Honest comparison
Where to get moving boxes in New Zealand
We sell boxes, so read this with that in mind. We have still written it straight, because there are genuinely people for whom free supermarket boxes are the right answer, and pretending otherwise would be the fastest way to lose your trust.
Last checked 16 September 2026
Where can you get moving boxes in New Zealand?
There are three options. Free boxes cost nothing but take several trips over a fortnight, plus phone calls. Crate hire is a weekly rate, delivered and collected, and costs you almost no time. Buying cartons is one purchase and one delivery, and suits packing over weeks, moving cities or storing at the other end.
| Option | Money | Time | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free boxes | Nothing | Several trips over a fortnight, plus phone calls | A small move, a flexible schedule and a car |
| Crate hire | Weekly rate, delivered and collected | Almost none | A short local move in a city where a hire firm operates |
| Buying cartons | One purchase | One delivery | Packing over weeks, moving cities, or storing at the other end |
How do you get free moving boxes?
Ring ahead and ask for a specific day rather than turning up hopefully. Most supermarkets bale their cardboard now, so the boxes exist but they are gone by mid-morning. Liquor stores have the best boxes for heavy things, bookshops have the right size for books, and Facebook Marketplace and Neighbourly are worth checking the week after any long weekend.
- Ring the supermarket and ask what morning they unpack, then ask them to put some aside.
- Liquor stores have the best boxes for heavy things — small, strong and often with dividers.
- Bookshops have exactly the right size for books, which is the hardest thing to pack well.
- Facebook Marketplace and Neighbourly the week after any long weekend.
What free boxes cost you: they come in mismatched sizes, so they will not stack on a trolley or pack a truck tightly. Banana boxes have holes in the bottom. Produce boxes are often damp. And you will make several trips to collect them.
How does moving crate hire work?
Plastic crates are hired by the week, delivered to you and collected afterwards, so there is nothing to get rid of at the end. The catch is geography: most operators cover a single city, so crate hire works well in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch and barely exists elsewhere.
When is it worth buying moving boxes?
Buying is worth it when you are packing gradually, moving between cities, or putting things into storage. Crates have to go back, and mismatched free boxes will not stack in a storage unit. That is the case we are built for, and if it is not your case we would rather you knew.
Work out how many you need · What to do with them afterwards