5 Best Short-Distance Moving Companies (2023 Review)

When most people think of hiring professional moving services, they think of long-distance moving companies that can take them all the way across the country. But moving companies can also be a big help when doing a local or short-distance move.

After all, carefully packing everything, loading it onto a truck, and driving it to your new home can be time-consuming and stressful. You don’t want to drop a box and break something or hurt yourself while trying to lift heavy furniture.

Whether you need to move out of a large home or a one-bedroom apartment, working with the one of the best moving companies can make moving day go much more smoothly.

With that in mind, here’s a closer look at some of your best options for short-distance moves.

Best short-distance moving companies

Here are our picks for the best moving companies for local moving services:

• Best customer service: International Van Lines
• Best for last-minute moves: American Van Lines
• Best for speciality items: North American Van Lines
• Best for customization: Allied Van Lines
• Best for DIY moves: Budget Truck Rental

Best customer service: International Van Lines

Despite its name, International Van Lines does help with short-distance moves, as well. The company has a wide coverage area, enabling it to offer moving services in all 50 states. International Van Lines is consistently praised for high-quality customer service, with a quick quote process and strong communication throughout the moving process.

International Van Lines offers a variety of available moving services to help make your move easier, including packing, custom crating for fragile items, vehicle shipping, debris removal, and storage.

Pros/Cons

Read our full International Van Lines review.

Best for last-minute moves: American Van Lines

While it’s best to schedule your moving date well in advance, this isn’t always an option. When you need to book a short-distance move at the last-minute, American Van Lines is well worth considering because they don’t charge extra fees for last-minute moves.

American Van Lines operates exclusively as a carrier, meaning all of its movers are in-house. This makes it easier for American Van Lines to schedule moves for any day of the week, even at the last minute.

American Van Lines further simplifies last-minute moves with flat-rate pricing and no hidden fees, allowing you to quickly make a decision based on their quote. They offer some of the best pricing we’ve seen among full-service movers, and with background-checked employees, you can have confidence that your stuff will be treated with care.

Pros/Cons

Read our full American Van Lines review.

Best for specialty items: North American Van Lines

If you need to move specialty items like a piano or pool table, hiring professional movers becomes a necessity. North American Van Lines offers excellent support for packing specialty items. For example, you can select fragile-only packing, in which their team provides custom packing for heavy or fragile items, while letting you save money by doing the rest of the packing yourself. They can also help with installing and assembling furniture and appliances.

To protect your items, North American Van Lines offers specialty supplies like mattress boxes, stand-up wardrobe units, and custom crating for large pieces of furniture. Carefully padding furniture, appliances, and specialty items ensures they’ll safely reach your new home.

Pros/Cons

Read our full North American Van Lines.

Best for customization: Allied Van Lines

Even for a short-distance move, there are times when you need professional movers to help with just about everything. When this is the case, Allied Van Lines is an excellent option.

Their Personal Moving Plan program allows each move to be customized to the specific needs of the customer, with options including:

• Furniture disassembly and reassembly
• Packing and loading
• 90-day temporary storage
• Packing supplies

Allied Van Lines also offers virtual in-home estimates, letting you use your phone or tablet to do a video call with an agent for quick and accurate quoting. However, because of Allied Van Lines’ popularity, you’ll generally need to book your estimate and move well in advance of your moving date — often up to 8 weeks in advance.

Pros/Cons

Read our full Allied Van Lines review.

Best for DIY moves: Budget Truck Rental

Short-distance moves are well-suited for the DIY route — especially for small moves. Of course, you’ll generally still need to rent a moving truck for these DIY moves, and in our opinion, you can’t go wrong with Budget Truck Rental. The company lives up to its name by providing low-cost truck rentals for budget-minded movers.

Budget Truck Rental offers 12-, 16-, and 26-foot moving trucks, giving you plenty of space for loading all your stuff. For studio apartments, you might be able to save even more by opting for a cargo van.

However, the truck or van is pretty much all you get with Budget. Like other moving truck rental companies, you’ll need to provide your own labor, packing materials, and moving supplies.

Pros/Cons

Read our full Budget Truck Rental review.

Comparing the best short-distance moving companies

Here’s a quick breakdown of our picks for the best short-distance moving companies:

Reasons to hire a short-distance moving company

While doing a DIY move is certainly a good option for a short-distance move, there are plenty of good reasons to consider getting help from a professional mover:

• A streamlined moving process: Packing and unpacking your belongings, as well as loading and unloading a moving truck, can be time-consuming and physically exhausting. When you have professional movers on your side, you can let them take care of this work while you focus on other important parts of your move (like setting up utilities at your new home). Letting someone else do the heavy lifting is especially helpful if you’re not in good physical condition.

• Help with tough tasks: Professional movers can also help with more complicated tasks like furniture disassembly and ensuring that fragile items are handled with care. You’ll have peace of mind knowing everything will arrive safely at its destination.

• Insurance coverage: Most professional movers offer some level of insurance coverage in case something breaks. Even if you opt for minimal coverage, it’s still more than you’d get when doing a DIY move.

• Save time: Professional movers have the expertise and equipment to get the job done quickly and safely. You’ll get to your new home that much sooner, and with a much lower risk of accidents.

Factors to consider when choosing a short-distance moving company

Finding the right local moving company for your move starts by understanding the essential factors for finding reputable movers for any move:

• Moving quote: Requesting a free quote is a given, but make sure you understand each company’s process for providing an estimate. A binding or “not to exceed” moving estimate offers much-needed peace of mind by setting a maximum price for your move.
• Years of experience: With more years of experience, you can generally have confidence in a moving company’s customer service and overall quality. They wouldn’t still be around if no one liked their work. That added experience also means they have extra know-how for dealing with unique moving situations.
• References and reviews: Online reviews are a valuable reference point in choosing the best short-distance moving company. Reviews will often offer firsthand insights into a company’s customer service, fees, and how well they will handle your possessions.
• Insurance and licensing: Always make sure a short-distance mover is properly licensed and insured. Moving companies with insurance and proper state licensing lower your financial risk in case something were to go wrong with your move.

How to find the best short-distance moving company

Finding the best movers for your move was a challenge in the days before you could simply look up customer reviews on Yelp or Google. But great reviews aren’t the only thing to look for when finding the right moving company for your needs.

Here are a few other things you should consider:

• Consider your specific moving needs. Do you need packing services or do you just need someone to load and unload the truck? Do you need temporary storage before you move everything into your new home? Make a list of the type of moving assistance you need, then check whether your preferred moving company can provide these services.
• Check availability. Especially when working with local movers, you’ll want to make sure they’re actually available on the day of your move. Having some flexibility in your moving schedule can ensure that your preferred mover is available to help.
• Get multiple quotes. While we’ve touched on this already, you should always get multiple quotes for your short-distance move. Get at least three quotes from reputable movers so you can compare your options and save money.

FAQs about choosing short-distance moving companies

What is a short-distance move?

The moving industry generally defines a short-distance move as any move that is 50 miles or less and doesn’t cross state lines. If your move crosses state lines, it’s defined as interstate moving, which requires help from licensed interstate moving companies. Many local moving companies focus on short-distance moves, but larger nationwide brands may also help with cross-country or international moves.

What are the benefits of hiring professional movers for a short-distance move?

Moving into a new home is a lot of work, even when you’re only going a short distance. Full-service moving companies help provide a stress-free moving experience by doing all the work for you. When you hire movers, they take on the hassle of doing the heavy lifting for your move. They’ll load, drive, and unload the moving truck. Many professional movers also offer white-glove add-on options like packing services and furniture disassembly and reassembly.

What is the average cost of a short-distance move?

Moving costs can vary based on a number of factors, including which moving company you use and how much stuff you need to transport. We’ve found the average cost to move a four-bedroom house a short-distance ranges from $1,550–$3,600 when using a moving company.

What is the cheapest way to move short-distance?

The cheapest option for short-distance residential moving will pretty much always be a DIY move. When you hire full-service moving providers, you pay a lot more for their time and labor. With a DIY move, you usually only have to pay for a moving truck rental and packing supplies, since you’ll be doing all the work yourself. Here is our list of the cheapest moving truck rental companies.