The short answer
Junk removal in San Antonio is priced one of two ways, and you take whichever comes out lower.
- By item, if you can list what is going. A couch is $126, a queen mattress is $103, a refrigerator is $164.
- By volume, if it is a room or a garage rather than a list. A quarter truck is $241 and a full truck is $732.
Every visit has a $75 minimum. Labor, the truck, and the disposal are inside whichever price applies. There is no stair charge, no walk-up fee, and no same-day surcharge.
The minimum, and why it exists
$75 is the floor for a visit. A countertop microwave is listed at $30 and a dining chair at $45, but neither of them on their own gets a truck to your house for less than the minimum.
This matters more in San Antonio than in a dense city. A crew running from inside Loop 410 out to Alamo Ranch, or up past 1604 to Timberwood Park, is spending real time on the road. The practical response is to batch. If the microwave is going, walk the garage first and find the other four things you have been meaning to deal with. One visit, one minimum.
Per-item flat prices
The most-asked lines, all published:
| Item | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Microwave (Countertop) | $30 |
| Dining Chair | $45 |
| End Table / Side Table | $52 |
| Coffee Table | $67 |
| Bookshelf | $72 |
| Armchair / Accent Chair | $77 |
| Recliner | $98 |
| Mattress — Queen | $103 |
| Sofa / Couch | $126 |
| Dresser (Standard) | $126 |
| Washer | $133 |
| Refrigerator (Standard) | $164 |
| Sectional Sofa (3-Piece) | $185 |
| Hot Tub / Spa | $322 |
The truck-fill ladder
When it is a pile rather than a list, it prices by how much of the truck it fills.
| Load | Flat price |
|---|---|
| 1/4 truck | $241 |
| 3/8 truck | $338 |
| 1/2 truck | $431 |
| 5/8 truck | $513 |
| 3/4 truck | $587 |
| 7/8 truck | $661 |
| Full truck | $732 |
A rough translation into San Antonio terms: a quarter truck is one corner of a two-car garage. A half truck is a furnished one-bedroom. A full truck is a small ranch house cleared to the slab.
The crossover, worked properly
This is the part worth understanding, because it is where people overpay.
Item pricing wins until your item total passes the volume tier that would hold the same stuff. Three mid-size pieces out of a den: recliner $98 + coffee table $67 + bookshelf $72 = $237. A quarter truck is $241, so itemizing wins by $4.
Add one more piece and it flips. $237 + $52 for an end table = $289, which is well past the same $241 quarter truck. Now volume wins.
It works at the top of the ladder too. A kitchen and laundry stripped out of a 1960s ranch house: refrigerator $164 + washer $133 + dryer $128 = $425, against a half truck at $431. Items win by $6.
You do not have to run this yourself. The quote prices it both ways and shows you the lower one.
What is included
The flat price covers all of it.
- Carry-out. From the bedroom, the attic hatch over the garage, the backyard shed, or the far end of a deep South Side lot. There is no long-carry charge.
- Stairs. No surcharge, including the exterior stair runs on the garden-style complexes off De Zavala and Babcock.
- Disposal. No gate fee handed to you afterwards.
- Sorting. Donatable and recyclable material is separated where it can be.
The number you agree to before dispatch is the number you pay.
What moves the price in San Antonio
Not surcharges. Volume and item count, which you control.
The local pattern is the two-car garage. Almost every mid-century ranch house on the Northeast, North Central and South sides has one, and in a climate where the garage runs well past 100 degrees for months, nobody parks in it. It becomes storage. By the time somebody sells the house or downsizes, that garage holds ten years of furniture that got rotated out of the living room, a treadmill, and the patio set that the sun destroyed two summers ago.
That is why San Antonio jobs skew toward the volume ladder rather than the item list. If you are clearing a garage, start by pricing 3/8 at $338 or 1/2 at $431 and work from there.
Common San Antonio jobs and their numbers
Straight off the list, with the addition shown.
One couch: $126.
A queen bed, complete: mattress and box spring set $143 + standard frame $68 = $211.
Laundry pair: washer $133 + dryer $128 = $261 by item, against a quarter truck at $241, so the load price wins.
Patio set after a bad summer: patio table $89 + four patio chairs at $30 each ($120) = $209.
Half a garage: $431.
Whole house before listing: $732 a load.
Frequently asked questions
How much does junk removal cost in San Antonio?
The minimum per visit is $75. Single items are flat: $126 for a couch, $103 for a queen mattress, $164 for a refrigerator. Whole loads price by volume from $241 for a quarter truck up to $732 for a full truck, with labor and disposal included.
Is it cheaper to price by item or by the truck?
Whichever is lower for your load. A recliner, coffee table and bookshelf is $98 + $67 + $72 = $237, which beats a $241 quarter truck. Add an end table at $52 and it becomes $289, so the quarter truck wins instead. The quote calculates both.
Are there extra fees for stairs, long carries or disposal?
No. There is no stair charge, no walk-up fee and no same-day surcharge, and the disposal is inside the flat price. Carry-out from an upstairs room, a shed or the back of a deep lot is part of the job.
What does a quarter truck actually hold?
Roughly one corner of a two-car garage, or a small room's worth. It is $241. Half a truck at $431 is closer to a furnished one-bedroom, and a full truck at $732 is a small house emptied out.
Can I get a price before anyone comes to my house?
Yes, that is the whole model. You describe the items or the volume, you see the published price, and you agree to it before a truck is dispatched. There is no on-site estimate in your driveway.