How much does it cost to move furniture and heavy items?

You might think you should only hire a moving company if you're moving into or out of a home, but professional furniture movers can also move heavy furniture across short distances — even if the move is occurring within the same building or home.

Here's everything you need to know about furniture moving prices, including hourly rates, how to save money and how to find the best furniture movers for your needs.

On average, furniture movers charge an hourly rate of $90 per hour. However, prices can range from $70 to $125 per hour.

A company's locations and how extensive its operations are can affect the hourly rate. Smaller companies with lower business overhead may have lower rates but can also potentially have fewer resources such as moving trucks or specialized equipment.

Depending on the moving company and the type of item you have, its size and its weight, you might face different prices. Here's an example of how costs vary for two heavy items: pianos and pool tables.

Moving a pool table

The cost to move a pool table may be more than the standard hourly rate a moving company may charge to move a couch or a few tables. Pool table movers charge approximately $200 to $600, on average. When a pro moves your pool table, they typically also set it back up properly, paying strict attention to perfect balance.

Moving a piano

Moving a piano is a delicate operation, and you should hire a professional piano mover who is properly trained to take on the job. Your piano's balance, action and other moving parts need to be carefully handled to prevent performance problems after the move is complete.

The cost to move a piano will depend on where you live, what type of piano you have, how far you need the piano moved and whether any stairs are involved. The average cost to move a piano ranges from $175 to $500.

Furniture moving and heavy lifting services are most commonly used for moving items across short distances, such as inside your home or within the same office building. Or, you could hire furniture movers if you're strapped for time, worried about damaging your furniture (or your wall paint) or if you just need an extra set of arms.

However, companies that provide these furniture and lifting services often also provide other moving assistance. For example, they may offer long-distance moving services or help with cross-country moves.

Here are some other situations where you might want to contact a pro for help:

Home remodeling and redecorating

Heavy-lifting professionals can be used for more than just traditional moving services. Furniture movers can make preparing for a home remodel much easier and safer. If you need to get sideboards, shelving, freestanding cabinets or heavy wood tables out of your dining room and kitchen, professional movers can safely stow the furniture in spare rooms or your garage until your home remodel is over.

Staging your home

Furniture movers can also help with home staging. If you're getting your home ready to show to prospective buyers, a minimalist setup helps them imagine themselves in the home. So, you might need to cut down on clutter, decor and furniture to create visual space in your house.

Instead of throwing your back out by moving furniture yourself, hire movers to rearrange or remove existing furniture from your home and into storage.

Moving single items

If you only have one (or very few items to move), furniture movers can help. Common requests for furniture moving help involve moving a couch or sofa, armchair, recliner, loveseat, dining table, bed frame, mattress, mirror, painting, piano, pool table, packed boxes and other household items.

Rearranging your office

Need to remodel or rearrange your office? You can hire professional local movers to move furniture around your business or office as well.

Decluttering

If you have furniture you're no longer using but don't want to give it away, furniture movers can put it in your garage, a storage unit or anywhere else you'd like.

If your heavy lifters are working on an hourly rate, you can save money by having everything ready for them before they arrive. Break down bed frames, remove table legs and take mirrors off the back of dressers before your movers arrive, recommends Move It For You. Any prep work the customer does means less time the lifters and movers need to be paid.

For example, a king-size bed can take 20 minutes for the company to disassemble and 20 minutes to reassemble, which is two-thirds of an hour that could be spent moving. However, maybe paying the furniture movers to disassemble and reassemble furniture is worth the additional cost to you? 

Another way to save money is to consolidate all heavy lifting needs into one service call. Plan ahead if you're staging your home or doing a remodel or a major redecoration. And consider all items that might need to be moved in the upcoming months so you can do it all in one visit instead of having furniture movers come out twice in three months.

Most professional moving companies offer free quotes and non-binding estimates for moving large items. Simply go online to find a list of furniture movers near you, and ask them to send you free estimates.

For the most accurate pricing, be very specific about the type of furniture that needs to be moved, the size, the material, how far the movers need to travel, any stairs or obstacles they'll encounter when moving and any extra services required. Providing incorrect or inadequate information online or over the phone can lead to higher costs once the workers arrive and realize the job will take longer than anticipated.

Also, when looking at potential furniture movers online, read their customer reviews and ratings to make sure you're choosing the right pro for your project. Here are more tips to help you hire a pro.

Even if you, your family members and friends are strong enough to move your furniture, professional movers are a good investment. Here are some of the benefits of hiring a mover:

You can avoid injuries

Moving furniture can be dangerous. Even if you're strong enough to haul your wood bookshelf across the room, it's easy to pull a muscle or pinch a nerve if you aren't careful to use the proper techniques for lifting and carrying. Pro furniture movers do this for a living and know how to do the heavy lifting without injury.

Your furniture will be protected

Many moving companies have insurance that covers any accidental damage to your furniture during the move. Can you say the same if you move stuff yourself? If you don't want your furniture to get scratched, dinged, dented or broken, let the pros take over.

Your home will be protected

No one plans to drop their solid wood bed frame and crack their ceramic floor tiles when moving a bed from one room to another. But if you lift heavy items by yourself, no one else will pay for the repairs. You break it, you buy it.

If you hire pro furniture movers, they will help ensure your walls don't get dented, your paint doesn't get scratched and your things are kept in good condition. Just remember to confirm your movers have the appropriate insurance in place.

Movers have heavy moving equipment

Dollies, straps, blankets, protective wrapping — professional furniture movers come to your house with everything they will need to safely move your furniture around your home or into a truck. Their preparation can save you from having to invest in moving equipment.