How many boxes do I need to move a 1-bedroom apartment?
About 64 boxes for a 1-bedroom apartment with two people and an average amount of belongings: 19 small, 22 medium, 9 large, 7 extra-large, 4 wardrobe and 3 dish-pack, from a published 2026 guide whose range runs from 46 (minimal) to 79 (a lot of stuff); living alone brings it to 60, and another guide prints 20-40. Below: the count at each packing style, what one to five people change, what a big kitchen or many books add, the tape, paper and bubble wrap, the truck it takes and what movers charge for it.
Open the moving box calculator
How many boxes by size?
The published counts for a 1-bedroom apartment, low and high, and where each packing style reads them: minimal takes the low end, average the midpoint, a lot of stuff the high end (STOMO Storage, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move? [2026 Calculator + Charts], read 2026-09-20; Derived from the STOMO Storage ranges above, read 2026-09-20). Two people, no extra rooms; the moving box calculator does it for your own apartment.
| Packing style | Small | Medium | Large | Extra-large | Wardrobe | Dish-pack | Total | Tape |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimal | 15 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 46 | 7 rolls |
| Average | 19 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 64 | 10 rolls |
| A lot of stuff | 23 | 29 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 79 | 12 rolls |
The guide’s own ranges by size: small 15-23, medium 15-29, large 7-11, extra-large 4-9, wardrobe 3-4, dish-pack 2-3, 46-79 in total. Small boxes carry the weight: books, plates, tins and small appliances; the large and extra-large ones take bedding, cushions and lampshades, which is why there are far fewer of them.
One person or two? Does it change the count?
The published counts are read as a home of 2 people; one person removes 10% and each person above two adds it, a declared rule of thumb rather than a published table (Declared assumption, read 2026-09-20). A 1-bedroom apartment with three or more people is usually a couple with a child or flatmates sharing, and the cupboards fill up accordingly.
| People | Total boxes | Against two people | Tape |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60 | -4 | 9 rolls |
| 2 | 64 | — | 10 rolls |
| 3 | 71 | +7 | 11 rolls |
| 4 | 77 | +13 | 11 rolls |
| 5 | 84 | +20 | 12 rolls |
What do a big kitchen, a home office or many books add?
Each room with extra needs adds a fixed set of boxes on top of the apartment’s count, following the guide’s own rule that heavy things go in small boxes and bulky things in large ones (Declared assumption, following the guide's own box-by-content rule "Heavy items go in small boxes, everyday household items go in medium boxes, and light, bulky items go in large or extra-large boxes", read 2026-09-20). In a 1-bedroom apartment the two that matter most are the kitchen and the bookshelves: a big kitchen takes the total to 68, a wall of books to 70. Tick several and they add up.
| Room | Adds | Boxes added | New total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big kitchen (lots of dishes and glassware) | 2 dish-pack boxes, 2 medium boxes | 4 | 68 |
| Home office | 3 small boxes, 2 medium boxes | 5 | 69 |
| Garage or shed | 4 large boxes, 2 extra-large boxes | 6 | 70 |
| Many books | 6 small boxes | 6 | 70 |
| Large wardrobe of hanging clothes | 2 wardrobe boxes | 2 | 66 |
How does it compare with a studio and a 2-bedroom apartment?
The same guide, the same two people and average packing, one home size up and one down. If you are unsure whether your open-plan flat counts as a studio or a 1 bedroom, the difference is the row below.
| Home | Small | Medium | Large | Extra-large | Wardrobe | Dish-pack | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 13 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 44 |
| 1 bedroom | 19 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 64 |
| 2 bedrooms | 31 | 30 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 102 |
The 2-bedroom apartment guide has the full table from a studio to 5 bedrooms, by room.
How much tape, paper and bubble wrap?
10 rolls of tape at one roll per 7 boxes, 5 markers, 7.2 lb (3.2 kg) of packing paper and 48 ft (15 m) of bubble wrap, scaled by the box count from the published figures for an average house (mygoodmovers, How Many Moving Boxes Do You Need for a Move?, packing supplies table, read 2026-09-20; Herlihy Moving & Storage, 5 Ways to Estimate Moving Supplies, read 2026-09-20). Box prices start empty in the calculator; type what your supplier charges and it totals the list.
What truck does a 1-bedroom apartment take, and what do movers charge?
3 furnished rooms come to 540 to 720 cu ft (15.3 to 20.4 m³) of belongings under the per-room rule, a 15 ft truck in one trip; U-Haul lists the 10 ft truck for a studio or 1 bedroom (moveBuddha, U-Haul Truck Rental Sizes and Prices, read 2026-09-20). Local movers take 3-6 h with a crew of 2 at $120 to $180 an hour, $360 to $1,080 (Bellhop, Average Cost of Local Movers in 2026, read 2026-09-20). The truck size calculator shows every class with its trips, and the 2-bedroom cost guide walks through stairs, peak season and a rental truck at each distance for the next size up.
Sources: STOMO Storage, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move? [2026 Calculator + Charts], read 2026-09-20; Redfin, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move?, read 2026-09-20; mygoodmovers, How Many Moving Boxes Do You Need for a Move?, packing supplies table, read 2026-09-20; Herlihy Moving & Storage, 5 Ways to Estimate Moving Supplies, read 2026-09-20; Bellhop, Average Cost of Local Movers in 2026, read 2026-09-20; moveBuddha, U-Haul Truck Rental Sizes and Prices, read 2026-09-20. The people and extra-room rules are declared assumptions, marked as such in the calculator’s source list.
Frequently asked questions
- How many boxes for a 1-bedroom apartment, in one number?
- 64 for two people packing an average amount, 60 for one person (STOMO Storage, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move? [2026 Calculator + Charts], read 2026-09-20). The guide's own range is 46-79 and a lower estimate elsewhere is 20-40 (Redfin, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move?, read 2026-09-20); pick minimal in the calculator if you moved in recently and own little furniture.
- How many boxes does one person need for a 1-bedroom apartment?
- 60: the published counts are read as a home of 2 people and one person removes 10% (Declared assumption, read 2026-09-20), 4 boxes fewer than the two-person figure of 64.
- What size boxes should I buy for a 1-bedroom apartment?
- Mostly small and medium: 19 small (range 15-23) for books, dishes and anything heavy, 22 medium (15-29) for everyday things, 9 large and 7 extra-large for bedding, lampshades and light bulky items, plus 4 wardrobe boxes for hanging clothes and 3 dish-packs for the glassware.
- How much tape, paper and bubble wrap for a 1-bedroom apartment?
- 10 rolls of packing tape (one per 7 boxes; mygoodmovers, How Many Moving Boxes Do You Need for a Move?, packing supplies table, read 2026-09-20), 7.2 lb (3.2 kg) of packing paper and 48 ft (15 m) of bubble wrap, scaled by the box count from the published figures for an average house (Herlihy Moving & Storage, 5 Ways to Estimate Moving Supplies, read 2026-09-20), and 5 markers (mygoodmovers, How Many Moving Boxes Do You Need for a Move?, packing supplies table, read 2026-09-20).
- What size truck does a 1-bedroom apartment need?
- 540 to 720 cu ft of belongings from 3 furnished rooms plus a loading margin, which the per-room rule puts in a 15 ft truck (764 cu ft); U-Haul's own pick for a studio or 1 bedroom is the 10 ft truck (moveBuddha, U-Haul Truck Rental Sizes and Prices, read 2026-09-20). Book the bigger one if the sofa and the bed are full size.
- How much does it cost to move a 1-bedroom apartment?
- $360 to $1,080 with local US movers: 3-6 h for a crew of 2 at $120 to $180 an hour (Bellhop, Average Cost of Local Movers in 2026, read 2026-09-20), about $720 in the middle; the same guide prints $500 to $1,200 as its own total. Long distance it is $2,184 to $5,584 (mygoodmovers, Long-Distance Moving Cost in 2026, read 2026-09-20); in the UK a removal firm averages £432 inc VAT (HomeOwners Alliance, How Much Do Removals Cost?, read 2026-09-20).
More guides
- How many boxes for a 2-bedroom apartment? (by room)
Boxes by size for a studio to a 5-bedroom home, the truck each one takes in cubic feet and m³, and what local movers charge, from published guides with their sources.
- How many boxes do I need to move a 3-bedroom house?
Boxes by size for a 3-bedroom house at minimal, average and heavy packing, what people and extra rooms change, the tape, paper and bubble wrap, and the truck it takes.
- How many boxes do I need to move a 4-bedroom house?
Boxes by size for a 4-bedroom house at each packing style, what a family of three to five changes, what a garage or office adds, and the truck it takes.
- How much do removals cost in the UK? (by house size)
The average removal quote for a 1- to 5-bedroom house inc VAT, the figure over 100 miles, the packing service and a Luton van hire with diesel beside it.
Last updated 2026-09-22. Estimates from published moving guides and rate pages, each with its source and date: quotes from movers and rental companies replace them.