San Francisco's Best Moving Companies

Store your stuff - safe and cheap.

San Francisco Local Movers

If you’ve already moved apartments in San Francisco once, you know what a hassle it can be. Of course, there all of the normal annoying issues involved with moving (like sorting through all of your stuff, figuring out what to trash and what to pack). But perhaps worse than these standard moving issues are those issues which are specific to San Francisco.

Locating a moving truck and then figuring out how to navigate it along San Francisco’s narrow, busy, hilly, one-way streets is one problem. Dealing with getting your furniture up and down staircases in buildings which have no useful elevators is another. And simply trying to handle the details of moving while engaging in the rest of San Francisco’s busy life is sometimes more than anyone wants to manage for themselves.

Who can blame you? It makes a lot more sense to hire movers to handle these hassles than it does to stress yourself out over it. But how do you go about hiring a mover? Here is some information on what you want to look for in a moving company, followed by the lowdown on some of San Francisco’s favorite movers.

Recommended Criteria to Consider when Hiring Movers

• Convenience – Do they only do moving during certain business hours? Do you have to book them far in advance? If you’re a last minute mover with an unorthodox schedule, these are the things that you need to know.
• Cost – Find out what the cost is upfront for moving. See if rates are by the hour, by the number of movers or both. Make sure that you know about hidden costs such as hoisting fees and bridge or parking tolls.
• Customer Service – You want to find movers that are professional as well as friendly so that they’ll treat your stuff well and also do right by you.
• Legalities – Are they licensed? Are they insured? Get the details.
• Packing services – If you’re interested in having someone else handle the packing and un-packing of your goods, you need to make sure that your movers do it and find out the additional costs.
• Reputation – Word of mouth matters for a reason. Get recommendations by locals or check around online.
• Specialty item moves – If you have furniture that requires special moving care (pianos are a major example), then you should make sure your movers can accommodate.
• Storage options – You might find that your new apartment can’t hold as much stuff as the last place that you were in. See if your movers also offer storage.
• Supplies – Things are simply easier if you get everything taken care of in one place. You need boxes and tape and all of that moving stuff; find out the availability and rates for your movers’ supplies.

Carty Moving & Storage

3515 25^th St. (@ Valencia St.)

415-642-8999

The lowdown:

Carty is a San Francisco moving company which is family-owned and operated. Why do you care? Well, first of all, it’s always good to support local businesses. But more importantly, they really give the family touch to everything that they do. They’re even willing to make stops along the way between your old apartment and your new one to pick up additional items.

Considering the recommended movers criteria:

• Convenience – They’ll schedule around your needs.
• Cost – Free, no-obligation estimates are available. They vary but one recent quote was $120 for three movers, one truck and an hour-and-a-half of work.
• Customer Service – They have a personalized, family touch.
• Legalities – Fully licensed and insured.
• Packing services – Full service packing and un-packing is available.
• Reputation – Seems to vary.
• Specialty item moves – Pianos are regularly moved. Hoisting of large items through windows is another available service.
• Storage options – Storage options of various sizes are available as needed.
• Supplies – Packing supplies are available at a reasonable cost.

Corrib Moving & Storage

1290 Grove St.

415-407-4169

The lowdown:

These are the full-service guys; they’ll do all of your packing and unpacking including assembly as needed, they’ll move your piano and transport your car to your new apartment, and they have storage services available in addition to their moving services.

Considering the recommended movers criteria:

• Convenience –.Known for last minute moves. Can move you anywhere in the state.
• Cost – Reasonable, call for free estimate.
• Customer Service – No move is too small so you can use these guys for moving and then use them again for smaller jobs like getting your unwanted furniture moved out of your apartment.
• Legalities – Standard.
• Packing services – Fully available, including disassembling and reassembling items as needed.
• Reputation – Known for having supervisors on all jobs so that it’s not just any old mover moving your stuff. Reportedly reliable.
• Specialty item moves – Piano moving and auto transport are both available.
• Storage options – Short and long term storage is available.
• Supplies – Fully available.

Golden Bay Relocation

3024 Fulton St. (@ 5^th Ave.)

415-668-9562

The lowdown:

If you’re looking for a mom-and-pop kind of place, Golden Bay Relocation is probably your spot. They have the pros and cons of a small local moving company including being slightly less convenient than other locations but also catering more to your needs.

Considering the recommended movers criteria:

• Convenience –.Book in advance since it’s a small company.
• Cost – Standard rates: $98 / hr. for 2 movers, $147 / hr. for 3 movers, $196 / hr. for 4 movers. There are no hidden costs because they give you all of that information up front. Those extra fees that they warn you about include rate increases after 2 hours, fuel charges and parking tickets. No miscellaneous charges (like bridge tolls).
• Customer Service – They’re a small company that prides themselves on quality customer service.
• Legalities – License information available right on their web page. Basic insurance is included, additional is available.
• Packing services – Fully available.
• Reputation – Over a decade of experience in moving San Franciscans. Good-standing member of the Better Business Bureau.
• Specialty item moves – Call for details.
• Storage options – They do not offer their own storage units. However, they do have a list of such spots on their website to assist you.
• Supplies – Fully available including delivery to your home. The truck itself comes with pads, tie-downs, dollies including an appliance dolly, wardrobes and a toolbox, all included in your rates.

Got 2 Move?

1470 12^th Ave. (@ Judah St.)

415-240-5691

The lowdown:

Got 2 Move will come in, pack up your entire apartment and move it if you so desire. Of course, this takes time and rates are by the hour but if you don’t want to do any of the work yourself, these are your guys. Also, they’re able to move you to and from Bay Area locations and national spots as well so if you’re not doing a strict in-city move, then they can help.

Considering the recommended movers criteria:

• Convenience – Specialize in last minute jobs.
• Cost – Standard rates: $45 per hour for one mover and a van, $90 per hour for 2 movers and a truck, $135 per hour for 3 movers and a truck.
• Customer Service – Reviews say that they are “courteous and careful”.
• Legalities – Fully insured and licensed for in-state and out-of-state travel.
• Packing services – Basic and professional packing services are both available. They’ll even reassemble stuff for you if you want.
• Reputation – If testimonials matter at all to you, they’ve got plenty on their site attesting to their good name.
• Specialty item moves – Fully available.
• Storage options – None available.
• Supplies – Blankets, padding and wardrobe boxes are available. Standard supplies are available as well.

One Big Man, One Big Truck

401 Terry Francois St., Suite 126

415-777-3250

The lowdown:

The company may have a great name but it doesn’t reflect the growth it’s gone through since opening in the eighties since they now have multiple locations and multiple movers. Their rates are very detailed but at least they’re consistent. They’ll follow up with a confirmation call after the move so you can tell them what you think of them.

Considering the recommended movers criteria:

• Convenience – They service the entire Bay Area. They’re available in the evenings but the rate goes up by 150% after 5 p.m. and doubles after 7 p.m.
• Cost – Basic rate is $120 / hour for two movers, $150 / hour for three movers; $10 extra hourly charge if paying by credit instead of cash. There’s also a “travel fee” of $50 for 2 movers, $60 for three movers.
• Customer Service – They say that their goal is to “change the perception of the moving industry through honesty, simplicity and hard work”.
• Legalities – They have property and general liability insurance. You can purchase additional insurance on your goods.
• Packing services – None available.
• Reputation – They’ve earned the SF Bay Guardian’s “Best of the Bay” award.
• Specialty item moves – Call for details.
• Storage options – None available.
• Supplies – 50 quilted moving pads, 4 wardrobe boxes and plastic wrap are all included in the rates. Other supplies are available at reasonable rates with free delivery in the city.

San Francisco is an especially international city, with people flocking to the Bay Area from around the globe. For expats, you may have special needs on getting oriented quickly and starting up financially sound.

By: Kathryn Vercillo, Copyright SFTRAVEL LLC