Bottom line: Zippy Shell costs about $1,000 less than the average quote of the rest of best moving container companies. At the same time, it’s available in only half the country and gets poor customer reviews.
Zippy Shell 2024 Review: Pricing & Services
We analyzed more than 16,000 reviews and 300 prices over 3 years to select Zippy Shell as one of the nation’s best moving container companies.
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5 min read
Reviewed ByRebecca Edwards
Pros
Low prices
Strong containers
Temperature-controlled storage
Flexible moving and storage options 
Cons
Limited availability (34 states)
Poor customer reviews Zippy Shell is available in 34 states.
How does Zippy Shell compare to other companies?
Company | Least expensive quote | Median quote | Most expensive quote | # of states | Details |
|
$962
| $5033 | $14,712 | 46 | Check Prices | |
|
$973
| $4349 | $8708 | 37 | Check Prices | |
|
$1151
| $3065 | $7876 | 50 | Check Prices | |
|
$1170
| $2887 | $6572 | 30 | Check Prices | |
|
$1111
| $2743 | $6243 | 34 | Check Prices |
Data as of 6/2024. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. Average cost calculated by comparing moving costs for four home sizes across six distances.
Zippy Shell has the nation’s best moving container prices. However, it also has only one container size and gets rough customer reviews. Be sure to check out some negative Zippy Shell reviews depicting things like communication failures and delivery delays to see if you’re comfortable with the risks.
Zippy Shell pricing
The average cost to move with Zippy Shell is approximately $2,925—or about $1,000 below the industry average. Zippy Shell costs include transportation, basic liability coverage, and 30 days of storage (for long-distance moves). In addition, you can purchase additional storage and insurance protection on a monthly basis. Zippy Shell can also connect you with third-party moving services if you need help packing and loading.
Zippy Shell moving container prices
Data as of March 2022. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. Average cost calculated by comparing moving costs for four home sizes across six distances.
Move like a pro
Ask Zippy Shell about packing/unpacking & loading/unloading labor. They can coordinate local mover help during your container moves.
Zippy Shell protection options
Data as of May 2022. Individuals should review their rental contract—including addendums—for a complete description of the policy’s terms, conditions, and exclusions.
What to know about Zippy Shell
Low prices
No company has lower moving container prices than Zippy Shell. Its average price tag of approximately $2,925 is about 25% below the industry average. In dollars and cents, that’s an average savings of almost $1,000.
If you compare its prices to some of the more expensive competitors on our list of the best container companies, things get even rosier. For example, Zippy Shell is nearly $400 cheaper than U-Pack. That’s enough savings to purchase moving supplies, hire moving help, or purchase their content protection plan (insurance) for some extra peace of mind.
Zippy Shell prices compared to other moving container companies
Company | Avg. moving container price | Amount above or below industry average |
| Zippy Shell |
$3480
| $390 ↓ |
|---|---|---|
 U-Haul U-Box |
$3700
| $170 ↓ |
 PODS |
$3810
| $60 ↓ |
 1-800-PACK-RAT |
$3850
| $20 ↓ |
 U-Pack |
$4500
| $630 ↑ |
Data as of March 2022. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. Average cost calculated by comparing moving costs for four home sizes across six distances.
Zippy Shell can save you an average of $400
Multiple storage options
Zippy Shell moving containers can also be used as portable storage units. That means you can store your moving containers at your home—or reserve a storage space at a Zippy Shell warehouse. It’s an ideal solution if you don’t have time to unload everything all at once. Similarly, if space is tighter than planned after moving in, you can leave your extra stuff in the Zippy Shell container rather than renting a storage unit. No extra hassle.
How much does Zippy Shell storage cost?
Zippy Shell’s monthly storage fees depend on local rates (usually around $160–$220).
Real drawbacks
Zippy Shell’s moving container prices are to die for—but there’s a catch. Two catches, actually:
- Poor customer reviews. Zippy Shell gets some of the lowest customer review scores. We crunched the numbers on more than 16,000 reviews and found that Zippy Shell’s average rating of 2.4 out of 5 stars is one-half star below average. We suggest reading 5 or 10 negative Zippy Shell reviews before placing an order. See if you’re comfortable with the risks customers mention.
- Limited availability. It’s good that Zippy Shell plans to extend its service area. Right now, it’s available in only about half the country (28 states). That puts your odds of finding a Zippy Shell around 50-50.
Zippy Shell availability
Zippy Shell location information as of August 2024.
Features and services
Zippy Shell offers a variety of services pertaining to moving and storage including:
- Local moves
- Long-distance moves
- Mobile storage
- Facility storage (includes temperature control)
- Loading, unloading, and packing referrals
Learn more about how to work with Zippy Shell to coordinate your move.
Zippy Shell at a glance
| Description | Zippy Shell information |
|---|---|
| Average price |
$3480
|
| At-home storage |  Yes |
| Facility storage | Yes |
| Container materials | Steel frame |
| # of containers | 2 |
| # of states | 34 |
| Average customer review score (out of 5) | 
|
Zippy Shell international services
Zippy Shell does not offer international moving services. We recommend contacting one of our best international moving companies if you need to transport your household belongings to another country.
Zippy Shell has improved more than any other moving container in the last three years. It jumped from fifth to third in our rankings for several reasons, including:
- Price. Money talks. Zippy Shell’s costs did a 180 from 2020 to 2022. The company went from having prices 10% above average to 25% below. While its competitors raised prices by about 35%, Zippy Shell kept its price hikes to around 7%. It’s hard to overstate how important it is when a company like Zippy Shell can save you hundreds of dollars.
- Storage options. Part of the reason Zippy Shell improved is that we changed our rankings. Each year, we carefully research what matters most to customers. We'll update our approach if we see a noticeable shift in what defines quality. That’s what we learned here: flexible storage options are a big deal right now. Zippy Shell’s score got better as a result.
Our recommendation
Zippy Shell has the lowest moving container rates in the nation. The moving container company can save you hundreds on the average move. We’d recommend Zippy Shell without reservation if that were the end of the story.
Consider Zippy Shell if you can answer yes to these three questions and feel good about it:
- Is saving money a priority for you?
- Can you find a Zippy Shell in your area?
- Have you read the company’s reviews?
Zippy Shell moving container FAQ
A Zippy Shell storage container costs about $2,925. However, costs vary depending on home size and distance. For example, it costs only about $1,111 to move a one-bedroom home 100 miles.
Zippy Shell movers deliver, pick up, transport, and store your belongings. However, you do the packing and loading (unless you hire third-party movers to help).
Zippy Shell containers are 15 feet long, 7 feet wide, and 7 feet tall. That’s usually big enough to fit belongings for a three-bedroom home.
Zippy Shell offers climate-controlled storage if you keep your container at one of its storage facilities. Its prices are sometimes more affordable than traditional climate-controlled storage unit companies.
No. However, Zippy Shell sells moving boxes at its facilities and can connect you with a third-party moving company to help pack and load your belongings.
It depends. A PODS container is generally cheaper than Zippy Shell for small homes and short distances, while Zippy Shell has better prices for most everything else.
You can reach Zippy Shell customer service by calling 888-947-7974. The company’s representatives can answer questions about your local move or long-distance move and provide cost estimates.
Yes, Zippy Shell is in North Carolina (but not South Carolina). You can also find Zippy Shell movers in seven other southeastern states, including Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.
A 15-foot Zippy Shell container can hold up to three rooms worth of belongings. It’s important to pick the right size moving container.
1-800-PACK-RAT and Zippy Shell merged shortly before the turn of the decade. However, the partnership left both company names intact.
Gareth Taylor founded Zippy Shell in 2007. The company merged with 1-800-PACK-RAT in 2018 and provides moving container services across the United States.
PODS and 1-800-PACK-RAT are the industry’s best moving container companies. They face competition from lesser quality companies such as U-Pack and U-Haul.
Zippy Shell and 1-800-PACK-RAT merged in 2018, but each company does something unique. 1-800-PACK-RAT specializes in premium moving services, while Zippy Shell is tailored towards those who need to move on a budget.
A ReloCube is U-Pack’s version of a moving container. You can find U-Pack ReloCubes in all 50 states.
Methodology
Move.org follows a five-step process to identify the nation’s best moving container companies:
- Compare quotes. We collected over 100 quotes from seven of the nation’s largest moving container companies to identify pricing trends.
- Mystery shopping. We do a top-to-bottom analysis of each company’s website and even call posing as customers. It helps us get a feel for what real-life customers experience.
- Analyze reviews. We read dozens of reviews for each company to see what most impresses (and turns off) customers. We also ran the numbers for more than 16,000 total reviews to calculate an industry customer review average.
- Site visits. We invite industry experts and company executives to visit our headquarters in Salt Lake City, UT. We grill them on everything from pricing and customer reviews to insurance coverage and the latest industry trends.
- Annual review. Every year, we repeat the process to ensure that our list of the best moving container companies stays current. That means things like our top recommendations and industry prices may change from year to year.
Recommended resources
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Reports on Zippy Shell customers’ experiences
