Service ExplainersFull service, partial service or labor only
What each service level includes, who each one suits, and how to combine them so you only pay for the parts you do not want to do.
By Elijah Canfield, Founder, Hire Best Pros · Updated August 27, 2026
Elijah Canfield is the founder of Hire Best Pros. He writes and edits the site's consumer guides, with a focus on how home service and moving projects are priced, scoped and compared.
Full service means the company packs, loads, transports, unloads and often unpacks. Partial service usually means you pack and they handle transport, or they pack only the fragile rooms. Labor only means a crew loads or unloads a truck or container you have arranged. Most households do best with a hybrid: self packed simple rooms, professional packing for the kitchen and fragile items.
Key points
- Packing is priced separately, so it can be added room by room.
- Labor only crews do not transport your goods, which changes how liability works.
- Ask for each service as its own line item so the comparison is real.
What each level covers
- Full service: materials, packing, loading, transport, unloading, often debris removal
- Partial service: transport plus the specific tasks you select
- Labor only: loading or unloading a truck, container or storage unit
- Specialty add ons: crating, appliance servicing, storage in transit
Choosing by constraint
If your constraint is time, buy packing. If your constraint is budget, buy transport and do the boxes. If your constraint is physical, labor only crews solve the lifting without paying for a full move.
Costs vary based on location, project size, materials, complexity, access and the provider you hire.
Questions before you decide
- Is packing quoted per room, per hour or as a flat service
- Who supplies materials, and are they billed separately
- How is liability handled for boxes you packed yourself
- Is unpacking included, and what does unpacking mean to this company
Compare service levels
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