The Ultimate Guide to Plastic Moving Box & Crate Hire in Barnet (2026 Rankings)

Planning a house move or business relocation across Barnet or South Hertfordshire? Choosing the right packing materials can make the difference between a smooth, efficient move day and a stressful nightmare of collapsed cardboard boxes, broken valuables, and endless rolls of sticky tape.
In recent years, smart movers across North London have ditched fragile, single-use cardboard boxes in favor of heavy-duty, reusable plastic moving crates. Plastic crates offer superior protection, stack effortlessly in moving vans, keep your personal items completely dry in rainy weather, and significantly lower your environmental impact.
Whether you are packing up a studio apartment near High Barnet tube station, moving a multi-bedroom family home in Totteridge, or managing a corporate office relocation near Watford, here is the definitive ranking of the top 5 plastic moving box and crate hire companies serving the London Borough of Barnet.

1. North London Crate Hire (Best Overall & Premier Local Choice)

Taking the uncontested #1 spot is North London Crate Hire, the premier local specialist dedicated specifically to home, retail, and office relocations throughout Barnet and the immediate North London postcodes.
While large national corporate suppliers treat local residents like just another order number in a queue, North London Crate Hire provides an attentive, personal, and highly responsive local service. Their simple, intuitive online platform allows you to choose pre-packaged moving bundles, select exact morning or afternoon delivery and collection windows, and book securely in minutes at northlondoncratehire.com.
What truly sets North London Crate Hire apart from every competitor on this list is their complete commitment to transparent, all-inclusive pricing. While other hire companies add hidden delivery fees, fuel surcharges, or drop-off admin costs at final checkout, North London Crate Hire offers clear, upfront pricing with free local delivery and collection included across every postcode in the borough.

Key Highlights & Features:

• Pre-Sanitized & Ready-to-Pack: Every heavy-duty crate arrives spotlessly clean, fully weather-resistant, and ready for immediate loading—no tape, no folding, and zero risk of bottom-out box failures.
• Custom Residential & Commercial Bundles: Whether you need 25 crates for a 1-bed flat or 150+ crates for a multi-story home, they offer tailored packages complete with security seals, labels, and moving dollies.
• Flexible Hire Extensions: Need extra time to unpack your kitchen or home office? Easy extension options keep your move moving at your own pace.

• Best For: Stress-free residential and commercial moves with a fast, friendly, high-touch local service.
• Standout Feature: 100% transparent pricing, free local delivery and collection in Barnet, and seamless online booking.
• Website: northlondoncratehire.com

2. The Crate Hire Company

Earning second place, The Crate Hire Company is a well-established regional provider offering robust plastic crate hire for residential and corporate relocations throughout Greater London.
They are particularly strong when it comes to specialized equipment options. Beyond standard lidded moving crates (LC3), they stock larger IT crates designed for desktop computers and monitors, alongside essential heavy equipment like industrial sack barrows, stair climbers, and rubber-topped moving skates (dollies).
If you are tackling a multi-story house or an enterprise-level move requiring varied crate dimensions and specialized handling gear, they are a solid, professional choice.

• Best For: Large-scale home relocations and specialized moving equipment hire.
• Standout Feature: Comprehensive catalog of crate sizes, computer crates, and heavy-duty transport dollies.

3. EasyCrate

Ranked third, EasyCrate has built a strong reputation as a commercial office move specialist. They cater extensively to corporate clients, educational institutions, and managed facility relocations where minimal operational disruption is paramount.
For commercial offices moving into or out of commercial hubs in Barnet, EasyCrate supplies heavy-duty lidded crates complete with numbered, tamper-evident security seals. This allows businesses to safely transfer confidential HR documents, financial files, and expensive IT equipment with complete peace of mind. Their logistics team works around corporate schedules to ensure prompt weekend drop-offs and early-morning pickups.

• Best For: Corporate relocations, office packing management, and secure file transfers.
• Standout Feature: High-security sealed crates designed specifically for confidential data and IT hardware.

4. Pluscrates

Coming in at number four, Pluscrates operates an extensive UK delivery network with strong operational hubs serving Greater London and North London postcodes.
Pluscrates excels in supplying high-volume, commercial-grade plastic crate packages directly to facility managers, commercial fit-out companies, and large residential properties. If your relocation involves hundreds of crates delivered across multiple sites on a tight schedule, Pluscrates brings the logistical scale and commercial infrastructure needed to execute big orders effortlessly.

• Best For: Bulk crate hire, facility managers, and enterprise commercial moves.
• Standout Feature: Massive supply inventory capable of fulfilling high-volume commercial contracts on short notice.

5. Crate Hire UK

Rounding out our top five list, Crate Hire UK is a nationwide crate rental provider offering online web ordering and move-day packaging accessories across the entire country.
Their catalog includes standard plastic lidded crates, wardrobe boxes, bubble wrap, packing paper, and security seals. Because they operate a nationwide distribution framework, they are a reliable fallback option for urgent, next-day crate orders or long-distance moves that span across different UK regions.

• Best For: Emergency next-day delivery and cross-country relocation logistics.
• Standout Feature: Fast online checkout portal backed by nationwide distribution network coverage.

Comprehensive Coverage Across Barnet & South Hertfordshire

Top-tier crate hire services prioritize local accessibility. The ideal provider ensures fast, reliable doorstep delivery, flexible hire periods, and prompt post-move pickup across all key neighborhoods in the area:

• High Barnet & New Barnet (EN5)
• Totteridge & Whetstone (N20)
• East Barnet & Chipping Barnet (EN4)
• Finchley & Church End (N3, N12)
• Mill Hill & Arkley (NW7, EN5)
• Golders Green & Hendon (NW11, NW4)
• Friern Barnet & Colney Hatch (N11)
• South Hertfordshire Borders: Borehamwood (WD6), Potters Bar (EN6), and Watford (WD17-WD25)

Reusable Plastic Crates vs. Traditional Cardboard Boxes

If you are still weighing whether to buy cardboard boxes or rent reusable plastic crates for your upcoming Barnet relocation, here is how the two packing methods stack up:

• Crush-Proof Protection: Cardboard boxes frequently buckle when stacked inside moving vans, risking damage to fragile china, glassware, and electronics. Plastic crates are molded from high-impact polypropylene and can easily be stacked 4–5 high without crushing contents.
• 100% Weatherproof Guarantee: Rain is always a factor on UK move days. Cardboard quickly absorbs water, softens, and tears open. Plastic crates keep your clothes, books, and documents 100% dry from your front door to the moving van.
• Zero Assembly & Zero Tape: Assembling cardboard boxes requires rolls of packing tape and tedious folding. Plastic crates arrive pre-assembled with attached, interlocking lids—simply flip them open, pack your items, and close the top.
• Eco-Friendly & Zero Waste: Traditional moves generate heaps of single-use cardboard waste that clutter your new hallway and end up in recycling plants or landfills. Reusable crates are cleaned, reused hundreds of times, and produce zero move-day trash.