Types of Moving Companies

• Local Movers / Short Distance Movers: Local movers, also known as short distance movers, specialize in moves that are under 100 miles and within the same state.

• Long Distance Movers or Cross Country Movers: Crossing state lines, or traveling over 100 miles? You’ll have to call long distance movers, instead.

• Commercial Movers: Sometimes known as corporate movers, commercial movers focus on moving businesses. This can be anything from a small retail store to a major corporate HQ.

• Full-Service Movers: Full service movers will handle every step of your move, from the initial planning to the packing and final furniture reassembly.

• Area of Operation: Local movers operate within the same state, and within a 100-mile radius.

• Services: If you’re just moving across town or down the block, local movers are the way to go. They really know their way around their area of operation, whether it’s a city or a county.

• Pricing: When you book with local movers, they’ll charge you per hour and per mover. Each mover is around $80 an hour, and it takes about two movers per room.

• Area of Operation: Where local movers leave off, long distance movers take over. They handle moves that are over 100 miles, or across state lines (even if you’re living right on the border).

• Services: Long distance movers go the extra mile, pun very much intended. Since your belongings will be transported hundreds (or even thousands) of miles, they’ll pull out all the stops for safe and secure packing.

• Pricing: Unlike local movers, long distance movers charge based on miles and the physical dimensions of your move. This will be either a weight in pounds, or a volume in cubic feet.

• Licensed and Certified: Movers that operate across state lines need to be certified with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Look for an FMCSA number on your mover’s website to be sure they’re legit.

• Area of Operations: Commercial movers handle offices, warehouse inventory, retail space, and businesses of all shapes and sizes. Some commercial movers are local, and some are long distance.

• Services: Commercial moving takes a lot of extra experience and equipment, especially if you have machinery or fragile IT gear. Commercial movers know how to handle it.

• Pricing: Depending on how far you’re going and how much needs to be packed up, commercial movers may charge per hour (like local movers) or per mile and pound (like long distance movers).

• Minimize Downtime: Commercial movers are business owners too. They know that downtime is wasted time, so they’ll keep the whole process as efficient as possible.

• Area of Operations: Full service movers handle the entire process. Some are local, some are long distance, but all of them do all of the moving - from prep to packing and beyond.

• Services: In terms of services, full service movers provide the most. They’ll pack everything up, load it all into the truck, transport it… you won’t have to lift a finger.

• Pricing: Full service movers are more expensive than moving labor or DIY moving services, but the convenience is priceless.

• Insurance and Liability: Since you’re paying them to handle your boxing and packing, chances are you’ll be able to buy in to their full value insurance coverage as well. This means you’ll be fully reimbursed if anything is damaged.

• Area of Operations: You can find DIY moving services pretty much anywhere. Since you’ll be doing the actual transportation, the range really comes down to how far you want to move (and how far you feel like driving).

• Services: DIY moving services range from truck rentals to packing supplies, and occasionally even moving labor. For those hard-to-move items, you can pay local moving pros to help you load up your truck.

• Pricing: DIY moving is cheaper than the alternative, but it’ll still cost you a pretty penny. Aside from paying for you truck, your gas, and your packing supplies, you may have to pay for food and lodging depending on how far you’re going.

There’s a ton of moving companies out there, but now that you know their specialties, it’ll be a lot easier to find whoever’s best for the job. All you have to do next is find the best local, long distance, or commercial mover, and compare some quotes!

Best of luck on your big move. Don’t forget to check out some of our other guides to make your move even easier!