Moving Hub vs Colonial Van Lines comes down to three checks before you sign. Moving Hub prices from a video or in-home inventory, takes no deposit to hold your date, and sends its own crew and truck. Colonial prices by shipment weight, says deposits typically run 20% to 30%, and holds carrier authority, but ask whether its own crew or an affiliated carrier will handle your route.
Key Takeaways:
- Both are FMCSA-registered household goods carriers in Broward County, so the broker question alone won’t separate them.
- Colonial’s final price leans on scale weight. Moving Hub’s binding number is tied to your confirmed inventory.
- Moving Hub asks for no deposit to reserve a date. On a $6,000 Colonial estimate, 20% to 30% is $1,200 to $1,800 upfront.
- Ask Colonial which company will be named carrier on your bill of lading.
How Each Company Builds Your Moving Estimate
Colonial’s FAQ says it charges by weight, with the shipment weighed at a scale. It offers binding and non-binding moving estimates, plus an app for filming rooms. Its FAQ adds a long-carry charge when the truck sits more than 75 feet from the door or there are stairs.
Moving Hub starts with a live video walkthrough, or an in-home survey for larger homes. Items are logged room by room, converted to weight at about 7 lbs per cubic foot, and priced with mileage and access. The written binding moving estimate arrives within 24 hours of a confirmed inventory. Add a patio set on load day and the crew documents it; you approve the new charge before it’s loaded. Here’s how a South Florida moving quote is calculated.
Either way, FMCSA’s rules on moving estimates require a written estimate from a physical or virtual survey and cap delivery collection at 110% of a non-binding estimate. Our binding estimate test explains why estimate type matters more than the headline price.
Moving Deposits: What Each Asks Upfront
Colonial’s FAQ puts its deposit at typically 20% to 30%, and some Colonial Van Lines reviews on third-party sites report up to 40%.
Moving Hub takes no deposit to hold your date. Payment terms are written into your signed estimate. If a mover does take a deposit, get refund terms in writing first, and check a fair range with our moving cost calculator.
Who Shows Up on Moving Day: Moving Hub vs Colonial Van Lines
Colonial is not a broker in federal records. Its FMCSA SAFER snapshot lists active household goods authority in Pompano Beach, with 25 power units and 25 drivers as of September 2026. Colonial also says it moved over 12,000 customers in 2022 and recruits moving agents, and U.S. News notes a move may be handled by a Colonial employee or an affiliated carrier. That’s not a red flag, but the crew can vary by route.
Moving Hub owns its trucks, dispatches from Fort Lauderdale, and uses full-time, background-checked employees. South Florida long-distance moves get a dedicated truck, and one named coordinator stays with you through delivery. If a route ever needs a partner crew or different driver, you hear it before move day. Watch our crews work on real jobs.
Brendan Thomas’s rule for any interstate moving company: the carrier named on the bill of lading answers your damage claim, so read that line first. More on the direct carrier vs moving broker question.
Which One Fits Your Move?
Colonial suits someone comfortable with weight-based final pricing and a larger deposit. Moving Hub suits interstate households, especially those leaving South Florida, who want the price pinned to their inventory and one company’s crew from load to unload. See our long-distance moving services, Florida long-distance movers, and seven tests for South Florida long-distance movers.
Comparing more van lines? Read Moving Hub vs United Van Lines, Allied, North American, Mayflower, International Van Lines and American Van Lines.
Moving Hub vs Colonial Van Lines FAQs
Is Colonial Van Lines a broker?
No. FMCSA lists it as a household goods carrier, USDOT 1434373.
Are moving deposits refundable?
It depends on the mover’s contract. Get refund terms in writing before paying.
Do moving companies use subcontractors?
Some do. Moving Hub doesn’t subcontract moving crews; a vetted specialist may handle custom crating, and you’re told in advance.
Which is cheaper?
Neither publishes a flat rate. Compare binding estimates built on the same inventory.
Lay Both Quotes Side by Side
Book a video walkthrough; your coordinator returns a written binding estimate within 24 hours of confirming the inventory. Set it beside the Colonial paperwork and compare the total, the deposit and the carrier name. Request your long-distance moving estimate or call (754) 327-7816, Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 8 PM.
Moving Hub is a licensed direct carrier, not a broker. USDOT #3699092 | MC #1293570
About The Author
Brendan Thomas | Senior Moving Consultant, Moving Hub
Brendan Thomas has spent 10 years in the moving industry, working hands-on across local and long-distance relocations before joining the Moving Hub team. He has coordinated hundreds of residential and intrastate moves, dealt with the real problems that show up on moving day, and knows where costs can go wrong for families who book without the right information. Brendan writes from the floor up, not from a desk removed from the work. When he breaks down pricing, hidden fees, or the difference between a carrier and a broker, it comes from a decade of doing this job, not simply researching it.
