Press Release: moveBuddha Launches New Company Rating System for 2026
moveBuddha has announced a new rating system to provide more accurate, customer-focused star ratings and scores for national moving companies and major van lines, reflecting what matters most to consumers in 2026.
The updated methodology evaluates full-service movers using a 100-point rubric that emphasizes the factors customers often identify as the most important: pricing protections, clarity, verifiable reputation signals, and responsive support.
What’s new and why it’s more aligned with what customers want in 2026
moveBuddha’s new methodology rebalances scoring to prioritize transparency and customer experience at key decision points: before, during, and after moving day. Here’s the new rating system:
- Quotes & Payment Options (30 points): The highest-weighted category reflects how much customers value pricing predictability. Movers earn major credit for protections like binding or not-to-exceed estimates (14 points), price matching/rate guarantees (6 points), and clear deposit & cancellation policy disclosures (4 points).
- Customer Support (15 points): The model explicitly rewards the support features customers rely on when plans change, including multiple contact channels, published hours/weekend availability, a dedicated coordinator, and portal/proactive updates.
- Services (20 points): Points are awarded for practical, high-impact services customers frequently need, such as packing/unpacking, storage, custom crating, and special handling.
- Reputation signals that can change as the industry changes: The rubric incorporates customer review positivity (10 points) and HQ-level online reputation (up to 21 points based on Google HQ rating thresholds). These two inputs shift over time and help keep ratings grounded in real-world performance.
To keep ratings representative and fresh, moveBuddha will refresh company ratings approximately every six months, re-scoring movers as customer feedback and industry conditions evolve.
Top-rated movers under the new 2026 rating system
Based on moveBuddha’s updated scoring, the current top five full-service movers are:
- Safeway Moving: 4.9 stars
- American Van Lines: 4.9 stars
- North American Van Lines: 4.83 stars
- United Van Lines: 4.71 stars
- Mayzlin Relocation: 4.79 stars
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Updated “Best Interstate Moving Companies” guide
moveBuddha has also updated our “Best Long-Distance Moving Companies of 2026” guide to reflect the revamped methodology and the latest company evaluations across 65+ interstate movers.
The refreshed guide highlights the top five picks, Safeway Moving, American Van Lines, North American Van Lines, Mayzlin Relocation, and Allied Van Lines, and features clearer “why we chose it” reasoning, plus expandable sections for “Pros & Cons,” “Cost,” “Customer feedback,” and “Our rating” to make comparisons easier.
Notably, the update reflects a more current customer priority: North American Van Lines is now featured as “Best for customized plans & pricing,” underscoring the new emphasis on pricing structure and plan flexibility in 2026.
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