How many boxes does one roll of tape seal?

About 14 medium boxes H-taped top and bottom from a 60 yd roll, allowing 10% waste — fewer for big boxes, more for small ones or bottom-only taping.

Should I buy extra tape?

A roll more than the estimate is cheap insurance; unused rolls keep, and running out mid-pack stops everything.

Does box height affect how much tape I need?

Not with standard taping: the strips run across the top and bottom, and only the tabs go down the sides.

Is it worth taping the top as well as the bottom?

Yes for a move. Boxes are stacked, tipped, and carried, and an untaped top lets flaps open and contents slide.

How do I count tape for boxes of different sizes?

Count each size separately and add them up; the Packing Tape Calculator takes a count for each typical size plus your own.

Illustration of 45 moving boxes adding up to 176.9 yards of packing tape, or three 60 yard rolls

Home, moving & space

How Much Packing Tape Do You Need for Moving?

Rules of thumb for packing tape — a roll per so many boxes — hide the two things that actually decide it: how big the boxes are and how you tape them. A box taped with one strip on the bottom uses a sixth of the tape of the same box H-taped top and bottom. This guide works through tape per box for common box sizes and patterns, then shows how a whole move adds up.

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Tape per box, by size

H-taping both faces with 2.5 in tabs down the sides — the usual advice for moving boxes — takes a seam strip and two edge strips on the top and on the bottom.

Tape per box, by size comparison
Box (L × W × H)	Tape per box
Small, 16 × 12 × 12 in	110 in
Medium, 18 × 18 × 16 in	138 in
Large, 18 × 18 × 24 in	138 in
Extra-large, 24 × 18 × 24 in	150 in

Height doesn’t change the tape, so a large box with the same top as a medium takes the same amount. Box sizes vary by seller.

Tape per box, by pattern

Tape per box, by pattern comparison
Pattern on a medium box	Tape per box
Seam strip, bottom only	23 in
H-taping, bottom only	69 in
H-taping, top and bottom	138 in
Double H, top and bottom	184 in

18 × 18 × 16 in box, 2.5 in tabs.

Adding up a move

Fifteen small, twenty medium, and ten large boxes, all H-taped top and bottom, take 160.8 yd of tape. With 10% added for tears, re-taping, and crooked strips, that is 176.9 yd — 2.95 rolls of 60 yd, so three rolls.

The waste allowance is a judgment, not a rule. If you tape fast and re-do strips, raise it; if you are careful and use a dispenser, lower it.

Where estimates go wrong

Counting only the bottoms. Every box closed for the move is taped twice.
Forgetting the edges. The end edges are where loaded boxes split, so H-taping them matters.
Mixing up yards and meters. A 50 m roll is about 54.7 yd; a 110 yd roll is about 100 m.
Leaving out special boxes: wardrobe, dish-pack, and picture boxes are bigger and take more.

How Much Packing Tape FAQ

How many boxes does one roll of tape seal?: About 14 medium boxes H-taped top and bottom from a 60 yd roll, allowing 10% waste — fewer for big boxes, more for small ones or bottom-only taping.
Should I buy extra tape?: A roll more than the estimate is cheap insurance; unused rolls keep, and running out mid-pack stops everything.
Does box height affect how much tape I need?: Not with standard taping: the strips run across the top and bottom, and only the tabs go down the sides.
Is it worth taping the top as well as the bottom?: Yes for a move. Boxes are stacked, tipped, and carried, and an untaped top lets flaps open and contents slide.
How do I count tape for boxes of different sizes?: Count each size separately and add them up; the Packing Tape Calculator takes a count for each typical size plus your own.