your time. A crew that moves furniture every day can load a home in a fraction of the time it takes first-timers. A DIY move commonly eats a weekend for a small place and most of a week for a house, counting packing, pickup, loading, driving, unloading, and returning the truck.

Damage. When movers damage something, their valuation coverage applies. When you drop the dresser or scrape the door frame, the loss is yours. A rental protection plan covers the truck, not your furniture.

Injury. Sofas, appliances, and stairs are how backs and fingers get hurt. A strained back can cost more than the move.

Put a rough dollar value on each of these, even a conservative one, and add it to the DIY column. If the two totals end up close, convenience usually settles it.

When moving yourself makes sense

• You have a studio or one-bedroom home without heavy or fragile pieces
• The move is local, with easy access and few stairs at both ends
• You have reliable help and a flexible schedule
• You are comfortable driving a large truck in traffic and backing it up
• Saving cash matters more to you than saving time

If most of these describe your move, rent the truck. Reserve it early if you need a weekend or a month-end date, choose a truck one size larger than you think you need so you are not forced into a second trip, and pick up dollies and furniture pads with it.

When is it worth hiring movers?

People ask "is it worth hiring movers" as if there were one answer. It depends on the move. Hiring is usually the better call when:

• You have a house, not an apartment, and the furniture to match
• The move is long distance, where fuel, lodging, and days on the road erase much of the DIY savings
• You own a piano, a safe, antiques, or anything heavy and awkward
• There are stairs, elevators, or a long carry at either address
• You are on a deadline, such as a closing date or the end of a lease
• Lifting is not safe for you, or you do not have help you can count on

The middle option: rent the truck, hire labor-only movers

You do not have to choose all or nothing. Labor-only movers load or unload a rental truck or a portable container that you supply. You keep control of the driving and the schedule, and the heaviest and riskiest part of the job goes to people who do it every day.

Other ways to split the work:

• Pack your own boxes and have a crew move them, or have the crew pack only the kitchen and the fragile items through a packing service
• Move the boxes yourself over a few evenings and book movers for the furniture and appliances only
• Hire a full crew for the load and unload it yourself at the other end

Allpoints Moving Services offers all of these, from full-service local moving to labor-only help. We are family-owned, licensed and insured, and have been in business since 1999. Request a free quote and put a real number next to your DIY estimate.