Estimate moving boxes, tape and protective materials for your home. Get a free packing list, with no email needed.
A starting list of 41 boxes, with room for the unexpected.
Books & heavier items
Everyday belongings
Light, bulky belongings
No email needed. Check what you already have before buying more.
The answer depends on how much you own, the size of your boxes and how you pack. This moving box calculator gives you a planning range, then separates the suggested total into small, medium and large boxes. It estimates supplies, not the volume of your furniture or the price of your move.
Use the current home, not the property you are moving into. The studio / one-room option is a starting point for a single room, including a student room; reduce the belongings setting if much of its furniture and contents are not yours.
Select “Not much”, “Typical” or “Quite a lot”. Add extra shelves of books and groups of fragile items only for collections beyond the everyday belongings covered by the base estimate.
Compare the list with your room-by-room inventory and usable supplies. Check box dimensions and weight limits, then download the estimate. Recalculate after decluttering if the amount you are taking changes.
These examples come directly from this calculator using “Typical” belongings, with no extra book shelves or fragile groups. They are model outputs, not surveyed household averages. Your personalised result changes when you adjust the inputs above.
| Home size | Small | Medium | Large | Total / range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio / one room | 6 | 8 | 4 | 18 15–21 boxes |
| 1-bedroom home | 9 | 11 | 5 | 25 21–29 boxes |
| 2-bedroom home | 13 | 17 | 8 | 38 32–44 boxes |
| 3-bedroom home | 18 | 23 | 10 | 51 43–59 boxes |
| 4+ bedroom home | 24 | 30 | 14 | 68 57–79 boxes |
The model starts with a box allowance and rounds each size category up separately. That is why the total in this table can be slightly higher than the starting allowance. A large collection, loft or garage may need a more detailed inventory than home size alone can provide.
With “Typical” belongings, one extra shelf of books and one extra fragile group, the calculator produces the following starting list. These are also the example inputs shown when you first open the tool.
The breakdown is 15 small, 18 medium and 8 large boxes, plus approximately 6 kg of paper and 10 metres of protective wrap. The extra books add two small boxes; the fragile group adds one medium box and extra protective materials.
Already have ten suitable boxes? Compare their sizes and condition with the breakdown before shopping. Ten large boxes are not a direct substitute for ten small book boxes. Set aside damaged or damp cartons and account separately for specialist packaging.
Use smaller boxes to keep dense contents manageable. The calculator adds two small boxes per extra shelf, but actual book sizes vary. Follow the carton’s stated load limit rather than filling every available space.
Medium boxes form the largest share of the estimate. Separate breakable items, use suitable cushioning and avoid leaving loose contents to shift around. Keep the contents and destination room visible on the label.
Reserve larger cartons for lighter items such as bedding and cushions. Do not use their extra capacity as a reason to pack a very heavy box. Hanging clothes may need wardrobe cartons, which this tool does not estimate.
The starting allowances are 16 boxes for a studio, 24 for one bedroom, 36 for two bedrooms, 50 for three bedrooms and 66 for four or more bedrooms. “Not much” multiplies the allowance by 0.75; “Quite a lot” uses 1.3. “Typical” leaves it unchanged.
The adjusted allowance is split into 35% small, 45% medium and 20% large boxes, rounding each category up. Each extra shelf of books adds two small boxes; each extra fragile group adds one medium box. The displayed range is 85% to 115% of the resulting total, rounded outwards.
Tape is one roll per eight boxes, rounded up. Paper is one kilogram per ten boxes, rounded up, plus one kilogram per fragile group. Protective wrap starts at five metres and adds five metres per fragile group. Labels match the number of boxes. Roll lengths, wrap widths and packing styles vary, so check the actual products before buying.
These are transparent planning assumptions, not measurements or verified operational averages. The range is a simple allowance for variation, not a statistical confidence interval or a guarantee that it covers every home.
The estimate excludes wardrobe cartons, TV boxes, artwork crates, mattress covers and furniture protection. Record these items individually and check their packaging requirements. The “4+ bedrooms” option has one fixed starting allowance, so very large homes need a separate assessment.
Recheck supplies after packing your first room rather than treating the upper number as a compulsory purchase. If your existing boxes differ greatly in size or you have substantial book collections, use an item-level packing plan. The calculator cannot assess weight, condition or suitability.
With “Typical” belongings and no extras, it gives 38 boxes. The example with one extra book shelf and one fragile group gives 41 boxes, with a range of 34–48. These are calculator estimates, not a rule for every two-bedroom home.
No. It counts boxes and general packing supplies, not the volume or protection needs of furniture. For a separate item-by-item space estimate, use the storage calculator.
For this tool, it is roughly one cupboard of glassware or dishes beyond the everyday belongings in the base estimate. It is an input convention, not a measured volume. Large or unusually delicate items need their own packaging assessment.
Yes, if they are suitable for the contents and in usable condition. Check the size, base, seams and stated load limits. Compare them with the small, medium and large breakdown, then buy only what you still need.
No. There are no prices or service bookings in this calculator. For help packing, see professional packing services; for supplies, explore packing materials.
Yes. Download the plain-text packing list or print the estimate; your browser may offer “Save as PDF”. The calculator does not store your inputs for a future visit or require an email address.