Moving volume calculator: estimate your move in cubic metres
A moving-volume estimate answers a deceptively important question: how much usable vehicle or storage space will your belongings actually occupy once they are prepared for transport?
A simple room count can be a useful starting point, but two three-bedroom homes can have completely different loads. One may contain minimal furniture; another may include wardrobes, books, garden equipment, bikes and a full garage. An item-by-item inventory gives a much better planning figure.
What MoveSize includes
- Approximate physical volume for common household furniture and appliances.
- A reduction where furniture can realistically be dismantled.
- An allowance for imperfect real-world packing and voids between items.
- An indicative weight estimate so that payload is not ignored.
- Automatic comparison with common UK van classes.
Why packed volume is larger than geometry
If every possession were a perfect cube, raw cubic metres would be enough. Real loads contain chairs, sofas, mattresses and irregular objects that leave unusable gaps. MoveSize therefore distinguishes approximate item volume from effective packed volume.
Typical volumes by property size
Property size alone should not be treated as a guarantee. Use it only to pre-fill a sensible starting inventory, then edit the list to match your home. That is why the main calculator allows a one-bed, two-bed, three-bed or four-bed preset without locking you into a fixed figure.
How to measure an unusual item
Measure the longest length, width and height in centimetres and add it as a custom item. For awkward shapes, a rectangular “bounding box” intentionally errs on the cautious side. If the item dismantles significantly, enter the packed dimensions instead.
Moving volume is the space your prepared belongings are expected to consume in a vehicle or storage unit. MoveSize starts with item dimensions, reduces dismantlable furniture where appropriate, then adds a packing allowance so the result is not based on impossible perfect stacking.
Raw volume vs packed volume
Raw volume is useful for geometry, but removal planning needs an allowance for the air and awkward gaps between real objects. Dining chairs do not tessellate like boxes, mattresses cannot fill every corner and fragile items may deliberately need unused space around them. That is why MoveSize shows an effective packed volume rather than simply summing cuboids.
Useful when furniture is prepared carefully and the loader is experienced at using awkward spaces.
A balanced planning assumption for most self-moves, leaving a realistic allowance for voids and imperfect stacking.
Use this when possessions are fragile, irregular, poorly boxed or unlikely to stack efficiently.
Toggle this separately because it changes the physical envelope of furniture rather than the quality of the packing.
When cubic metres are not enough
Volume alone cannot tell you whether a legal van load is possible. A cubic metre of cushions and a cubic metre of books occupy similar space but have completely different weights. MoveSize therefore carries an indicative weight alongside the volume calculation and uses whichever constraint produces the greater number of trips.
Make your estimate more accurate
- Use the property preset only as a starting inventory; remove items you do not own.
- Add loft, garage, shed and garden contents because these are commonly missed by bedroom-based rules.
- Count packed boxes you already have instead of relying on the automatic box estimate.
- Measure unusually large or bespoke furniture with the custom-item fields.
Want a result based on your actual belongings?
Use the MoveSize inventory calculator. Add your furniture and boxes once to estimate volume, weight, van trips, storage space and packing requirements together.