BoxEstimate

Free calculator

Moving cost calculator: movers or a DIY truck?

A 2-bedroom local move (20 mi) costs $680 to $2,000 with professional movers (4-8 hours for a crew of 3 at $170 to $250 an hour, 2026 published rates) and about $94 for a 20 ft truck rental with fuel, before boxes. Type your distance, tick packing or stairs, and edit any rate.

Doing it yourself

Result

Professional movers, local
$680 to $2,000
Expected movers' figure
$1,340
Hours x crew
4-8 h x 3 movers
Do it yourself: 20 ft truck
$94
Truck rental
$80 (40 mi charged)
Fuel
$14 (3.3 gal)
Boxes and supplies
Not priced yet
DIY saves about
$1,246

Movers: 4-8 hours for a crew of 3 at the hourly rate (Bellhop, Average Cost of Local Movers in 2026, read 2026-09-20). DIY: day rate x days plus the distance charged beyond what is included, fuel from the truck's mpg and the fuel price; boxes and packing supplies not priced, so the DIY figure is a floor. Estimates from published moving guides and rate pages, each with its source and date: quotes from movers and rental companies replace them.

Moving in the next two months? Pro prints the whole plan.

An 8-week checklist, a box inventory you fill as you pack, the shopping list, the cost summary and the truck on one printable sheet, with Excel export.

See Pro

How it works

Movers, local (up to 100 mi): the published hours for your home size times the crew’s hourly rate, low times low and high times high, so the range is the guide’s own. Long distance: the published range for your home size from a 2026 mover’s guide. Packing adds the published packing service figure. Stairs without a lift and a peak-season date each move the expected figure a quarter of the way towards the top of the range, since the guides say both raise the bill without printing a percentage.

Do it yourself: the truck size calculator picks the class that takes your belongings in one trip, priced at its day rate times the rental days plus every mile beyond what is included (a local rental goes back to the depot, so the distance counts twice; a one-way rental counts once and takes one day per 400 miles). Fuel = distance charged / the truck’s mpg x the fuel price; boxes come from the box calculator once you have priced them; helpers = people x hours x rate.

With the US starting values: local 2-bedroom, movers $680 to $2,000 against DIY $94; the same home 800 miles away, movers $3,284 to $6,486 against a one-way 20 ft truck at $1,200 with fuel at 12 mpg and $4.319 a gallon. The guide's own local totals for a 2-bedroom are $800 to $2,000 (Bellhop, Average Cost of Local Movers in 2026, read 2026-09-20).

These are planning ranges, not quotes: movers price by weight, access and date, rental companies by location and day. Get two or three written quotes for the real figure and use this page to see whether they are in the published range.

Sources of the US starting values

UK starting values have their own sources (HomeOwners Alliance removal averages, a Luton van hire page, GOV.UK diesel prices), shown under each field when you switch region.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to move a 2-bedroom apartment?
Locally, $680 to $2,000 with movers (Bellhop, Average Cost of Local Movers in 2026, read 2026-09-20) or about $94 with a 20 ft truck you drive yourself, before boxes. Long distance, $3,284 to $6,486 with movers (mygoodmovers, Long-Distance Moving Cost in 2026, read 2026-09-20). In the UK the average removal quote for a 2-bedroom house is £603 locally and £800 to £1,200 over 100 miles (HomeOwners Alliance, How Much Do Removals Cost?, read 2026-09-20).
What counts as a long-distance move?
Here, anything over 100 mi (HomeOwners Alliance, How Much Do Removals Cost? prices "long-distance moves" separately, and Bellhop's local guide covers moves "within 50 miles"; 100 miles = 160.9 km is the line used here, read 2026-09-20). Movers price local moves by the hour and long ones by weight and distance, which is why the tool switches from hours x rate to a published range at that line. Interstate moves in the US are regulated differently again; a written estimate is binding only if it says so.
Is a rental truck always cheaper?
On paper, usually: $94 against $680 to $2,000 for a local 2-bedroom move with the starting values. The DIY figure leaves out your own time, the boxes until you price them, insurance on the rental, and the friends you owe a meal; add helpers and a second day if the move runs long. Past 1,000 mi the gap narrows because a one-way rental is priced by quote and fuel at 12 mpg adds up.
How much does packing help cost?
The starting values use a published range: $280 for a 1-bedroom apartment up to $2,000 for a 5-bedroom home, with the sizes between on a straight line (Derived: a straight line between the guide's two figures, "$280" for one bedroom and "$2,000" for five bedrooms, gives $710 for two (This Old House, How Much Do Professional Packers Cost?), read 2026-09-20). In the UK, £400-£500 for a 3-bedroom house, applied per bedroom. Materials are usually on top; movers who pack also unpack for a further charge.
Why does the truck rental cost more than the advertised day rate?
Because the advertised $20 or $40 a day excludes mileage ($0.99 a mile as the starting value, moveBuddha, U-Haul Truck Rental Sizes and Prices, read 2026-09-20), fuel, taxes, insurance and fees. The calculator adds mileage and fuel; insurance and taxes vary by state and are left to the quote.
Do the flags for stairs and peak season change the price?
They move the expected figure inside the published range rather than adding an invented percentage: the middle of the range without them, three quarters of the way up with one, the top with both. Movers do charge for stairs, long carries and busy dates, and the guides say so; ask the quote what the surcharge is.