Hiring a moving truck yourself typically costs $80 to $150 a day for a van and $150 to $300 a day for a 3 to 4.5 tonne truck, before fuel, insurance excess reduction and the kilometre charges some companies add. Hiring removalists for the same small local move typically costs $300 to $900 all up. On paper the truck wins. In practice, the gap closes fast once the hidden lines go on the bill, and for anything bigger than a one-bedroom flat, the truck often loses outright.
We are a removalist company, so you know which side of this we sit on. Which is exactly why the comparison below includes everything, not just the flattering lines.
The real cost of the DIY truck
| Cost line | What it actually runs |
|---|---|
| Truck hire (day) | $80 to $150 van, $150 to $300 for 3 to 4.5t |
| Fuel | $40 to $120 depending on truck and distance |
| Damage cover or excess reduction | $30 to $60 a day, or carry a $2,000 to $5,000 excess |
| Kilometre charges | Some hires include limited kms, then charge per km |
| Equipment | Trolleys, blankets and straps, hired or bought |
| Your labour | One to two full days of yours and whoever you can rope in |
| Damage risk | Yours: to furniture, walls, and the truck itself |
A realistic DIY day for a two-bedroom move lands around $250 to $500 in hard costs, plus a weekend, plus the risk column. And the risk column is the one people underestimate: hire trucks carry big insurance excesses, and the most expensive part of many DIY moves is the gutter, the carport or the fridge that met a doorframe at pace.
The second-trip problem
The DIY budget above assumes one trip, and one trip assumes you sized the truck right. Underestimate, and the day becomes two round trips, doubling the fuel, stretching the hire into a second day, and finishing the move in the dark with tempers to match. Sizing a truck to a household is a skill: as a rough guide, a one-bedroom flat fits a van or small truck, a two-bedroom needs the 4.5 tonne, and a three-bedroom home does not reliably fit in anything you can drive on a car licence in one go. Removalists carry that judgement into the quote; hire counters do not.
What the removalist price actually buys
Two professionals who lift for a living, a truck packed by someone who knows how loads shift, transit protection for your goods, and a day of your life back. There is also a quieter advantage: speed. An experienced two-person crew loads a home in a fraction of the time a family does, because they are not deciding anything, they are executing a system. That speed is why hourly removalist totals routinely come in under what people expect their DIY day to have been worth.
When the truck genuinely wins
Honesty cuts both ways, so: hire the truck if you are moving a studio or single room, the distance is short, the items are simple, and you have genuine help on both ends. A student flat with no appliances is a van job, not a removalist job, and we would tell you so on the phone. The tipping point arrives with the first staircase, the first two-person lift, or the first item you would be upset to see scratched. From a full two-bedroom home upward, the maths, the risk and the Saturday all point the same way.
There is also a middle path people forget: you pack, we move. Doing your own boxing and letting a crew handle the truck, the lifting and the liability captures most of the saving with none of the doorframe damage. That mix is standard on our home removals, and the full range of what can be handed over sits on our services page.
Frequently asked questions
How much is it to rent a van in Australia?
How much does it cost to hire a moving truck for one day?
Is it cheaper to hire a truck or a removalist?
Do removalists bring equipment?
Weighing it up for a move around Brisbane? Get a quote first and make the comparison with real numbers on both sides.