Where to Get Moving Boxes: Free, Cheap, and Delivered to You

Boxes are one of the first things you need when you start planning a local move, and one of the most annoying things to shop for. You can pay full price at a moving supply store, spend a weekend hunting for free ones across town, or find something in between. This guide covers every realistic option, starting with the free ones.

Where to Get Free Moving Boxes

Free boxes are available if you know where to look. The key is timing: retailers and grocery stores generate cardboard waste constantly, but they break it down fast. You need to ask at the right time and be ready to pick up quickly.

Grocery Stores

Grocery stores are the most reliable free box source in most cities. Produce and dry goods come in sturdy boxes that work well for kitchen and pantry items. The best approach is to go in person, ask the manager on duty when their next delivery is, and offer to come back that day to take the boxes before they get broken down.

In Indiana, Kroger, Meijer, and ALDI locations are good starting points. Smaller independent grocery stores are often even more accommodating since they have fewer employees to manage the recycling process.

Liquor Stores and Breweries

Liquor store boxes are among the best boxes available for free. They’re built for heavy glass bottles, so they handle weight without buckling. The dividers inside bottle boxes are useful for packing glassware. Ask the store when their next shipment arrives and come same-day if you can.

Big Box and Home Improvement Stores

Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Menards all receive large, sturdy cardboard shipments. These stores typically break down boxes in the back and take them to a baler. If you ask at the service desk, they can often direct you to a supervisor who can set aside boxes for you before they get baled.

Note that Home Depot and Lowe’s also sell moving boxes outright if you want new ones. Home Depot’s selection is broad, with individual boxes starting around $1.50 to $3.00 and bundle packs available for larger moves.

Walmart and Target

Both retailers receive daily shipments, but their back-of-house operations are fast and efficient. Getting free boxes from Walmart or Target requires catching them at the right moment. Ask a floor associate to check with the receiving department. The best time to ask is mid-morning on weekdays, shortly after morning shipments have been processed.

To answer a common question directly: yes, Walmart does sometimes give out free boxes, but it depends entirely on the store, the day, and the shift. It is not a reliable or guaranteed source. If you go and they say no, try a grocery store instead.

Bookstores and Office Supply Stores

Books-A-Million, Half Price Books, and Office Depot locations receive regular shipments and often have usable boxes. Bookstore boxes are particularly good for books and media (obviously) since they’re sized to handle weight. Office supply stores get copy paper shipments in boxes that are excellent for heavy items like books and kitchen equipment.

Facebook Marketplace and Buy Nothing Groups

Search “free moving boxes” on Facebook Marketplace in your local area. People who just finished moving post boxes constantly, and you can often pick up large quantities in a single trip. This is one of the best sources for volume since a single post might include 30 to 50 boxes in various sizes.

Buy Nothing groups on Facebook (search your city or neighborhood name plus “Buy Nothing”) operate on a give and take model. Post what you need and someone in your area will often respond within a day. These groups are active in most Indianapolis and Hendricks County communities. If you are moving to Carmel, the Carmel and Hamilton County Buy Nothing groups are particularly active.

Nextdoor

Post a request on Nextdoor in your neighborhood. Moving boxes are one of the most commonly offered items on the platform. You’ll often find someone who just finished a move and has a full set they want gone.

Craigslist Free Section

The free section on Craigslist still works for moving boxes. Search “moving boxes” in the free category for your city. Response time and reliability vary, but it’s worth checking if you need a large volume quickly.

U-Haul Box Exchange

U-Haul operates a free box exchange program where people who have completed their move can list leftover boxes for others to pick up. Enter your zip code to see what’s available nearby. Availability varies by location, but it’s free and often includes a complete set of sizes from a single move.

Freecycle Network

The Freecycle Network is an older platform built specifically for giving and getting free items locally. Post a request for moving boxes and set up alerts. It’s not as fast as Facebook Marketplace but covers communities that may not have active Buy Nothing groups.

Where to Buy Moving Boxes Cheap

If you can’t find enough free boxes or you need a specific size or quantity before your move date, buying is the practical option. Here’s how the major sources compare.

Home Depot

Home Depot has one of the best selections of moving boxes at retail locations. They carry small, medium, large, and extra-large sizes, plus specialty boxes for dishes, mirrors, wardrobes, and TVs. Prices run roughly $2.00 to $4.00 per box for standard sizes, and they sell bundle packs (typically 10 to 25 boxes) at a per-box discount. If you’re in Indiana, Home Depot is widely available and generally the easiest in-person option for buying new boxes.

Lowe’s

Lowe’s carries a similar selection to Home Depot at comparable prices. If one store doesn’t have a specific size in stock, check the other. Both offer online ordering with in-store pickup.

Walmart

Walmart’s in-store moving box selection is typically smaller than Home Depot or Lowe’s, but their prices are often lower per box. They carry standard sizes and basic bundles. Walmart.com has a broader selection than in-store, including bulk packs from brands like Pen+Gear that are competitively priced.

U-Haul

U-Haul sells new moving boxes in-store and online, and their boxes are sized specifically for moving (not repurposed product packaging). Their per-box prices are on the higher end, typically $2.50 to $5.00 per box depending on size, but they have specialty boxes (lamp boxes, picture boxes, wardrobe boxes) that are hard to find elsewhere. U-Haul also has a return policy on unused boxes, which is worth knowing if you buy more than you end up needing.

Amazon and Online Retailers

Ordering boxes online in bulk is often the best value if you plan ahead. A 25-pack of medium moving boxes on Amazon typically runs $35 to $55 with free shipping for Prime members, which works out to $1.40 to $2.20 per box. Brands like Bankers Box SmoothMove and UBMOVE have strong reviews and are widely available. The downside is lead time: if you need boxes this week, Amazon may not be fast enough.

Is It Worth Buying Moving Boxes?

For most moves, a combination works best: get free boxes for items where box condition doesn’t matter much (linens, clothes, towels), and buy new boxes for fragile items like dishes, glassware, electronics, and books where you want consistent sizes and structural integrity.

Liquor store boxes and heavy-duty bookstore boxes are the free exceptions worth seeking out specifically: they’re strong enough for fragile and heavy items.

If you’re short on time, just buy a bundle from Home Depot or Lowe’s and move on. The cost of a full set of moving boxes for a 2-bedroom apartment typically runs $60 to $120, which is a small line item in the context of a full move.

How Many Moving Boxes Do You Need?

A rough guide by home size:

• Studio or 1-bedroom apartment: 20 to 30 boxes
• 2-bedroom apartment or home: 30 to 50 boxes
• 3-bedroom home: 50 to 70 boxes
• 4 to 5 bedroom home: 70 to 100+ boxes

These are starting estimates. The actual number depends on how much stuff you have, whether you pack clothing in boxes or use wardrobe boxes, and how efficiently you pack. Most people underestimate by 20 to 30%. For a more structured approach, use our moving checklist to inventory what you have before estimating box counts.

Skip the Boxes Entirely: Move Indy’s Packing Service

If the idea of spending your weekends hunting for boxes and packing everything yourself sounds exhausting, there’s a simpler option. Move Indy offers professional packing services where our crew brings all the supplies, including boxes, packing paper, bubble wrap, and tape, and does the packing for you.

Our packing service starts at $175/hr for 2 packers. Most 2-bedroom apartments take a packing crew 3 to 5 hours to pack completely. We also offer partial packing if you just want help with the kitchen, fragile items, or specific rooms.

If you want to pack yourself but need supplies delivered, check out our packing supplies page for boxes, tape, paper, and moving kits delivered directly to your door in the Indianapolis metro area and Hendricks County.

Ready to take the whole thing off your plate? Call 317-520-1473 or get a free quote and we’ll handle the boxes, the packing, and the move.