What size van do I actually need? A room-by-room guide

Why van size matters more than you'd think

Booking too small a van is the most expensive mistake in removals — not because the van itself costs more, but because it means a second trip, a longer job, and often an extra hour of helper time you didn't plan for. Booking too big wastes money the other way, paying for capacity you never use.

The good news is that van size is one of the easier things to get right, because it comes down to counting rooms and being honest about what's actually in them — not guessing at cubic metres you have no reference for.

Small van: a few boxes, a single item, one room

A Small van (around 3.5m³, 700kg payload) suits a single piece of furniture, a mattress, a Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace pickup, or a handful of boxes from a storage unit. Think: one sofa, one wardrobe, ten to fifteen boxes — the contents of roughly a third of a bedroom.

If you're only moving one or two items and nothing else, a Small van is almost always the right call and the cheapest option. Don't upsize 'just in case' for a single-item job — it rarely helps and always costs more.

Medium van: a studio or a compact one-bedroom

A Medium van (around 6m³, 1,000kg payload) is the right size for a studio apartment or a smaller one-bedroom flat with a modest amount of furniture — a bed, a couch, a small dining set, a chest of drawers, and 20-30 boxes.

This is also a common choice for a larger single-room job, like moving a home office or a fully furnished granny flat. If you're not sure between Small and Medium, count your boxes: under 15, go Small; above 20, go Medium.

Large van: a one to two bedroom flat

A Large van (around 9m³, 1,200kg payload) covers a one to two bedroom flat with standard furniture — beds, a couch, a dining table and chairs, a wardrobe or two, appliances like a fridge, and 30-40 boxes. This is the most commonly booked size for a typical London flat move.

If your flat has a second bedroom used as storage or a home gym rather than a bedroom proper, lean toward Large rather than Medium — that 'spare room' usually holds more than people expect once you start packing it into boxes.

Luton: a three-bedroom-plus house

The Luton (around 18m³, 1,400kg payload) is a full furniture truck, built for a three-bedroom-plus house move — multiple bedrooms of furniture, a lounge and dining setup, whitegoods, a garage or shed's worth of extras, and 50+ boxes.

If you're moving a family home with a garage that's accumulated a decade of storage, the Luton is usually the only size that avoids a second trip. It's also the standard choice for most office relocations once you factor in desks, chairs and filing cabinets.

When in doubt, compare prices rather than guess

You don't actually have to get this exactly right before you book. Our booking wizard shows you a real price for every van size on your exact route at the same time, so you can compare Medium against Large side by side rather than committing to a guess.

If you're still unsure once you see the options, the safer call is usually to size up one level rather than risk a second trip — the price difference between adjacent sizes is almost always smaller than the cost of a follow-up job.