Is a shipping container worth it? Usually, if you need 150 to 300 sq ft of dry, lockable space on land you control, for more than about two years, and you can live with how it looks. In that case it tends to cost the least over five years, locks up tighter than the alternatives, and is the only option here you can pick up and sell afterward. It isn't worth it if you need less than 100 sq ft, if you have nowhere the truck can reach, or if the box will sit in full view of a street or an HOA that will fight it.
The rest of this post shows the arithmetic behind that, option by option, so you can check it against your own situation. We sell and rent containers, so read the scorecard with that in mind. We've tried to score the alternatives the way their own buyers would.
The five-year scorecard
Scores run from 0 (none) to 5 (strong), for roughly 150 sq ft of space, the floor of a 20ft container.
| Shipping container (bought) | Wood shed (built) | Self-storage unit | Pole barn | Portable moving container | Container (rented) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost score | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Security | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Weather | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Resale or residual value | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 (adds to property) | 0 | 0 |
| Speed to usable | 5 (days) | 2 (weeks) | 5 (same day) | 1 (months) | 5 (days) | 5 (days) |
| Total out of 25 | 24 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 17 |
Two caveats apply. The pole barn's cost score is low only because it buys far more space than this comparison needs, and per square foot it's competitive. The self-storage score assumes you want your things close to the house. To check the container price for your own ZIP code, see container pricing, where an estimate shows once you enter it.
Container vs shed
This is the comparison most homeowners are actually making. A 20ft container has 160 sq ft of footprint and about 150 sq ft inside, which is a large shed. A built wood shed of the same floor area typically costs more once you add the gravel or slab base and the labor, and it takes weeks to build, while the container arrives ready. A resin or metal kit shed is cheaper in total, but it's usually 120 sq ft or smaller and won't last as long.
The container wins on cost per square foot, security (corrugated steel and lock bars against a hasp and a wooden door), weather (it was built to cross oceans), rodents (steel gives them little to chew), and the fact that it can go on a truck to your next property.
The shed wins on size and shape, since you can build it to any plan and match the house, and under 100 sq ft it's cheaper. HOAs approve sheds far more readily, too.
Go with a container if you need more than 120 sq ft out of sight, and a shed if you need less than 100 sq ft or it will sit in full view in a tidy subdivision. The container vs shed guide has a cost-per-square-foot table, and the storage containers page covers the backyard setup.
Container vs self-storage unit
A 10 by 15 ft storage unit, about the same floor as a 20ft container, is rent you pay every month, with nothing to show for it at the end. A used 20ft container delivered typically pays for itself against that unit in roughly 18 to 30 months, and after five years you still own a box you can resell.
To run it for your own site, add up the monthly unit rent over the years you need the space and set it against one delivered container quote. The container is a single payment, and after five years it is still worth a good share of what you paid.
The unit wins if you have no land, no spot the truck can reach, or a need for climate control for furniture, instruments or photographs, which a container can't provide without insulation and power. It also wins for anything under a year, when delivery cost and the effort of reselling eat the savings.
With land and two years or more, buy the container. With no land, rent the unit, and if you have land but need only a few months, see renting below. The container vs storage unit guide has more detail.
Container vs pole barn
These two aren't really competing for the same job, which is why you often see both on a farm. A pole barn is a building, typically 500 to 2,000 sq ft, open span and tall enough for a tractor with a cab, and it adds to the property's appraised value. It also typically costs several times as much as a container, takes months from permit to roof, and needs a contractor.
A 40ft container gives you about 300 sq ft of steel room, set down in well under an hour once the truck arrives. It locks up tighter than a pole barn, whose doors are its weak point, and it stays dry without any roof work.
On a working property the common answer is both: the barn for machinery that needs height and width, and a container beside it for feed, tools and anything that must stay locked and dry. If the budget covers only one, the container is the one you can have on site within a couple of weeks.
A tractor or combine needs the pole barn's height and open span. Tools, feed and anything worth stealing are better off in the container.
Container vs portable moving containers
The portable units that moving companies drop in a driveway are a different product sold a different way. They're smaller (8 ft by 8 ft by 16 ft is a common size, about 128 sq ft of footprint), lighter-built and priced by the month, plus delivery and pickup fees. They're good at what they're designed for, which is a move, a renovation or a few months of overflow.
Stretch that to years and the arithmetic changes: five years of monthly fees for a unit you'll never own adds up to several times the price of a 20ft container you would own.
The portable unit's big advantage is that the company moves it for you, loaded, between houses or into its warehouse. A shipping container can't do that, so for a move with a gap between homes, rent the portable unit.
For storage at home that runs past a year, though, the container you own comes out well ahead.
Buying vs renting a container
We rent containers as well as sell them: 10ft, 20ft, 40ft and 40ft high cube, by the month, with a one-month minimum and no long-term contract. Your rental quote shows the monthly rate, delivery and pickup as separate lines.
Our rule of thumb is that a year or so of rent plus delivery and pickup adds up to about the price of a used container delivered. And if you rent from us and keep the box, every month of rent counts toward the buyout.
Renting wins for a jobsite that wraps up in a few months, or when you don't yet know whether you'll want the box for long. Buying wins for anything longer, and it gives you the right to cut a door in the box or sell it. The rent vs buy guide has the month-by-month table.
If you do buy, the grade choice is fairly simple. Go new if it will sit in view or you plan to modify it, and used if it sits out of sight and only needs to stay dry. The new vs used guide goes into more detail.
When a container is the wrong answer
Buy a container if:
- You need 150 sq ft or more and you own or control the land.
- You will keep it two years or longer.
- Security and weather matter more than appearance.
- A tilt-bed truck can reach the spot: roughly 60 to 100 ft of straight approach for a 20ft or 100 to 150 ft for a 40ft, 12 ft of width and 14 to 16 ft of clear height.
- You can set it level on blocks or gravel, and the city, county and HOA allow it.
Do not buy a container if:
- You need less than 100 sq ft, where a kit shed is cheaper.
- You have no land, or no spot the truck can reach in a straight line.
- You need it for less than a year, when renting a container or a portable unit costs less.
- It will sit in full view of a street or an HOA that bans them, and you are not prepared to paint and screen it.
- You need climate control for what is inside and will not insulate and power the box.
- You want it to add appraised value to the property. A container rarely does, while a barn or a garage can.
Everything else is a judgment call, and most of those go the container's way once the five-year arithmetic is on paper.
Frequently asked questions
Is buying a shipping container a good investment?
As storage, yes, if you keep it more than two years. It costs less over five years than any rented alternative and holds a good share of its value for resale. As a property improvement it's a weaker bet, because unlike a barn or garage it rarely raises the appraisal, and some buyers will want it gone.
How long does a shipping container last?
Built of weathering steel for ocean service, a container lasts decades on land with basic care: keep it level and off the ground on blocks or gravel, and touch up scratches before rust starts. Used boxes have already spent years at sea and typically still have many left. Our warranty covers the structure for 25 years on a new one-trip container and 10 years on a used one.
Is a shipping container cheaper than building a shed?
Per square foot, usually yes, once the shed's base and labor are counted. A 20ft container gives you about 150 sq ft of floor, and it's ready to use the day it lands. Small kit sheds cost less in total but hold a fraction as much.
What are the disadvantages of a shipping container?
It looks like a shipping container, it's 8 ft wide and no wider, it needs a straight run for the truck, it sweats inside without vents, and some neighborhoods and HOAs restrict them. None of those is a deal-breaker on acreage, but any of them can be on a small suburban lot.
Should I buy a shipping container or rent a storage unit?
Buy the container if you have land and will need the space for two years or more, since a used 20ft box typically pays for itself against a storage unit in about two years. Rent the unit if you have no land, need climate control, or need it only briefly.
If the scorecard points to a container, start your quote with your ZIP code and we'll send one delivered price, usually within 1 to 2 business hours.
