If you’re looking for a moving company in Boston, we recommend starting with a full-service mover. We think these companies are generally best overall because they offer a range of services and move types, from local and long-distance moves to packing and specialty item moving (like pianos).
| Company | Home Bay Rating | Customer Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Best overall
Stairhopper Movers
|
Excellent
|
4.9 (2419)
|
Learn More |
Michael’s Moving and Storage
|
Very Good
|
4.6 (648)
|
Learn More |
Premium Q Moving and Storage
|
Very Good
|
4.9 (66)
|
Learn More |
We evaluated 50 moving companies in Boston and identified our top picks based on factors like customer ratings, activity levels, licensing, and Department of Transportation safety data. Our guide will help you find the best moving company for your next move — whether you need a full-service mover or a specialty service like piano moving or labor-only.
👉 Jump to: Best long distance movers | Best local movers | Other local options | Specialty movers
Why trust us?
Our goal is to help you find the most affordable and reliable solution for your next move. When you click a link on this page, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t influence our rankings and advice. Learn how we researched and ranked these companies.
How to choose a moving company
- Identify what level of service you need. Moving companies aren’t all equal. If you want to sit back and drink a cup of coffee while your belongings are packed and loaded onto a truck and then driven away, you’ll need a full-service mover. If you want something else, like help loading or unloading boxes that you transport yourself, you’ll need a labor-only mover. Or, if you’re moving out of town, you’ll need to make sure the company you choose is able to handle long-distance moves (typically more than 100 miles).
- Focus on customer reviews. Yelp profiles and Google business listings are a great place to find moving company reviews from actual customers. Pay close attention not just to the average rating, but the total number of reviews, how recent they are, and any positive themes or red flags that customers bring up.
- Request 2—3 quotes. It’s always best to comparison shop before you book a moving company. This might take some extra time (most movers will want to see your belongings, or at least get an itemized list for an accurate quote), but it’ll help you determine a reasonable budget before you sign a service contract.
Best overall moving companies in Boston
Customer Rating
Booking Time
Phone
Overview
Reviews
Services
Contact
Our take: We think Stairhopper is the best overall fit for most people who need to move in Boston. It checks all of our boxes for legitimacy, flexibility, and customer service.
Why we like it: Stairhopper has a large enough fleet to keep up with demand, it offers a combination of local and long-distance services, and it has more positive customer reviews than any other Boston mover in our database.
Things to watch out for: Stairhopper doesn’t offer a loading/unloading-only (labor-only) service. If that’s what you’re looking for, you might be better off finding labor help through Primo Moving in Boston.
- Long distance moves
- Local moves
- Piano/specialty items
- Storage
- Address: 20 Harvard St, Boston, MA 02129
- Website: stairhoppers.com
- Phone: (857) 928-0876
Customer Rating
Booking Time
Phone
Overview
Reviews
Services
Contact
Our take: Michel’s Moving is a solid local moving company in Boston with a great reputation and a very active moving crew.
Why we like it: Even with a small fleet, Michael’s has many recent positive customer reviews and managed to move a combined 255,000 miles in 2022. Michael’s can also handle a variety of different move types (local, long-distance, etc.) and offers storage.
Things to watch out for: Michael’s might be a little more expensive than other options in Boston, especially if you want to pay the extra fee for packing, but they can usually handle last-minute moves if you’re in a situation in which you need to book a mover quickly.
- Long distance moves
- Local moves
- Piano/specialty items
- Storage
- Address: 76 Ashford Street, Boston, MA 02134
- Website: michaelsmovers.com
- Phone: (617) 782-9811
Customer Rating
Booking Time
Phone
Overview
Reviews
Services
Contact
Our take: Premium Q Moving and Storage consistently gets positive customer reviews, and offers a variety of moving services — so they can usually accommodate complicated moves.
Why we like it: Premium Q is also one of the few Boston movers that has an entirely virtual quote process — you can use your phone to show the company what you’re trying to move, and they’ll give you a quote based on what they’re able to see.
Things to watch out for: Premium Q has a small fleet, so it may be harder to book during peak moving times (late summer).
- Long-distance moves
- Local moves
- Piano/specialty items
- Storage
- Address: 20 Sycamore Ave #4004 Medford, MA 02155
- Website: premiumqmoving.com
- Phone: (781) 219-8777
🚚 Skip the search. Connect with a trusted moving company.
Don’t waste your time with expensive quotes. Clever Move can connect you with trusted movers and provide personalized recommendations.
Other Boston movers
Stark Moving and Storage. Stark has excellent customer reviews and offers a variety of services for both local and interstate moves. We think it’s a reliable option based on the number of miles they’ve moved in the past year (more than most of the companies we checked out in Boston) and the positive reviews. However, two recent customer reviews included complaints about rude employees and stolen items. We don’t know if these complaints are legitimate, but the company hasn’t responded to them yet. Learn more.
Boston Best Rate Movers (BBR). BBR has hundreds of four- and five-star reviews, and we noticed a pattern of repeat customers using the service. For local moves, the company varies its hourly rate based on the date, with discounts being applied to the dates that are the least busy (you can see this when you book online). Packing services are included as part of a flat rate for long-distance moves. Learn more.
College HUNKS Hauling & Junk Moving. College HUNKS is a national brand, but the Lowell location in the Boston metro area gets great reviews and has zero DOT complaints in the past 12 months. Recent customers talk about how quick the moving team is, and we also noticed that the company responds politely to any negative reviews. We found a few instances of customers complaining that they got charged more than their initial estimate, but it was a small number relative to the number of reviews the company has. Learn more.
⚠️ Moving companies to avoid in Boston
Man With a Van. Man With a Van has a limited number of reviews in the Boston area, but most of the ones we could find are positive. However, the company doesn’t have any reviews that are less than a year old and told us over the phone that they’re not offering moving services at this time. We also couldn’t find any current DOT records for this business, so don’t waste your time trying to get a quote.
The Two Brothers Moving Company. Two Brothers is registered with the DOT and has a small number of positive (but old) reviews, but the company’s Google listing says the business is permanently closed. The lack of recent customer reviews, plus DOT reports that show no recent mileage, indicate that Two Brothers is probably out of business.
Specific moving needs in Boston
👉 Sections: Long distance | Local | Labor-only | Piano | Storage
Long-distance moving companies in Boston
| Company | Customer Rating | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Best overall
Stairhopper Movers
|
4.9 (2419)
|
(617) 782-9811
|
Learn More |
Exela Movers
|
4.8 (132)
|
(857) 312-3381
|
Learn More |
Centaur Moving
|
4.9 (302)
|
(617) 651-3434
|
Learn More |
Local moving companies in Boston
| Company | Customer Rating | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Premium Q Moving and Storage
|
4.9 (66)
|
(781) 219-8777
|
Learn More |
Poseidon Moving
|
4.4 (327)
|
(617) 470-9950
|
Learn More |
Stark Moving and Storage
|
4.7 (188)
|
(857) 526-1511
|
Learn More |
Labor-only moving companies in Boston
| Company | Customer Rating | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
Primo Moving
|
5 (5)
|
(857) 600-0404
|
Learn More |
Piano moving companies in Boston
| Company | Customer Rating | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Best overall
Stairhopper Movers
|
4.9 (2419)
|
(617) 782-9811
|
Learn More |
|
Poseidon Moving
|
4.4 (327)
|
(617) 470-9950
|
Learn More |
|
Michael’s Moving and Storage
|
4.6 (648)
|
(617) 782-9811
|
Learn More |
Movers with storage in Boston
| Company | Customer Rating | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Premium Q Moving and Storage
|
4.9 (66)
|
(781) 219-8777
|
Learn More |
|
Stark Moving and Storage
|
4.7 (188)
|
(857) 526-1511
|
Learn More |
Octopus Moving
|
4.7 (36)
|
(781) 333-5383
|
Learn More |
Why trust us
Data sources
Our team found 50 moving companies in the great Boston area and gathered information about their services (from company websites and phone calls), customer reviews (on review sites like Yelp) , history with the Department of Transportation (from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration database.) We used this information to categorize and rank each company.
Methodology
Our team created a list of moving companies in Boston by compiling names from local Yelp listings. We then filtered down the list to create rankings and identify top picks based on the following criteria:
Credentials: Our baseline criteria for ranking is that a moving company has to be properly licensed and registered with the Department of Transportation and/or the applicable state licensing body for household goods carriers. We also check to make sure that they have an active insurance policy.
Flexibility: Our best overall movers are “full service”—they’re able to accommodate a variety of move types, including: local, long-distance, interstate, piano/specialty item moves. They also offer additional services like storage. We’re confident that these movers are a fit for most types of moves and that you’ll be able to customize your move to pay more (or less) for services you do or don’t need.
Customer reviews: We give the most weight to a high volume of recent positive customer reviews. We look at reviews from multiple sites like Yelp, Google, and Trustpilot (when possible) to gauge the consistency of themes from customers and see what folks do or don’t like about the service. A small number of positive reviews is still a good signal, but we rank companies with hundreds of positive reviewers higher on our list.
Reliability: To assess how easy it is to book a mover, and how likely they are to get your stuff to its destination on time with minimal disruption, we look at DOT metrics like the number of miles moved in a 12-month period, as well as the number of drivers and trucks the company has. We also factor formal complaints into this equation, but only relative to the number of miles the company moved and their fleet size. For example, if a company moved 500,000 miles in one year with 30 drivers and 30 trucks, we wouldn’t assume a single complaint was a red flag.
Editorial policy
Our pages are powered by data from credible, primary sources. When you hire a service through a link on this page, we may earn a small commission. But this does not influence our advice or ranking methodology. Learn more about our editorial policy and how we make money. If you see something on this page that is inaccurate or if you have ideas for how we could provide more value to our readers, please let us know! Email us at [email protected].
