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3 min readNearly a quarter of Americans have moved or know someone who has moved during COVID-191—and all of them want to save money.
Moving containers reduce your moving costs because you don’t have to hire professional movers. While you pay the company to transport your container, you do the loading and unloading yourself.
You can save even more money with moving container discounts:
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The term portable storage means you can use your moving container as a portable storage container for several months after you move. For longer-term storage, check out our list of the best self-storage companies.
If you don’t qualify for some of the discounts we’ve mentioned, you’re in luck. 1-800-PACK-RAT, PODS, and U-Pack offer a bunch of other discounts.
In most cases, you can save even more money by renting a moving truck instead of a container—but you’ll do virtually all the work yourself. We’ve put together a list of the best truck rental companies to help you.
1-800-PACK-RAT has the highest-quality moving containers in the industry. The company’s all-steel moving containers protect your stuff during your move and double as a portable storage unit if you need some time before unloading.
Besides having the lowest rates for midsize homes, 1-800-PACK-RAT also offers more moving container discounts than any other moving container company.
Learn more in our 1-800-PACK-RAT Review, or watch our video where we test out the reservation process for 1-800-PACK-RAT.
You can find a PODS location in nearly every state. The company has three container sizes to choose from and constructs its moving containers with steel frames.
PODS also has the lowest prices for short-distance moves. Its average cost of $3,810 is almost $70 lower than the competition.
Learn more in our PODS Review.
Move.org has plenty of deals for moving containers, but we don't stop there. We've also got discounts for high-speed internet deals and guides to help you know how much you should pay for cable and high-speed internet.
SMARTBOX doesn’t have many locations (it’s in just 23 states), but it’s worth considering if there’s a location near you. The company can deliver up to eight containers at once, and they come with weatherproof covers to keep your belongings safe.
Most importantly, the company guarantees it will match the price of other moving container companies.
Learn more in our SMARTBOX Review.
No moving container is as widely available as U-Haul’s U-Box. You can reserve a U-Box container pretty much anywhere there are U-Haul moving trucks (about 20,000 locations nationwide).
U-Haul has low moving container rates because the U-Box is relatively small and uses plywood instead of steel. While your stuff isn’t likely to get damaged, the weight limit prevents you from loading more than about one room’s worth of belongings.
The U-Box has its best prices for distances of about 1,850 miles. U-Haul’s average long-distance cost of $3,700 is nearly $130 less expensive than other moving container companies.
Learn more in our U-Box Review.
U-Pack has a pay-for-what-you-use policy—meaning if you order three U-Pack ReloCubes but use only two, then you pay for only two. You also don’t have to pay for storage (most companies build a month’s worth of portable storage into your cost).
While the U-Pack ReloCube comes in only one size (small) and has low-quality construction, its overall prices are the lowest in the business.
Learn more in our U-Pack ReloCube Review.
Yes, 1-800-PACK-RAT, U-Pack, and PODS have moving container discounts for military members. You may need to present your military ID to qualify.
Moving containers can often be the cheapest way to move long distance. While rental trucks are more affordable for shorter distances, you save upwards of $400 on a coast-to-coast move because you don’t have to pay for travel expenses.
PODS less expensive U-Haul for short distances. Its average cost of $1,367 for moves under 100 miles is about $300 less expensive than the industry average for moves less than 100 miles.
Learn more about the best moving container companies:
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