Moving Container Cost by Home Size and Distance (2026)

A moving container for a two-bedroom home costs $3,240 – $4,320 at 1,000 miles from our published model, and a three-bedroom home at the same distance runs $3,726 – $4,968. Those numbers come from three inputs: the miles, a multiplier for the size of the home, and a container service rate of $1.80 per mile, which is 28% below the full-service rate.

This guide lays out the whole grid, shows where the 28% comes from, and then goes through what a container quote includes and what gets added to it. If you want a number for your own route, the moving cost calculator prices the same model for any distance.

Moving container cost by home size and distance

You load and unload; the company delivers the container, moves it, and delivers it again at the other end. One month of storage is typically included.

Home	250 mi	500 mi	1,000 mi	1,500 mi	2,000 mi	2,800 mi
Studio	$608 – $810	$1,215 – $1,620	$2,430 – $3,240	$3,645 – $4,860	$4,860 – $6,480	$6,804 – $9,072
1 bedroom	$729 – $972	$1,458 – $1,944	$2,916 – $3,888	$4,374 – $5,832	$5,832 – $7,776	$8,165 – $10,886
2 bedrooms	$810 – $1,080	$1,620 – $2,160	$3,240 – $4,320	$4,860 – $6,480	$6,480 – $8,640	$9,072 – $12,096
3 bedrooms	$932 – $1,242	$1,863 – $2,484	$3,726 – $4,968	$5,589 – $7,452	$7,452 – $9,936	$10,433 – $13,910
4 bedrooms	$1,053 – $1,404	$2,106 – $2,808	$4,212 – $5,616	$6,318 – $8,424	$8,424 – $11,232	$11,794 – $15,725
5+ bedrooms	$1,215 – $1,620	$2,430 – $3,240	$4,860 – $6,480	$7,290 – $9,720	$9,720 – $12,960	$13,608 – $18,144

Two things to notice. The rows scale with home size because a bigger home needs more container space, and in practice more containers. The columns scale with distance because the container rides on a truck that is paid by the mile.

How the number is built

The model is miles × size multiplier × $1.80. The size multipliers are 1.5 for a studio, 1.8 for one bedroom, 2.0 for two, 2.3 for three, 2.6 for four and 3.0 for five or more. Multiply each by $1.80 and you get the effective per-mile rate for a container move:

Home	Multiplier	Effective rate per mile	Midpoint at 1,000 miles
Studio	1.5	$2.70	$2,700
1 bedroom	1.8	$3.24	$3,240
2 bedrooms	2.0	$3.60	$3,600
3 bedrooms	2.3	$4.14	$4,140
4 bedrooms	2.6	$4.68	$4,680
5+ bedrooms	3.0	$5.40	$5,400

The published range runs from 10% below that midpoint to 20% above it. The range is asymmetric on purpose: container moves overrun their first quote more often than they come in under, usually because of an extra month or an extra container, and the model reflects that.

There is also a floor. A container move never prices below $350 in the model, which only matters on very short distances where the math would otherwise produce a number no company would accept.

The 28% gap to full-service movers

Full-service movers price at $2.50 per mile in the same model, containers at $1.80. That ratio is fixed, so the gap is 28% at every size and every distance. Here is what it looks like for a three-bedroom home:

Distance	Full-service movers	Moving container	Difference
1,000 miles	$5,175 – $6,900	$3,726 – $4,968	$1,449 – $1,932
2,000 miles	$10,350 – $13,800	$7,452 – $9,936	$2,898 – $3,864

At the midpoints, that is $5,750 against $4,140 at 1,000 miles (a $1,610 gap) and $11,500 against $8,280 at 2,000 miles (a $3,220 gap).

What you are buying with the gap is labor. A full-service crew loads at origin and unloads at destination; with a container, that is you, your friends, or a labor-only crew you hire separately. Whether the gap is worth it depends on how much furniture you have and how much help you can get. We go through that trade in detail in containers versus full-service movers.

What a container quote normally includes

Container companies structure the quote in a similar way, and reading the structure tells you what is not in it.

• Delivery of the empty container to your origin address, placed on a driveway or at the curb.
• A first period of storage. PODS, for example, states on its site that “Your first 30 days are included in the price, then rent monthly if needed,” and that the 30-day billing cycle starts when the container is delivered.
• Transport to the destination, including the driver and fuel. U-Pack states that its container price includes “the driver and fuel.”
• Redelivery at destination and a window to unload. U-Pack gives “three business days to load and three business days to unload.”
• Final pickup of the empty container.

Notice what is not on the list: nobody carries anything in or out of your home, nobody packs, and the storage clock is short.

What adds to the quote

The extras are where a container move drifts above its first quote. In rough order of how often they happen:

1. Extra months. If the container sits at either end past the included period, you pay a monthly rent on it. Closing delays and lease gaps are the usual cause.
2. Additional containers. Guidance from the companies is by room, not by bedroom. U-Pack’s rule of thumb is “one Cube for every room in your home,” and a three-bedroom house has more than three rooms. Reserving more and paying only for what you use is common, but a container you did not plan for is still a full extra charge.
3. Redelivery. Moving a container between your driveway and the company’s storage center, in either direction, is a separate line.
4. No ground-level access. The container has to sit somewhere flat and reachable by the delivery truck. If it cannot be placed at your address, you load at the company’s facility instead, which adds trips and time.
5. HOA and permit constraints. Street placement often requires a city permit; many homeowners’ associations restrict how long a container can sit in view. The fee and the paperwork are yours.
6. Long-term storage. Past a few months, a container becomes an expensive storage unit. Compare it against storage in transit and self-storage before you let the months run.

None of these have a published price in our model, because they are set by each company and vary with location. Ask for each one in writing before you book, and read the loading guidance in how to load a moving container before you decide how many containers you need.

When a container is the right tool

A container fits a move with a gap between homes, a flexible schedule, and enough hands to load. It fits less well for a fifth-floor walk-up, a street with no parking, or a household that needs its goods delivered on a specific day.

If you are comparing every option, the moving containers hub covers how the service works, and the cheapest ways to move across the country sets containers against freight trailers and rental trucks on the same distances.