Skip to content

Estimating reference

Cubic feet calculator for moving estimates.

Add items to get total cubic feet, estimated weight at the standard 7 lb per cubic foot factor, and the truck size that fits the load. The volumes below are the conventional cube sheet figures movers already work from.

Living room

  • Sofa, 3-seat

    50 cu ft
    0
  • Sectional, per piece

    A 5-piece sectional runs 90–110 cu ft

    25 cu ft
    0
  • Loveseat or armchair

    30 cu ft
    0
  • Coffee table

    15 cu ft
    0
  • TV and media stand, 55–65"

    Large glass

    25 cu ft
    0
  • Bookshelf or display case

    Disassembly

    35 cu ft
    0
  • Floor lamp

    8 cu ft
    0
  • Area rug, rolled

    10 cu ft
    0

Bedroom

  • King mattress and box spring

    70 cu ft
    0
  • Queen mattress and box spring

    60 cu ft
    0
  • Twin mattress

    30 cu ft
    0
  • Bed frame and headboard

    Disassembly

    25 cu ft
    0
  • Dresser, 6-drawer

    40 cu ft
    0
  • Nightstand

    10 cu ft
    0
  • Wardrobe box

    Hanging clothes

    15 cu ft
    0
  • Full-length mirror

    Glass

    6 cu ft
    0

Kitchen and dining

  • Refrigerator, full size

    65 cu ft
    0
  • Dining table, 6-seat

    Disassembly

    40 cu ft
    0
  • Dining chair

    8 cu ft
    0
  • China cabinet or hutch

    Glass

    45 cu ft
    0
  • Washer or dryer

    Disconnection

    25 cu ft
    0
  • Dish pack, double-walled

    Fragile

    5 cu ft
    0
  • Small appliances, boxed

    10 cu ft
    0

Office

  • Desk, standing or executive

    Disassembly

    30 cu ft
    0
  • Office chair

    15 cu ft
    0
  • Filing cabinet, 2-drawer

    18 cu ft
    0
  • Monitors and computer, boxed

    Fragile

    12 cu ft
    0
  • Book carton, small

    Heavy for its size

    1.5 cu ft
    0

Boxes and misc

  • Small carton (1.5 cu ft)

    1.5 cu ft
    0
  • Medium carton (3 cu ft)

    3 cu ft
    0
  • Large carton (4.5 cu ft)

    4.5 cu ft
    0
  • Mirror or picture carton

    Glass

    3 cu ft
    0
  • Bicycle

    12 cu ft
    0
  • Grill, standard

    20 cu ft
    0
  • Treadmill

    Disassembly, heavy

    35 cu ft
    0
  • Upright piano

    Specialty crew

    70 cu ft
    0
  • Gun safe, medium

    Specialty dolly, 400+ lb

    20 cu ft
    0

Running total

0cu ft

Estimated weight
0 lbs
Items entered
0
Truck that fits
Cargo van
Suggested crew
2 movers

A calculator sizes a truck. It does not survey a house — the volume that costs money is the volume nobody entered. CubitMove collects it from the rooms themselves.

See how a survey works

Reference ranges

Whole-home volume, and what a truck actually holds.

Both tables are ranges rather than averages, because the spread is the useful information. A bedroom count tells you very little about volume.

Typical volume by home size

HomeCubic feetEst. weight
Studio2504001,7502,800 lb
1 bedroom4006502,8004,550 lb
2 bedroom6001,0004,2007,000 lb
3 bedroom1,0001,6007,00011,200 lb
4 bedroom1,5002,40010,50016,800 lb

Practical truck capacity

EquipmentUsable cu ft
Cargo van300
16 ft box truck700
20 ft box truck1,000
26 ft box truck1,400
53 ft trailer3,800

Usable capacity, not nominal. Verify against your own fleet — two trucks of the same length can differ by a room’s worth of goods.

Estimating questions

How movers use these numbers.

How do you convert cubic feet to weight?

Most household goods tariffs convert at 7 pounds per cubic foot. A 1,000 cubic foot load is planned as roughly 7,000 pounds. Dense loads — books, tools, solid wood furniture, tile — run heavier than the factor suggests.

How many cubic feet is a two-bedroom home?

Typically 600 to 1,000 cubic feet, though the spread is wide. Volume tracks how long someone has lived in a home and what they have accumulated, not the number of bedrooms, so two identical floor plans can differ by more than a room’s worth of goods.

How much can a 26 ft box truck actually hold?

A 26 ft box truck is nominally around 1,600 to 1,700 cubic feet, but with pads, load bars, imperfect stacking and the walkway a crew needs, most movers plan on about 1,400 cubic feet of household goods. Verify against your own fleet.

Is a calculator accurate enough to quote from?

No. A calculator is for sizing a truck and sanity-checking a number. A quote needs an itemized survey of the actual home, because the volume that costs you money is the volume nobody remembered to enter.

The next step

See it on one of your own jobs.

The fastest way to judge CubitMove is to run a move you have already completed through it and compare the report against your own invoice.