Can I hire just 2 movers to save money?

Yes. A 2-person team at $145 an hour is available for very small moves or when you specifically ask for it. For a typical apartment or house, though, the lower hourly number can end up costing more, because two people take noticeably longer than three.

With two movers, every heavy piece ties up the whole crew. With three, one person can keep wrapping, carrying boxes or staging the truck while the other two handle a dresser. A few things make the gap wider:

• Long walks between the door and the truck when parking is far
• Stairs or a slow elevator at either end
• Bulky sofas, armoires or appliances that need several hands

Per person, two movers actually cost more: $72.50 each per hour versus about $58.33 for a crew of three.

The math is simple: a third mover costs about 21% more per hour, so if three people finish the job in about 83% of the time two would need, the bill comes out even, and anything faster than that is savings. On most homes the third pair of hands saves more time than that. On a tiny job it may not, which is why we keep the 2-person option. The moving cost guide has more examples.

Going down to two people does not strip anything out of the service. The same 26 ft truck arrives, the same moving blankets wrap your furniture, floors still get runners, and beds and tables are still taken apart and rebuilt. The 3-hour minimum applies to every crew size, so on a very short job the saving from a pair is simply the difference between $435 and $525. Over a long day, the extra hours a pair may need can wipe that out.

Think a handful of furniture pieces with easy access, a few boxes, or a single room. Tell us what you are moving when you request a quote and David will tell you whether two will do.

• What is Spartan's hourly rate for movers?
• When do I need a crew of 4 movers instead of 3?
• Do you move just one item, like a couch?