How price estimates are made
A RideShipper price range is an estimate, not a quote and not a price a customer has paid. Model version 1 uses driving distance, vehicle size, open or enclosed transport, whether the vehicle runs, the month, direction on seasonal lanes, and the diesel index. It is calibrated on prices customers reported in reviews. The monthly index uses reported prices only when a route or distance group has enough reports. Route and calculator prices remain estimates.
Key facts
- What the range is
- An estimate with a low, a high, a model version, and a date. Never one price.
- Source: RideShipper pricing calculation and monthly index rules, checked 2026-11-10.
- Model version 1 inputs
- Distance, vehicle size, transport type, running condition, month, direction, and the diesel index
- Source: RideShipper pricing calculation and monthly index rules, checked 2026-11-10.
- When the index uses reported prices
- A monthly route or distance group uses reported sedan prices at 30 reports. The range is the middle half of those reports.
- Source: RideShipper pricing calculation and monthly index rules, checked 2026-11-10.
The sources are listed on this page.
RideShipper shows an estimated price range before asking for contact details. It is not a quote, a booking or a price a carrier has agreed to accept. The carrier sets the final price.
Version 1 uses distance, vehicle size, open or enclosed transport, whether the vehicle runs, the pickup month, the direction on seasonal routes and the diesel price. Route pages, the calculator, the quote flow and the app API use the same calculation. The monthly index uses example distances and a date within the named month, so its examples may differ from a particular route estimate.
The current U.S. on-highway diesel price is $6.127 per gallon, week of . Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration weekly diesel U.S., release 2026-11-10.
How the estimate was checked
On November 10, 2026, version 1 was reproduced from 3,588 suitable prices reported in MoveAdvisor car-shipping reviews, dated March 26, 2009 through November 6, 2026. These are voluntary customer reports, not verified invoices. The calculation does not know all the services included in those prices.
We set aside 717 of those prices before fitting. The typical difference between an estimate and a reported price was 20.4% of the estimate. This figure is the median of the absolute differences divided by the estimates. It is not a guarantee of accuracy. Only 369 of the 717 test prices, about 51.5%, fell inside the published range. The range reflects the middle half of differences seen in the training prices.
Source: RideShipper version 1 calibration, reproduced November 10, 2026 from the stored MoveAdvisor review-price and EIA weekly diesel records. The live calculation figures below show the current version and source dates.
What changes the price
| Input | How it affects the estimate |
|---|---|
| Approximate distance | Longer trips usually cost more in total and less per mile. The place directory estimates road distance by increasing straight-line miles by 20%. Historical state-level prices use distances between state centers, increased by 22%. These are not measured pickup-to-delivery driving distances. |
| Vehicle size | Each size group changes the sedan estimate according to reported prices where enough reports are available. Tell a company about modifications that affect size or loading. |
| Open or enclosed transport | Enclosed is estimated at 1.5 times open transport. This is a planning assumption, not a measured premium, because the reviews do not identify trailer type. |
| Whether the vehicle runs | A vehicle that does not run adds an assumed $150 for loading. The reviews do not identify running condition. |
| Pickup month | Historical reported prices provide a seasonal adjustment. If no date is supplied, the estimate uses the current month and says so. |
| Direction | Seasonal routes between northern states and Florida or Arizona can have different prices in each direction. Where the data supplies no adjustment for that route and month, both directions use the same price. |
| Diesel price | The latest EIA weekly diesel price is compared with the historical sample's $3.674-a-gallon comparison price. Its effect is small in version 1 and does not predict a carrier's fuel surcharge. |
The transport assumptions and historical comparison price above are from RideShipper version 1, checked November 10, 2026. The middle date of the historical sample is September 23, 2021. Travel times are planning estimates for a pickup window followed by daily driving; the reviews do not report transit time.
Short trips and fuel prices need better data
Version 1 starts at $499 before vehicle, month, direction and fuel adjustments. Its short-distance training group contains only 29 sedan or unspecified-vehicle prices below 250 approximate miles, with a median reported price of $400. Only 11 short trips were in the separate test sample.
On November 10, 2026, we tested a lower minimum calculated from the under-250-mile training group. It fitted those training prices more closely, but its typical error on the separate short-trip test prices rose from 27.8% to 30.5% of the estimate. State-center distances also describe short trips poorly. We kept version 1 rather than claiming that this small sample supports a better short-trip calculation.
We also tested the stronger diesel adjustment already used as a planning assumption before fitting. Overall test error fell slightly, but fewer test prices fell inside the range and short-trip error rose. We kept the fitted adjustment. A published quote average for one route cannot establish how much diesel changes paid prices across the country. Recent paid-price reports with actual pickup and delivery distances would be more useful.
Source: RideShipper's November 10, 2026 comparison using the same historical records and the same prices set aside for testing. These limitations are reasons to compare company quotes, especially for a local trip.
What the estimate does not know
The calculation does not know which carrier has room, the driver's route that week, the deposit, a company's discount or your contract terms. It does not know whether the truck can reach your street. Low ground clearance, modifications and difficult loading need a conversation with the company.
Ocean routes, including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, remain by quote only. The truck calculation does not apply to the ocean part of those trips. Auto Train also has separate prices and rules.
When the monthly index uses reported prices
The calculator and route pages continue to show estimates. In the monthly price index, a distance group or route uses prices reported by customers only when there are at least 30 sedan reports for that group and month. It then shows the median and the middle half of those reports. Below that count it shows an estimate and the available count. These are reported prices, not completed or accepted quotes verified by RideShipper.
The national index is an example for a sedan at a stated distance. It always uses the calculation; its report count is the number of prices reported that month, rather than an average of all shipments. Enclosed transport also always uses the calculation because the reviews do not identify trailer type. Source: RideShipper monthly index rules, checked November 10, 2026.
Read how to read a car shipping estimate and why a company's quote may be higher before comparing offers.
How the estimate was checked
Model v1. The distance adjustment uses 3588 prices reported in MoveAdvisor reviews from 2009-03-26 to 2026-11-06. We set aside 717 prices to test the estimate. The typical difference between an estimate and a reported price was 20.4% of the estimate.
- The historical diesel comparison price is $3.67 a gallon. The middle date of the historical sample is 2021-09-23.
- The current U.S. diesel price is $6.13 a gallon for the week of 2026-11-09. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration weekly diesel U.S., release 2026-11-10.
- The historical distance calculation is $35.02 × miles0.461 before fuel and other adjustments, starting at $499. Longer trips cost less per mile.
- The range runs from 81% to 123% of the estimated midpoint. Road distances are approximate. The place directory uses straight-line miles increased by 20%. The historical state-center calculation uses straight-line miles times 1.22.
- Enclosed transport is estimated at 1.5 times open transport, using a planning assumption.
- A vehicle that does not run adds $150 for loading, using a planning assumption.
- A 10% rise in diesel changes the estimate by about 0.2%, based on historical reported prices.
- Vehicle size adjustments: Sedan or compact car: 1.00 times the sedan estimate (from reported prices); SUV or crossover: 1.06 times the sedan estimate (from reported prices); Pickup or large SUV: 1.20 times the sedan estimate (from reported prices); Van or minivan: 1.07 times the sedan estimate (from reported prices); Heavy-duty or oversized vehicle: 1.12 times the sedan estimate (from reported prices); Motorcycle: 0.95 times the sedan estimate (from reported prices).
- The pickup month changes the price: January: 0.98 times the base price, February: 0.99 times the base price, March: 0.94 times the base price, April: 1.05 times the base price, May: 1.00 times the base price, June: 1.03 times the base price, July: 1.05 times the base price, August: 1.05 times the base price, September: 1.00 times the base price, October: 1.03 times the base price, November: 0.93 times the base price, December: 0.95 times the base price.
The reviews do not supply every detail, so these parts use planning assumptions:
- Enclosed transport is estimated at 1.50 times open transport because these reviews do not identify the trailer type. This is a planning assumption.
- A vehicle that does not run adds $150 for loading. The reviews do not identify running condition, so this is a planning assumption.
- Travel times assume a pickup window followed by daily driving. The reviews do not report transit times.
- Road distances are approximate. State-level historical prices use the distance between state centers, which cannot describe local or same-state trips.
Review prices are voluntary reports rather than verified invoices. They span many years and may reflect different services. The typical error above is measured as the difference divided by the estimate. It does not mean that every price falls within that percentage or within the published range.
Questions
Is the range the price I will pay?
No. Companies set their own prices. The range is a model, or later a band of prices customers reported. It does not know which carrier will accept the load or what that carrier will charge on that day.
Why is there a low and a high?
The result is always a range. A single number would look like a quote. The page shows the model version and the date so the basis is visible.
What about Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico?
Those routes are ocean, or ocean plus a barge, and they are excluded from the truck formula. Until a separate ocean method exists, the result is by quote only.