Pick both cities from the suggestions so we can use latitude & longitude for distance.
Estimate Your Moving Costs
The Tools Kit's free Moving Cost Calculator gives you a realistic price range for a local or long-distance move before you start collecting quotes. Pick the US city you are moving from and the one you are moving to, choose your home size, and compare what the same move costs with full-service movers, a moving container, or freight.
The distance is measured from the coordinates of the two cities, and the price comes from a cost table for your home size calibrated between 50 and 3,000 miles. For example, a 2-bedroom move of 1,000 miles comes out at about $2,800 to $4,800 with professional movers.
How to Use the Moving Cost Calculator
- 1
Pick your two cities
Type the city you are moving from and the city you are moving to, then select each one from the suggestions so the calculator has its coordinates.
- 2
Choose home size and move date
Select studio, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5+ bedrooms and pick a move date, then press Next. Home size sets which cost table is used; the date is recorded for your request.
- 3
Enter your contact details
Add your full name, email address and a 10-digit US phone number. These are required to show the estimate and are saved with your quote request.
- 4
Compare the three estimates
Press Show estimate to see the straight-line distance and price ranges for professional movers, a moving container and freight side by side.
Please note that the estimate is shown after the contact step, and your details are saved as a quote request that only our team can see. Use the back button to change your cities or home size and run the numbers again.
How the Moving Cost Estimate Is Calculated
First the calculator works out the straight-line (great-circle) distance between the two cities; the mileage it displays is rounded to whole miles. Routes under 100 miles are labeled a local move and longer routes a long-distance move. If you want the figure in kilometers, convert it with the unit converter.
Next it looks up the professional-mover cost table for your home size, which has a low and high price at 50, 200, 375, 750, 1,250, 2,000 and 3,000 miles. A distance between two of those points is interpolated in a straight line, and the result is rounded to the nearest $25. Moves shorter than 50 miles use the 50-mile prices, and moves longer than 3,000 miles use the 3,000-mile prices.
Worked example for a 2-bedroom home moving 1,000 miles: 1,000 sits halfway between the 750-mile anchor ($2,600 to $4,500) and the 1,250-mile anchor ($3,000 to $5,100), so the estimate is $2,800 to $4,800. The container tier multiplies the low end by 0.60 and the high end by 0.43, giving $1,675 to $2,075. Freight uses 0.49 and 0.35, giving $1,375 to $1,675.
Movers vs. Container vs. Freight
- Professional movers — they load, drive and unload. The most expensive option and the least work for you.
- Moving container — you load, they drive. In this model it costs roughly 40% to 57% less than full-service movers on the same route.
- Freight — you load, they drive, at the lowest price of the three. On the 1,000-mile, 2-bedroom example it is about $1,375 to $1,675.
The gap is the price of labor. If a full-service quote stretches your budget, a container or freight move can cover the difference, and the loan calculator shows what borrowing the rest would cost per month.
What the Estimate Does Not Include
The ranges depend only on distance and home size. They do not change with your move date, and they leave out costs that often push a real quote higher: peak-season demand (roughly May through September), stairs or long carries, packing services, storage between dates, and bulky items such as pianos or safes. The 5+ bedroom option uses the 4-bedroom cost table, so treat its result as a floor. Estimates are in US dollars and the city search covers US cities only.
Use the range to set a budget and spot a quote that looks out of line, then get written estimates from movers who have seen your inventory. The full method is described on the calculator methodology page.
Common uses
- Budgeting a relocation for a new job, alongside a take-home pay estimate from the paycheck calculator
- Adding moving costs to a home purchase budget next to the monthly payment from the mortgage calculator
- Deciding whether a container saves enough over full-service movers on your route
- Sanity-checking a mover's quote that feels high for the distance involved
- Counting the weeks until moving day with the days calculator and keeping a packing checklist in the to-do list
More planning tools are collected in the calculator tools hub.
Moving cost terms explained
| Term | What it means here |
|---|---|
| Full-service (professional) movers | A moving company that loads your belongings, drives them, and unloads at the new home |
| Moving container | A portable container dropped at your home; you load and unload it, the company transports it |
| Freight | A shared trailer or freight shipment you load yourself and a carrier drives; the lowest-cost tier in this calculator |
| Local move | Shown here for routes under 100 miles; movers usually bill these by the hour |
| Long-distance move | Shown here for routes of 100 miles or more; movers usually price these by weight and distance |
| Straight-line distance | The great-circle distance between two cities’ coordinates; driving distance is usually longer |
| Binding estimate | A written quote from a mover that fixes the price for the listed inventory, unlike the planning ranges on this page |
Moving cost guides
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends mainly on distance and home size. In this calculator’s model, a 2-bedroom home costs about $675 to $1,500 with professional movers for a move of 50 miles or less, $2,800 to $4,800 at 1,000 miles, and $4,000 to $6,175 at 2,400 miles. Containers and freight cost less because you do the loading.
With professional movers, the model gives roughly $675 to $1,500 for a local move of up to 50 miles, $2,450 to $4,175 at 500 miles and $2,800 to $4,800 at 1,000 miles. A moving container on the 1,000-mile route is about $1,675 to $2,075 and freight about $1,375 to $1,675.
At 1,000 miles, professional movers come to about $2,250 to $3,825 for a 1-bedroom, $2,800 to $4,800 for 2 bedrooms, $3,725 to $6,375 for 3 bedrooms and $4,775 to $8,150 for 4 bedrooms in this model. Enter your own cities to get the range for your exact distance.
It measures the straight-line distance between your two cities, then looks up a price table for your home size calibrated at 50, 200, 375, 750, 1,250, 2,000 and 3,000 miles. Between those points it interpolates in a straight line and rounds to the nearest $25. Container and freight ranges are fixed fractions of the professional range.
In this model, yes. The container range runs from 60% of the professional low estimate to 43% of the professional high estimate, so it is roughly 40% to 57% cheaper, because you pack, load and unload the container yourself and the company only transports it.
Of the three options this calculator compares, freight is the cheapest: its range is 49% of the professional low estimate to 35% of the professional high estimate. Like a container, you do all the loading. The trade-off is your own labor and time compared with full-service movers.
Straight-line. The calculator uses the great-circle (haversine) distance between the coordinates of the two cities, rounded to whole miles. Driving routes are usually longer, so the mileage shown will normally be lower than a map’s driving distance.
The estimate is shown after the contact step. Your name, email, a valid 10-digit US phone number, the two cities, home size, move date and the estimates are saved as a quote request that our team can see. They are not sold or passed to moving companies.
No. The move date is required and is saved with your request, but the price ranges depend only on distance and home size. Real quotes are often higher in peak season, roughly May through September, and around month ends.
It is a planning range, not a quote. It does not account for your actual inventory, stairs or long carries, packing services, storage, specialty items like pianos, fuel or season. Use it to budget and to spot an outlier quote, then get written estimates from movers.
The 5+ bedroom option uses the same cost table as 4 bedrooms, so treat its result as a minimum; a larger home will usually cost more. City suggestions cover US cities only, and all estimates are in US dollars.
Reviewed by Raja Jahangir · Last reviewed: October 2026
Example costs with professional movers
Ranges from the calculator's own model at three representative distances. Container and freight options usually come in lower because you do the loading; run the calculator above for all three tiers on your exact route.
| Home size | Local (25 mi) | Regional (500 mi) | Cross-country (1,500 mi) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $300.00 – $700.00 | $1,450.00 – $2,450.00 | $1,925.00 – $3,125.00 |
| 1 bedroom | $400.00 – $875.00 | $1,975.00 – $3,325.00 | $2,600.00 – $4,225.00 |
| 2 bedrooms | $675.00 – $1,500.00 | $2,450.00 – $4,175.00 | $3,250.00 – $5,325.00 |
| 3 bedrooms | $950.00 – $2,150.00 | $3,250.00 – $5,525.00 | $4,325.00 – $7,050.00 |
| 4 bedrooms | $1,350.00 – $3,050.00 | $4,175.00 – $7,075.00 | $5,525.00 – $9,025.00 |
Planning estimates, not quotes. Sources and assumptions are on the calculator methodology page.
Popular moving routes
Pre-computed estimates for 52 common U.S. routes, each with a full cost table by home size and service type.
- Houston to Atlanta
- New York to Washington
- Boston to Washington
- New York to Denver
- Boston to Miami
- Los Angeles to San Diego
- Los Angeles to San Francisco
- Los Angeles to Las Vegas
- San Francisco to Seattle
- Phoenix to Tucson
- Las Vegas to Phoenix
- Chicago to Phoenix
- Chicago to Atlanta
- Denver to Phoenix
- New York to Houston
- New York to Phoenix
- New York to San Francisco
- New York to Las Vegas
- New York to Buffalo
- Boston to Los Angeles
- Boston to San Francisco
- Boston to Austin
- Boston to Denver
- Boston to Atlanta
- Boston to Tampa
- Boston to Charlotte
- Boston to Providence
- Philadelphia to Boston
- Washington to Tampa
- Washington to Los Angeles
- Washington to Richmond
- Washington to Baltimore
- Chicago to Seattle
- Chicago to Indianapolis
- Chicago to St. Louis
- San Francisco to Portland
- Seattle to Salt Lake City
- Seattle to Spokane
- Seattle to Dallas
- Portland to Salt Lake City
- Dallas to Phoenix
- Dallas to Nashville
- Houston to Phoenix
- El Paso to Phoenix
- Tampa to Charlotte
- Memphis to Nashville
- Charlotte to Charleston
- Knoxville to Nashville
- Cleveland to Columbus
- San Diego to Las Vegas
- Boise to Salt Lake City
- Colorado Springs to Denver
Embed this calculator on your site
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<iframe src="https://www.thetoolskit.co/embed/moving-cost-calculator" width="100%" height="760" style="border:1px solid #ddd;border-radius:12px;" title="Moving Cost Calculator" loading="lazy"></iframe> <p style="font-size:13px">Calculator by <a href="https://www.thetoolskit.co/moving-cost-calculator">The Tools Kit</a></p>
How much does it cost to move?
Moving cost depends mainly on distance and home size. Enter both cities and the calculator measures the straight-line mileage between them, then returns price ranges for three service tiers: full-service professional movers who load and drive, a moving container you load yourself, and freight. Local moves under 50 miles cost far less than cross-country moves of the same size.
Are moving containers cheaper than full-service movers?
Yes, usually by roughly 40% to 60%, because you do the packing and loading and the company only transports the container. Freight trailers are cheaper still but require loading within a fixed time. Full-service movers cost the most yet include labour, so a large or long-distance move may justify the difference.
Processed on our server. Your cities, home size, move date, name, email and phone are sent to our server and saved as a quote request that our team can see. They are not sold.