How much does it cost to hire moving boxes for a house move?

Hiring reusable plastic moving crates in Sydney costs $5 a crate for two weeks, with a five-crate minimum, or a fixed pack from $109 for 25 crates up to $309 for 100. Delivery, collection, the two-week hire and a label card on every crate are included, and there is no bond. The exact cost of your move comes down to one thing: how many crates you need.

That is the short answer. The rest of this guide covers what the price actually includes, whether it works out cheaper than cardboard, how to estimate your crate count without guessing low, what happens if your move runs long, and the situations where crate hire is honestly not the best option.

Moving box hire prices at Wombat Crates

Packs are cheaper per crate than the $5 rate, and you can top any pack up with individual crates at $5 each rather than jumping a whole tier. All prices include GST. If you are not sure which size fits, check the packages or send us a message and we will help you land on a number.

What is included when you hire reusable moving crates?

• Delivery to your door anywhere from the Harbour Bridge to Palm Beach, in a two-hour window you choose, seven days a week including Sundays.
• Two weeks of hire, so you can pack at a civilised pace before the move and unpack gradually after it.
• Collection from your new address two weeks later. Stack the empties by the door and we take them away.
• A label card in the pocket of every crate, so labelling is a pen and ten seconds.
• A four-wheel dolly with 50 crates or more, or as a $25 add-on for smaller orders. It moves five crates at a time.
• No bond and no deposit. Cancel free up to 48 hours before delivery.

The crates themselves are 68 litres, roughly a large cardboard moving box, with an attached lid that closes without tape. They stack five high when full, nest when empty, and keep the rain out. Every crate is washed and sanitised between hires.

Is it cheaper to hire moving crates or buy cardboard boxes?

Honestly: it depends on where your cardboard comes from. If you can collect enough clean, sturdy boxes for free from a bottle shop or a friend who has just moved, cardboard wins on price. It costs nothing but your time and petrol.

If you are buying new, the comparison is much closer than most people expect. Fifty new cartons for a two-bedroom home usually lands somewhere between $150 and $250, and then there is tape, a tape gun and markers on top. Fifty crates from us is $189, delivered and collected, with the labels thrown in. For a typical home it is a similar amount of money either way, sometimes a little less for crates.

What crate hire really removes is work. With cardboard you shop for the boxes, get them home, build them, tape them, hope they hold up if it rains on moving day, and then flatten the lot and take it to the tip or recycling once you have unpacked. With crates, we drop them off, you pack, you unpack, and we pick them up. Same money, a lot less of the before-and-after.

The crates are also safer for the things you worry about. They do not sag under a stack, they do not go soggy, and crockery, glassware and the kids' books travel better in a rigid box with a lid. Our crates versus cardboard comparison goes through it line by line.

Why Wombat Crates exists

We started Wombat Crates because everything about moving house in Sydney has been getting dearer: buying, renting, and the move itself. We wanted to offer something reasonably priced that also took some of the effort out of the day. Crate hire is generally no more expensive than buying boxes once you add the extras, and it means there is no pile of flattened cardboard sitting in the hallway for a fortnight waiting for a trip to the tip.

The two-week hire is deliberate. Unpacking rarely happens in a day. People fit it around work and kids over a week or so, and the crates should be there for that, not collected the morning after the truck leaves. Moving is stressful whatever you do. If we can take a small slice of that stress out, that is the job.

How many moving crates do you need?

Treat those as floors, not ceilings. In our experience people underestimate almost every time, and the same few things are responsible: books, which fill a crate faster than anything else in the house; the kitchen, where pantry, crockery and cookware add up to far more than one cupboard suggests; the linen cupboard; children's rooms; and the garage, shed and under-bed storage that nobody counts until packing day.

• Spread heavy items such as books, tools and cookware across more crates and mix in lighter things like linen, so no single crate becomes a strain to carry.
• Order a little more than your estimate. The price difference is small and it saves a second delivery.
• Pick the pack that is closest, then add a few single crates at $5 rather than stepping up a whole tier.
• If you do run short, extra crates can usually be arranged; more on that below.

For a room by room count, see how many moving boxes you actually need. Not sure how many crates you need? Ask us and we will suggest a number.

A family move from Balgowlah to Mosman

A family of five, two parents and three children aged between two and thirteen, moved from Balgowlah to Mosman earlier this year. It was already a busy household with a lot going on, so the move was landing on top of everything else. They took the three-bedroom pack.

The bit they mentioned first was what they did not have to do: no trip to the hardware store, no flat-packing boxes on the lounge room floor, no taping. The kids packed their own rooms into their own crates, which turned a chore into something they could actually help with. Crockery, kitchenware, books and toys went into rigid crates that could be stacked without anyone worrying about a box giving way underneath.

At the other end they did not try to unpack in one enormous day. They spread it across the fortnight, around work and school, and when the crates were empty we collected them. The parents' summary was that it took some of the stress out of the move and left fewer jobs at the end, because the boxes simply went away. Moving was still moving, but this part of it was easy. Make your move simpler with reusable crates.

What if I need longer than two weeks, or more crates?

Both happen, and both are fine. If settlement slips or unpacking takes longer, you can extend. Extra weeks cost $1.50 a crate per week, which is less than the standard rate; you can choose them at checkout, or message us before your collection date and we will move it. If you realise after delivery that you need more crates, tell us and we will get another set to you, usually within a day or two depending on the run sheet and availability.

Practical moving-day tips

1. Fill in the label card on every crate with the destination room and a line about what is inside. It is the single thing that makes unpacking easier, because every crate goes straight to the right room.
2. Load the van in room clusters and unload the same way, so all the kitchen crates land in the kitchen and you can work through the house one room at a time.
3. Use the dolly. Five crates stacked on it move in one trip instead of five, which matters on a driveway or through a lift. If your move has two people loading at once, a second dolly can be added.
4. Keep the heavy crates heavy on the bottom of a stack and lighter ones on top, and spread dense items across crates rather than filling one with books.
5. Pack an essentials crate last and unpack it first: kettle, chargers, sheets, toilet paper, whatever gets you through the first night.

When crate hire may not be the best fit

• Interstate moves. We collect the crates from your new address, so a move to Melbourne or Brisbane does not work. For moves a bit beyond our normal area, ask; sometimes we can arrange a collection.
• Long-term storage. Crates go back after the hire, so if you need boxes in a storage unit for a year, buy sturdy tubs instead.
• A very small move of a handful of light items, where a couple of free boxes will do.
• When the lowest possible upfront cost is the only priority and you have access to clean, free cardboard.
• Unusually shaped or delicate items, like artwork or a television, which need purpose-made packaging.

We deliver and collect free everywhere north of the Harbour Bridge to Palm Beach. If you are not sure your address is covered, check your suburb.

Are reusable moving crates better for the environment?

In one specific way, yes. A crate hire puts nothing in your bin: the crates go back to us, get washed, and go out again. Cardboard can be recycled, but a single move produces a lot of it, much of it taped and torn, and a good share ends up in general waste. It is not the main reason people hire crates, but it is a genuine side benefit, and our environment guide covers it properly.

The bottom line

Hiring moving boxes in Sydney costs $5 a crate for two weeks, or $109 to $309 for a pack, with delivery, collection and labels included and no bond. Free cardboard is cheaper if you can get it; new cardboard is about the same money with a lot more work. Most people should order a few more crates than they think they need, and if the move runs long or short, we are flexible.

You do not have to book straight away. Look at the packages, read what other North Shore movers say, or email or call us to talk through your move and work out the right number of crates.