How Much Does It Cost to Hire Packers?

How Much Does it Cost to Hire Packers?

Local move: The national average cost to hire packers for local moves is about $80 per hour per packer.

Long-distance move: When relocating across the country, your interstate moving company will provide you with an estimate that includes a flat rate for the packing service.

There’s no doubt that hiring professional packing services – wrapping, boxing, labeling, packing, and even unpacking – will be the best money you spend during your relocation.

When you consider the time and effort of packing, and the inconvenience of living amongst packing boxes for weeks on end, hiring professional packers is excellent value for money.

You may also like to read: Hiring Full-Service Movers. In this guide, we explain what full-service movers do and how much, on average, they cost. If you have never hired movers before, then you will find this guide invaluable.

Hire Packers or Pack by Yourself?

Before we move on to discuss how much professional packers charge for their services, let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of professional packing.

While you’re getting ready to move out, the major factors that will decide what’s best for you are:

• Time. Packing by yourself will not only take you days, but it may take you even weeks in some cases. On the other hand, trained professionals can pack up your entire home in a few hours to a few days, depending on how big your home is and how many items you have to pack.
• Timing. Timing when packing for a move is often neglected, and it will take you far longer than you imagine.
• Speed. Professional packers are skilled at what they do; not only will they pack everything quickly and efficiently, but they will also know how to give your precious items the maximum protection.
• Safety. Professional packers will assume liability for any boxes they pack up, so you should be covered in case any type of damage occurs to your belongings while they are in transit. Note that many insurance policies will not cover things that you have packed yourself.
• Quality packing materials. Quality packing materials are expensive, and you are likely to use far more packing materials than you planned. When you hire packers to pack your house, they will bring quality packing materials with them, while the cost of the supplies will be included in the original estimate the moving company has given you.
• Price. It’s fair to say that your final decision will hinge on the price you get quoted for the extra service of packing. Read on to get a much better idea about how the cost to hire packers is calculated and what you can expect to pay for professional packing services through real-life average packing costs.

You may also like to read: Self-Packing vs. Professional Packing: To Pack or Not to Pack. In this guide, we look at the pros and cons of hiring packers and packing yourself in far more depth.

Things That Affect the Cost of Hiring Packers

By understanding which factors affect the cost of packing services, you will be able to use some clever cost-saving tactics to reduce the packing cost (explained later in the article). The price of professional packers is determined by:

• Volume of household items. The more things you want packed, the more it will cost you. For accurate packing cost estimation, don’t forget to show the moving expert everything you want to be professionally packed during the initial in-home survey. Most of the time, experienced moving companies can guess the approximate number of items you have only by knowing the size of your home, but such average values can only serve as rough price estimates.
• Packing time. It’s extremely difficult for moving companies to guess how much time they will need to complete each packing job, and as a result, the majority of short-distance movers use an hourly rate for packing services. And that means that the more household items you have for packing, the higher the overall packing costs will be.
• Packing supplies. Packing cost calculations will include the cost of the required packing materials: small boxes, medium boxes, large boxes, dish packs, wardrobe boxes, packing paper, bubble wrap, furniture blankets, stretch tape, and packing tape.
• Specialty items. If you own specialty items that will require extra packing care – antique furniture, glass items, valuables, artwork- then you should expect the packing costs to increase, as custom crating may be required.

You may also like to read: How to Declutter for a Home Move. The more things you need to pack and move, the more expensive every aspect of your home move will be. Decluttering is the answer. Learn all you need to know about decluttering in this invaluable guide.

How Much do Packers Cost?

It’s important to note that estimates for packing services may vary greatly from mover to mover, so you should never agree to hire the first packers who make you a price offer.

Request estimates from at least three movers so that you will be able to compare the quotes in detail.

Pricing policies of moving companies differ as well – most local movers will charge you an hourly rate for packing and moving, while most long-distance movers will give you a flat rate based on the price factors discussed above – usually, it’s the total weight of the shipment.

Hourly rate for packing services

Here’s what you should know if you’re offered an hourly rate for professional packing services:

• National average packing price. The national average price to hire packers on an hourly rate is close to $80 per hour per packer.
• Additional packers. Each additional worker will cost you more, but that is not necessarily a bad thing, as some moving companies will decrease the cost per packer if you request multiple packers and movers.
• Travel fee. Most local movers will charge their customers a travel fee as well – that’s the time the packing crew needs to reach your home. One extra hour of packing labor is the standard rate of that travel fee.
• Extra costs. The cost of the packing supplies and the fuel cost may or may not be included in the hourly charge, so you must get familiar with all the terms and conditions beforehand. Also, as explained above, the nature of your specialty items, if any, will contribute to higher packing costs.

Flat rate for packing services

Be mindful that the fixed rate for professional moving services is based on the volume and weight of your possessions.

Here are the same example packing costs.

Home size	Cost of packing labor	Cost of packing supplies
1-bedroom	$300 – $450	$100 – $150
2-bedroom	$450 – $600	$150 – $250
3-bedroom	$600 – $750	$250 – $350
4-bedroom	$750 – $1,200	$300 – $450

• 1-bedroom apartment: $300-$450. The cost of packing a 1-bedroom apartment by professional packers will be about $300-$450 for packing labor alone. The cost of packing materials should be around $100-$150.
• 2-bedroom home: $450-$600. The price of packing a 2-bedroom home by professional packers will be roughly $450-$600 for packing labor alone. The cost of packing materials should be around $150-$250.
• 3-bedroom home: $600-$750. The cost of packing a 3-bedroom home by professional packers will be around $600-$750 for packing labor alone. The cost of packing supplies should be around $250-$350.
• 4-bedroom home: $750-$1,200. The cost of packing a 4-bedroom home by professional packers will be around $750-$1,200 for packing labor alone. The cost of packing supplies should be around $300-$450.

IMPORTANT: The above packing costs have been given only for the sake of example, and your actual cost to hire packers may be different.

To get much more accurate quotes based on your specific needs and budget, fill out the movers and packers cost calculator.

Specialist Packing Services

If you own very expensive and fragile items that require a bit more special packing treatment than the rest of your possessions.

In such cases, the perfect solution for you will be an extra packing service known as custom crating.

Wooden crates are custom-made to the size of the items.

Items most commonly crated are:

• Antique pieces of furniture, including antique mirrors
• Valuable artwork, including sculptures
• Pricey marble or glass items
• Priceless collector’s items
• Chandeliers
• Sensitive electronic equipment
• Motorcycles
• Any other types of really special items of high value whose safe transportation is a top priority.

How much does crating cost?

Keep in mind that although custom crating services are expensive, the cost of replacing or repairing damaged items of high value will be much higher.

Crating rates vary from mover to mover, and the price of custom-built wooden crates will be determined by the size of the item itself – the larger the item, the more expensive the crating service.

Generally speaking, the minimum amount of money you will pay for specialized on-site crating services is roughly $70, but the price can be much higher than that – in some cases, the custom crating rates start from around $150 per crate.

Ways to Save on Packing Costs

Here are some ways in which you can save money when hiring professional packers.

• Reduce the number of items to be packed. Fewer items to move means fewer items to pack, which in turn means reduced cost of packing. Do you really need to move all the items in your home? Moving nothing but your absolute essentials is one of the best ways to save money when moving house. 
• Pre-pack whatever you can by yourself. If your moving budget is tight, you can always choose to pack some of your items by yourself. Leave only your most valuable, delicate, fragile, big, or oddly-shaped household items for the pros so that you can save big on packing services.
• Get cardboard boxes for free. Cardboard boxes constitute the major expense as far as packing supplies go. Find free or cheap moving boxes, and you should be able to save plenty of money before having to worry about covering the actual packing costs later on. Where to Get Free Moving Boxes
• Avoid packing mistakes. If you opt to pack some of your stuff by yourself to save some money, then you mustn’t make any costly packing mistakes that could easily bust your moving budget. Packing Mistakes That Will Cost You
• Move during the off-peak season. If you have any flexibility in choosing your move date, you may have the opportunity to save extra money. Moving during the peak moving season (May – September) is more expensive due to the greater demand for top-rated moving companies. So if you can move during the off-peak moving season, then you could save some serious money. Important Things to Consider When Deciding on a Moving Date

Important: If you think the cost of hiring packers is unjustified in your circumstances, remember that most insurance companies will not insure household items in transit that you have packed yourself. The damage of just one precious item could easily wipe out any savings you thought you were going to make.

Must read: Home Moving Insurance. Being underinsured is one of the most common home-moving mistakes. In this guide, we explain all you need to know about insuring your home move.

Be sure to visit our home moving blog, which is packed with guides to make every aspect of your home move cheaper, easier, and safer.