How Many Movers Do I Need?

Sergio Ocampo

Last Updated: May 28, 2024
6 min read

Quick answer: To determine how many movers you need, consider the size of your home, the specific tasks involved (loading, unloading, or full-service moving), and any unique items that require special care. Generally, a small apartment (400-650 sq. ft.) needs 2 movers for 2-4 hours, while a large home (3000+ sq. ft.) requires 6 movers for 8-10+ hours. Adjust based on additional factors like stairs, long carrying distances, or the help of family and friends. Hiring the right number of movers ensures a more efficient and less stressful moving experience.

Whether you choose to hire a professional moving company or get moving estimates from a combination of pro movers, moving container, and rental trucks, the type of move you choose will affect how many movers you need.

Read on to find out how many movers you need to hire but also the factors to consider when deciding the amount of labor you’ll need to outsource.

How many movers do you need?

The following table will tell you how many movers you’re going to need for your move depending on the work you need done and the size of your move.

Home size (square footage)	Loading only	Unloading only	Full-service moving
400 to 650 sq. ft.	2 movers /2 hours	2 movers /2 hours	2 movers / 4 hours
700 to 1,000 sq. ft.	2 movers / 3 hours	2 movers / 3 hours	2 movers / 5 hours
1,100 to 1,500 sq. ft.	3 movers / 4 hours	3 movers / 4 hours	3 movers / 6 hours
1,600 to 2,000 sq. ft.	3 movers / 5 hours	3 movers / 5 hours	3 movers / 8 hours
2,000 to 3,000 sq. ft.	4 movers / 6 hours	4 movers / 6 hours	4 movers / 9 hours
3,000+ sq. ft.	6 movers / 8 hours	6 movers / 8 hours	6 movers /10+ hours

Don’t stop here!

You’re going to want to consider the following factors in order to make sure you hire the right number of movers.

Factors to consider

Although the above table offers a good estimate of how many movers you’re going to need, every move is different and you should keep in mind the things that make your move different before hiring the wrong number of movers.

These are the things you should consider to hire the right amount of moving labor.

Size of the move

As seen on the table, this is the main consideration.

The number of movers you will need depends on the number of things you need to move. A move for someone with a studio apartment won’t require nearly as many movers or as much time compared to someone with a four-bedroom home.

It’s important to consider the size of the move when trying to figure out how many moves you need. You will also need to consider if the movers will be loading, unloading, packing, and unpacking.

When you hire full-service movers, you may need more actual movers to help with the tasks needing to be done.

However, when you just hire movers to load and unload the moving truck, you won’t need as many movers to help with the job.

Type of moving services you need

While the number of things you need to be moved (or the size of your home) will help determine how many movers to hire, some items require special care. When you have heavy items or harder to pack items, you may need more movers to help with the job.

For example, if you’re moving a two-bedroom apartment, you may only need two movers for a normal job. However, the same move with a large piano will likely require three or four movers just because of the weight of the piano.

If you will be moving any of the following items, assume you will need an additional mover, maybe two for the job:

Fine art
Plants
Pianos
Fish tanks
Heavy furniture or fragile items

These types of items require special care and moving companies will likely require hiring extra movers to ensure nobody is injured. Of course, you’ll want extra movers to ensure your things are handled with care, anyway.

Who will be helping?

If you’re lucky enough to have family and friends willing to help you move, you may not need to hire as many movers.

Maybe you have enough people helping you won’t need help with packing, loading, or unloading. Even in this type of scenario, it can be very helpful to hire one mover to drive the truck and direct the move.

Hiring even one professional mover will help guide everybody helping with the packing, loading, and unloading. They load moving trucks for a living and they will know how to pack everything to ensure it’s moved safely to your new destination.

Driving time

Need to hire driving services?

The amount of drive time will be included in the rate the mover charges. While they won’t start the clock until they arrive, you will be paying for the time from your old home to your new home.

Hiring the same moving crew to load and unload your things on the same day may be possible, but it’s not always ideal. It depends on how far away your new home is from your old home.

Remember, movers are not machines and they get tired. If they load up all your things, drive four to six hours away, and have to unload your things, they will likely be fatigued.

Other factors to consider

Before you decide how many movers you need, it’s important to consider a few other factors including:

Stairs
Elevators
Narrow hallways or doorways
Longer carrying distances

Any type of obstacle making moving your things from your home to the moving truck will likely slow down movers. Hiring an extra mover, if your things have to go down a couple of flights of stairs can help speed up the process.

Finding the right mover/time balance

Hiring the right number of movers isn’t a perfect science. While you may think you only need two movers based on the size of your home, a third mover will likely speed up the process.

Movers will get tired and will start to work slower as they wear down. Hiring more movers will ensure they can take breaks while your things are still getting packed and loaded into the truck.

The right mover/time balance isn’t the same for everybody. If you’re moving less than an hour away, you may not be bothered by paying fewer movers for more hours to help you move your things from your old house to your new house.

However, if the drive to your new home is going to take a few hours, you may want to hire more movers to speed up the packing, loading, unloading, and unpacking process. Since you cannot control how quickly your things get from point A to point B, hiring extra movers can help make the entire moving time shorter.

Considering the cost

Of course, another factor you want to consider when figuring out how many movers you need is the cost. Hiring an additional mover usually costs more money. However, it could end up saving you move, depending on the type of move.

Movers typically charge an hourly rate based on the number of movers you hire. The more movers you hire, the more expensive, unless hiring extra movers can shave a few hours off the time they will be working.

If you’re moving a four-bedroom home and you hire four movers to work for 10 hours per mover, you’ll be paying for a total of 40 hours of work.

In this same scenario, you could hire just two movers, but it may take a total of 25 hours per mover to complete the move. This means you’d actually end up paying for 50 hours of work, not 40.

Adding movers may save you in the long run. More movers will be able to mover your things faster, which can save you money if you have a larger home.

It’s also important to consider movers are not machines. After a few hours of work, they will need a break. They will get tired and towards the end of a long day, they won’t be nearly as productive as they were starting the day.

You should also consider the size of your home. If you have narrow hallways, stairs, or an elevator, it may not be practical to have too many movers. They will just end up running into each other and wasting time.

Local move vs. long-distance move

The number of movers you need will also depend on whether you’re moving locally or you’re moving across a longer distance. You may be hiring a different type of moving crew/company for a local move compared to a long-distance move.

With a local move, it’s almost always a better idea to pay movers by the hour compared to a flat rate. However, a long-distance move will likely be billed at a flat rate, especially if your things will be shipped on a large truck across state lines.

Local moving companies will likely send the same crew to load the truck, move your things from point A to point B, and unload the truck. However, when you hire a moving company for an interstate move, you may get one crew to load the truck and another crew to unload it when it arrives at your new home.

The number of movers you will need to hire for a long-distance move is a different equation compared to a local move. Make sure you consider how you will be moving and hiring two crews if you’re moving across state lines.

Now that you’re ready to hire moving labor.

Consider HireaHelper.

HireaHelper is a great company that helps you find labor for hire in your area. Here’s what you need to know.

HireaHelper has movers in all 50 states.
On average, people pay between $200 and $500 for two helpers for a couple of hours with a one-bedroom apartment.
Their website allows you to easily compare prices and see how much real-life customers have spent.