Hire Movers vs. Rent a Moving Truck: How to Choose the Best Option

Moving to a new home is equally exciting and stressful. Once you’ve found your next home, you must decide how to move your furniture and belongings to your new digs. But how can you choose the best option for your needs? Should you hire movers vs. rent a moving truck? Here’s how to decide.

1. Consider Your Moving Needs

The scope of the move is the first factor to consider when choosing between hiring a local moving company and renting a moving truck. Moving furniture from a one-bedroom apartment is a much more doable DIY than moving an entire four-bedroom home. Smaller moves are compatible with renting a truck if you have help, as are short-distance moves from one end of town to another.

However, long-distance moves and moves from larger homes are more challenging to do on your own. Even if you have a handful of helpers, moving all your furniture and belongings can take a long time, not to mention driving a truck for several hundred miles. Additionally, if you have any specialty items, like a piano or delicate antiques, it’s better to let a pro handle moving them. Professional movers have the right experience and equipment to tackle your move safely.

2. Consider the Timing

If you’ve closed on a home but have a few weeks before moving out of your current place, you can take your time to move—especially if you’re moving locally. In this situation, renting a moving truck can be a good idea. You can move smaller items a little at a time using your own vehicle and then use the rental truck to move larger items on your official moving day. You can also move when you want to rather than on a day the movers are free.

However, professional movers might be the better option if you are moving long distances or are on a tight deadline. Moving companies use teams of experienced professionals to pack, load, and unload the moving truck much more quickly than you’d be able to do yourself. Using pros for your move also decreases your stress level—you don’t have to worry about the logistics of the move, so you can focus on settling into your new home. However, you’ll need to find available movers with space in their schedule, and you might need to be flexible with your exact moving date.

3. Compare Costs

Cost can be a major deciding factor between hiring movers and renting a moving truck. If you’re working with a limited budget, you might be better off renting a truck, enlisting the help of a few friends, and completing the move yourself. Renting a moving truck costs $30 to $3,500, with an average cost of $1,000. The longer the move, the higher the rental cost because most truck rental companies charge by the mile. Expect to pay $0.22 to $0.99 per mile on top of the rental costs.

If your budget has more wiggle room, you might prefer hiring pros to handle the manual labor. Hiring professional movers costs between $880 and $2,570 for a local move, while a long-distance move could cost up to $10,000. Professional movers will cost less if you don’t have much stuff, and you’ll pay more for additional services like packing and unpacking, professional move-out cleaning, and furniture disassembly.

4. Check Insurance

If you damage furniture during a DIY move, will your insurance cover it? In certain circumstances, it might. For example, if your moving truck is involved in an accident while transporting your belongings, your homeowners insurance may provide coverage. However, that coverage is often lower when damage occurs during transport than if the items were damaged in your home. In most cases, you’ll need to purchase additional coverage when renting a moving truck to cover yourself, your belongings, and the truck. 

Professional moving companies carry liability insurance that covers your belongings while they’re being moved. There are two types of coverage available:

• Released value protection is the standard type of coverage provided by professional movers. It insures your items for $0.60 per pound rather than for their full value, so you may still need to pay out of pocket to replace lost or damaged items.

• Full value protection covers the total replacement cost of any items lost or damaged during the move. It’s usually available from professional movers for an additional fee.

• Third-party moving insurance covers items and events not covered by release value or full value protection. If you have high-value items, this type of coverage offers better protection.

Whether you rent a moving truck and DIY your move or hire professional movers, you’ll want to check to see what is and isn't covered and whether you need to purchase additional protection.

5. Weigh the Pros and Cons

Before making a decision, it can be helpful to weigh the pros and cons of each option.

Hiring Movers

Hiring movers is ideal for larger homes or long-distance moves. Here are the biggest pros and cons of hiring professional movers.

Renting a Moving Truck

Renting a moving truck may be a good option for small or local moves. Here are the main benefits and drawbacks of renting a truck for a DIY move.