Moving & Removals Volume Calculator

How to use this calculator

1. Choose Metric for cubic metres, kilograms and UK vans, or Imperial for cubic feet, pounds and US trucks. The space your move needs is the same either way.
2. Choose how many bedrooms the home has. A studio or one-bedroom flat counts as 1.
3. Choose how furnished it is: light for a sparsely furnished home, full for every room well filled.
4. Read the total space needed, the vehicle that holds it and the trips it takes. Open the Summary tab to see the working.

The answer is a planning estimate. It tells you which size of van or truck to price, not exactly what will fit.

What do I need to enter?

• Measurement units — Metric (cubic metres, kilograms, UK vans) or Imperial (cubic feet, pounds, US trucks). It changes the units and the vehicles shown, not the space needed.
• Bedrooms — 1, 2, 3 or 4+. A studio or one-bedroom flat counts as 1.
• How furnished is it? — Light, Typical or Full. It sets how much stuff the home holds for its size.

What do the results show?

• Total space needed — the main figure: the items' volume plus 15% spare space.
• Recommended vehicle and Trips needed — the smallest van or truck that holds the total, or the number of loads if one is not enough.
• Estimated weight — the weight of the items, with a payload check against the recommended vehicle where a payload is known.
• Items volume, the spare space and the total in the other unit system — shown beneath the figures.
• Summary tab — the working: your home, the volume range for each level of furnishing, the vehicle's capacity and space used, and the weight against payload.

How do you work out how much space a move needs?

Take the volume of the belongings, add 15% for the space packing wastes, then find the smallest van or truck that holds the total.

Take the calculator's defaults: a typically furnished two-bedroom home. The belongings come to 22.7 m³. Adding 3.4 m³ of spare space makes 26.1 m³. A Luton van holds 17.6 m³, so the move takes 2 trips in a Luton van, or a removals firm with a bigger lorry. The belongings weigh about 2,540 kg.

Switch to Imperial and choose a typically furnished three-bedroom home. The belongings come to 1,200 ft³. Adding 180 ft³ of spare space makes 1,380 ft³, which fits one 26-foot truck (1,682 ft³). The belongings weigh about 8,400 lb, which is 65% of the 12,859 lb that truck can carry.

The weight uses the items' volume, not the total with spare space, because spare space is empty. That is how a mover's cube sheet works too.

How many cubic feet or cubic metres is a house move?

The table gives the volume of the belongings, before spare space, by bedrooms and how furnished the home is. It is the range the calculator works from.

Where do these volumes come from?

No official table exists, so they are a range drawn from what removals and moving companies publish. For a three-bedroom home:

• Sirelo gives 28 to 35 m³.
• Shipit gives 20 to 30 m³.
• Storage Scholars gives 1,400 to 2,200 ft³.
• Alliance Moving gives 7,000 to 10,000 lb for a fully furnished three-bedroom house, about 1,000 to 1,430 ft³ at 7 lb per cubic foot.

The calculator's three-bedroom row, 1,000 ft³ to 1,400 ft³, sits where Sirelo's and Alliance Moving's figures overlap. Sources differ more for smaller homes: Sirelo puts a two-bedroom home at 18 to 25 m³ and Storage Scholars at 900 to 1,400 ft³ (25 to 40 m³). Treat the table as a range to plan with, and choose a larger van or truck if you are unsure.

What size van do I need to move house in the UK?

The calculator recommends the smallest of these vans that holds the total, or a number of Luton van trips where none does.

• The small, medium, large and extra-large figures are the most that Enterprise quotes for each size of hire van. Its Luton goes up to 19 m³.
• The Luton uses a more cautious 17.6 m³, the length × width × height that Find My Man and Van gives, because wheel arches, door openings and awkward shapes reduce what you can use.
• A car licence covers a 3.5 tonne Luton van. Larger lorries need category C1 unless you passed your car test before 1 January 1997. GOV.UK lists the categories.

What size moving truck do I need in the US?

The calculator recommends the smallest of these trucks that holds the total, or a number of 26-foot truck trips where none does. The sizes are generic, with the U-Haul truck each one typically matches.

The figures are U-Haul's published specifications for its 10-foot, 15-foot, 20-foot and 26-foot trucks. Other companies' trucks of the same length differ by a few percent, so check the load space of the one you hire.

How heavy is a house move?

The calculator multiplies the items' volume by 7 lb per cubic foot, about 112 kg per cubic metre. Movers use this average to turn a cube sheet into a weight. The Washington UTC's cube sheet works 247 cubic feet out as 1,729 lb, and 41 CFR 302-7.8 uses the same figure for weighing the household goods of federal employees.

• In the US the weight is checked against the truck's maximum load. Under 90% of it is within the limit, 90% to 100% is close to it, and over 100% is likely to exceed it. When the move takes more than one trip, the weight is shared between the trips.
• In the UK the weight is shown beside a Luton van's payload of roughly 800 to 1,200 kg, with no pass or fail, because only the Luton has a sourced payload. Check the payload plate on the vehicle you hire.

Seven pounds is an average. A load of books, tools or stone is heavier for its size, so allow for that if yours is.

When should I use a removals firm or movers instead?

When the calculator says the move takes several trips, a professional firm with a larger vehicle is usually simpler than driving back and forth. Ask for a survey, so the quote is for what you actually own.

In the US, the federal rules for interstate moves (49 CFR 375.401 and 375.703) require a physical survey and a written estimate, and limit what a mover can ask for on delivery against a non-binding estimate to 110% of it.

To budget the drive itself, use the Fuel Cost Calculator and the Trip Cost Calculator.

What does this calculator not do?

• It does not count your furniture. A piano, a home gym or a full workshop adds space and weight the table does not know about.
• It does not price the move or find a firm. It is not a quote.
• It does not allow for stairs, parking or access, which decide how long loading takes, not how much fits.
• It uses typical volumes, so two homes with the same bedrooms and furnishing can need different amounts of space.

Sources

The vehicle figures were last reviewed on 12 October 2026. They are published specifications that change, so check the linked page for the current position.

• U-Haul truck specifications: 10-foot, 15-foot, 20-foot and 26-foot. Load space and maximum load of the US trucks.
• Enterprise: Van size guide. Load space of the UK hire vans, and the Luton's payload.
• Find My Man and Van: Removal van sizes. The Luton's length × width × height.
• GOV.UK: Driving licence categories. What a car licence and category C1 allow.
• Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission: Completed cube sheet. Movers' 7 lb per cubic foot.
• 41 CFR 302-7.8: Constructive weight. The same density in federal regulations.
• 49 CFR 375.401 and 375.703. Estimates and the 110% rule for interstate moves.

The home volumes are a range drawn from commercial guides, linked above, not from an official source. This is general information, not a quote or professional advice.

Frequently asked questions