Apartment move
A one-bedroom apartment, elevator building, a moderate walk to the truck, packed and ready.
- Labor · 2 movers × 4 hours
- $560
- Service fee · 1 truck
- $100
- Illustrative total
- $660
Illustration only — not a guaranteed estimate.
Moving Resources
Moving Cost & Pricing Guide
How much does it cost to hire movers? Here is exactly how moving pricing works — so you can understand your own estimate instead of guessing at a number.
How much does it cost to hire movers?
The honest answer is that it depends — but not on anything mysterious. Movers do not price by bedroom count or a national average. They price the actual work: how many movers, how many hours, how much you own, and how hard it is to get it from one door to the other. Once you understand the handful of things that drive that, your own estimate stops being a black box.
Rather than quote a fictional “average move,” here is how the pieces fit together — using Titan’s real, current local rates as the transparent example.
- Crew size How many movers the job actually calls for.
- Time required Local moves are billed by the hour, so anything that adds time adds cost.
- Amount of belongings More to wrap, carry, and load means more labor-hours.
- Access conditions Stairs, elevators, long carries, and tight parking all slow a move down.
- Packing requirements Whether you pack yourself or add full, partial, or fragile-only packing.
- Travel & distance Local and long-distance moves are priced on entirely different structures.
- Number of trucks Larger or split moves may need a second truck.
- Specialty items Pianos, safes, and gym equipment affect crew size, equipment, and time.
- Multiple stops or storage Extra destinations add drive time and change the loading strategy.
How local moving pricing works
This is Titan’s current local-moving pricing structure. Local moves are billed by the hour for the crew, with a 3-hour minimum. After the first 3 hours, billing continues in 15-minute increments. There is one service fee per truck:
$70
per mover, per hour
3-hr
minimum
$100
service fee, per truck
There is a 3-hour minimum. After that minimum, time is billed in quarter-hour (15-minute) increments — 3.25, 3.5, 3.75, 4 hours, and so on. So if your move runs 3 hours and 30 minutes, you are billed for 3.5 hours, not 4.
The clock starts when the crew arrives at your street — or at the gate if you live in a gated community — except when travel from Titan’s shop to your origin exceeds 45 minutes, in which case billing begins after the first 45 minutes of that drive. The clock stops after the final piece is placed at the destination, or when you confirm you no longer need anything else from the crew.
For jobs within the first 45 minutes of travel from Titan’s shop, that inbound drive is not billed — billing begins when the crew arrives at your street, or at the gate for a gated property. If the drive from our shop to your origin takes longer than 45 minutes, billing begins after the first 45 minutes. For example, a 60-minute drive means the final 15 minutes of inbound travel are billable. Travel between the origin and destination during the move is on the clock. Time still rounds up to the nearest 15-minute increment.
See the math
Estimate your local move
Movers
2
Hours
3
Trucks
1
Estimated labor
$420
2 movers × 3 hours × $70/hr
Truck service fee
$100
1 truck × $100
Card processing fee
$0
Illustrative total
$520
This is an educational estimate for a local move — not a binding quote. Local moves are billed hourly based on crew size and time, with a 3-hour minimum. After the first 3 hours, billing continues in 15-minute increments. Long-distance moves are quoted separately. This figure covers crew labor and the per-truck service fee; requested packing materials or services and other move-specific costs are disclosed separately in your estimate.
| Crew | Labor rate |
|---|---|
| 2 movers | $140 / hour |
| 3 movers | $210 / hour |
| 4 movers | $280 / hour |
| 5 movers | $350 / hour |
Seasonal rates may be available — moving rates can vary during slower times of year. Contact Titan Elite for current pricing and availability.
What the hourly rate covers — and what’s separate
For a straightforward local move, the crew’s labor and the applicable service fee per truck are the main pricing components. Depending on the move, these may also apply — and they’re disclosed in your estimate, never sprung on you:
- Packing materials, when purchased from Titan
- Packing labor, if you request packing service
- Additional trucks, if the move needs them
- A card processing fee when you pay by card
- Other move-specific requirements disclosed up front
Transparent pricing. Under normal local hourly pricing there is no automatic surcharge for stairs, long carries, elevators, weekends, or specialty items — those may simply add time. Your actual scope determines the estimate — not a hidden fee schedule.
How we determine crew size
More movers does not automatically mean a more expensive move. Local cost is driven by total labor-hours, and a right-sized crew often finishes proportionally faster. Look at the same base labor two ways:
| Crew | Hours | Labor-hours | Base labor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 movers | 8 hours | 24 | $1,680 |
| 4 movers | 6 hours | 24 | $1,680 |
Both crews are 24 labor-hours — the same base labor. The difference is on move day.
So why recommend one over the other? The right crew can finish the day faster, keep better control of heavy and awkward items, reduce fatigue late in a long move, and make loading and unloading more efficient. Our crew recommendation comes from the real scope of your move — inventory, access, and specialty items — not a bedroom count alone.
What makes a move take longer
Because local moves are billed by time, the things that add hours are the things that add cost. This is why two three-bedroom homes can land at very different totals — the work isn’t the same:
- Stairs — every flight adds trips and time.
- Elevators — especially shared or slow ones on move day.
- Long carries from the door to the truck.
- Difficult or distant truck parking.
- Narrow hallways, doorways, and tight turns.
- Furniture that needs disassembly and reassembly.
- Belongings that are poorly packed — or not packed yet.
- Large quantities of small, loose items.
- Multiple pickup or delivery locations.
- Organizing or accessing a storage unit.
- Specialty and heavy items that need care and equipment.
- Waiting on building access, keys, or elevators.
- Inventory that turns out larger than the estimate.
How many movers and trucks will my move need?
These are planning ranges, not guarantees. Bedroom count alone does not determine the crew or the trucks — actual inventory, access, packing readiness, specialty or heavy pieces, multiple stops, and other complexity determine the final recommendation:
- 1-bedroom apartment
- typically 2–3 movers, generally 1 truck
- 2-bedroom home or apartment
- typically 2–4 movers, usually 1 truck
- 3-bedroom home
- typically 3–4 movers; a second truck is sometimes required depending on actual inventory
- 4-bedroom home
- typically 4–6 movers; a second truck is usually required
- Larger or heavily furnished homes
- crew sized to the inventory — 2 trucks are common, and 3 trucks can be required
A densely furnished two-bedroom can need more movers and trucks than a lightly furnished three-bedroom. A one-bedroom on the third floor with no elevator and a long carry can take more crew than a one-bedroom at ground level. What actually shapes the recommendation:
- Actual inventory — how much is in the home, not the bedroom count
- Stairs, an elevator, or other access limits
- A long hallway or a long carry to the truck
- Heavy or specialty items
- Packing readiness — whether everything is packed and ready
- A large garage or storage inventory
- Multiple stops
Apartment moving costs
Apartments add variables a house usually doesn’t: stairs, elevators, long interior hallways, assigned loading zones, building access windows, and repeated trips between the unit and the truck. None of that is a surcharge — it simply takes time, and time is what a local move is priced on.
The distance from your front door to the truck matters
It’s the detail customers rarely think about and movers always do. A ground-floor unit ten steps from the loading dock and a fourth-floor unit at the far end of a long hallway can hold the exact same furniture and take very different amounts of time. Shorter, clearer carries move faster — which is why reserving the elevator and a close truck spot genuinely helps.
Packing costs
Packing has two parts: labor and materials. You can add full packing, partial packing (just the kitchen and fragile items, say), or fragile-only packing — and each changes the labor and the materials list:
- Boxes in a range of sizes
- Packing paper
- Tape
- Dish packs
- Wardrobe boxes
- TV boxes
- Mattress protection
You can lower cost by packing yourself — but professionally packing fragile and high-value items is often worth it, because the way something is packed is what keeps it safe in transit.
Packing material prices
Packing has two separate costs — the crew’s packing labor and the materials themselves. If you’d like Titan to supply materials, here is what they cost. You are charged only for the materials your move actually uses or that we provide, not a flat materials fee.
| Material | Price |
|---|---|
| Small box | $2.75 each |
| Medium box | $3.75 each |
| Large box | $4.75 each |
| Dish box / dish pack | $9.25 each |
| Wardrobe box | $14.25 each |
| Tape | $5.00 each |
| Packing paper — 25 lb bundle | $75.00 |
| Packing paper — 50 lb bundle | $150.00 |
Packing labor — if you ask Titan to pack for you — is quoted separately from materials. Prefer to buy your own boxes? That’s always fine; these are here for convenience.
Specialty items
Pianos, gun safes, pool tables, fitness equipment, and oversized furniture can affect a move — but through crew size, equipment, preparation, and time, not an automatic hidden surcharge. A safe may need an extra mover and the right dolly; a pool table needs careful disassembly and reassembly; a treadmill may need to come apart to clear a doorway. The operational reality is what shapes the estimate, and we plan for it in advance so move day goes smoothly.
How Titan handles the heavy and valuable ones: piano moving · gun safes · pool tables · fitness equipment
Multiple stops & storage
Every extra destination adds drive time and changes the loading strategy — the truck has to be packed in the order it will be unloaded. A move that stops at storage before the new home is really two unloads planned as one:
A multi-stop move, in order
- Current home — full load
- Storage unit — drop what stays
- New home — unload the rest
Labeling boxes by destination is what keeps a multi-stop move fast — each item comes off at the right stop, once.
Local vs. long-distance
These are priced on entirely different structures — a long-distance move does not simply inherit the local hourly rate:
Local moves
Billed hourly based on crew size and time, with a 3-hour minimum. After the first 3 hours, billing continues in 15-minute increments, plus the service fee per truck — the structure this whole guide walks through.
Long-distance & out-of-town
Quoted as a fixed price for the specific move throughout the continental U.S. when feasible. The quote reflects size and scope, distance, labor, access, travel, and expected time — not an open local hourly clock.
How to lower your moving cost
Most of what saves money on a local move is about saving time — and you control a lot of it:
- Declutter before you move — you don’t pay to move what you donate or toss.
- Finish packing before the crew arrives if you’re not buying packing service.
- Label boxes clearly so nothing gets set down in the wrong room.
- Reserve the elevator and confirm building access ahead of time.
- Clear walkways, driveways, and a close parking spot for the truck.
- Disassemble simple items yourself if you’re comfortable doing so.
- Move small personal items and valuables yourself if you prefer.
- Keep each destination organized so unloading is fast and direct.
- Tell Titan about specialty items in advance so the right crew and gear show up.
- Avoid surprise inventory — an accurate list keeps the estimate accurate.
- Make sure any storage unit is accessible and organized before move day.
Example move scenarios
These are illustrations on stated assumptions — not quotes. They show how the pieces add up; your move will differ with its own scope and access.
3-bedroom home
A three-bedroom home, driveway parking, no major access obstacles, packed and ready.
- Labor · 4 movers × 7 hours
- $1,960
- Service fee · 1 truck
- $100
- Illustrative total
- $2,060
Illustration only — not a guaranteed estimate.
Packing + moving
A three-bedroom home where Titan packs the kitchen and fragile items the day before, then moves the next day.
- Labor · 3 movers × 6 hours
- $1,260
- Service fee · 1 truck
- $100
- Illustrative total
- $1,360
Plus packing materials and packing labor, quoted to the actual scope — a full-service pack costs more than fragile-only.
Illustration only — not a guaranteed estimate.
What will my move cost?
Every move is different. Tell us what you’re moving, where you’re going, and what help you need — and we’ll build an estimate around the actual scope of your move.
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Moving cost questions
How much do movers cost per hour?
Titan’s current local rate is $70 per mover, per hour, with a 3-hour minimum and a $100 service fee per truck. After the first 3 hours, billing continues in 15-minute increments. Your hourly rate depends on the crew size the move calls for — three movers, for example, is $210 per hour. Long-distance moves are quoted separately.
When does the hourly clock start and stop?
The clock starts when the crew arrives at your street — or at the gate if you live in a gated community — except when travel from Titan’s shop to your origin exceeds 45 minutes, in which case billing begins after the first 45 minutes of that drive. The clock stops after the final piece is placed at the destination, or when you confirm you no longer need anything else from the crew.
Do I pay drive time from your shop? What about between homes?
For jobs within the first 45 minutes of travel from Titan’s shop, that inbound drive is not billed — billing begins when the crew arrives at your street, or at the gate for a gated property. If the drive from our shop to your origin takes longer than 45 minutes, billing begins after the first 45 minutes. For example, a 60-minute drive means the final 15 minutes of inbound travel are billable. Travel between the origin and destination during the move is on the clock. Time still rounds up to the nearest 15-minute increment.
Are there separate stair, long-carry, elevator, weekend, or specialty fees?
Under normal local hourly pricing there is no automatic surcharge for stairs, long carries, elevators, weekends, or specialty items — those factors may simply add time. The usual exceptions are the $100 service fee per truck and a 3.5% card processing fee when you pay by card.
Is there a fee for paying by card?
Yes — card payments include a 3.5% processing fee. We disclose it plainly so you can choose how you prefer to pay.
What if we are waiting on an elevator, keys, or building access?
Time the crew spends waiting while assigned to your job is billable on a local hourly move. Ready access — keys, elevator reservation, clear parking — keeps the day efficient.
Does hiring more movers always make the move more expensive?
Not necessarily. Cost is driven by total labor-hours, and a larger crew often finishes proportionally faster. Three movers for eight hours and four movers for six hours are both 24 labor-hours — the same base labor. The right crew size also protects heavy items and keeps a long day from running even longer.
Why can two homes with the same number of bedrooms cost different amounts to move?
Because bedroom count doesn’t determine the work — inventory and access do. Stairs, elevators, a long carry to the truck, tight doorways, how full the garage is, whether everything is packed, and any specialty items all change how long a move takes. Two three-bedroom homes can be very different jobs.
Are packing materials included in the hourly moving rate?
No. The hourly rate covers the crew’s labor. Packing materials bought from Titan and professional packing labor, if you request packing service, are separate and disclosed in your estimate. You’re welcome to pack yourself to save on that — though professionally packing fragile and high-value items is often worth it.
How does long-distance pricing differ from local?
Local moves are billed hourly based on crew size and time, with a 3-hour minimum. After the first 3 hours, billing continues in 15-minute increments. Long-distance moves throughout the continental U.S. when feasible are quoted separately as a fixed price for the job — reflecting size and scope, distance, labor, access, travel, and expected time — not an open local hourly clock.
How can I get the most accurate moving estimate?
Tell us the real scope: where you’re moving from and to, access details like stairs or elevators, anything heavy or specialty, whether you’d like packing help, and any extra stops or storage. The better we understand the move, the more accurate your estimate — with no surprise charges on move day.