Who Has the Best Storage Rates?
I checked the current 2026 pricing information across the major portable-storage/moving-container companies. There isn’t one company that’s cheapest on every move because mileage, container size, storage time, and local delivery charges change the quote dramatically. But there are clear patterns.
Portable storage price comparison
Company
U-Haul U-Box
SMART BOX
Zippy Shell
MI-BOX
PODS
1-800-PACK-RAT
U-Pack Relo Cube
UNITS
General price position
$ Cheapest for storage/small moves
$–$$ Very inexpensive
$–$$ Often cheapest moving price
$–$$ Competitive locally
$$–$$$
$$–$$$
$$–$$$
$$–$$$
Container sizes
~8 ft
~8 ft
~15 ft
8, 16, 20 ft in some markets
8, 12, 16 ft
8, 12, 16 ft
~7 ft
12, 16 ft
Where they tend to win
Small loads, storage, budget customers
Local storage and smaller moves
2–4 BR moves where available
Local storage/moving
Strong all-around national option
Larger moves; often negotiable
Long-distance transportation
Premium local storage/moving
Who actually has the lowest rates?
For basic monthly storage, U-Haul U-Box is extremely hard to beat. U-Haul currently advertises U-Box storage starting around $74.95/month per container. Customers can also avoid a delivery fee by bringing their belongings directly to a U-Haul location and loading the U-Box there.
SMARTBOX is another low-pricecompetitor. Current published estimates put storage around $89/month on-site and approximately $69/month for warehouse storage after the included first month, although delivery and transportation charges have to be considered.
Zippy Shell appears to be one of the strongest price competitors for actual moves. A large comparison of nearly 140 quotes found Zippy Shell averaging about $390 less than competitors, although it wasn’t cheapest for small one-bedroom moves.
PODS isn’t usually the absolute cheapest, but it’s probably the benchmark of the industry. PODS currently says storage starts around $149/month, with delivery/pickup averaging about $74.99.
PODS’ own 2026 example puts a local two-bedroom move at roughly $451–$656 including a month of storage.
1-800-PACK-RAT competes very closely with PODS. Interestingly, comparison shopping shows PODS can be cheaper on smaller homes, while PACK-RAT can beat PODS on larger moves. One comparison found five-room averages of roughly $5,879 PACK-RAT vs. $6,145 PODS.
MI-BOX is harder to compare nationally because pricing is local. They explicitly state that rates depend on container size and delivery area rather than publishing one nationwide price.
U-Pack is really more of a long-distance competitor than a cheap local-storage competitor. Their ReloCube holds about 308 cubic feet, roughly one room of furniture, and their pricing includes the driver and fuel. A single ReloCube long-distance move was averaging from about $2,100 as of January 2026.
UNITS tends to compete more on container quality, service and local operators than rock-bottom pricing. One national comparison puts the average move around $4,227, although actual quotes vary enormously by distance and home size.
The important part for your business
If you’re trying to figure out how to price your own portable-storage operation, I wouldn’t simply copy PODS.
The low end of this industry is roughly $75–$100/month, but that’s generally a small container. A full-size 16–20 ft container delivered to someone’s house is a completely different product.
For a local independent operator with a large container, I would be looking much more closely at something like:
$199–$249/month storage + $99–$149 initial delivery + $99–$149 final pickup, with additional relocation charges based on mileage.
NORTH EAST MOVING VIP STORAGE PLAN
A Huge Storage Option — Without Paying PODS Prices
North East Moving Company offers our VIP Storage Plan for customers who need affordable storage before, during, or after a move.
ONLY $250 PER MONTH
We load your belongings into our moving truck, transport them to our secure storage location, and load them into a huge 42-foot storage container.
Your $250 monthly storage rate includes space for up to TWO 24-foot moving-truck loads!
That is an enormous amount of storage space and can represent a huge savings compared with renting multiple smaller portable storage containers.
HOW IT WORKS
- We Load— Our professional moving crew loads your belongings into our truck.
- We Transport— We bring everything to our storage facility.
- We Store — Your belongings are transferred into your dedicated 42-foot storage container.
We Deliver When You’re Ready — When it’s time to move into your new home, we load our truck and deliver your belongings.
VIP STORAGE: $250/MONTH
Hourly moving labor, truck, fuel/gas, transportation, and applicable delivery charges are additional.
North East Moving Company
More space. Lower monthly storage costs. One company handles the entire move.