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Mayflower Moving Review 2025
Additional services and technology make this moving company stand out, but there are some things to watch out for.
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Tina Orem is an editor and content strategist at NerdWallet. Prior to becoming an editor and content strategist, she covered small business and taxes at NerdWallet. She has been a financial writer and editor for over 15 years, and she has a degree in finance, as well as a master's degree in journalism and a Master of Business Administration. Previously, she was a financial analyst and director of finance for several public and private companies. Tina's work has appeared in a variety of local and national media outlets.
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Whitney Vandiver writes for NerdWallet, currently focusing on home services, and has been published in the The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Seattle Times and The Independent. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading with a hot latte and spending time with her family. She is based in Houston.
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Mayflower Moving is one of the best moving companies we’ve reviewed, and it’s one of the largest in the country. It may be a fit for people who want a mover that offers other services, such as packing or car transportation, or who want a more tech-forward experience of virtual walkthroughs for quotes and an online portal. It also doesn't charge upfront deposits or fees to pay with a credit card, which we like.
Mayflower is one of the largest moving companies in the U.S. and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. It has more than 200 agents and is a full-service mover, meaning it does more than drive the truck. Here are some of the company’s major offerings and what we think you should know.
🤓Nerdy Tip
Mayflower is owned by UniGroup, the same corporation that owns United Van Lines. Many of its offerings are similar to United’s.
Local and interstate moves
Mayflower Moving loads, transports and unloads for cross-town, interstate and cross-country moves in all 50 states.
International moves
Mayflower does international moves, though you’ll also likely work with one or more other companies if you’re moving outside of the United States or Canada. You get a single point of contact at Mayflower, which we think is helpful.
Mayflower will also pack your items to avoid issues with customs and help with customs documentation.
Storage
Mayflower offers short-term and long-term storage around the country, which can be really helpful if you need extra time to find or prepare a new home. Storage costs extra, though, so be sure to tell the mover what you need so you get an accurate quote.
Packing and unpacking
This can be one of the worst parts of the moving process, so if you can afford to pay extra for some help here, it’s worth considering.
If you want, you can have Mayflower only pack or unpack some rooms or some things (which can cut costs). Mayflower can also arrange for a third party to build custom crates for antiques and things that are fragile.
Mayflower will disassemble and reassemble bed frames, and it will unpack and place the furniture for you.
If you’re unpacking yourself, you can have the company come back up to 30 days later to pick up your empty boxes and packing material.
To ship a car or truck, Mayflower loads it onto a car carrier. The company uses open-sided and enclosed car carriers. Open-sided is usually cheaper; enclosed is mostly for high-value or antique vehicles.
Example of open car carrier. Courtesy Getty Images.
If your vehicle is any of the following, it may need an enclosed carrier or special treatment:
Over 25 years old.
Has a lift kit, dually wheels, cab lights, a camper shell or oversize tires.
Is over 75 inches high or over 220 inches long.
Weighs more than 5,000 pounds.
Doesn’t work.
Is worth more than $60,000.
🤓Nerdy Tip
Car carriers are considered oversize vehicles. If your neighborhood doesn’t allow or can’t fit oversized vehicles, you may need to arrange to have the mover pick up or drop off your vehicle somewhere else.
Customer satisfaction
To evaluate customer satisfaction, we consider Better Business Bureau (BBB) ratings, which is based on customer reviews, and the number of complaints customers have filed with the BBB in an effort to resolve an issue with a company. We also consider complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation.
We found that Mayflower’s customer satisfaction rating with the BBB is lower than many of its competitors' ratings. Per 100 vehicles, it has a higher number of customer complaints filed with the BBB and the Department of Transportation than many of its competitors, which could indicate customer service issues or in-house issue resolution issues.
Customer service
If you need help, you can contact customer service via phone, online form or the company’s moving portal. There’s also a chat function on the website, but we didn’t find it very useful.
Like most moving companies, Mayflower doesn’t provide price quotes online because the final cost depends on several factors, such as:
How much stuff you have.
What kind of stuff you have.
Where your stuff is going.
How accessible the locations are.
When you want to move.
The U.S. Department of Transportation also requires movers to do a “physical survey of your goods” if the mover has a place of business within 50 miles of your house. You can waive this requirement if you want, but you have to do it in writing before the mover loads your shipment
Nonbinding estimates give you an approximate cost. They can be great for getting a quick, ballpark sense of cost, but the downside is that they can change by a lot. The final cost comes when the mover weighs the shipment.
Binding quotes guarantee you won’t be changed more than the estimate. They can be great for giving you certainty and peace of mind, but the downside is that the quote process might take longer and the mover can charge for a binding quote
U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Estimating Charges (Subpart D). Accessed Jul 29, 2024.
Getting a quote from Mayflower typically starts with setting up an appointment for a walkthrough in your home so the company can see what you’re moving and how hard it will be to get out. Mayflower can do this part virtually if you want.
🤓Nerdy Tip
Beware of websites that claim to tell you how much your move is going to cost. None of the full-service moving companies we reviewed provide price quotes online. Virtually every moving company requires contact with a salesperson and a visual survey of your belongings in order to provide a reliable cost estimate.
Things Mayflower won’t move
Mayflower will pack and ship most things, but not everything.
Will ship but only at your own risk
Batteries powering personal mobility devices.
Cordless power tools.
Scuba tanks.
Firearms (unloaded).
Clean gas cans and other fuel storage.
Alcoholic beverages.
Won’t pack or ship
Batteries, including car batteries.
Household cleaning products.
Corrosive chemicals or poisons.
Lawn and garden chemicals.
Flammables and explosives.
Live animals or plants.
Gas and oil products.
Compressed gas cylinders.
Candles.
Illegal items or substances.
Ammunition, including gunpowder.
Tracking your shipment
Mayflower lets you track your truck when you enter an order number and your last name. However, you can’t find the exact location of your shipment; you have to talk to the move coordinator to get that information.
Mayflower's shipment tracking screen.
What if Mayflower damages my stuff?
Moving companies are liable for loss or damage to your stuff during transportation. But the extent of that liability depends on which kind of liability coverage you choose. Federal law requires movers to offer you two liability options:
Released Value. This protection is free but only pays 60 cents per pound. So if the movers ruin your 300-pound couch, you only get $180, even if the couch was expensive.
Full Value Protection. Under this option, the mover is liable for the replacement value of items that it loses, damages or destroys. You have to pay extra for this option, but unless you explicitly choose the Released Value option, movers must automatically move your stuff under the Full Value Protection level of liability. In this scenario, if the movers ruin your 300-pound couch, they have to repair the couch or pay the replacement value of the couch.
Mayflower allows customers to increase their protection beyond the standard coverage. Depending on the package you choose, you can pay for higher coverage and extra services, such as debris removal and protection of pairs and sets of items. Mayflower doesn’t offer deductible-based protection plans.
Another option is to get third-party insurance for your move. Sometimes movers will sell you a policy. Your homeowners insurance might also provide some coverage.
🤓Nerdy Tip
Liability coverage isn’t the same thing as insurance, so state insurance laws don’t apply to the coverage movers provide.
Alternatives to Mayflower
Company
NerdWallet rating
NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formulas take into account multiple data points for each financial product and service.
Other services offered
Deposit required?
Customer ratings
Based on Better Business Bureau rating and number of complaints per 100 vehicles to the BBB and Department of Transportation.
NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formulas take into account multiple data points for each financial product and service.
NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formulas take into account multiple data points for each financial product and service.
NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formulas take into account multiple data points for each financial product and service.
NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formulas take into account multiple data points for each financial product and service.
NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formulas take into account multiple data points for each financial product and service.
NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formulas take into account multiple data points for each financial product and service.
NerdWallet's Home Services team evaluated full-service moving companies across several factors, including availability of online quotes, upfront payment or deposit requirements, fees to pay with a credit card, availability of binding and/or not-to-exceed quotes, availability of additional services, geographical breadth, availability of full-value protection, truck trackability, availability of day-certain delivery, Better Business Bureau (BBB) customer rating, number of BBB complaints over the last three years per 100 vehicles, number of U.S. Department of Transportation complaints over the last four years per 100 vehicles and customer service contact options. Because costs can vary with the circumstances of each move, it's best to get quotes from multiple companies before making a decision. Read more about how NerdWallet rates full-service moving companies.
