International Van Lines Review 2025

Moving across the country — or internationally — is a huge undertaking, and finding the right long-distance moving company for the job is no small feat. Full-service movers like International Van Lines (IVL) offer professional packing, unpacking, moving, and storage: all of which can make your move exponentially easier.

Though some International Van Lines reviews may be below average, overall, this company excels at what they do.

International Van Lines has been in business for 24+ years. The company started in 2000 under a company licensed by the Federal Maritime Commission. It now handles over 20,000 moves per year and is based in Florida.

While prices vary depending on the specifics of your move, the company fills its website with International Van Lines cost sample quotes. IVL reps are similarly straightforward about pricing, so you never feel like you’re twisting arms to get a ballpark estimate. We view that as a big trust signal.

In addition to the quotes you can find on the site, we were able to get some quotes from the company. 

For moves with International Van Lines, the cost varies based on the type and distance of the move. A cross-country move for a three-bedroom home ranges between $9,000 and $13,000, while an in-state move for the same size costs between $6,000 and $8,000. Regional three-bedroom moves fall in the range of $7,500 to $10,000. For local moves, a one-bedroom home typically costs $2,000, a two-bedroom home ranges from $2,800 to $3,500, and a three-bedroom local move is priced between $7,500 and $9,500. These quotes are for a standard move. If you add extras like packing or storage, the price could be more.

Moving is too expensive to pay for services you don’t need. That’s what makes IVL’s optional packing such a big win. While other professional moving companies require you to pay for packing and unpacking, International Van Lines will let you save some cash if you want to add a flair of DIY to your move.

Savings start at around $400—and go upwards of $2,500 if you have a big home. For example, let’s say you have a 1,500-cubic foot home, and IVL quotes you $9,000 to move across the United States. If you pack yourself, that lowers your total to around $7,125—a savings of nearly two grand.

International Van Lines charges various fees for additional services and circumstances. Some of the charges seem a little nitpicky.

For example, you get charged for moving stuff from your home to the truck. Elevator use incurs a one-time fee of $75, while stairs beyond the first flight (10 steps) cost $75 per extra flight. Long carries over 75 feet also cost $75 per additional 75 feet. 

Here are some more fees to know about:

• Packing materials are available for purchase, with prices varying by item.
• Shuttle service costs $0.75 per cubic foot (with a $400 minimum) if a large truck cannot access your location.
• Bulky items like treadmills or canoes are $150 each, while piano handling ranges from $150 to $350, depending on the piano type.
• Motorcycle handling costs $350, excluding packing and weight considerations.
• Storage fees are $0.65 per cubic foot per month, calculated from the pickup date.

IVL can save you hundreds—or even thousands—of dollars with its various discounts. It might seem strange to feature a company’s “discount” as something special, but it’s a bigger win than you might think.

Think about it.

A 15% discount (like IVL's senior discount) doesn’t save you all that much on a jar of spaghetti sauce. But if you apply it to a long-distance move with a big home, the savings become much more noticeable. For example, 15% of an $8,000 move is $1,200. Combine that with the do-it-yourself packing we discussed above, and you could be inching towards a move that’s half off.

Here are the types of discounts that International Van Lines offers:

• Move.org reader discount
• Military
• Seniors
• Students
• Law enforcement
• First responders

Need the cost savings of an IVL discount?

International Van Lines offers all major moving services for local, cross-country, and international moves:

• Long-distance moving
• Local moves
• Ground transportation, ocean freight, and air freight
• Auto and motorcycle transport
• Optional packing services
• Optional storage services, including specialty items
• Corporate relocation
• Office moves
• Government and military relocation services
• International moving
• Trash and debris removal
• Crating
• Electronics installation

If you have an odd-sized item like a piano or treadmill and don't know how to protect it during your move, IVL's got you covered. They provide custom crating services that make packing things that won't fit in a cardboard box much easier.

International Van Lines offers one month of free storage with its shipping services. After that, storage fees are $0.65 per cubic foot per month, calculated from the pickup date.

If you want your stuff stored in your new hometown for free, you're out of luck, though. IVL only stores items at your starting location, unless you opt for the SIT (Storage in Transit) option.

With SIT, the company stores your items at a location near your new home, but it's not free. The service costs 50 cents per cubic foot.

So, if you're leaving Washington D.C. for Chicago, you can keep your things in D.C. for up to 30 days for free. But if you need storage in Chicago, you'll need to pay. If you have a 1,200-cubic foot home, your storage costs would be around $600 per month ($0.50 x 1,200 cubic feet).

International Van Lines offers several customer service options. You can fill out its online form, call its customer support line, or track your shipment using an online tracking tool. That's pretty standard, but IVL goes one big step further.

When you sign up for a move, you get one of International Van Lines' dedicated account managers assigned to you. It’s like a hotel concierge, except the rep has international moving expertise. International Van Lines’s agent can help you with everything from planning your move to getting oriented once you arrive. It's super handy to have one point of contact for all of your moving needs instead of talking to a different customer support agent each time you call.

Plus, IVL goes out of its way to educate you about pricing too. It won’t claim to have rock-bottom rates, nor will it hem and haw when you ask for International Van Lines cost information. 

It's important to note, though, that International Van Lines is both a carrier and a broker. This means that you may get IVL movers, or you may get another moving company IVL sets you up with. Typically, customers report more bad experiences with third-party moves. So the great customer service many people receive may not be what you get if you're placed with another moving company.

Move.org has researched, mystery shopped, and reviewed International Van Lines each year since the late 2010s. Also during that time, we've helped with two different IVL moves.

In my most recent mystery shopping, I went to IVL's website to request a moving quote. I filled out a detailed inventory list and waited to hear back. The company sent me a job number, but never called me to finish the quote process. 

Fortunately, the folks we helped move with IVL, got their quotes completed. Things were friendly and fast during one move we helped with. However, the service wasn't perfect. Some items were damaged, and there was a surprise fee.

During the other move, furniture was damaged, there were miscommunications, and the family wasn't able to contact IVL about the arrival of their shipment because the customer service department was closed for the weekend.

These are pretty common complaints when customers deal with brokered moves. Brokered means IVL sets up another company to move you instead of using their own team. 

Customers give International Van Lines pretty good reviews online, though. On Trustpilot, 63% percent of reviewers give the company 4 to 5 stars, as of November 2024. The International Van Lines BBB rating is A+, too (as of December 2024).

The company is getting better at making customers happy, it seems. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, it only received 25 complaints about International Van Lines in 2023. That's almost half from the year before.

International Van Lines is a competitive choice for long-distance moves. It provides services across all 50 states with a Move.org discount, has quotes between $9,000 and $13,000, and requires a 30% deposit.

Other companies present a variety of options: In the examples in the table below, Safeway Moving has deposit requirements of 30–40% and location-specific services but no Move.org discount; Colonial Van Lines offers a fixed $9,000 quote with up to 40% deposit and a discount of up to $500 for Move.org readers.

Comparatively, IVL's estimate starts in the mid-range, but its highest estimate exceeds many competitors. Its 30% deposit is in line with industry standards, and IVL offers a 10% discount for our readers.

Overall, International Van Lines stands out for its nationwide coverage—ensuring that you can book with them no matter where your move takes you.

International Van Lines brings over two decades of experience, a number of discount options to make your move affordable, and flexible add-on services to make them one of our top picks for long-distance moving. While we’ve seen mixed reviews relating to third-party movers, overall, International Van Lines delivers reliable, quality moving services in all 50 states and beyond.

Here’s why we recommend International Van Lines:

• Lots of discounts: IVL makes it easy for you to get a deal on your move. From the option to waive packing services to discounts for law enforcement and first responders (and don’t forget the 10% Move.org discount!), you could save hundreds or thousands.
• Transparent pricing: Unlike some other moving companies, International Van Lines is pretty straightforward about its pricing and fees. Best of all, it doesn’t make you jump through a thousand hoops before you get at least a ballpark idea of what your move could cost.
• Free storage: You get 30 days of free storage in your city of origin—so if you need to stage your home for sell or store items before you hit the road to your new digs, you won’t incur an extra cost.

While we’ve seen mixed reviews relating to third-party movers, overall, International Van Lines delivers reliable, quality moving services in all 50 states and beyond. We’ve been pleased to see the company double down on customer service, with FMCSA complaints decreasing yearly since 2022—dropping from 49 in 2022 to 17 as of December 2024.¹ Even though that’s a tiny percentage of the 20,000 moves IVL does each year, we think it’s important to see how much the company prioritizes delivering a good customer experience.

Looking for the country’s best long-distance moving company?

For our International Van Lines review, we dove in a little deeper than most review sites. We've consistently reviewed and researched International Van Lines (IVL) annually since the late 2010s using a combination of hands-on experience and extensive analysis of customer feedback, industry data, and performance metrics. We also talk directly to IVL to better understand its policies, practices, and get any questions answered.

Over the years, we have directly observed IVL’s services during two different moves, providing firsthand insights into their operations. Our research also includes online customer reviews and ratings. To provide further context, we analyzed data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

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1. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, "International Van Lines, Inc." Accessed December 18, 2024.