How much does it cost to move a 3-bedroom house?

Locally, plan on roughly $1,300–$3,500 for a four-mover crew working 6–9 hours at typical 2026 rates. Long-distance, a 3-bedroom home weighs about 8,500–11,000 lbs, so a 1,000-mile move typically runs $4,200–$8,800 if you pack yourself, or about $5,000–$10,500 with full packing service.

Is it cheaper to rent a truck or hire movers?

A rental truck is usually 3–6x cheaper on paper — but you supply the labor, fuel, hotels, and all the risk of driving a 26-foot truck. The hybrid option (you pack, pros load and drive) often lands in the middle and is the best value for people with more boxes than friends.

What is a binding moving estimate?

A binding estimate is a written price the mover must honor, based on a survey of your belongings. A non-binding estimate can grow at delivery, but federal rules protect you: on an interstate move the mover must release your goods once you pay 110% of a non-binding estimate, with any remainder billed at least 30 days later.

How much should you tip movers?

There is no fixed rule, but $5–$10 per mover per hour is a common benchmark, handed in cash to each crew member rather than added to the bill. Tip toward the high end for stairs, long carries, pianos, or a July heat wave — and remember water and lunch are always appreciated.

When is the cheapest time to move?

October through April, mid-month, and midweek. Demand peaks in summer (school calendars), on weekends, and at month-end (lease turnovers), and movers price accordingly — the same move can cost 20–30% more on a late-June Saturday than on a mid-February Tuesday.

Moving Cost Estimator — Local & Long-Distance (2026)

Pick your home size, distance, and service level to get an honest cost range for your move — DIY truck rental, hybrid, or full-service — plus a side-by-side comparison of all three, built on typical published July 2026 rates.

How this estimator works

Movers price two completely different products depending on distance. Local moves (under ~100 miles) are billed hourly: a crew and a truck at a combined rate, typically $100–$200 per hour for two movers in 2026 surveys (more in coastal cities), plus a travel or truck fee. Long-distance moves are billed on the weight of your shipment times the distance — the truck literally crosses a certified scale, and that ticket is what you pay on. That's why the single best thing you can do before a long move is get rid of heavy stuff you don't love: every 100 lbs of old textbooks is real money.

This estimator uses typical published 2026 rates (industry cost surveys from Forbes Home, ConsumerAffairs, and Angi; U-Haul published rental pricing; ~$3.85/gal national average gas per AAA in July 2026) and rounds the range outward. It is a planning number, not a quote — real quotes require a survey of your actual stuff.

The formula

Local (<100 mi): Cost = crew rate ($/hr) × (labor hours + miles ÷ 25) + travel fee

Long-distance: Cost = billed weight (lbs) × rate per lb, where rate/lb ≈ $0.50–$0.80 × (0.6 + 0.4 × miles ÷ 1,000)

DIY: Cost = truck rental (day rate or one-way base + per-mile) + fuel + equipment

Crew rate and labor hours scale with home size (2 movers for a studio or 1BR up to 4–5 for a large house); miles ÷ 25 adds drive time to local jobs. Billed weight uses typical household weights — studio ~1,800–2,500 lbs up to 12,000–16,000+ lbs for a 4-bedroom — with the ~2,000 lb minimum most interstate carriers bill. Full-service adds packing labor and materials; DIY adds fuel at truck-appropriate mpg (8–12) and current gas prices.

Worked example

A 2-bedroom home moving 40 miles with a hybrid crew (you pack, pros load and drive): 3 movers at $150–$240/hr, 4–7 labor hours plus 1.6 hours of drive time (40 ÷ 25), and a $100–$200 travel fee.

Low: 150 × (4 + 1.6) + 100 = $940. High: 240 × (7 + 1.6) + 200 = $2,264. Rounded outward: $900 – $2,300. The same move DIY (20-ft truck, 100 miles driven round-trip, fuel) runs about $150–$300 — and full-service with packing about $1,200–$3,700.

Why summer weekends cost the most

Moving is brutally seasonal. Leases and school years turn over in summer, everyone wants a Saturday, and month-end closings pile on top — so May through September, weekends, and the last few days of any month are peak demand, and movers use straightforward demand pricing. The identical crew doing the identical job can cost 20–30% more on a late-June Saturday than a mid-February Tuesday. If your dates are flexible, mid-month and midweek in the off-season is the discount lever that costs you nothing.

Binding vs. non-binding estimates (know the 110% rule)

A binding estimate is a written price the mover must honor for the listed inventory and services — it can't grow at delivery just because the load weighed more. A non-binding estimate is a guess, and the final bill rides on the actual scale weight. Federal consumer-protection rules from the FMCSA soften that on interstate moves: the mover must hand over your goods once you pay 110% of a non-binding estimate, and must defer any remaining charges for at least 30 days. A mover who refuses delivery until you pay a ballooned bill is "holding the load hostage" — a scam the FMCSA explicitly warns about, and usually a violation of federal law.

Red flags before you book

Interstate movers must be registered with the FMCSA and have a USDOT number — look it up free at protectyourmove.gov before signing anything. Walk away from movers who demand a large cash deposit (reputable companies collect on delivery), quote a firm price without an in-home or video survey (they can't — weight drives the price), or answer the phone with a generic "Movers!" instead of a company name. And get the estimate in writing, on paper, with the word "binding" on it if that's what you were promised.

Moving Cost Estimator