It depends which "U-Haul" you mean — the truck or the container. Real 2026 numbers below.
| PODS (container) | U-Haul truck (DIY) | U-Haul U-Box (container) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local move | $299–$499, includes 1 month rental (pods.com FAQ) | ~$155 (pods.com FAQ) | ~$562 real-move average (hireAHelper, 2026) |
| Cross-country (1,500+ mi) | $3,100–$7,300 average (pods.com, Dec 2025) | $5,112 total, Salt Lake City→Nashville 1,700 mi (via U-Pack, Aug 2026) | 1 box SLC→Memphis 1,530 mi: $2,172.95 (uhaul.com quote, Oct 2026); 1 box LA→Houston: $1,254.95 (uhaul.com, Jan 2026) |
| Monthly storage | $139–$239/mo (pods.com, Jul 2025) | N/A — truck is transport only | Monthly rental (rates vary by location) |
| Who drives | They do | You do | They do |
| Fuel / mileage | Included in transport price | Extra — budget ~$1/mile overage on long trips | Included in shipping price |
| Insurance | Contents protection (add-on) | Coverage options at checkout (add-on) | SafeStor® / SafeHaul® (add-on) |
U-Box figures above now include U-Haul's own published quote examples (Jan 2026), labeled alongside third-party comparisons with source and date.
PODS' own FAQ puts a local container move at $299–$499 against ~$155 for a rental truck. If you're moving across town, have friends to help load, and can drive a box truck for a day, the U-Haul truck is the cheapest option by a wide margin. PODS only makes sense locally if you need storage time between homes — the container doubles as your storage unit.
A 1,700-mile U-Haul truck rental totaled $5,112 in a published 2026 comparison — before fuel, food, and hotels for a multi-day drive. PODS' published cross-country average is $3,100–$7,300. Once you add ~$1/mile in fuel overage plus two or three nights on the road, the truck's true cost lands squarely inside PODS' range — and with PODS you didn't spend three days driving a loaded truck through the mountains.
For a small long-distance load, U-Box undercuts both: one box moved Los Angeles→Houston for $1,254.95 in U-Haul's own published example (Jan 2026 quotes). If you're moving a studio or one bedroom cross-country, price all three — the U-Box frequently wins. Our full U-Box vs PODS breakdown is here.
Truck quotes rarely include everything: fuel (a 26-ft truck gets roughly 10 mpg), mileage overage (~$1/mile on many one-way rentals), hotel nights, and the value of your time. Container quotes bundle the driver and fuel but add delivery/redelivery fees (PODS averages ~$80 each way) and optional contents protection. Compare all-in totals, not headlines.
The details below come from documented moves and itemized cost breakdowns — the kind of thing brochures never print.
Sometimes. PODS' published cross-country average is $3,100–$7,300; a documented 1,700-mile U-Haul truck rental totaled $5,112 before fuel and hotels. Add ~$1/mile fuel overage and road expenses to the truck, and the totals often overlap — PODS includes the driver, the truck doesn't.
You're paying for different things: $299–$499 gets you a container delivered, a month of rental/storage, and redelivery. The ~$155 truck is transport only, for one day, and you do everything else.
Fuel for transportation is built into the transport portion of the price. A fuel surcharge can apply on long-distance moves — it's disclosed in the quote, not a surprise at the end.
With PODS, booking by phone and mentioning a competing quote has worked for movers — one documented case took over $1,000 off the original quote. U-Haul truck rates are generally fixed, but one-way pricing varies by route and date, so shifting your dates can change the price.
Get all three quotes: PODS (16-ft container), U-Haul truck (20-ft), and U-Box (2–3 boxes). In published 2026 comparisons the three routinely land within a few hundred dollars of each other before extras — the deciding factors become loading time, driving willingness, and storage needs.
Last updated: October 19, 2026.