transparent pricing

Local movers in Los Angeles and Orange County charge by the hour, so the honest answer to "how much does a moving company cost" is: hourly rate × hours on site, plus materials and any specialty handling. Two movers and a truck are $129 per hour Monday through Thursday and $145 per hour Friday through Sunday; three movers are $169 and $185, four movers $209 and $225, and each extra mover adds $40 per hour. Every local move has a three-hour minimum — four hours if it starts more than 30 miles from our service area — so the smallest weekday job comes to $387. A long-distance move is not billed this way at all: it is a binding estimate built on distance, weight, and the services you pick.

Hours are what really move the price, and they depend on things you can see before booking: how much you own, whether the packing is already done, stairs versus elevator, how far the truck can park from the door, and how much furniture has to come apart. A bigger crew costs more per hour but clears a full apartment in fewer of them, which is why a three- or four-mover team often finishes a large job for less than two movers would.

The rate is all-inclusive on our side. Truck and fuel, premium moving blankets, unlimited shrink wrap, heavy-duty tape, furniture wrapping, disassembly and reassembly, and basic coverage are already in the hourly price — there is no separate fuel surcharge, equipment fee, or stair fee.

What gets billed on top is easy to check in advance: packing materials by the piece (book box $1.25, dish pack $3.50, small and medium boxes $4 and $5, large boxes $6) or a full packing service, and specialty handling such as a piano with a four-mover crew at $200, single items over 250 lb at $150, glass table crating from $75 to $200, hoisting at $130 per item, an extra truck at $120 per day, and a certificate of insurance at $50 per building. Work past eight hours in one day bills at 1.5× the hourly rate.

To lower what you actually pay: book Monday through Thursday, finish your own packing before the crew arrives, clear out what you are not taking, and hold a legal parking spot or pull the permit near both doors so nobody bills you for walking. Seniors, returning customers, and military personnel get 5% off.

One thing worth checking on every quote you collect: in California, household goods movers must hold a CAL-T permit from the Bureau of Household Goods and Services, and interstate carriers need a USDOT number. Ours are CAL-T201327 and USDOT 4312802. A company that will not give you those numbers, or that quotes a flat price without asking what is in your home, is the one to be careful with — more on how we quote is in the FAQ.