PODS Moving Cost Calculator: Container vs Full-Service Movers
Updated · See the full pods moving cost comparison
Local or cross-country, 1 or 3 bedrooms: a container from $1,160, full-service movers from $800.
- Pick the move that matches yours; the container price is the whole DIY line, so the size and distance choice matters more than any tool.
- On the DIY tab, the hours are your own packing, carrying and loading. Set your rate honestly — and if you'd hire loaders for the heavy hour, add $200–$400 mentally, since that's a hybrid the tool doesn't model.
- On the Hire a pro tab, tick packing if you won't pack, full-value protection for anything you'd hate to lose at 60 cents a pound, and storage-in-transit if there's a gap between homes.
- Locally the container barely competes — movers are cheaper for a 1-bedroom. The saving is in the two long-distance options.
Calculate cost
| Tools to buy or rent | $175 |
|---|---|
| Materials | $1,905 |
| DIY cash cost | $2,080 |
| Your time (27.5 h × $25) | $688 |
| DIY all-in | $2,768 |
DIY saves $420 in cash, but once your time is counted a pro is cheaper by $268.
National estimates for planning. Doesn't include the risk-side costs described on the comparison page.
Typical results by job size
Defaults the calculator starts from: commonly owned tools excluded, typical pro price, no add-ons.
| Size | Verdict | DIY | Pro | Your hours | Typical savings | Break-even |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local move, 1-bedroom apartment | Hire | $1,160–$1,310 | $800–$1,600 | 8–14 hours | pro is cheaper | — |
| Local move, 3-bedroom house | Hire | $2,080–$2,230 | $1,800–$3,500 | 20–35 hours | $345 (14%) | $13/hour |
| 500-mile move, 3-bedroom house | DIY | $4,680–$4,830 | $4,500–$8,000 | 24–40 hours | $1,245 (21%) | $39/hour |
| Cross-country move, 3-bedroom house | DIY | $7,480–$7,630 | $8,000–$14,000 | 24–40 hours | $2,945 (28%) | $92/hour |
Break-even is what an hour of your time would have to be worth for DIY and hiring to cost the same. Above it, hiring is cheaper all-in. See how these are calculated.
Reading the result
The move you pick applies to both tabs.
Do it yourself is the container package for that move — delivery, a month at each end, transport and pickup, at typical quoted rates — plus boxes and packing materials for that home size, blankets, straps and lifting straps, a dolly and hand-truck rental for loading day, a street permit where one applies, and your hours at the rate you set: 8–14 for a 1-bedroom, 20–35 for a 3-bedroom house, and 24–40 on the long-distance moves where you load at one end and unload at the other.
Hire a pro starts from a low, typical or high full-service price for that move — hourly crews locally, a van line by weight for the long ones — then adds what a base estimate usually excludes: packing and unpacking, a piano or safe, a month of storage-in-transit, full-value protection, stairs and long-carry fees, a peak-season surcharge, and furniture disassembly. Tick what applies and compare.
What neither tab includes: the hybrid. Two hired loaders for the heavy hour of a container move are $200–$400 and change the DIY hours from 20–35 to something closer to 12–20; if that’s the version you’d actually do, add the cost and cut the hours. The full comparison explains why that’s the version most people end up with, and the DIY guide covers loading the container so it arrives the way it left.
Frequently asked questions
How do I estimate which move size I am?
By container count and distance. A studio or 1-bedroom apartment is one 8–12 ft container; a 2-bedroom is one 16 ft; a 3-bedroom house is two 16 ft; a 4-bedroom is three. Under about 50 miles is a local move; 100–1,000 miles is long distance; 2,000 miles and up is cross-country. If you're a 2-bedroom, use the 1-bedroom option and add about 60% to the container line; a 4-bedroom is the 3-bedroom option plus one more container ($600–$800 locally, $1,500–$3,000 long distance).
Why does the calculator show movers cheaper for a local 1-bedroom?
Because a container's price is mostly fixed costs — delivery, pickup, a month's rental — that don't get cheaper for a small load, while two movers and a truck finish a 1-bedroom in three or four hours at $120–$200 an hour. Add boxes, blankets and a dolly rental to the container and it's about $1,235 against $1,100. The container still makes sense locally if you need the storage month or a week to load; it just doesn't save money.
What do the quote levels mean for movers?
Low is a winter weekday, ground-floor access, packed and ready, in a market with plenty of movers. Typical is the national median for that move with normal access and released-value protection. High is peak season, stairs or a long carry, a premium van line, or a coastal metro. Packing, specialty items, storage, protection and surcharges are add-ons on any level — and on a long-distance move, ask whether the quote is binding.
Sources
- Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand (SOC 53-7062), Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics , U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-04
- PODS Cost in 2026: Cost by Size, Distance, and Season , moveBuddha, 2026-09
- How Much Do PODS Cost? Breakdown by Size and Distance , Forbes Home, 2026-09
- Moving Pods vs. Moving Companies , Angi, 2026-09
- Best Moving Container Companies: Costs and Reviews , Move.org, 2026-09
- Moving Costs for Moving Containers , PODS Enterprises, 2026-09
- Protect Your Move: Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move , Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 2026-09
Figures last reviewed . See how we estimate.