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How many moving boxes do you need?

Updated: 23 October 2026

A two-bedroom home does not have one correct box count, and the UK calculators you will find do not agree with each other. This page puts the published ranges next to each other, then shows what books, a loft, or a small buffer do to the total, and how that total splits into the 5, 8, and 10 packs in our [Moving boxes comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/moving-boxes). It does not tell you which carton is stronger. That sits on the [moving boxes buying guide](/hub/diy-supplies/moving-boxes/sub/moving-boxes-buying-guide). Products Compared quoted removal firms’ own figures on 21 October 2026. We did not survey UK homes, and a qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

A two-bedroom home does not have one correct box count, and the UK calculators you will find do not agree with each other.

Our top picks

SafariPak SafariPak 10-pack cardboard moving boxes, 47 litres

Best overall

SafariPak SafariPak 10-pack cardboard moving boxes, 47 litres
7.6/10about £12.74
View offer
BANKERS BOX BANKERS BOX SmoothMove 8-pack, 39 litres

Best value

BANKERS BOX BANKERS BOX SmoothMove 8-pack, 39 litres
6.6/10about £12.99
View offer
Best House Best House large cardboard boxes, 5 pack

Alternative

Best House Best House large cardboard boxes, 5 pack
5.9/10about £9.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.The ranges UK firms publish
  2. 2.What moves you up or down the range
  3. 3.Bags change the mix, not the weight
  4. 4.Turning a count into packs

The ranges UK firms publish

For a two-bedroom home, the sources in this brief do not land on one number. Pickfords’ calculator puts a two-bedroom house at about 23–40 boxes, using Pickfords’ own small, medium, and large mix. Removal Boxes puts a two-bedroom home at about 35–55, with wardrobe boxes counted extra. Hold Storage’s two-bedroom guide is about 40–60, nearer 60 if you also have a loft, a shed, or a full kitchen. Vano Removals uses the same 40–60 band for a two-bedroom, inside a wider table: a studio at 15–25, a one-bedroom flat at 25–35, and a three-bedroom home at 60–100. Do not average 23 and 60 into a fake precise total. A studio or a one-bedroom flat should start from Vano’s 15–25 or 25–35, not from the two-bedroom rows. Wardrobe boxes are outside these listings, so a hanging-rail carton is extra.

What moves you up or down the range

A loft, a shed, or a full kitchen pushes you toward the top of the band. Hold Storage says the two-bedroom count sits nearer 60 in that case. Books should add cartons, not weight. Company habits sit around 10 kg and 15 kg, and the Health and Safety Executive sets no legal maximum you can save by using fewer boxes. Removal Boxes suggests about 10 percent extra. Vano suggests 10–15 percent. On a plan of 40, that is four to six empty flat packs, not permission to overfill the first 40. The tape and the weight check are on how to pack moving boxes.
SafariPak SafariPak 10-pack cardboard moving boxes, 47 litres

Testsieger

SafariPak SafariPak 10-pack cardboard moving boxes, 47 litres
7.6/10about £12.74
View offer

Bags change the mix, not the weight

A zip bag can take the textile cartons out of the count. Bedding, clothes, and towels are the loads MO Transport Solutions puts in bags. That can lower the number of corrugated cartons. It does not lower the cartons you need for plates and books, and it does not let you treat a 95 litre bag as three measured boxes. Velway’s listing says one bag equals about three standard boxes. That sentence was not checked against Pickfords’ sizes or the 47 litre cartons here. Use bags for the wardrobe, then keep the kitchen and the bookcase in cardboard. If you replace ten textile cartons with bags, a 40-box plan might become 30 cartons plus a 6-pack of bags. If those ten cartons were actually books, the swap is wrong.

Turning a count into packs

The packs in this capture are 3, 5, 6, 8, or 10 containers. Take 40 cartons as an example, inside Pickfords’ two-bedroom band and at the bottom of Hold Storage and Vano. SafariPak’s 10-pack would be four packs, at £12.74 each. BANKERS BOX’s 8-pack would be five packs, at £12.99 each. Best House’s 5-pack would be eight packs. Those are arithmetic examples of pack size, not a recommendation to buy Best House eight times. The 5-pack and the 10-pack share one review text, and that board is the 12 kg field. A studio at 15–25 is two 10-packs, and you may not open the last one. An unopened spare is cheaper than a second delivery on moving day.

Common questions

How many boxes for a two-bedroom home?
Quote the spread. Pickfords says about 23–40 for a two-bedroom house. Removal Boxes says about 35–55, with wardrobe boxes extra. Hold Storage and Vano say about 40–60, and Hold Storage goes nearer 60 with a loft, shed, or full kitchen. None of those is a measurement of your rooms. Start from how full the kitchen and the loft are, then add a small buffer rather than averaging the four bands into one number.
How many for a one-bedroom flat or a studio?
Vano’s calculator says about 25–35 boxes for a one-bedroom flat and about 15–25 for a studio, and it calls the figures indicative. A two-bedroom band is the wrong starting point for either. This page does not invent a Pickfords studio total. If the flat is nearly empty, use the bottom of Vano’s band and keep a few spares. Books and a packed kitchen still move you up inside the band.
Why do the calculators disagree?
They use different carton sizes, different fill weights, and different ideas of what a bedroom contains. Pickfords’ two-bedroom band is about 23–40 and includes its own size mix. Hold Storage and Vano sit at about 40–60. Removal Boxes sits at about 35–55 and separates wardrobe boxes. Packing style is part of Vano’s disclaimer. The disagreement is the useful information. A single correct total would hide it.
Should I add a buffer?
Yes, as a small extra, using the firms’ own advice. Removal Boxes suggests about 10 percent. Vano suggests 10–15 percent. On a plan of 40 cartons that is about four to six more. The buffer is empty capacity for the books and the last kitchen cupboard. It is not a reason to fill every carton up to a 20 kg or 25 kg printed field.
Do books add boxes or just weight?
They should add boxes. A book carton that creeps toward 30 kg, which is a weight one BANKERS BOX reviewer described, is over that listing’s stated 25 kg and over the 10 kg and 15 kg company habits. Split the books into more small cartons. That raises the count on purpose. It is safer than fewer cartons that fail at the handle hole.

Related pages

Cardboard or bags

Moving boxes

Best moving boxes UK: default carton and who skips

Moving boxes buying guide: format, litres, strength

How to pack moving boxes: tape the base, then label

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Updated 23 October 2026.

  1. HSE manual handling risk filters (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  2. Manual handling weight limits (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  3. Recycle Now: cardboard (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  4. Zero Waste Scotland: plastic bags (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  5. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  6. Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2015 (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  7. Pickfords moving boxes calculator (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  8. MO Transport Solutions: bags and boxes (retrieved 23 October 2026)