825-905
MILES, DEPENDING ON METRO ADDRESS
2-4
DAYS IN TRANSIT, TYPICAL
$700-$1,000
OPEN TRANSPORT, BY SEASON
Shipping a car from San Francisco to Seattle costs $700-$1,000 for open transport and takes 2-4 days in transit over roughly 825 to 905 miles. Most of the trip runs up Interstate 5 through the Central Valley, Oregon, and western Washington. Use the instant quote calculator on this page for an exact price on your dates.
Key Takeaways
Typical cost: Open transport between the Bay Area and Puget Sound runs $700-$1,000 for a standard sedan, with larger SUVs and trucks quoted toward the top of the band.
Transit time: Plan on 2-4 days on the truck, with pickup typically scheduled within 1-3 days of booking in either metro.
Seasonality: May through September is the industry peak, so summer quotes sit higher in the band than October through April bookings.
Savings tip: Booking 1-2 weeks ahead with a flexible pickup window keeps your quote toward the $700-$850 end of the range.
Simple process: Your vehicle travels covered by $2M cargo insurance, with a joint condition report completed at pickup and again at delivery.
The I-5 Corridor
Interstate 5 is the spine of this lane. Carriers leaving San Francisco typically run I-80 east to I-505 and join I-5 near Sacramento, then follow it north through the Central Valley, Redding, and over the Siskiyou Summit at 4,310 feet, the highest point on I-5. Winter storms there can trigger chain controls and brief closures.
In Oregon, I-5 passes through Medford, Eugene, and Salem before the Portland chokepoint, where commuter traffic and the Columbia River crossing slow carriers most weekdays. The Washington leg runs through Olympia, past the Joint Base Lewis-McChord corridor, and into Tacoma and Seattle on the most crowded stretch of I-5 in the Northwest.
Seasonality on the San Francisco to Seattle Corridor
This is not a snowbird lane, so demand follows the national moving calendar. May through September is the industry peak season, driven by job relocations and college moves in both directions, and quotes typically run toward the top of the $700-$1,000 band in those months.
October through April is typically the cheapest window, with prices toward $700-$850. The trade-off is weather: winter storms over the Siskiyou Summit can add a day to transit, so build a small buffer into your schedule if you ship between December and February. Tule fog in the Central Valley can do the same.
Shipping North: San Francisco to Seattle
Northbound volume is led by tech and corporate relocations to the Puget Sound region, students headed to Washington universities, and buyers moving online vehicle purchases out of the Bay Area. The direct pair runs about 850 miles, so most loads deliver in 2-4 days.
San Francisco’s steep hills and tight blocks mean full-size carriers often stage in Daly City, South San Francisco, or Oakland rather than on residential streets. Offering a meeting spot near I-280 or US-101 speeds up loading. Metro pickups are typically scheduled within 1-3 days of booking.
Shipping South: Seattle to San Francisco
Southbound demand comes from relocations to Bay Area employers, returning students, and vehicles purchased in Washington moving to California owners. Pickups across Seattle, Bellevue, and Tacoma are easy to stage along I-5 and I-405, and metro pickups are typically scheduled within 1-3 days of booking.
Late summer brings a bump in southbound volume as students return to California campuses. Even at peak, quotes stay inside the $700-$1,000 band, and a flexible pickup window helps you land closer to the low end.
Popular City Pairs on This Lane
- San Francisco, CA to Seattle, WA: 850 miles, 2-4 days
- Oakland, CA to Tacoma, WA: 825 miles, 2-4 days
- San Jose, CA to Bellevue, WA: 905 miles, 2-4 days
- Daly City, CA to Everett, WA: 885 miles, 2-4 days
- San Francisco, CA to Kent, WA: 830 miles, 2-4 days
