How Much Does Packing Cost?
Packing is the part of moving everyone underestimates — it takes longer than the move itself, and it is where most damage is born. So what does it cost to hand it to a crew? The answer is simpler than most companies make it: the labor runs on the same hourly clock as your move, and the materials are one flat package by home size. Here is the full breakdown, plus how to choose between a full pack, a partial pack, and doing it yourself.
Packing labor: the same clock as your move
There is no separate packing rate and no per-box charge. When our crew packs, they work on the same hourly clock as the move itself: $149/hr for 2 movers, $199/hr for 3 movers, $249/hr for 4 movers, with a 4-hour minimum and full-hour increments after. We usually recommend adding a third mover on packing jobs — one person wrapping and boxing while two keep rooms flowing — because a well-run packing crew shortens both packing day and moving day. A typical kitchen takes a crew a couple of hours; it takes most owners a weekend of evenings. And unlike furniture wrapping — which is standard on every move we run, every piece padded before it is carried — box packing is the optional layer you choose based on time, inventory, and how much of your life fits in a dish pack. See how packing fits into the full move price on our local moving service page.
Materials packages: one flat price by home size
Boxes, tape, packing paper, and wrap are bundled into a single flat package sized to your home — no per-box billing, no runs to the store, no guessing quantities:
Studio — $150
Boxes, tape, paper, and wrap for a studio apartment — kitchen basics, clothes, books, and small items.
1 bedroom — $225
A full 1-bedroom home, including a real kitchen, linens, and closet contents.
2 bedrooms — $350
The most common package: two bedrooms, a full kitchen, living room media, and household extras.
3 bedrooms — $550
A family home with kids’ rooms, a stocked kitchen, and garage or basement smalls included in the pack.
4+ bedrooms — $750
Large houses and heavy inventories. The package is confirmed against your actual inventory before packing day.
Prefer to buy your own materials? Plenty of customers do — supply the boxes and paper and you pay for the crew’s time only. Just keep the boxes sturdy and reasonably uniform; a tower of mismatched supermarket boxes loads slower and protects less than the package does.
Full pack vs partial pack vs DIY
A full pack means the crew boxes everything — kitchen, closets, books, art, electronics — and most families choose it when time is short or the inventory is fragile-heavy. A partial pack ($75–$125 in materials, plus crew time) targets the rooms that break: the kitchen above all, plus china, framed pieces, and electronics, while you box the durable stuff yourself. It is the best value in packing, and it is what we recommend for most 1–3 bedroom homes. Full DIY costs no labor but carries the real risk in moving: the boxes packed the night before, by tired owners, in whatever boxes were on hand, are the ones that crush in the truck. If you go DIY, start three weeks out, use small boxes for heavy items like books, and leave the kitchen for last — or hand just that one room to the crew.
Why the kitchen costs what it costs
Every packing conversation ends up in the kitchen, because the kitchen is where packing time lives. A typical kitchen holds dozens of fragile pieces in mismatched shapes — stemware, plates, small appliances, pantry glass — and each one gets paper, placement, and a correctly sized box. Dish packs and cell inserts do the protecting; the clock does the rest. That is also why kitchen-only partial packs exist as their own option: one room, professionally packed, frequently makes the difference between an intact first dinner in the new home and a box of shards. Total picture: packing is priced inside the same estimate as your move, with the 5% admin fee applied to the job as a whole and shown on the written estimate. Our Long Island movers cost guide shows packing inside a complete move budget, line by line.
How long does packing take?
Plan on a crew packing roughly a room in one to two hours, with kitchens and dining rooms at the slow end and bedrooms and living rooms at the fast end. A studio or 1-bedroom full pack commonly fits in a single morning; a 3-bedroom family home is a full day, which is why larger homes are often packed the day before the move. The variables are the same ones that drive cost: how much there is, how much of it is fragile, and how much is oddly shaped. The honest way to think about packing time is that you are buying it either way — with the crew’s hours on the clock, or with your own evenings for two weeks. The crew’s version comes with the right boxes, a system, and furniture-grade care for the fragile pieces, which is why so many customers who planned to DIY the whole pack end up booking the kitchen and calling it a day.
Frequently asked questions
How much does professional packing cost?
Packing labor is billed on the same hourly clock as your move — $149/hr for 2 movers, $199/hr for 3 movers, $249/hr for 4 movers, with a 4-hour minimum — so there is no separate packing rate to decode. The materials are one flat package by home size: $150 studio, $225 for 1 bedroom, $350 for 2 bedrooms, $550 for 3 bedrooms, and $750 for 4+ bedrooms. A 5% admin fee applies, as it does on every job, and is shown on your estimate up front.
What does a partial pack cost?
A partial pack — the kitchen only, the fragile items only, or everything you have not gotten to — runs $75–$125 in materials, plus the crew’s time on the same hourly clock. Partial packs are the most popular option we sell: most people can box clothes and books themselves, but the kitchen, the china, and the framed art are where breakage happens and where a crew earns its keep.
Can I supply my own boxes and materials?
Yes. If you supply the boxes, tape, and paper, you pay for the packing labor only — the clock — with no materials package added. One honest caution: undersized or worn-out boxes cost more in crew time than they save in materials, because the crew has to work around them. Sturdy, uniform boxes stack safely and keep the clock short.
Is full-service packing worth it?
It depends on your time and your inventory. A crew packs a kitchen in a fraction of the time it takes most owners, uses the right box for every item class, and — this matters — boxes packed by the crew are packed to survive the truck. If you are short on time, have a lot of fragile or high-value items, or simply want to walk out of a lived-in home and into a packed one, full packing is usually money well spent. If you have time and mostly durable goods, a partial pack of the kitchen and fragiles is the smart middle ground.
When does the packing happen — same day as the move?
Either works. For larger homes, packing the day before moving day keeps both days shorter and calmer. For studios and 1-bedrooms, the crew commonly packs and moves in a single day. Either way it is the same clock and the same rate. Booking is a 25% deposit of the expected total, and every price is a starting price confirmed after an inventory review.
Get your exact price in about a minute
Pick your crew and home size and see the expected total before you book. Movers & Cleanout Crew — Home Services & Commercial Coordination. WE MOVE. WE HAUL. WE CLEAN. WE COORDINATE IT ALL.
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