How Much Does Crate Rental Cost in DFW 2026

Renting plastic moving crates in DFW typically runs $80 to $180 per week depending on your home size — and that single number covers the vast majority of residential moves in the Metroplex. Read on for a room-by-room breakdown, a look at every fee line you might see, and a handful of ways to keep the total down.

Why Plastic Crate Rentals Have Replaced Cardboard for Thousands of DFW Movers

Before we get into numbers, a quick word on what you're actually paying for. Reusable plastic moving crates stack cleanly, don't collapse when a mover grabs the wrong edge at 9 AM on a 95-degree Irving summer morning, and eliminate the Saturday ritual of scrounging boxes from the Kroger recycling bin. Cratezy delivers a stack of crates to your door, you fill them, the movers haul them, and we pick the empties back up. No broken-down cardboard, no landfill guilt.

The rental window — the time between delivery and pickup — is what determines your cost. Most DFW moves run on a one-week window, which gives you a few days to pack at the front end and a few days to unpack at the back end without rushing.

2026 DFW Crate Rental Cost by Home Size

The table below reflects realistic 2026 pricing ranges for a standard one-week rental in the DFW service area. These are ranges — your actual quote will depend on exact crate count, delivery zone, and current demand. Use them for budgeting, not as a price guarantee.

Home Size	Typical Crate Count	Weekly Rental Range
Studio / Efficiency	15–25 crates	$80 – $105
1-Bedroom Apartment	25–40 crates	$95 – $120
2-Bedroom Home or Apartment	40–60 crates	$115 – $145
3-Bedroom Home	60–90 crates	$140 – $165
4-Bedroom+ Home	90–130+ crates	$160 – $180+

Pro tip for Frisco and far-north Plano customers: If you're moving within one of the fast-growing communities north of SH-121, delivery logistics can add a small distance surcharge compared to moves centered around central Dallas or the I-30 corridor. Check your quote before assuming you're at the low end of the range.

What Else Shows Up on the Invoice

The weekly rental rate is the main number, but a complete quote will usually include a few additional line items. None of them are hidden — just worth knowing about before you click "confirm."

Delivery and Pickup Fee

Cratezy delivers to your current address and picks up from your new address (or the same address, if you need them returned to origin). A delivery-and-pickup fee typically runs in the $25–$60 range depending on how far apart the two addresses are within DFW. A move from Garland to Richardson — essentially a straight shot on Campbell Road — will be at the low end. A move from downtown Dallas to a new build in Mansfield will be closer to the top of that range.

Extra Week Extension

Life happens: the closing gets pushed, the elevator at your Uptown high-rise is booked solid, or the new office in Las Colinas gets delayed. Adding a second week to your rental is available and typically runs $30–$65 depending on how many crates you have out. Extending is almost always cheaper than scrambling to return them and re-rent later, so if there's any doubt about your timeline, build in an extra week buffer when you book.

Dolly and Moving Blanket Add-ons

Plastic crates are stackable but still heavy when full. A hand-truck dolly add-on — delivered alongside your crates — typically runs $10–$20 for the rental period. Moving blankets, useful for protecting furniture that goes alongside the crates in the truck, run a similar range. These are optional, but if you're doing a self-directed move rather than hiring movers, they're worth the few extra dollars.

Crate Count Adjustments

The estimate tool will suggest a starting crate count based on your home size. If you open boxes on move-in day and have crates left over, we pick up whatever's there — no charge for unused crates. If you run short mid-pack (it happens more often than people expect in 3-bedroom and 4-bedroom homes with full garages), you can request a mid-rental top-up delivery, which is subject to a small additional delivery fee.

How to Bring the Total Down

Crate rental is already significantly cheaper than buying cardboard boxes when you factor in the cost of tape, the time spent sourcing them, and the hassle of breaking them down after. But there are still a few legitimate ways to reduce your Cratezy invoice:

1. Book early. Same-week bookings are available, but booking 1–2 weeks out gives you access to a wider delivery window and avoids any rush-logistics markup. This matters most during peak DFW moving season (May through August) when demand spikes across communities like Allen, Plano, and Frisco.
2. Right-size your crate count. The estimate tool errs slightly generous so you don't run short. If you've already decluttered and donated, manually adjust the count down before finalizing. Fewer crates means a lower weekly rate bracket.
3. Coordinate delivery and pickup addresses that are close together. If your old apartment and new apartment are both in the same zip code — say, two complexes near Greenville Avenue in Dallas — the delivery fee will be minimal.
4. Pick a mid-week delivery date. Weekend deliveries may carry a slight scheduling premium during busy periods. If your move is flexible, a Tuesday or Wednesday start can keep things efficient.
5. Don't extend unless you need to. Plan your pack-and-unpack timeline before you book. One tight-but-realistic week is almost always cheaper than booking two weeks by default.

Crate Rental vs. Buying Cardboard Boxes: A Quick Reality Check

A lot of DFW movers come to crate rental as a cost question: is it actually cheaper than buying boxes? The honest answer is: for most moves, yes — and the break-even point is lower than people expect.

A 2-bedroom move typically needs 40–60 medium and large cardboard boxes. At retail prices from a moving supply store, that's roughly $120–$200 in boxes alone, plus tape, packing paper, and the gas to drive to three different Home Depots when the first two are picked over. Add the time spent assembling and breaking down boxes, and the real cost is higher still. Cratezy crates for the same move run $115–$145 for a week, delivered and picked up. And the crates are sturdier, stack higher in the truck, and your mover won't accidentally put a foot through the bottom of a damp box.

For a studio or 1-bedroom move, the numbers are closer — cardboard can come out cheaper if you're disciplined about sourcing free boxes from buy-nothing groups or local stores. But the time cost is real, and the convenience gap is significant.

What Cratezy Does Not Cover

A few things to be clear about so there are no surprises on move day:

• We do not provide long-distance moves or interstate transport. Cratezy crate rentals are DFW-only — if you're relocating to Austin or Houston, the crates need to come back to us before you leave.
• We do not provide packing labor. We drop off and pick up the crates; you (or your movers) do the packing and unpacking.
• We do not offer extended storage. The rental window is the rental window — crates are for moving, not for keeping your holiday decorations in the garage for six months.
• We do not underwrite moving insurance. If you need coverage for your belongings in transit, coordinate that with your moving company or renters/homeowners insurance provider.

Getting Your Actual Quote

The ranges in this post will get you close, but your exact quote depends on your specific addresses, crate count, and rental dates. The fastest way to get a real number is to use the Cratezy booking tool at cratezy.ai — enter your home size, your current address, and your new address, and you'll see a line-item quote in under two minutes. No phone call required, no obligation to book.

If you're also moving a single piece of furniture — a sectional from a Plano estate sale, a dresser you found on Facebook Marketplace, or a desk from your Las Colinas office — ask about bundling a single-item pickup with your crate order. It's a separate service, but coordinating both through Cratezy keeps one fewer vendor in the mix on an already busy move day.