Where to get moving boxes in Sydney: free, cheap and hired options compared
There are four ways to get moving boxes in Sydney: scrounge free cardboard, buy new cartons, buy second-hand, or hire plastic crates that arrive at your door. Here is what each costs, how much effort it takes, and which suits your move.
· 9 min read · By the Wombat Crates team
Key takeaways
- You can get moving boxes in Sydney four ways: free cardboard from shops and community groups, new cartons from hardware and storage stores, second-hand boxes online, or hired plastic moving crates delivered to your door.
- Free boxes cost time rather than money: expect mixed sizes, soft bases and several trips. They suit small, unhurried moves.
- New cardboard for a two-bedroom home usually lands between $150 and $250 for 50 cartons before tape, markers and disposal.
- Hired plastic crates cost about the same as new cardboard. Fifty crates from Wombat Crates is $189 for two weeks with delivery and collection included, and nothing to flatten afterwards.
- If you are moving into or out of an apartment on the North Shore or Northern Beaches, crates stack on a dolly and clear a lift booking fastest, which is usually the real constraint.
Ask where to get moving boxes in Sydney and you get a different answer from every person who has moved. Someone swears by the liquor shop on a Tuesday morning. Someone else bought forty cartons and still has thirty flat-packed in the garage. The honest answer is that there are four sources, each trades money for effort in a different ratio, and the right one depends on how big the move is, how soon it is, and whether you have a car.
This guide walks through all four, with the costs as they stand in 2026, then matches them to the moves we see every week from North Sydney up to Palm Beach. We hire plastic moving crates for a living, so we have an obvious favourite, but we have also carried enough soggy cardboard up enough stairs to tell you straight when cardboard is the better call.
The four ways to get moving boxes in Sydney
| Option | Typical cost | Effort | Best for | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free cardboard boxes | $0, plus fuel and time | High: several trips, mixed sizes | Studios, small moves, no deadline | Weak bases, no lids, food smells, hit and miss |
| New cardboard cartons | Roughly $3 to $5 a box, so $150 to $250 for 50 | Medium: buy, assemble, tape, then dispose | People who want to keep boxes for storage | Tape, markers and a tip run on top; flimsy when wet |
| Second-hand boxes online | Often $1 to $2 a box | Medium: message, collect, sort | Bargain hunters with a car and a free evening | Already been crushed once; sizes rarely match |
| Plastic moving crate hire | $5 a crate for two weeks; 50 crates for $189 delivered | Low: delivered, packed, collected | Two-bedroom and up, apartments, tight lift windows | You return them, so they are not for long-term storage |
Two things surprise people in that table. First, hired crates and new cardboard cost about the same for a typical home. Second, the free option is rarely free once you count the petrol, the parking and the Saturday you spend driving between loading docks.
Free moving boxes in Sydney: where to actually find them
Free cardboard is out there, and for a studio or a single room it can be enough. The trick is knowing where boxes arrive in bulk and get flattened fast, then asking before the compactor does.
- Bottle shops and liquor stores. Wine cartons are the best free box in Australia: small, double-walled, and sized so a full one is still liftable. Ask what day the delivery comes and turn up that morning.
- Supermarkets and greengrocers. Banana boxes are sturdy with handles, but many have no lid and the bases are ventilated, so they suit linen and toys rather than kitchen gear.
- Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and Buy Nothing groups. Search for "moving boxes" in your suburb. People who moved last weekend want them gone today and will often hand over tape and bubble wrap too.
- Friends and colleagues who have just moved. The boxes are already sorted by size and have survived one move, which is the best test there is.
- Office and print shops. Paper reams come in strong, uniform cartons with lids, ideal for books and files. Ask the office manager rather than raiding the recycling.
Buying new moving boxes in Sydney
Hardware chains such as Bunnings, office supply stores, self-storage centres and most removalists sell new cartons, either individually or in bundles. Prices move around, but a standard carton in 2026 is roughly $3 to $5, with heavy-duty and specialty boxes costing more. For a two-bedroom home that means about $150 to $250 for fifty boxes, which is the figure we use in our guide to moving box costs.
What to look for on the label
- Double-walled cardboard for anything heavy. Single-wall cartons fold at the corners once you stack three high.
- Book cartons, about 40 by 30 by 43 centimetres, for books, records, crockery and pantry. Small enough that a full one is safe to lift.
- Tea chests, about 43 by 41 by 60 centimetres, for linen, cushions, lampshades and the light bulky stuff. Filled with books they become immovable.
- A few specialty boxes only if you need them: a wardrobe carton for suits and dresses, a flat-screen box for the TV, cell dividers for glassware.
Add tape, a tape gun, markers and bubble wrap to the total, and remember the boxes have to go somewhere afterwards. Council clean-ups and recycling take flattened cardboard, but fifty boxes is a lot of flattening on the day you would rather be unpacking.
Second-hand moving boxes online
Between free and new sits the second-hand market. Marketplace, Gumtree and a handful of box-resale businesses sell used cartons for a dollar or two each, often as a job lot from someone who has just unpacked. The price is good and you are keeping cardboard in use, which is a genuine environmental win.
The compromise is condition. Cardboard loses strength every time it is filled, and a box that was fine for someone's cushions may not hold your cookbooks. Inspect the bases, reject anything damp or torn, and expect a mix of sizes that does not stack neatly on a trolley.
Hiring plastic moving crates
The fourth option is the one most Sydneysiders have not tried yet. Plastic moving crates are 68-litre polypropylene boxes with attached, hinged lids. A hire company delivers them nested and empty, you pack them, the removalist stacks them five high on a dolly, and the hire company collects them from the new place when you are done. No tape, no assembly, no flattening, no trip to the tip.
At Wombat Crates the price is $5 a crate for two weeks with a five-crate minimum, or a pack: 25 crates for $109, 50 for $189, 75 for $249 or 100 for $309. Delivery and collection are free everywhere from the Harbour Bridge north to Palm Beach, seven days a week, and a dolly is included from 50 crates. Every crate has a label card in its pocket, so labelling is a pen and ten seconds.
Which option is right for your move?
- Studio or a single room, no rush: free boxes from the bottle shop and a Marketplace search will probably cover it. Or five crates for $25 if you would rather skip the scavenger hunt.
- One or two-bedroom apartment with a lift booking: hire crates. They stack on a dolly, they do not collapse in the lift, and they get you through a two-hour lift window in one go. Our apartment moving guide covers the strata side.
- Three or four-bedroom house: new cardboard and hired crates cost about the same. Crates win on time and clean-up; cardboard wins if you want boxes to keep for the garage afterwards.
- Moving in under a week: hire. Next-day delivery beats three evenings of collecting boxes.
- Watching the budget hardest: free plus second-hand, started at least three weeks out, with the kitchen packed into the best boxes you find.
- Long-term storage after the move: buy new double-walled cartons or plastic tubs you keep, because hired crates go back after two weeks.
How many moving boxes do you need?
Whatever the source, most people guess low by about a third. As a starting point: a studio needs 20 to 25 crates or cartons, a two-bedroom 40 to 50, a three-bedroom 60 to 75 and a four-bedroom family home 90 to 110. Kitchens are always the surprise. Our room by room crate count guide breaks it down properly.
Moving box sizes explained
Australian moving boxes come in two common sizes. The book or wine carton is about 40 by 30 by 43 centimetres, around 50 litres, and is the workhorse for anything heavy. The tea chest is about 43 by 41 by 60 centimetres, over 100 litres, and is for light, bulky items only. A hired plastic crate sits between them at about 60 by 40 by 36 centimetres, 68 litres, which is deliberately the largest size one person can still lift when full of plates.
Getting moving boxes on the North Shore and Northern Beaches
North of the bridge adds its own wrinkles. Apartment buildings in North Sydney, Chatswood, Manly and Dee Why usually need a booked lift slot, so anything that stacks on a trolley matters more than it would for a house with a driveway. Street parking around Mosman, Neutral Bay and the Corso is timed or permit-only, which makes several box-collecting trips harder than they sound. And the peninsula from Newport to Palm Beach is a long way from the nearest box seller.
That is exactly the patch we deliver to for free: the Lower North Shore, Upper North Shore, Forest District, Manly and Freshwater, Dee Why to Narrabeen, Mona Vale and Warriewood and Avalon to Palm Beach. Check your postcode on the service area page.
Tips that apply whichever boxes you choose
- Label every box on two sides with the room and a one-line summary of what is inside, not just "kitchen".
- Keep each box under about 20 kilograms. Heavy things in small boxes, light things in big ones.
- Pack the kitchen last and unpack it first. Our kitchen packing guide has the plate-on-edge trick.
- Set aside one clearly marked box of essentials: kettle, chargers, toilet paper, sheets for the first night.
- Book the lift, the removalist and your boxes in that order, with the boxes arriving about a week before moving day. The moving house checklist has the full timeline.
The short version
Free boxes for a small move with time to spare. New cardboard if you want boxes to keep. Second-hand if budget is the only thing that matters. Hired plastic crates for everything else, especially apartments and family homes on the North Shore and Northern Beaches, where fifty crates delivered and collected for $189 is the same money as cardboard and a fraction of the work. Price your own move with the slider, or ring us on 0480 406 155 if you would rather talk it through.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I get free moving boxes in Sydney?
Bottle shops, supermarkets, greengrocers, office and print shops, and community groups such as Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and Buy Nothing groups. Ask stores what day their deliveries arrive and collect before the boxes are flattened. Expect mixed sizes and allow half a day of driving for a small move.
How much do moving boxes cost in Sydney?
New cartons are roughly $3 to $5 each in 2026, so about $150 to $250 for the fifty a two-bedroom home needs, before tape and markers. Second-hand boxes are usually $1 to $2 each. Hired plastic crates from Wombat Crates are $5 each for two weeks, or $189 for fifty with delivery and collection included.
Is it cheaper to hire plastic crates or buy cardboard boxes?
For a typical two-bedroom move the two cost about the same: fifty new cartons at $150 to $250 versus fifty hired crates at $189 delivered and collected. Crates save the tape, the assembly and the disposal. Cardboard is cheaper only if you source it free or second-hand, or if you want to keep the boxes afterwards.
Can I get moving boxes delivered in Sydney?
Yes. Most box sellers offer paid delivery, and plastic crate hire companies deliver as part of the price. Wombat Crates delivers and collects free from the Harbour Bridge to Palm Beach seven days a week, including Sundays, with next-day slots usually available.
What size moving box should I use?
Book or wine cartons, about 40 by 30 by 43 centimetres, for heavy items like books, crockery and pantry goods. Tea chests, about 43 by 41 by 60 centimetres, for light bulky things like linen and cushions. A 68-litre plastic crate, about 60 by 40 by 36 centimetres, is a safe all-rounder that one person can lift when full.
Do plastic moving crates work for apartment moves?
They are the best option for apartments. Crates stack five high on a dolly, roll straight into a lift, and do not collapse or tear. That gets a two-bedroom unit through a two-hour lift booking in one run, which is usually the tightest constraint in a North Shore or Northern Beaches building.
What do I do with moving boxes after the move?
Cardboard must be flattened and put out for council recycling or a clean-up collection, or passed on through Marketplace. Hired plastic crates are simply collected: with Wombat Crates the collection is included and happens at your new address two weeks after delivery, or later if you ask for an extension.
How far ahead should I organise moving boxes?
Free and second-hand boxes need at least two to three weeks of collecting. New cartons can be bought the same day. Hired crates should be booked about a week before you want to start packing; Wombat Crates can usually deliver next day, but the best delivery windows go first at the end of the month.
Written by the Wombat Crates team, who deliver and collect plastic moving crates across Sydney's North Shore and Northern Beaches every day of the week. Prices quoted are ours, in AUD including GST, and correct as of the date shown above.