2026 Comparison Hub

Compare your storage options

For boxes, by-the-box storage is usually cheapest — $9.99 per box per month with free pickup and return. For a whole home's worth of furniture, a traditional unit (~$80–$120/mo for a 10×10, est.) or a PODS container is the right tool. And if you're moving long-distance, a container like U-Haul U-Box doubles as the truck. Here's the whole landscape in one table.

The master table: all four options, side by side

Four different products for four different jobs. Endless figures are our live rate card; competitor figures are sourced estimates (citations below).

Endless StoragePODSU-Haul U-BoxExtra Space (traditional unit)
What you pay for Each box you actually store A whole container (8, 12, or 16 ft) — full or not An 8×5×7.5 ft container — full or not A whole unit (5×5 and up) — full or not
Typical monthly cost $9.99/box — $5.99/box prepaid 12 mo ~$150–$359/mo per container (est.) ~$100/mo per container (est.) ~$80–$120/mo for a 10×10 (est.)
Delivery / transport fees Free door-to-door pickup and return ~$75–$150 per trip, each way (est.) From ~$79 per delivery leg (est.) None — you rent a truck and haul both ways
Loading (who does it) You pack free 16×16×16″ boxes; we haul them You load it (labor extra) You load it (hired help ~$45/hr, est.) You haul and load everything yourself
Getting items back Any box back at your door within 48 hours Redelivery trip fee, or visit the facility Redelivery fee, or visit the U-Haul warehouse Drive up whenever — best access of the four
Insurance $100/box coverage included Container ~$10/mo; contents from ~$35/mo (est.) SafeStor® $7.95–$35.95/mo (est.) Required — ~$11–$47/mo if bought there (est.)
Rate changes Rate locked at signup Month-to-month, market-priced Varies by market Intro rates — increases after ~1 yr, sometimes up to 50%
Contracts No contracts — cancel anytime Month-to-month Month-to-month Month-to-month
Best for Boxes: documents, seasonal stuff, overflow Whole-home storage; local moves with staging time Budget long-distance moves; small loads Big or bulky loads near home; frequent drive-up access

Competitor figures are estimates — all three price by market, season, and size. Sources: PODS — moveBuddha (2026, storage rental $150–$359/container, trips $75–$150) and Move.org (container insurance $10/mo, contents from $34.95/mo). U-Haul U-Box — Move.org (2026, ~$100/mo per container, SafeStor® $7.95–$35.95/mo, labor ~$45/hr), moveBuddha (2026, delivery from $79), and UHaul.com (container specs; rates vary by market). Traditional units — SpareFoot and StorageCafe (2026, 10×10 averages), moveBuddha (2026, intro rates can rise up to 50% after year one), and ExtraSpace.com (one-time admin fee; insurance required). Endless pricing is our live rate card.

The head-to-head breakdowns

The table above is the summary. Each matchup gets the full treatment — fees, fine print, and when the other guy genuinely wins:

Which one should you actually pick?

We sell one of these four, so take the shortcut with a grain of salt — but here's the honest version, including the jobs we'd lose:

Storing boxes — documents, seasonal stuff, apartment overflow? By-the-box storage. You skip the truck, the trips, and the mostly-empty unit. Ten boxes with Endless is $99.90/month ($59.90 prepaid), boxes and both delivery legs free.
Storing a whole house of furniture? Not us — sofas don't fit in 16-inch boxes. A PODS container loaded in your driveway, or a 10×10+ unit if you don't mind renting a truck, is the right call.
Moving long-distance? Also not us. A container travels with you — U-Box is usually the budget option, PODS the more service-heavy one. Compare them head-to-head: PODS vs. U-Haul U-Box.
Need to dig through your stuff every weekend? A traditional drive-up unit wins on raw access — nobody beats walking in whenever you want. We return any box within 48 hours, which is great for "occasionally," not "constantly."
Big load in a low-cost area? Past a certain box count, per-box pricing loses to a cheap local unit. Our own calculator will tell you when — run the numbers below.

Run the math on your numbers

Averages are averages. Punch in your ZIP, box count, and term, and we'll show the true first-year cost of a unit in your area next to paying by the box — including the truck, materials, and insurance a unit quietly adds.

How many boxes are you storing?10 boxes
1Each box is 16×16×16″ — a standard large moving box40
How long will you store? Prepay to lock a lower rate.
A comparable 5×5 unit
$35/mo
national average — you pay for the whole unit.
Endless — by the box
$59.90/mo
10 boxes · rate locked at signup.
The real first-year cost — rent is only part of it
Self-storageEndless
Rent / boxes (12 mo)$437$719
Moving truck (in + out)~$90Free
Boxes & materials~$60Free
Storage insurance~$180Included
Rate increases5–10%/yrLocked
First-year total$767$719
Real first-year savings
$48
vs. the all-in cost of a self-storage unit.

Estimates: moving truck ~$90, materials ~$60, storage insurance ~$15/mo (usually required), and typical rent increases of 5–10% every 6–18 months (SpareFoot, 2026). Endless includes free boxes, free pickup, $100/box coverage, and a locked rate.

Get started →

Rate locked at signup · free door-to-door pickup · cancel anytime.

Storage comparison FAQ

What's the cheapest storage option? +

It depends on volume. For a few to a few dozen boxes, by-the-box storage is usually cheapest: Endless is $9.99 per box per month ($5.99 prepaid for 12 months) with free pickup and return, so 10 boxes is $99.90/month all-in. For a large load, a traditional storage unit wins — a 10×10 averages roughly $80–$120/month (SpareFoot/StorageCafe, 2026 est.) but you haul everything yourself. Containers like PODS (~$150–$359/mo est.) and U-Haul U-Box (~$100/mo est.) cost more for pure storage but bring the space to your driveway.

Is PODS cheaper than a storage unit? +

Usually not for pure storage. A 10×10 self-storage unit averages roughly $80–$120/month (SpareFoot/StorageCafe, 2026 est.), while a PODS container runs ~$150–$359/month plus ~$75–$150 per delivery trip (moveBuddha, 2026 est.). What PODS buys you is loading at your own door instead of hauling to a facility — worth it for furniture, not for boxes.

Should I get a storage unit or a moving container? +

If the stuff is staying put, a unit is usually cheaper per cubic foot — you just do the hauling. If the stuff is moving with you, a container (PODS or U-Haul U-Box) doubles as the truck, and U-Box is typically the budget pick for long distance (~$100/mo per container, average transport ~$3,200 — Move.org, 2026 est.). If it all fits in boxes, by-the-box storage skips the hauling entirely.

What's the cheapest way to store just boxes? +

By-the-box valet storage. With Endless you pay $9.99 per box per month ($5.99/box prepaid 12 months) and the boxes, door-to-door pickup, return delivery, and $100/box coverage are all free — no truck rental, no admin fee, and the rate is locked at signup. Renting even the smallest unit or container means paying for empty space and doing your own hauling.

Storing boxes, not a house?

Free boxes to your door, free pickup, $100/box coverage, climate-controlled, rate locked at signup. Any box back within 48 hours.

Start storing — $9.99/box/month →

No contracts · cancel anytime.