Moving Company Methodology (2026 Guide)
Fact Checked by: At moveBuddha, we help people through the moving process by creating carefully researched rankings of the best moving companies for various types of relocations. We also put together independent reviews of the leading moving service providers across the country and craft thoughtful informational content that answers your biggest questions about the moving process.
Our track record
Each year, 400,000+ people trust our moving recommendations. Here are a few reasons why:
- Founded in 2015
- 4,500+ moving companies analyzed
- $50,000 in moving grants delivered
- Up-to-date pricing info & industry data
- Fact-checked for accuracy
We’ve given more than $50,000 in grants through our Better Moves Project to real-life customers willing to discuss their moving experience with us. We also pull information from over 25 different sources, including government databases, customer review platforms, and industry surveys.
We use this information to create our database, which tracks nearly 4,500 moving companies and more than a million authenticated reviews. These metrics enable us to update our rating factors and guides, providing the most up-to-date recommendations to our readers. We use our expert knowledge of the moving industry to help you make an informed choice that meets your needs.
How we rate moving companies
Not all moving companies are created equally, so we have to account for variables during our review process. As such, we try to compare apples to apples as much as possible. In other words, we won’t compare a moving container company to a full-service moving company.
A few common threads run through the moving industry. We review every moving company based on the following factors:
- Services (20%)
- Review percentages feedback (10%)
- HQ online reputation (21%)
- State availability (4%)
- Customer support (15%)
- Quotes/Payment options (30%)
Learn more about how we research these factors and use them in our rankings below.
Services (20%)
Services make up 20% of a company’s total score. This category looks at the range and quality of services each mover offers. Moving companies operate under different models to meet various needs and budgets, such as:
- Self-service (DIY) moves: You get the basics, like a truck or storage container, but you’re on the hook for packing, loading, driving, and unloading.
- Full-service moves: Movers handle everything, including packing, unpacking, loading, unloading, transportation, and often extras like furniture disassembly/reassembly.
- Hybrid model: These companies let you mix and match services. For example, you might pack your boxes but hire a pro to drive the truck.
We give extra points to companies offering value-added or uncommon services such as:
- Storage (short- or long-term)
- Custom crates for specialty items
- Vehicle shipping
- Special handling for fragile or oversized items
- Furniture disassembly and assembly
Moving companies are scored across seven core service categories, totaling up to 20 points as follows:
- Packing/unpacking: 5 points
- Loading/unloading: 5 points
- Storage: 3 points
- Custom crates: 2 points
- Car shipping: 2 points
- Special handling for fragile and large items: 2 points
- Furniture disassembly and assembly: 1 point
Review percentages feedback (10%)
Review percentages feedback represents 10% of our overall rating. This category measures real-world customer experiences and satisfaction levels with each moving company. We prioritize authentic customer experiences over commercial relationships. Our ratings are not influenced by advertising revenue or affiliate partnerships. Instead, we gather genuine feedback from actual customers who have used these moving services and have no financial incentive to provide positive or negative commentary.
This category is scored as a 0–10 point scale based on each company’s overall positive feedback percentage (for example, 88% positive feedback = 8.8 points).
We conduct one-on-one interviews with Better Moves Project participants to get firsthand insights. This allows us to go even deeper than we can with our online review analysis. By interviewing and surveying thousands of Better Moves participants, we learn more about each company’s:
- Communication and responsiveness
- Pricing transparency
- Punctuality
- Overall satisfaction
- Service range and quality
How we analyze the data
Our scoring isn’t based on star ratings alone. We take a structured, context-rich approach that includes the following steps:
- Comprehensive review: We analyze all available customer input from interviews and online reviews.
- Pattern identification: We highlight recurring feedback themes, especially common pain points like delays, poor communication, or surprise fees.
- Contextual assessment: We determine whether problems are company-specific or industry-wide.
- Final rating: We distill all our findings into an overall score that reflects the true customer experience.
- Bottom line summary: Each company review opens with a quick-hit summary of what customers can realistically expect.
HQ online reputation (21%)
HQ online reputation makes up 21% of a company’s total score. This category gives us an objective look at a mover’s reputation based on third-party assessments and aggregated customer feedback.
We analyze reputation signals from multiple trusted platforms to build a complete picture of each company’s standing, with a primary focus on its headquarters Google rating:
- Google Reviews (HQ listing): Star ratings + written user reviews
- Trustpilot: Customer ratings + detailed feedback
- Better Business Bureau (BBB): Accreditation status + ratings
- Independent review sites: Consumer advocacy sites + niche moving platforms
Here’s how we research it all:
- Comprehensive reading: We read through reviews, not just the scores, to identify both individual incidents and broader trends.
- Industry contextualization: We evaluate whether complaints reflect company-specific problems or are just common moving industry pain points.
- Theme assessment: We highlight recurring themes to pinpoint what customers consistently love, or hate, about a company.
- Holistic evaluation: We merge insights across platforms to create a fair, well-rounded view of customer satisfaction.
The Google HQ rating is our primary scoring metric for this category.
Companies are scored as follows:
- Google HQ Rating of >3: 8 points
- Google HQ Rating of 3 or 3.5: 10 points
- Google HQ Rating of 3.5 or 4: 12 points
- Google HQ Rating of 3.5 or 4: 15 points
- Google HQ Rating of 4 to 4.5: 18 points
- Google HQ Rating of 4.5 to 4.7: 19 points
- Google HQ Rating of 4.7+: 21 points
State availability (4%)
State availability accounts for 4% of our total rating. This category measures how widely a moving company operates across the United States, because more coverage means more consumers can access their services, no matter where they live.
Wider geographic coverage translates to more access, reliability, and convenience. Here’s why it’s important:
- Accessibility: Customers need movers that actually serve their area, whether it’s for a short hop or a cross-country trek.
- Network strength: Companies with wider coverage usually have stronger logistics, more trucks, and better infrastructure.
- Convenience: Broad coverage eliminates the need to juggle multiple movers for multi-state relocations.
- Consistency: National movers tend to offer standardized service quality no matter the location.
We score companies based on the number of states they operate in, using a clear tiered system:
How we assess state coverage
We don’t just take a company’s word for it. Instead, we verify their actual presence through multiple methods:
- Company documentation: We check service area maps, lists, and tools on official websites.
- Direct verification: If coverage info isn’t clear, we submit quote requests or contact customer support to confirm.
- Operational presence: We make sure the company actually serves a state and doesn’t just pass through it during interstate moves.
Customer support (15%)
Customer support accounts for 15% of a company’s total score. This category measures how easy it is to get help, how clearly a mover sets expectations, and how proactively it communicates before, during, and after a move.
Strong support reduces stress and helps prevent problems like missed windows, unclear delivery timing, and confusing next steps. Here’s what we look for:
- Multiple channels: 3 points
- Published hours + weekend availability: 2 points
- Dedicated coordinator: 4 points
- Delivery-time guarantee: 3 points
- Portal/proactive updates: 3 points
How we assess customer support
We verify the support experience using company documentation (website and service materials), direct outreach, and customer feedback. We look for clear support pathways (phone, email, chat), published and reliable hours of operation, and whether customers get a dedicated point of contact.
We also confirm whether companies provide delivery-time guarantees and how they keep customers informed through portals, automated updates, and proactive communication throughout the move.
Quotes/Payment options (30%)
Pricing and payment practices account for 30% of a company’s total score. This category plays a big role in customer confidence and experience.
Moving is stressful enough, and your payment shouldn’t add to the chaos. Transparent, flexible payment policies make the difference between a smooth move and a billing nightmare. Here’s why we focus on it:
- Budget certainty: Clear pricing helps customers avoid surprise charges
- Customer control: Online portals let users manage charges independently
- Financial protection: Binding estimates prevent last-minute price hikes
- Payment convenience: Multiple options = less friction
- Trust building: Fair deposits and clear terms show professionalism
We also review several behind-the-scenes factors. We check whether companies accept major credit/debit cards, cash, personal or cashier’s checks, digital payments (PayPal, Venmo, etc.), or if they offer custom financing or payment plans.
Good customer portals allow for online payments, real-time invoice and receipt access, charge breakdowns and history, and easy navigation and mobile access.
We assess:
- How the payment applies (toward total cost or separate fee)
- Refundability (conditions for refund)
- Timing (when it’s due relative to the move date)
- The amount required (flat fee or percentage)
We also evaluate:
- Binding OR not-to-exceed estimate (14 points): Full points go to companies offering binding or binding not-to-exceed estimates. This offers the most protective options for you.
- Price matching / rate guarantee (6 points): Companies that offer formal price matching or rate guarantees get full credit. We verify policies, including whether a written competitor quote is required and any restrictions.
- Deposit & cancellation policy disclosure (4 points): We award points for clearly disclosing deposit requirements and cancellation terms.
- Payment methods listed (4 points): Companies earn points for clearly listing accepted payment methods (including credit card).
- Discount types listed with eligibility (2 points): We award points for clearly stating available discounts and who qualifies (for example: military/veteran, seniors, students, seasonal promos, referrals, or bundled services).
moveBuddha’s moving pricing methodology
We base our scoring on moveBuddha’s monthly cost dataset, which has over 1,000 live price points collected each month across full-service movers, self-service/container companies, and truck rental providers. These figures come from a mix of live quote requests, automated API feeds, and user-submitted quotes via our moving cost calculator.
To provide accuracy and real-time relevance, we include rate signals from our calculator. That way, policies like binding or not-to-exceed estimates, deposit requirements, payment methods, portals, discounts, financing, and price-matching reflect what customers are actually experiencing. All of this works to make our cost data not outdated.
To keep everything fair and representative, we use median-based lane summaries, stratified sampling (by service type, region, and move size), monthly data refreshes, and outlier/provider verification.
How to pick the best moving company
You can pick the best moving company by weighing your needs against our in-house expertise. While we can reduce the burden of research, we can’t make any final decisions for you.
As such, you’ll need to carefully consider other customers’ satisfaction, the company’s ability to provide standard services, their reputation compared to similar providers, and any add-on services they offer.
You’ll also want to think about the company’s availability for their origin and destination locations and how that relates to the type of mover they are. Finally, you’ll need to consider how they process payments, how much they want upfront, and how guaranteed their scheduling is.
You can also consult our list of the best moving companies to narrow down your list and ensure you pick a service provider that’s already passed our quality standards. Keep in mind that there’s no one-size-fits-all company for all situations, so shopping around and comparing services will help you address your unique needs.
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