How hourly moving pricing works
Almost every local mover in DC charges by the hour, and the hourly rate covers a crew of a stated size — usually two people. The clock starts when the crew arrives at your first address and stops when the last item is placed at your last address. Drive time between the two is on the clock, because the crew is working.
Two numbers decide most of your bill: the hourly rate and the minimum. A minimum is the smallest number of hours you will be billed for even if the job runs shorter. It exists because a crew and, for van bookings, a vehicle were reserved for your window and could not be sold to anyone else. A three-hour minimum on a job that takes two hours and ten minutes is billed as three hours. This is normal and it is not a trick, but you should know the number before you book.
The third number that matters is the crew size. A larger crew costs more per hour and finishes sooner, and on a job with a lot of stairs it is often cheaper overall. On a small job with a short carry it usually is not.
Our DC rates
A van and a two-person crew is $159 per hour with a three-hour minimum, so a van booking starts at $477. Labor-only help — you supply the truck or container, we supply the muscle — is $119 per hour with a two-hour minimum, starting at $238. An additional crew member is $55 per hour on either. Furniture delivery starts at $149, packing help is $119 per hour with a two-hour minimum, and furniture assembly starts at $89.
Those are the current published rates and they are the same across DC, Northern Virginia and Maryland. We do not charge more for a Saturday, an evening or a holiday. The pricing page carries the authoritative list, including every possible additional charge, and it is the page to check rather than this one if you are reading it long after publication.
What raises the total
Stairs are the biggest single factor in DC, and they are everywhere: rowhouse stoops, English basements with a turn at the bottom, third-floor walk-ups in Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant. Stairs beyond the first flight are $20 per flight, but the real cost is time — a third-floor walk-up one-bedroom typically runs about an hour longer than the same apartment on the ground floor.
A long carry is the next one. If the truck cannot get within about 75 feet of the door, every item takes longer. In DC this is usually a parking problem rather than a building problem.
Elevator buildings introduce a different risk: a reserved freight elevator window. If the building gives you two hours and the move needs three, the crew waits or comes back. Tell us the window when you request a quote and we plan the load order around it.
After that: additional stops, heavy or oversized items, packing materials if you ask us to bring them, mileage beyond the included radius, and tolls or paid parking passed through at cost. And the one that catches people out — not being packed when the crew arrives. That reliably adds an hour or more, and it is billed as time, because it is time.
What lowers it
Be completely packed. Not mostly. Every box closed and taped, nothing loose in drawers, nothing still in the kitchen cupboards. This is the single largest thing within your control.
Disassemble in advance what you are comfortable disassembling — bed frames especially — and keep the hardware in a labelled bag taped to the frame.
Book mid-month and mid-week if your dates are flexible. The end of the month is when every lease turns over in this region, and it is when availability disappears.
Sort out access before the day. A reserved elevator, a driveway, a loading dock, or a legal place to put the van within sight of your door will each save more money than negotiating over the hourly rate.
Finally, move less. Every item you sell, donate or throw out before the day is an item nobody carries down three flights.
How to compare two quotes fairly
A lower hourly rate is not a lower price. Line the two quotes up on five things.
The minimum. A $139 rate with a four-hour minimum costs more than a $159 rate with a three-hour minimum on any job under about five hours.
Travel time. Some companies bill a flat travel fee, some add a fixed number of hours, some start the clock at their depot. Ask which, and ask for the number.
What is excluded. Get the list of possible additional charges in writing. Stairs, long carry, heavy items, materials, mileage, fuel surcharges. A quote that does not disclose these is not a cheaper quote; it is a less complete one.
The deposit and cancellation terms. How much, when it is taken, and what happens if you cancel or reschedule.
Whether it is in writing at all. A number given on the phone is a conversation, not a quote.
Questions to ask before you pay a deposit
Will you send this quote in writing, with the hourly rate, the minimum, and every charge that could be added?
What is your policy if the job runs longer than estimated — do you tell me before continuing, or do I find out on the invoice?
What will you not transport? Every reputable company has a restricted list, and you want to see it before you pack rather than on the morning.
What do you need from my building? Many buildings require a certificate of insurance naming the property, and getting one can take a couple of days.
Who is my point of contact on the day, and what is the number?
For what it is worth, our answers are: yes, in writing, before any deposit is requested; we stop and tell you before continuing; the restricted list is published on the site; we handle the certificate of insurance directly with your building; and you get a direct number, not a dispatch queue.