The move itself
When is the cheapest time to move?
The short answer
Midweek, mid-month, outside summer. Moving demand concentrates at the end of the month, at the end of a quarter, on weekends and in the summer, because leases and school years end then. If your dates flex by even a week, asking what a Tuesday in the middle of a month does to the price is the easiest saving in this trade.
Why the peaks exist
- Leases mostly start and end at the beginning and end of a month, which concentrates demand into a few days.
- The school year concentrates family moves into summer.
- Weekends are when people can move without taking leave.
- The combination — the last weekend of a summer month — is the single busiest slot and prices accordingly.
What flexibility buys besides price
A better crew. At peak, companies staff up with temporary labour and the experienced crews are spread thin. Off-peak, you are more likely to get the people the good reviews were written about, which matters more to how the day goes than the rate does.
If you cannot move off-peak, book much earlier. The good companies fill their summer months well in advance, and what is left in the last fortnight is what is left for a reason.
Also asked
Is winter a bad time to move?
It is cheaper and it has real complications: weather delays, ice on paths and stairs, shorter daylight, and heating that needs to be on at both ends. It is a genuine trade-off rather than a trap, and it favours a company with local experience of those conditions.
General information about moving and about hiring, not advice about your move. Interstate household-goods moving within the United States is federally regulated; local, intrastate and Canadian moving is regulated by each state or province, and the rules differ. The authority for your move is the one to check.