The 5 Best Moving Van Lines of 2024

Van line moving companies, (also called carriers) are moving brokers that connect you with other companies that fit your needs and budget. With a van line you work directly with the carrier — there’s no middleman.

 Van lines move with their own fleets, but some also act as brokers so they can expand their network and range.

If you're not sure which van line to choose, don't worry! We have you covered. We did hours of research to find the best moving van lines  in the biz.

Looking for other long-distance moving options? Check out our top picks in our Best Interstate Movers list.

United Van Lines’s services, prices, and industry expertise certainly warrant the name recognition the company receives. It also has transparent pricing and one of the best moving quote generators we’ve seen.

Plus, United uses only background-checked workers, so you can trust that you aren’t handing your belongings to a stranger off the street.

Moving companies van lines have a rep for being shady about their prices. For instance, lots of movers won’t tell you that carrying your stuff down flights of stairs costs extra until they show up on moving day. Or, they’ll bury the extra fee in your estimate in 10-pt. italicized font.

United, on the other hand, spells out its package pricing and add-on services pretty plainly before your move. This pricing method helps you budget properly (and avoid the feeling that you’ve been played).

Our  United Van Lines reviews found that their services include full-value protection on every move — a victory for those who care about their stuff.

Here’s the deal: Moving companies are required to include basic valuation on every move. That’s $0.60 of coverage per pound per item. So, if your 450-lb., $900 sectional sofa breaks in transit, you’ll only get comped $270.

Full-value protection (FVP), on the other hand, completely covers all your items. With FVP,  you’d get a $900 check for that damaged sectional. Bring on the brand new sofa!

United is one of the few moving companies to include FVP in the price of every move. We think this shows how much the company cares about protecting your belongings.

Want transparent pricing?

Read Our Review

When you compare Allied vs United Van Lines, you’ll find that  Allied is a large moving van company and  has one of the most extensive moving networks in the world. It can tackle anything from a large, long-distance move to a smaller local one.

The company offers a slew of moving services like appliance disconnection and reconnection.

One of our Move.org staff writers has moved with Allied, and we’re pleased to report that the company was transparent about its costs and had stellar customer service (though its customer service isn’t necessarily consistent across the board).

Allied’s wide range of add-ons allows you to tailor your move so you’re not paying for more than you need.

Here are Allied’s à la carte services:

• Full-service packing
• Fragile-only packing
• Moving supplies and boxes
• Appliance disconnection and reconnection
• Custom crating services
• Storage options
• Auto transport
• Shuttle services (if your front door is hard to access from the street)
• Full-value protection (FVP)

When you put your life in the back of a moving truck, you want to know it’ll get to its final destination safe and sound.

We love that Allied’s live tracking option can help alleviate some of that natural moving anxiety.

Most van lines connect you with your truck driver. That driver will then send periodic updates while they’re out on the road. But, for those of us who want to check in every few hours, the option to live track is a win.

Allied lets you track your shipment online the same way you track an Uber: you can see, in real time, how far away it is from your location.

(Take that, Dominos. Now we can track more than just our XL MeatZZa!)

With this tracking option, you’ll have a better gauge of when your things will actually arrive. And let’s be real: you’ll probably get a better night’s sleep, too.

Want to customize your move?

Read Our Review

North American Van Lines has locations nationwide and lots of add-on features to mix and match. It’s flexible enough to cover local moves, international moves, and everything in between.

It has helpful moving resources

Moving is something you (hopefully) don’t have to do often. It’s confusing. It’s overwhelming. It’s kind of a drag.

If you’ve never moved before — or if you can’t remember where to start — North American Van Lines has plenty of online resources for each step of the process, including a host of FAQs, pro tips, and general tricks of the trade.

Its resources can help keep you from signing with the wrong company — or for the wrong price.

We think this says a lot about how the company values its customers — especially because it favors customer comfort over going straight for the sell.

It’s no secret that moving can get messy. Whether you’re clearing out your garden or tossing your 10-year-old mattress, North American can help you dispose of throwaways.

Plus, if there’s ever a time to pull a Marie Kondo and downsize your life, it’s when you’re moving. (Bonus: the smaller the load, the cheaper the move.)

So, don’t feel obligated to pack that waffle iron you only pull out once every two years — North American will handle your post-purge cleanup.

Are you new to professional moving and looking for a place to start?

Read Our Review

International Van Lines is a moving van line, meaning it can send you one of its own trucks and connect you with in-house staff who will be responsible for handling your move.

As one of the best van lines for moving , IVL offers convenient services like multimedia setup and trash and debris removal.

Plus, its name is a straight giveaway: It excels in international moves. So, if now is the time to finally make that move to Paris you’ve been talking about for years, International Van Lines can help you out.

International Van Lines offers periodic promotions, from a free month of storage to 50 bucks off your local move. Moving is expensive — especially when you go full-service — so we appreciate the company’s efforts to save you some cash.

And these discounts are nothing to sneeze at.

When we wrote this review, International Van Lines was offering 10% off a move when you called in to request a quote. So, that $1,000 move could be $900 — or you could save even more.

IVL’s promotions change all the time, so keep an eye on their website.

New home isn’t ready to move into yet? Truck arrived before you did?

Not to worry: International Van Lines has temporary and long-term storage facilities in almost every state.

Here are the two storage types International Van Lines offers:

• Warehouse storage: This gives you the option to stow your things until you arrive at your new home — whether you and your family miss a flight or have to spend a few extra days wrapping up loose ends.
• Portable storage: If you’re starting a new job within a couple days and don’t have the time to fully unpack, portable storage allows you to store your things at your new home in a weather-safe container. That way, you can take a few extra days to unpack (and unwind from moving out of your last home).

Want to see what discounts are available for your move? 

Read Our Review

Colonial Van Lines offers a range of services and options from highly trained movers to get everything in the right place, even if that place is across the country. 

Like many of the brands on this list, Colonial Van Lines offers full-service cross-country and regional services, but what sets it apart is the extensive training every one of its employees gets. 

Colonial Van Lines has established itself as a trusted choice for both residential and corporate long-distance moves. Along with highly trained moving staff and drivers, every client gets the help of a dedicated Account Manager to help them through the moving process. 

Colonial specializes in out-of-state moves, only working with customers crossing state lines. Moving deposits usually land around 40%, but with the more services you add, the more that deposit covers. 

Relocating families and businesses nationwide requires careful planning, skilled hands, and strategic thinking, which is why Colonial Van Lines invests in comprehensive training through its own institution, Colonial Van Lines University (CVLU).

Every new team member undergoes an immersive training program lasting two to four weeks at CVLU. This training equips them with the most effective techniques for packing, lifting, and handling a wide range of items—from everyday belongings to specialty goods.

Moreover, Colonial extends the benefits of CVLU to its customers. Quick courses are available for preparing valuable items like dressers, chairs, appliances, books, fine china, and clothing, ensuring that customers can also take advantage of expert knowledge when preparing their possessions for relocation.

Binding estimates are something we highly recommend in a moving company because they prevent the price from changing after you sign the agreement. Although the quote is guaranteed, you can adjust your estimate with Colonial’s Quality Assurance team up until the date of your move. For example, if you end up doing more (or less) packing than you expected, you can either lower your overall cost or add that service.

We spoke with Colonial Van Lines to get an idea of its price ranges and got some simple estimates for a three-bedroom home. 

• Salt Lake City, UT to New York City, NY: around $9,000
• Minneapolis, MN to Des Moines, IA: around $5,500 

CVL considers various factors such as load weight, locations, and moving dates to provide a final binding quote, guaranteeing accuracy. They also offer a price match guarantee against qualified competitors' lower quotes.

Ready to start your move with Colonial Van Lines?

Wheaton World Wide Moving provides full-service convenience for local, long-distance, and international moves. And with services designed to make your moving experience as quick and painless as possible, Wheaton is our recommendation for last-minute moves.

If you’re moving on short notice — or you’ve put off planning ’til the last minute (we’ve all been there) — you probably don’t have a lot of time to shop around for the best prices or services.

Plus, moving companies often require you to schedule an in-home estimate before they tell you what your move might cost, which takes even more time.

Luckily, Wheaton allows you to get an instant estimate online. While the online estimate won’t be an exact prediction of what Wheaton will actually charge for your move, it’ll give you a rough idea of what you should plan to spend.

Once you’ve got your quote, you can decide if you want to try your luck with a different company, or you can get the ball rolling with Wheaton by scheduling an appointment to get a more accurate in-home estimate.

While online quotes can significantly accelerate the planning process, they’re not entirely unique to Wheaton — unlike the next service we’ll mention.

If you’ve got a big budget, and you need to get where you’re going quickly, then Wheaton’s Priority Relocation Service was made for you. For Priority Relocation customers, Wheaton expedites the shipping process to meet deadlines (if possible) and guarantees delivery dates.

For every day your Priority Relocation shipment is late, Wheaton will pay you $100, so you know the company takes your schedule seriously. Of course, Priority Relocation moves are much more expensive than normal moves with Wheaton, though we can’t say exactly how much they cost because prices vary from one move to another.

Unfortunately, Priority Relocation Service is only available for shipments between 3,500 and 6,000 lbs. This restriction should be fine if you’re moving out of a two- or a three-bedroom house, but if you’re moving out of something more like a studio apartment or a mansion, you probably can’t take advantage of this service.

In a rush to move?

Read Our Review

If you still want to browse around, here are some other  moving van lines reviews worth considering:

• Atlas Van Lines Review
• Bekins Van Lines Review
• Mayflower Review

• United Van Lines—Best for most transparent pricing
• Allied Van Lines—Best for customization
• International Van Lines—Best for discounts
• North American Van Lines—Best for first-time movers
• Wheaton World Wide Moving—Best for last-minute moves

Move.org evaluates and identifies the moving industry’s best full-service movers using a fivefold research approach:

• Compare pricing transparency. We gather quotes, check for binding estimates, and read customer reviews about pricing to ensure each moving company’s prices are trustworthy. 

• Review accreditation. We check every company’s records in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s database to confirm companies are properly authorized to transport household goods.

• Mystery shopping. We review every company’s website, pose as customers in calls to companies, and read customer reviews to analyze every company’s moving services, transit protection, and customer service. We also interview actual customers to learn how their moves went from start to finish.

• Site visits.  We invite moving companies to our headquarters in Salt Lake City, UT, to share data and expertise. We verify the information they provide by comparing it to data gathered through independent research and interviews with other movers.
• Regular review. We routinely repeat this process to update our recommendations to reflect current data and trends. We also revise each review annually and make updates throughout the year.