How Much Does it Cost to Pack a Home for Moving?

Every home move is unique and packing costs can vary enormously, depending on the quantity of items to be packed, the fragility or value of the items to be protected, and the quality of the packing materials being used.

With so many variables for every home move it can be difficult to accurately calculate the number of boxes you need, the time it will take to pack all your belongings, and what the packing costs will be.

That said, packing is also one of the aspects of your home move where, to a certain extent, you can control the costs, which we will look at after we have established the average packing costs.

Read on to discover how much professional packers will cost versus how much it would cost to pack your items yourself.

You may also like to read: Are Professional Packers Worth the Cost? In this guide, we look at the services that professional packers offer, how much on average they cost, and whether it makes sense to have a packing team take all the stress away and do the hard work for you.

How Much Does it Cost to Pack up a Home for Moving?

Here you will discover how much on average professional packers cost, how many boxes you will need if you are packing everything yourself, how much those boxes will cost, and we also look at the cost of hiring plastic tote boxes.

Don’t forget to add on the cost of the ancillary packing supplies you will need that are listed later in this guide.

The box sizes in the following examples are based on the UK Removal industry standard box sizes:

• Small = 318mm x 268mm x 318mm
• Medium = 457mm x 330mm x 330mm
• Large = 457mm x 457mm x 499mm
• Plastic Crates = 710mm x 460mm x 375mm

How Much Does it Cost to Pack a 1-bedroom Home?

On average, how much does it cost to hire packers for a 1 bedroom home move? £275

How many boxes do I need to move a 1 bedroom home?

• 10 small cardboard boxes
• 5 medium cardboard boxes
• 3 large cardboard boxes
• 20 Plastic crates

How much do moving boxes cost for a 1 bedroom home move? About £60

How much does it cost to hire enough plastic crates for a 1 bedroom home move? About £45 per week and includes a sack truck and bubble wrap.

You may also like to read: What is the Average Cost of Moving a 1 or 2-Bedroom Home? In this guide, we compare the price of packing and moving a 1 or 2-bedroom property yourself versus what it would cost to hire a professional removal company.

How Much Does it Cost to Pack a 2-3 Bedroom Home?

What is the average cost to hire packers for a 2-3 bedroom home? £450 – £950

What is the average number of boxes needed for a 2-3 bedroom home move?

• 10 small cardboard boxes
• 10 medium cardboard boxes
• 5 large cardboard boxes
• 40 Plastic crates

How much are cardboard moving boxes, enough for a 2-3 bedroom home move? About £75

How much does it cost to hire enough plastic crates for a 2-3 bedroom home move? £65 per week including bubble wrap and a sack barrow.

How Much Does it Cost to Pack a 3-4 Bedroom Home?

Approximately how much does a home packing service cost for a 3-4 bedroom home move? £950 – £1,150

How many boxes do I need to move a 3-4 bedroom home?

• 15 small cardboard boxes
• 10 medium cardboard boxes
• 10 large cardboard boxes
• 50 Plastic crates

About how much do packing boxes cost for a 3-4 bedroom home move? Around £150

How much does it cost to hire enough plastic crates for a 3-4 bedroom home move? About £75 per week including packing materials and a sack barrow.

You may also like to read: What Are The Average Costs of Moving a 3-bedroom Home? In this guide, we compare how much it costs to hire full-service removals versus what it would cost you to do it all yourself.

How Much Do Packing Materials Cost?

Here we will share the average cost of packing materials and how you can save some money by using alternative packing materials.

• How much does bubble wrap cost? 25m for around £16

Cost-saving tip: Clothing, towels, and blankets can all be used as a substitute for bubble wrap.

• How much does packing tape cost? 3 rolls of 66m long tape is about £4

Cost-saving tip: Don’t even try to cut costs here. Quality tape is worth every penny.

• How much does packing paper cost? 500 sheets cost approximately £13

Cost-saving tip: Free packing paper, in the form of magazines and newspapers, can be used, but beware that the newsprint does not stain whatever it is being used to protect.

• How much do packing peanuts cost? Around £20

Cost-saving tip: Go to local stores that stock fragile or electrical items, they may well have some they will give you for free.

• How much do flat-screen TV moving boxes cost? Between £10 – £15 each

Cost-saving tip: Visit your local bicycle store and ask for a box that a bike is shipped in. They should fit most sizes of television.

• How much do wardrobe boxes cost? Approximately £8 each

Cost-saving tip: Keep everything on their hangers, and tie about 6 coat hangers together to create a bundle that is not too heavy. Now slip a strong rubbish sack up over the clothes and secure it at the neck of the hangers. This way, if the clothes slip off the hangers they will be caught inside the bag, and you can also reuse the bag after your move.

• How much do moving boxes for dishes and plates cost? The inserts cost about £10 for 50

Cost-saving tip: Use ordinary boxes of suitable strength (at least 2 ply) and use cardboard or paper plates as dividers.

• How much do packing boxes for glasses cost? Between £10-£13 each

Cost-saving tip: Wine glasses can be slipped inside socks for protection.

• How much do moving blankets cost? Between £15 – £20 each

Cost-saving tip: Use blankets, towels, or old clothing instead. The old clothes can then be cut up and used as cleaning rags after the move.

How to Save Money on Packing Costs

The one thing that you cannot put a price on is the inconvenience and time that it will cost you to pack for a home move yourself.

It should not be underestimated the amount of time it will take you to pack everything yourself, not to mention living amongst packing boxes for a couple of weeks before you move.

The vast majority of people moving home would confirm that hiring professional packers is extremely good value for money and made their home move so much easier.

You may also like to read: What to Know When Hiring a Removal Company For the First Time. If you have never hired a removal company before you will find this guide invaluable. It explains what they can and cannot do, how to prepare your home for moving, and even how to choose the best removal company for your particular needs.

But if time and effort are not a concern then there are various ways to save money on your packing costs:

#1 Declutter

The fewer items you move to your new home, the cheaper your relocation costs will be.

So before you do anything else, declutter your home of all the things you do not need or love.

The more ruthless you are, the more money and time you will save.

You may also like to read: The Epic Guide to Decluttering for a Home Move. In this guide, we share how to declutter every room in your home and also how to detach yourself emotionally from your possessions to make decluttering easier.

#2 Use Alternative Packing Materials

There are numerous things that are commonly found in a home that can be used as packing materials and also to transport things to your new home.

Just a couple of examples are:

Rather than buying bubble wrap use old towels and blankets to protect fragile items.

Use suitcases to transport items rather than buying boxes.

You may also like to read: Alternative Packing Materials. In this guide, we suggest how to pack things using things you may already have in your home.

#3 Moving Without Furniture

The more pieces of furniture you move the bigger your moving costs will be.

Often the cost of moving low-quality furniture outweighs its value.

In fact, some removal firms will not insure MDF-type furniture during a move because they are so prone to damage, they are not designed to be dismantled, moved, and reassembled.

So look at your furniture and decide whether it is worth the cost and effort to move them.

You may also like to read: Small Moves: Moving With No Furniture. In this guide, we share why moving with no furniture is a smart idea and suggest ways that you can economically move with just boxes.

Important: Finally, just a word about home moving insurance.

Being underinsured is one of the most common home-moving mistakes so please read any insurance policy you have very carefully to ensure that it adequately covers the cost of your possessions.

You should also check that the insurance covers you if you have packed the items yourself.

Many policies do not cover items in transit if they have not been professionally packed.

You may also like to read: Home Moving Insurance – Do I Need It? In this guide, we share all you need to know about insuring your home move.

We hope you found this guide useful and if you would like more tips on how to make your home move cheaper, quicker, and less stressful then be sure to visit our home moving blog.

If you have already decided that you don’t have the time (packing is probably the worst part of moving home), have numerous items of furniture to move, or just prefer to use a professional packing service, you can get a quote from a professional removal company here.