Where to get moving boxes in Houston

The short answer

Box prices are U-Haul's listed single-box prices, checked October 2, 2026. Bin prices are ours. Packages of 60 bins and up are on a waitlist while we finish our soft launch.

Buying new boxes

U-Haul stores are all over Houston and publish their prices. On October 2, 2026 a single small box was $1.77, a medium $2.27 and a large $2.87, with a lower per-box price if you buy a bundle (U-Haul moving boxes). Neighborhood U-Haul dealers set their own prices, so yours may differ. Home Depot and Lowe's sell moving boxes too. We could not confirm their current prices, so check their sites before you drive over.

Sizes are standard: a small box is 1.5 cubic feet, a medium is 3.0 and a large is 4.5. Put books and anything heavy in small boxes. Use mediums for the kitchen and most of the house. Save the large ones for bedding, pillows and lampshades.

For a two-bedroom home, plan on about 48 medium boxes. At U-Haul's single-box price that is about $109, or about $98 at the bundle price, before tape, a tape gun, markers and sales tax. Our moving box calculator gives the count for your home size.

Finding free boxes

• U-Haul Box Exchange. A free online board where people who just moved give away boxes and supplies. U-Haul also says its company-owned stores keep a take-a-box, leave-a-box bin (U-Haul Customer Connect).
• Buy Nothing groups. Neighbors give things away for free through the Buy Nothing app and its local Facebook groups (Buy Nothing Project). Ask for moving boxes a couple of weeks ahead.
• Facebook Marketplace, Nextdoor and Craigslist. Search "moving boxes" and filter to free. They go fast at the end of the month, when a lot of leases turn over.
• Your own building. Someone is always moving in. Ask the leasing office, or check the recycling room the first week of the month.
• Stores. Ask a manager at a grocery or liquor store what day they break down boxes. Some will set a few aside and some will not. These boxes tend to be small and strong, which suits books and glasses.

What to check before you take used boxes

Free cardboard is worth a look before it comes into your house.

• Pests. University of Minnesota Extension lists corrugated cardboard boxes as a common way cockroaches get into a home (UMN Extension). Cornell's pest program says bed bugs travel in boxes and other belongings moved from one home to another (Cornell IPM). Skip boxes that sat in a garage or by a dumpster, and look in the flaps and the corrugated edges.
• Damp. Cardboard that has been wet or stored in Houston humidity goes soft. Press on the bottom. If it gives, it will not hold a load of dishes.
• Mixed sizes. A pile of odd boxes does not stack well in a truck. Try to get a run of the same size.
• Food boxes. Produce and meat boxes carry smells and stains. Leave them.

Getting rid of the boxes afterward

This is the part people forget. In the City of Houston, cardboard goes in the green recycling cart only if it is corrugated and flattened to three feet or less on every side (City of Houston Solid Waste). Fifty flattened boxes will not fit in one cart, so plan on several pickup days or a drive to a neighborhood recycling center. The easiest way out is to pass them on: post them on the same free boards you got them from.

The suburbs each have their own rules. We wrote them up city by city on our service area pages, for example Katy, Sugar Land and The Woodlands.

Renting bins instead

This is what we do. Bin & Back delivers lidded plastic bins to your door anywhere within 30 miles of downtown Houston and picks them up from your new address when you have unpacked. Each bin is 27 gallons, a little more than a medium box. They come built, they stack, and four at a time roll on a dolly. Every package includes two dollies, labels and zip ties.

Packages run from $119 for 25 bins for a week (a studio or one-bedroom) to $329 for 100 bins. Two weeks costs a little more. See all prices or how it works. We are a new Houston company, and you can read who we are.

We are not the only ones. Other companies rent moving bins in Houston, and we listed what each one publishes in where to rent moving boxes in Houston.

When cardboard is the better choice

• You are moving out of the Houston area. Rented bins have to come back to us, so a move to Dallas or out of state needs boxes you can keep.
• Things are going into storage. A rental is one or two weeks. Anything that will sit for months belongs in boxes or bins you own.
• It is a very small move. A dorm room or a few shelves of books needs ten boxes, not a delivery.
• You have more time than money. Free boxes are free. They cost you trips, tape and a pile to get rid of.

Questions people ask

Last updated October 2, 2026. Store prices and programs change, so check the linked pages before you go.