Best Moving Companies in Virginia (2023)

Virginia offers both opportunity and natural beauty. If you’re moving to the state, read our guide for the best moving companies in Virginia to learn about each company’s services, pricing, pros, and drawbacks.

The This Old House Reviews Team has researched and rated the best moving companies in the nation to help you in your search. This guide will help you learn about the best moving companies in Virginia and compare their cost, service options, benefits, and downsides.

Based on in-depth research and analysis, we find the following providers to be the best moving companies in Virginia:

• International Van Lines: Best Overall Full-Service Mover
• American Van Lines: Most Experienced Moving Labor
• Moving APT: Best Customer Service
• JK Moving Services: Most Customizable Full-Service Mover
• Allied Van Lines: Best for Vehicle Relocation
• North American Van Lines: Best for Claims
• 1-800-PACK-RAT: Best Overall Self-Service Mover

International Van Lines: Best Overall Full-Service Mover

International Van Lines is a full-service mover that’s best suited for cross-country moves. The company provides a variety of in-house full-service moving options, such as packing, loading, transportation, unloading, and unpacking. Customers can mix and match their services and create partial-service or self-service moves.

Pros & Cons

✔ Offers specialty moving services for pianos, antiques, and expensive artwork
✔ Offers multiple protection plan options
✔ Provides vehicle relocation services
✘ Is not the best option for local moving
✘ Doesn’t provide sample pricing online

Services

Whether you’re looking for a partial-service or full-service move, International Van Lines offers a large selection of options. The company’s specialty services for challenging and unique items like pianos and antiques are impressive. You can also choose from multiple protection plans ranging from limited liability coverage to full-value protection.

Cost

We obtained an estimate from International Van Lines for a two-bedroom home from Richmond to Norfolk in about a month and a half for $2,015–$3,445. This estimate includes loading services and transportation

Learn More: International Van Lines Review

American Van Lines: Most Experienced Moving Labor

American Van Lines offers some of the most experienced movers for its full-service options. Each mover works on a full-time basis rather than contractually and holds on average 10 years of moving experience. This makes American Van Lines a great option for specialty services for any difficult, valuable, or heavy items, such as pianos and expensive artwork, and a better option for moves within Virginia.

Pros & Cons

✔ Provides a price-matching option
✔ Offers flat-rate pricing and binding estimates
✔ Doesn’t perform local moves
✘ Deposits range from 10%–50% of the total moving amount
✘ Prices can be higher than other moversWorkers hold an average of 10 years of experience

Services

American Van Lines offers full-service and partial-pack options for long-distance moves. The company provides services such as furniture disassembly, packing, loading, unloading, unpacking, and furniture reassembly.

Cost

We find American Van Lines’ fixed pricing a particularly great offering, as the price you receive at the end of the quote process becomes a binding estimate that will not change.

American Van Lines does not offer sample pricing online, but does offer the average cost of popular moves. One example they included was for a move from Greensboro, NC to Atlanta, GA for a two-bedroom apartment (or 6,000 pounds) costs around $3,190. Since this is the average cost, this price includes a mixture of services.

Learn More: American Van Lines Review

Moving APT: Best Customer Service

Moving APT is known for its concierge-style approach to moving, handling each step of the process for you. As a broker, the company can help you find a mover that matches your specific needs and budget from its network of more than 2,500 independent movers. Moving APT prescreens all the providers in its network to ensure they are reputable and hold the proper licenses and insurance.

After matching you with a mover, Moving APT will stay in touch to make sure everything is going smoothly. The company is available 24/7 for any questions or concerns.

Pros & Cons

✔  Will negotiate lower quotes with its network agents
✔ Maintains one of the largest moving networks in the industry
✔ Has regularly updated lists of top moving companies on its website

✘ Has received numerous customer complaints through the U.S. Department of Transportation about surprise charges
✘ Operates on a strict cancellation policy

Services

Moving APT provides standard full-service packing and loading, as well as a variety of add-on options. Optional services include storage, appliance disconnection and reconnection, and vehicle shipping.

Cost

Using Moving APT’s online calculator,it would cost approximately $5,000 to move a two-bedroom house from Raleigh, N.C., to Richmond, Va. Moving APT will give you a binding estimate — the exact cost you’ll pay on moving day — following a virtual review of your home.

Learn More: Moving APT Review

JK Moving Services: Most Customizable Full-Service Mover

JK Moving is a great option if you’re interested in full-service options but you have a specific budget in mind. The company works with each customer to create custom full-service and partial-service moving packages according to each customer’s moving needs and budget.
JK Moving offers additional financial flexibility with its financing option through Enhancify. Customers get rates as low as 0% same-as-cash on services like packing, loading, unloading, and unpacking.* JK Moving, unlike other full-service movers on this list, can help with local moves in Virginia.
*Subject to credit approval

Pros & Cons

✔ Offers local moving services in Virginia and is headquartered in Sterling
✔ Offers financing through an Enhancify partnership
✔ Provides 24/7 customer support

✘ Storage is conducted by third-party companies
✘ Customer reviews vary according to location

Services

JK Moving offers a variety of popular full-service options like packing, loading, unloading, unpacking, and furniture disassembly and reassembly. Though its storage services are conducted by third-party companies, JK Moving offers climate-controlled units for storage solutions. Each of the company’s moving packages are tailored to each customer according to their moving needs and budget, which adds a layer of convenience to each move.

Cost

Your overall cost with JK Moving is affected by the following factors:

• Where your original home is located
• The overall distance of your move
• The size and weight of your move
• The date and time of year of your move
• Additional services you purchase

Learn More: JK Moving Services Review

Allied Van Lines: Best for Vehicle Relocation

If you need assistance moving your boat or RV for an upcoming move, Allied Van Lines might be the best option for you as it offers some of the best vehicle relocation services. Allied acts as a carrier for its services, which means it conducts services in-house that are typically outsourced to other companies, like vehicle shipping. Customers also get access to popular full-service options like packing and unpacking.

Pros & Cons

✔ Offers top-tier vehicle relocation services with GPS tracking
✔ Provides short-term and long-term storage solutions
✔ Offers the Allied Extra Care Protection plan for comprehensive insurance coverage
✘ Better suited to long-distance moves than local moves
✘ Doesn’t offer online sample pricing

Services

Similar to International Van Lines, Allied Van Lines is a good choice if you’re moving long-distance into or out of Virginia. The company offers popular full-service options such as packing, loading, unloading, and unpacking. We find Allied’s fragile-only pack option and its vehicle relocation services particularly noteworthy.

Cost

We obtained a ballpark quote from Allied Van Lines to move a two-bedroom home with an average amount of belongings from Richmond, Virginia, to Raleigh, North Carolina, for a total of $3,861–$4,401. This rough estimate is subject to change over the course of a move based on unforeseen circumstances or unexpected events.

Allied Van Lines also provides binding estimates through in-home and virtual surveys. These estimates will be much more accurate and will change only if your inventory changes significantly. We recommend that you work with Allied to get a binding estimate to avoid any moving day surprises.

Learn More: Allied Van Lines Review

North American Van Lines: Best for Claims

North American Van Lines is a full-service mover that provides custom full-value release coverage based on the value a customer declares on their shipment. This provides comprehensive contents protection based on the actual value of your belongings rather than a predetermined amount based on weight.

Should anything go wrong with your move, North American also features a transparent and thorough online claims process to receive compensation for any damaged or destroyed items.

Pros & Cons

✔ Creates custom contents protection plans
✔ Detailed and transparent claims process for damaged items
✔ Provides GPS tracking on all shipments

✘ Storage services vary according to location
✘ Agent availability varies according to location

Services

North American Van Lines is a full-service mover with many industry-standard services such as packing, loading, transportation, unloading, and unpacking. A noteworthy service from the company is assistance with the installation of appliances.

Cost

North American Van Lines gave us a ballpark estimate to move a two-bedroom home from Raleigh, NC to Richmond, VA for $3,836–$4,372. To give you a more accurate estimate, the company also offers binding estimates through virtual and in-home surveys and provides a useful mobile app to help with surveys and in the creation of a digital inventory.

Learn More: North American Van Lines Review

1-800-PACK-RAT: Best Overall Self-Service Mover

1-800-PACK-RAT is our top pick for a self-service Virginia mover. The company is great for both local moves and cross-country moves. PACK-RAT offers competitive pricing, a user-friendly website with a variety of tools and resources, and high-quality steel-body containers. The company has locations in Norfolk, Richmond, and Sterling.

Pros & Cons

✔ Provides long-term and short-term storage with 24/7 security and climate-controlled units
✔ Includes $10,000 in coverage for long-distance moves
✔ Offers price-matching with PODS

✘ Availability can be limited for cross-country moves
✘ Doesn’t provide sample pricing online

Services

1-800-PACK-RAT offers self-service moves for local and long-distance moves with the option to receive moving labor through HireAHelper. It offers 8-foot, 12-foot, and 16-foot containers.
The company delivers your selection of moving container(s) to your point of origin. Once you load it, PACK RAT picks up and transports your belongings to your new home. PACK RAT provides 30 days worth of container rental, and the company provides additional flexibility with on-site storage solutions.

Cost

We received a quote from 1-800-PACK-RAT to use a 16-foot container moving from Richmond to Norfolk within a month and a half for a total of $1,554.85. This quote includes a month of rental time, $10,000 in coverage, and all transportation.

Learn More: 1-800-PACK-RAT Review

Compare the Top Virginia Moving Companies

Virginia offers plenty of opportunities in its booming cities such as Richmond, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach and also has scenic rivers and rich historic towns to explore. Such a lush landscape can prove difficult to move across. A professional moving company can make relocating your home or business stress-free.

Our Conclusion

When searching for a professional mover, take some time and consider what you and your family value most in a moving company. We suggest you gather multiple detailed estimates to accurately compare the pros and cons of each company. Factors like the weight of your move, the distance of your move, your overall budget, and any specialty items you have will influence which company is best suited for your move to, from, or within Virginia.

If you enjoy having a company handle as much of your move as possible, consider full-service movers like International Van Lines, Allied Van Lines and North American Van Lines. If you want to save money and enjoy taking a DIY approach to things, look into 1-800-PACK-RAT.

Other Considerations When Moving in Virginia

When moving, there are several other services you may need or want to consider besides a moving company. You will have to get home insurance or renters insurance, and you may want to get a home warranty. Given Virginia’s range of biodiversity and climate, you also may want to invest in a pest control company and lawn care service.

See below to get further information on services you may want for your new home:

• Best Home Warranty Companies in Virginia
• Best Home Insurance in Virginia
• Best Renters Insurance in Virginia
• Best Lawn Care Services
• Best Pest Control Companies

Our Rating Methodology

The This Old House Reviews Team backs up our moving company ratings and recommendations with a detailed rating methodology to objectively score each company. We conduct research by reading through the company websites, analyzing customer reviews, conducting consumer surveys, requesting quotes, and speaking with customer representatives. We then score each moving company against our review standards for services, contents coverage, scheduling, trailer and container options, additional benefits, and reputation to arrive at a final score out of 100.

To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews Team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.