The Cheapest Moving Truck Rental Companies (2023 Review)

DIY moving is a fairly popular choice among people with smaller or mid-sized homes. As a budget-conscious mover, you’re likely looking for the most cost-effective truck or van rental option. Here, we’ve outlined the best truck rental companies with the best rates on the market.

Whether you’re looking for a cargo van for a multi-bedroom move or a pickup truck to remove some debris from your property, you should be able to find a viable option here. Read on to learn more about our top cheapest rental truck providers.

Compare the Cheapest Rental Truck Providers

Here, we’ve made a quick comparison of our top moving truck rental companies. Each will be differently suited to local moves and long-distance or one-way moves, so doing your research before booking is a must.

Company	Superlative	50-Mile Move Cost*	500-Mile Move Cost	Truck Sizes Offered
Safeway Moving Systems	Best overall moving broker	Call for price	Call for price	Size depends on location
Budget Truck Rental	Best for local moves	$100 – $200	$800 – $1,000	12’, 16’, 26’
Penske Truck Rental	Best for long-distance moves	$250 – $500	$1,000 – $1,200	12’, 16, 22’, 26’
U-Haul	Best moving supplies	$120 – $150	$900 – $1,200	10’, 15’, 20’, 26’
Enterprise Truck Rental	Most moving truck sizes	$200 and up	Call for quote**	15’, 16’, 24’, 26’

*Costs above reflect 26-foot truck rentals and current average market rates. Depending on your location or truck size, your rates could vary greatly. We recommend getting quotes from all providers in your area before booking.

**Enterprise doesn’t offer one-way rentals for trucks, so you may want to consider another option.

---

Safeway Moving Systems: Best Overall Moving Broker

Safeway Moving Systems gets our recommendation for the best overall moving broker and one of the cheapest moving truck rental options on the market. If you elect to ditch your DIY move and moving truck rental and go with a professional mover, then this provider may be worth your consideration. They partner with carriers across all 50 states to provide some of the best and most reliable services available in the industry.

Why We Recommend Safeway

If you’ve decided on a full-service move rather than renting a moving truck and doing things yourself, Safeway isn’t your cheapest option. However, the customer service it provides is among the best available. Customer reviews show that this broker’s attention to detail and care throughout the entire moving process are consistently excellent.

Aside from the overall quality of customer service, Safeway offers flat rate pricing for all of its moves. No matter your moving needs, you’ll be given a bottom-line estimate with no ambiguity. This flat rate includes 30 days of free storage, should you need it, and guarantees that a portion of your move bill will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Services Offered

Safeway offers the following services to clients within its service area. Exact offerings are sure to vary by partner carrier. However, if you’re opting for a full-service move over a moving truck rental, then you’ll have access to many of the following services from most Safeway companies:

• Long-distance relocations
• Packing
• Unpacking
• Packing materials (as a retailer)
• Short and long-term storage
• Piano moving
• Car shipping
• Commercial relocations
• Liability insurance
• Full valuation coverage
• And more

How Much Does Safeway Cost?

You can expect the following averages from Safeway’s flat rates for moves of varying size and distance. While any full-service mover is far more expensive than renting a truck and doing the job on your own, hiring a carrier through Safeway can help ensure your move’s safety and efficiency.

	250 mi	500 mi	1,000 mi	2,000 mi
2 BR	$2,000 – $5,000	$2,100 – $5,100	$2,200 – $5,200	$2,700 – $5,700
4 BR	$3,200 – $6,200	$4,700 – $6,700	$5,500 – $7,500	$7,800 – $10,800

State Availability: 50 states

Learn More: Read our Safeway review to learn more about booking and moving with Safeway Moving Systems.

---

Budget Truck Rental

Budget Truck Rental is another leading name in the DIY moving industry. They rent out trucks for various moving needs but are best for shorter, local moves. With more than 2,800 branches across the lower 48 states, finding a location near you won’t be difficult. They offer a standard range of services, which directly competes with U-Haul, Penske, and Enterprise and surpasses them in some areas.

Why We Recommend Budget

Budget is typical when compared to other players in the industry. They offer multiple truck sizes and add-on labor through their partner, Hire-A-Helper. That said, this provider’s local move costs are among the best in the business. Even with their low rates, they offer plenty of discounts for students, AAA members, military personnel, and more. This may be your most cost-effective choice if you’re staging a move across town or within your county.

Services Offered

Budget offers a standard cargo van, as well as the following truck sizes:

• 12-foot truck
• 16-foot truck
• 26-foot truck

They also offer moving labor assistance and a more limited range of moving supplies. However, this will depend on the exact location you go to.

Budget Cost

Budget truck rentals for local moves are incredibly affordable. You won’t find a better deal with a base cost of around $40 for their largest truck (26 feet) and a mileage rate of $0.47 per mile.

Long-distance moving is a different story. While costs are around industry averages, you’ll see a sharp increase after 100 miles. A 500-mile move with a 26-foot Budget truck will come to around $1,000, while a 2,000-mile move will cost around $3,000.

State Availability: All lower 48 states.

---

Penske Truck Rental

Penske is one of the more prominent names in moving truck rentals today. While they may not have the name recognition of U-Haul or Enterprise, they can provide plenty of truck-size options to help customers in most states. With 3,200 locations throughout the country, you’re sure to be in the range of a Penske Truck Rental office.

Why We Recommend Penske

Penske provides far better options for customers staging more lengthy DIY moves. Their trucks have larger interior storage space, with some featuring lift gates. This functionality means that loading larger items or heavier boxes is far easier for the average DIY mover.

Services Offered

Along with tow dollies for cars, Penske offers rentals for the following truck sizes:

• 11-foot cargo van (most studio apartments or single rooms)
• 12-foot moving truck (studio or small one-bedroom apartment)
• 16-foot truck (one-bedroom apartment)
• 22-foot truck (two-bedroom apartment or medium-sized house)
• 26-foot truck (three-bedroom homes and up)

Penske also acts as a vendor for moving supplies and furniture blankets in some locations. However, this availability may depend on your exact area.

Penske Cost

Though local moving costs can be high, Penske offers some of the best rates for long-distance moves. You can expect to pay around $2,000 to $2,200 for a 1,000-mile move with a 26-foot truck. This fee includes truck fees, taxes, unlimited mileage, liability coverage for your truck, and associated (potential) damages.

Local or shorter moves will cost around $175 and up per day, with mileage fees tacked on after that. A $100 fee will be charged to your credit card for canceling within 48 hours of your moving date.

State Availability: 49 states, including Hawaii. Penske is currently unavailable in Alaska.

---

U-Haul

U-Haul occupies a rare seat in the moving industry. Much like PODS has in the moving container side of the business, U-Haul has become synonymous with moving truck rentals. Since 1945, it has served DIY moving needs for customers across the United States and Canada. It offers various packing supplies and self-storage options across most locations.

Why We Recommend U-Haul

U-Haul’s rates are a bit higher than some of its competitors, but its range of DIY moving services is nearly unmatched. This includes a range of truck sizes, tow dollies, and other moving equipment. They provide some of the best moving boxes in the business at all locations, which will protect your goods as well as any other brand can.

Services Offered

U-Haul provides a range of truck sizes for one-way rentals and same-location drop-offs, including:

• 8-foot pickup truck
• 9-foot cargo van (studio apartments and student moves)
• 10-foot moving truck (studio or one-bedroom apartment)
• 15-foot moving truck (one to two-bedroom apartment)
• 20-foot moving truck (two-bedroom house or three-bedroom apartment)
• 26-foot moving truck (three or four-bedroom home)

Other options include:

• Moving supplies, including ratchet straps, furniture pads, packing supplies, and more
• Mobile and on-location storage units
• Third-party moving help through Hire-A-Helper

U-Haul Cost

U-Haul advertises costs of $19.95, $29.95, and $39.95 per day for its moving trucks. However, these daily rental fees do not include taxes, mileage fees, SafeMove insurance, or fuel costs. U-Haul trucks get around 10 miles per gallon when fully loaded, so you’ll be paying to fill up your truck at the end of your move.

• SafeMove: This coverage can include damage waivers for any damage to the truck box or front end when you have it. Without this coverage, you’ll be liable for all incurred costs to fix your truck. On average, this costs between $70 and $80.
• Mileage: Currently, mileage fees come to $0.79 to $1.29 per mile in most U-Haul locations.

State Availability: U-Haul’s 21,000 locations service clients in all 50 states.

---

Enterprise Truck Rental

Due to its prominence in the car rental industry, Enterprise is one of the biggest names in renting vehicles for both commercial and private use. It provides a range of truck sizes that is largely unmatched. That said, you will only be able to rent these for local moves. One-way rentals are not a service this renter features.

Why We Recommend Enterprise

If you’re planning a local move, and are in the market for a truck or van to rent, then Enterprise Truck Rental is one of your best options. That said, with only 430 locations, it has limited availability compared to its competition. If you’re lucky enough to be in the range of an Enterprise location, you should consider them for your upcoming move.

Services Offered

Enterprise offers the following for residential moves:

• Truck rentals, including 15, 16, 24, and 26-foot moving vans
• Moving supplies, including boxes and tape

Enterprise Cost

Enterprise’s rates for local moves are slightly higher than some of its competitors, but its high mileage fees are highly competitive. Daily costs for renting its trucks range from $89 to around $230, with pickup trucks costing the least and 26-foot trucks being the most expensive option. Mileage rates average around $.40 per mile, which beats industry norms. You’ll also need to budget money for insurance, which typically averages $30 per day.

State Availability: 48 states, with no locations in Vermont and Wyoming.

---

What to Look for in a Cheap Moving Truck Rental

Whether you’re planning to move a studio apartment or a four-bedroom home, the list of criteria you will use to evaluate different truck rental companies will remain pretty similar. With most providers nowadays, online booking has become the norm. You won’t be forced to sit on the phone while on hold to book your reservation. Before you book your DIY move to a new home, look into the following:

• Truck size: There is an enormous difference in capacity between a 10-foot truck and a 26-foot truck. The former can fit most studio apartments, while the latter can fit a typical three-bedroom home. Your moving truck size will be dictated by your actual home size, parking availability, and truck rental options in your area.
• Insurance: Renters are always afforded the option of purchasing additional insurance. Different policies will offer different levels of coverage. For example, most insurance policies you purchase will only protect against collisions. The actual box containing your belongings will have a separate policy, if any.
• Rental costs: Different firms will have slightly different rental rates. This can mean varied per-mile or per-diem charges (or both), as well as varied policies on refueling. If you’re lucky enough to have different options for rental services in your area, then you should evaluate each that is available.
• Customer reviews: Reviews will typically tell you all you need about a given local rental office. Even for nationwide rental truck providers with largely positive reviews, there are sure to be a few subpar locations in the mix. Customer reviews will tell you how reliable different locations are when providing guarantees on equipment availability, roadside assistance, and more.

---

How Much Does a Rental Moving Truck Cost?

Budgeting is a huge part of any moving process. Here are a few costs that will factor into any rental truck move. DIY relocations are still the cheapest way to move by a wide margin, but rising fuel costs have increased moving price points across the industry.

• Daily rental fee: Most truck rental locations will have a base rental fee for all trucks rented. U-Haul’s advertised $19.99 or $29.99 rates are exactly this: a daily rate that only makes up a fraction of your total cost.
• Insurance: Insurance is typically offered and recommended but not required. Most rental companies will not have compulsory insurance, but you should consider the added fee if you’re driving along tight roads or don’t have much experience.
• Fuel costs: One thing that is just as true for a truck rental as for a car rental is that you’ll have to fill up your truck to its original level upon completing your move. Of course, this is aside from other fill-ups that you may or may not need during your move. Is worth noting that fully-loaded 26-foot trucks get 8-13 miles to the gallon.
• Mileage: You’ll also have to pay-per-mile fees with most truck rental companies. These can range between $0.79 and $1.29 per mile and will be calculated using your truck odometer.

---

Final Thoughts

The planning phase of any move should begin around eight weeks before moving day. This is true regardless of pickup location, move size or distance, or the season during which you’re moving. Begin your moving process by making a thorough inventory list for all goods you’re taking with you. Once you do this, you’ll be prepared to book your truck rental with a defined pickup date. Any add-ons like packing or other services will have to be arranged separately with other moving companies.

To make your move go as smoothly as possible, our experts recommend using Safeway Moving services. Safeway is an all-inclusive moving broker with a strong history of high customer satisfaction and a healthy list of services available. Safeway is the way to go if you want a cheap moving truck rental.

---

House Method Rating Methodology

At House Method, our primary goals are to be a reliable source of information and to be totally transparent to our readers. With that in mind, we’ve developed the following formula to render objective ratings – on a scale of 10 points – for the moving companies we review.

• Transparency (3.0): Communication and being fully straightforward regarding company policies and licensing are incredibly important. A given mover’s willingness to display these, to supply quick quotes, and to provide clearly-worded moving contracts all factor into the three points within this single rating criteria.
• Cost (2.5): A mover’s cost relative to industry averages, as well as accessibility to cost data play a role in the customer experience as much as anything else. We know that being sure of what you’re paying – and being confident that you’re not overpaying – will ultimately make for a positive move. We’ve weighted cost factors accordingly in our ratings.
• Customer Service (2.0): Establishing an easy line of contact with your movers during the booking process or during the move itself is a huge asset for any moving client. The stress of moving, in general, can be greatly eased by knowing you can talk to a licensed professional whenever you need to, which is why we’ve listed this as a key rating category. This is where customer reviews come into play; since the majority of complaints stem from poor customer service, feedback from BBB, Yelp, Google, and other review platforms factor into this criteria.
• Services Offered (1.5): This rates lower on our priority list than many would think, simply due to the fact that many movers provide a similar line of services. However, breadth of service offerings does still vary to a degree.
• Customization Options (1.0): Having the autonomy to fully customize your move should rate highly on any moving checklist. Here, we’ve taken moving package customization ability, as well as pricing for more involved add-ons. Steep pricing for such services can provide something of a soft barrier for clients looking to add to their move, and we’ve taken this into consideration.

More Moving Resources