What a cubic metre actually looks like
One cubic metre is a box a metre wide, a metre deep and a metre tall. Picture a standard washing machine with a bit of air around it, or ten medium tea-chest moving boxes stacked up. It's smaller than most people guess, which is why first-timers routinely under-estimate a move by 20%.
Removalists measure the space your goods occupy on the truck deck, not their weight and not their tidy geometric volume. A dining table doesn't stack, so it eats the air above it too. Furniture goes on the truck wrapped in moving blankets, which adds a few centimetres to everything. That's why the standard per-item figures below are slightly larger than tape-measure maths would give you — they're loaded volume, which is the honest number.
Average m³ by home size
Start here. These are the averages we see on the east-coast lanes, and for a normally-furnished home they land within a couple of cubic metres of the real thing. Prices shown are Sydney–Melbourne, inc GST and insurance.
| Home size | Volume | Price inc GST | What that is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 8 m³ | $1,000 | Bed, sofa, desk, ~10 boxes |
| 1-bed apt | 16 m³ | $2,000 | Queen bed, sofa, dining set, ~20 boxes |
| 2-bed homeMost common | 26 m³ | $3,250 | 2 bedrooms + lounge, white goods, ~35 boxes |
| 3-bed home | 36 m³ | $4,500 | 3 bedrooms + study, full kitchen, ~50 boxes |
| 4-bed home | 50 m³ | $6,250 | Multiple living areas + garage, ~70 boxes |
The per-item list (add these up)
If your home isn't a standard shape, count items instead. These are the exact figures our quote tool uses, so anything you total here will match the price you get.
Lounge
Bedroom
Kitchen, laundry and dining
Office, boxes and outdoor
Worked example: a real 2-bedroom move
Queen bed (2) + two bedside tables (0.6) + wardrobe (2) + chest of drawers (1) + single bed in the second room (1.2) + 3-seat sofa (3) + armchair (1) + coffee table (0.4) + TV unit and TV (1.4) + dining table and four chairs (2.7) + fridge (1.5) + washing machine (0.5) + desk and chair (1.6) + BBQ (0.6) + two bikes (1) + 35 medium boxes (3.5).
Three mistakes that blow out an estimate
Forgetting the non-rooms. Garages, sheds, balconies and under-stair cupboards don't feel like part of the house until moving day. Tools, paint tins, camping gear, a spare mattress and the Christmas boxes routinely add 5 m³ that nobody counted.
Counting boxes you haven't packed yet. People estimate 20 boxes and finish with 45. A rule of thumb: a fully-packed kitchen alone is 10–12 boxes, and books turn into small boxes fast. If you haven't packed, take your guess and add a third.
Assuming disassembly shrinks things. A flat-packed bed frame does take less space — but a dismantled wardrobe still occupies most of its original footprint once it's blanket-wrapped and stood against the truck wall. Disassemble for safety and doorways, not for the quote.
- Walk the garage, shed and balcony before you total anything
- Add ~30% to your box guess if you haven't started packing
- Disassembly helps doorways, not the quote
- Under-estimating doesn't save money — it only risks the space