BoxEstimate

Free calculator

Moving box calculator: how many boxes do I need?

A 2-bedroom home with two people and an average amount of stuff takes about 102 boxes (31 small, 30 medium, 18 large, 11 extra-large, 7 wardrobe, 5 dish-pack), 15 rolls of tape, 11.4 lb of packing paper and 76 ft of bubble wrap, from a published 2026 guide. Pick your home, people and packing style to see your list.

Starting value: STOMO Storage, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move? [2026 Calculator + Charts], read 2026-09-20; edit it. Minimal = the guide’s low count, Average = the midpoint, A lot = the high count (Derived from the STOMO Storage ranges above, read 2026-09-20).

Rooms with extra needs

Each adds a few boxes of the kind that room fills (a rule of thumb, listed under the sources).

Result

Boxes in total
102
Small boxes
31
Medium boxes
30
Large boxes
18
Extra-large boxes
11
Wardrobe boxes
7
Dish-pack boxes
5
Packing tape
15 rolls
Packing paper
11.4 lb
Bubble wrap
76 ft
Markers
7
Estimated cost of supplies
Add unit prices

2 bedrooms, average packing: STOMO Storage, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move? [2026 Calculator + Charts], read 2026-09-20. Tape at one roll per 7 boxes. Estimates from published moving guides and rate pages, each with its source and date: quotes from movers and rental companies replace them.

Moving in the next two months? Pro prints the whole plan.

An 8-week checklist, a box inventory you fill as you pack, the shopping list, the cost summary and the truck on one printable sheet, with Excel export.

See Pro

How it works

Every home size has a published range of boxes per kind (small, medium, large, extra-large, wardrobe, dish-pack). Minimal packing takes the low end of each range, average the midpoint, a lot of stuff the high end. The count is then scaled by the people in the home (10% per person above two, minus 10% for one person) and the rooms you tick add their own boxes on top. Each kind is rounded up to a whole box.

Supplies follow the box count: one roll of tape per 7 boxes, one marker plus one per 20 boxes, and packing paper and bubble wrap spread from an average house’s 15 lb and 100 ft over your boxes. Type unit prices and the cost of supplies appears; the fields start empty because no neutral price page could be read (see the sources).

With the starting values, a 2-bedroom home is 79 boxes packed minimally and 121 with a lot of stuff; a 1-bedroom is 64 on average. Other guides print lower totals for the same homes (40-60 for a 2-bedroom, Redfin, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move?, read 2026-09-20): if your cupboards are half empty, pick minimal.

Inputs stay in this browser, so the moving cost calculator picks up the supplies cost and the Pro plan builds the shopping list and the box inventory from the same numbers. Nothing is uploaded.

Sources of the US starting values

  • Boxes by home size, low and high: STOMO Storage, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move? [2026 Calculator + Charts] (Josh Denton, 2026): "2 Bedroom Apartment (80-120 boxes total): Small: 24-37, Medium: 21-38, Large: 15-20, Extra-large: 10-12, Wardrobe: 5-8, Dish barrel: 4-6" (the 2 Bedroom House row is 28-40, 25-40, 16-22, 11-14, 6-9, 5-6) — https://stomostorage.com/how-many-boxes-do-i-need-to-move/, read on 2026-09-20
  • Studio row: STOMO Storage, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move? [2026 Calculator + Charts] (Josh Denton, 2026): "Studio Apartment (30-50 boxes total): Small: 10-15, Medium: 9-17, Large: 5-6, Extra-large: 2-7, Wardrobe: 3-4, Dish barrel: 2-3" — https://stomostorage.com/how-many-boxes-do-i-need-to-move/, read on 2026-09-20
  • 1-bedroom row: STOMO Storage, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move? [2026 Calculator + Charts] (Josh Denton, 2026): "1 Bedroom Apartment (45-75 boxes total): Small: 15-23, Medium: 15-29, Large: 7-11, Extra-large: 4-9, Wardrobe: 3-4, Dish barrel: 2-3" — https://stomostorage.com/how-many-boxes-do-i-need-to-move/, read on 2026-09-20
  • 3-bedroom row: STOMO Storage, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move? [2026 Calculator + Charts] (Josh Denton, 2026): "3 Bedroom House (110-150 boxes total): Small: 36-47, Medium: 30-47, Large: 20-26, Extra-large: 13-16, Wardrobe: 8-11, Dish barrel: 4-6" — https://stomostorage.com/how-many-boxes-do-i-need-to-move/, read on 2026-09-20
  • 4-bedroom row: STOMO Storage, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move? [2026 Calculator + Charts] (Josh Denton, 2026): "4 Bedroom House (140-185 boxes total): Small: 45-60, Medium: 40-50, Large: 25-35, Extra-large: 15-20, Wardrobe: 10-14, Dish barrel: 6-8" — https://stomostorage.com/how-many-boxes-do-i-need-to-move/, read on 2026-09-20
  • 5-bedroom row: STOMO Storage, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move? [2026 Calculator + Charts] (Josh Denton, 2026): "5 Bedroom House (185-240 boxes total): Small: 60-75, Medium: 50-65, Large: 35-45, Extra-large: 20-28, Wardrobe: 14-18, Dish barrel: 8-10" — https://stomostorage.com/how-many-boxes-do-i-need-to-move/, read on 2026-09-20
  • Packing style: Derived from the STOMO Storage ranges above: "Minimal" takes the low end of each range, "Average" the midpoint, "A lot of stuff" the high end; the guide itself says the spread covers how much a household owns — https://stomostorage.com/how-many-boxes-do-i-need-to-move/, read on 2026-09-20
  • People in the home: Declared assumption (rule of thumb, not a published table): 10 % more boxes for each person beyond two, 10 % fewer for one person, capped at plus 50 % — https://stomostorage.com/how-many-boxes-do-i-need-to-move/, read on 2026-09-20
  • Rooms with extra needs: Declared assumption (rule of thumb, not a published table), 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": a big kitchen adds 2 dish packs and 2 medium boxes, a home office 3 small and 2 medium, a garage or shed 4 large and 2 extra-large, many books 6 small, a large wardrobe 2 wardrobe boxes — https://mygoodmovers.com/moving-guide/how-many-boxes-do-you-need-for-moving, read on 2026-09-20
  • Packing tape: mygoodmovers, How Many Moving Boxes Do You Need for a Move? (William Mark, 2026-09-07), packing supplies table: "20 boxes: 3-4 rolls; 40 boxes: 5-6 rolls; 60 boxes: 7-9 rolls; 80 boxes: 10-12 rolls" of packing tape, which is one roll per 7 boxes at the midpoints (STOMO Storage gives "1 roll per 10 boxes minimum") — https://mygoodmovers.com/moving-guide/how-many-boxes-do-you-need-for-moving, read on 2026-09-20
  • Markers: mygoodmovers, How Many Moving Boxes Do You Need for a Move? (William Mark, 2026-09-07), packing supplies table: "20 boxes: 2 markers; 40 boxes: 3; 60 boxes: 4; 80 boxes: 5", i.e. one marker plus one per 20 boxes — https://mygoodmovers.com/moving-guide/how-many-boxes-do-you-need-for-moving, read on 2026-09-20
  • Packing paper: Herlihy Moving & Storage, 5 Ways to Estimate Moving Supplies (2022-02-28): "Plan to buy 10 to 20 pounds of packing paper and about 100 feet of bubble wrap for an average house with a typical amount of glassware and delicate items"; 15 lb (the midpoint) = 6.8 kg, spread over the boxes of the guide's average 3-bedroom house and scaled by your box count — https://herlihymoving.com/2022/02/5-ways-to-estimate-moving-supplies/, read on 2026-09-20
  • Bubble wrap: Herlihy Moving & Storage, 5 Ways to Estimate Moving Supplies (2022-02-28): "about 100 feet of bubble wrap for an average house" = 30.48 m, spread over the boxes of the guide's average 3-bedroom house and scaled by your box count — https://herlihymoving.com/2022/02/5-ways-to-estimate-moving-supplies/, read on 2026-09-20
  • Unit prices: No neutral static price page could be read on 2026-09-20: U-Haul's box pages (https://www.uhaul.com/MovingSupplies/Boxes/) and The Home Depot's moving box calculator (https://www.homedepot.com/c/moving-box-calculator) refused automated requests, so the field starts empty; type the unit price your supplier shows and the cost line appears (small box) — https://www.uhaul.com/MovingSupplies/Boxes/, read on 2026-09-20
  • Lower totals in another guide: Redfin, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move? (Freda Nkrumah, 2026-07-28): "Studio 10–20, 1-bedroom 20–40, 2-bedroom 40–60, 3-bedroom 60–80, 4-bedroom 80–120, 5+ bedrooms 120+" — https://www.redfin.com/blog/how-many-boxes-do-i-need-to-move/, read on 2026-09-20

The UK region uses the same box counts (a bedroom is a bedroom) with kg and metres; unit prices are in pounds and start empty as well.

Frequently asked questions

How many boxes do I need for a 2-bedroom apartment?
About 102 for two people with an average amount of belongings: 31 small, 30 medium, 18 large, 11 extra-large, 7 wardrobe and 5 dish-pack boxes (STOMO Storage, How Many Boxes Do I Need to Move? [2026 Calculator + Charts], read 2026-09-20). The guide's own range is 80-120; other guides say 40-60. Pick minimal or a lot of stuff to move within it.
Which box size goes with which things?
Small boxes for heavy things: books, dishes, tins, tools. Medium for kitchen goods, toys, towels and linen. Large and extra-large for light, bulky things: bedding, pillows, lampshades. Wardrobe boxes hang clothes straight from the closet; dish-pack boxes are double-walled for glassware. A heavy thing in a big box is the box that breaks.
How much tape, paper and bubble wrap do I need?
One roll of tape per 7 boxes (mygoodmovers, How Many Moving Boxes Do You Need for a Move?, packing supplies table, read 2026-09-20), so 15 rolls for 102 boxes. Paper and bubble wrap start from a published average-house figure of 15 lb and 100 ft (Herlihy Moving & Storage, 5 Ways to Estimate Moving Supplies, read 2026-09-20), spread over your boxes: 11.4 lb and 76 ft for a 2-bedroom home. Glassware collectors need more paper.
What do the extra rooms add?
A big kitchen adds 2 dish-pack and 2 medium boxes, a home office 3 small and 2 medium, a garage or shed 4 large and 2 extra-large, many books 6 small, a large wardrobe 2 wardrobe boxes. These are rules of thumb, labelled as such in the sources; the published counts are per home, not per room.
Why are the prices empty?
Because no neutral, static price page could be read when the starting values were checked (the big US retailers refuse automated requests and the UK supplier loads prices by script), and this site does not invent figures. Open the unit prices, type what your supplier charges per box, roll, pound or kilogram and foot or metre, and the cost line appears; the moving cost calculator then uses it.
Should I buy more boxes than the number shown?
The guide's average is a midpoint, so half of the homes it describes needed more. Buy the number shown, keep the receipt and add a handful of small and medium boxes for the last day, when the drawers you forgot come out; most suppliers take unused boxes back.

Guides