Comparing storage is harder than comparing almost anything else you rent, and the reason is simple. Of the 11,482 facilities we list, 5,980 publish a rate somewhere on their own website. The other 5,502, which is 48% of the directory, publish nothing at all.
Why so many keep the number off the website
Storage rates move with occupancy. A facility at ninety percent full prices differently from the same building at sixty, and a published rate is a promise the operator then has to honour or explain. Many smaller operators would rather quote on the phone, where they can ask what you need and what you are comparing against.
Some of it is simply that a lot of these are small businesses with old websites. A single site operator with a page built years ago has no easy way to keep a price table current, so it never went up.
What it means for you
The facilities you can compare on price are a self selecting group, and they skew towards the larger operators with modern booking systems. If you compare only the ones showing numbers, you are comparing a slice of your local market rather than the whole of it.
The practical approach is to shortlist on location, access and whether they take what you are storing, then get quotes for the shortlist. Two phone calls usually cover a town.
What to ask when you call
Ask for the rate on the size you need rather than the cheapest unit, since those are rarely the same. Ask what the administration fee is and whether insurance is required, because both are common and neither is usually mentioned first. Ask how long the rate holds, since introductory pricing that rises after a few months is normal and worth knowing in advance.
How we got these numbers
Every figure here is counted from the 11,482 facilities listed on StorageAtlas across 46 states and provinces and 1,685 towns and cities. Prices are what each facility published on its own website on the day we last read it, so they are a dated reading rather than a quote, and a facility can change its rates without us seeing it. Where a figure rests on a smaller sample we say how small. We hold no vacancy data at all, so nothing here tells you whether a unit is free today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do storage facilities not list prices online?
Rates move with how full the building is, and a published price is a commitment. Smaller operators also often have older websites with no way to keep a price table current.
How many storage facilities publish their prices?
In our directory, 5,980 of 11,482, which is 52%. The rest publish nothing, so the only way to get a number from them is to ask.
Does no listed price mean the facility is expensive?
No. There is no relationship either way. It usually means the operator prefers to quote directly, and plenty of the cheapest facilities in a town are in this group.
Can StorageAtlas get a price for me?
Yes. Tell us the facility and what you need and a person will call them and ask. We are not the facility, so we cannot promise they will quote, but we will tell you either way.
