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Two numbers describe what self storage costs in Britain in 2026. Across the UK, operators took an average of £27.40 per square foot over the 2025 operating year, before VAT. In the North it was £21.65.
That makes the North about a fifth cheaper than the country as a whole, and roughly half the price of London. But neither figure is what you’ll pay each month, and the reason why is the part most price comparisons skip.
What does self storage cost per square foot across the UK?
Between about £21 and £42 a year, depending on the region. London is out on its own. Every other region sits within eight pounds of the rest.
| Region (as the industry report defines it) | Revenue per sq ft per year, before VAT |
|---|---|
| London | £42.39 |
| South East | £28.24 |
| UK average | £27.40 |
| East of England | £25.96 |
| South West | £23.30 |
| Scotland | £22.74 |
| Yorkshire | £22.43 |
| North | £21.65 |
| East Midlands | £21.35 |
| West Midlands and Wales | £20.57 |
Source: SSA UK / Cushman & Wakefield UK Self Storage Annual Report 2026 (19th edition, 2025 operating year). Regions are the report's own groupings, not the official statistical regions.
The North is third from the bottom. Only the two Midlands groupings come in lower, and not by much.
What does “revenue per square foot” mean, and why is my bill different?
It’s the money operators took in a year, divided by all the space they have to let. It is not a price list.
The figures come from the annual industry report published by the Self Storage Association UK with Cushman & Wakefield. Three things separate that headline from the number on your invoice.
It’s annual. Divide £27.40 by twelve and you get about £2.28 per square foot per month. For the North, about £1.80.
It’s before VAT. Households pay VAT on storage. Add it and those monthly figures become roughly £2.74 and £2.17.
It counts empty space. This is the big one. The revenue is spread across every square foot a store could let, and only 74.5% of that space was occupied. Adjust for the empty units and the national figure rises to £395.90 per square metre, which is about £36.80 per square foot. That is closer to what customers who were renting paid for the space they had.
So the headline understates what an average customer pays per square foot. It’s still the best like-for-like way to compare one region with another, because every region is measured the same way.
Why is the North cheaper?
The report gives the numbers, not the cause, so we’ll be careful here.
Storage is a property business. An operator’s biggest costs are land and buildings, and both cost less here than in London or the South East. It would be odd if the space inside them didn’t cost less too.
Supply and occupancy matter as well. Nationally, stores that have been open long enough to fill up were 79.6% occupied, against 74.5% for all stores. Newer sites are still filling, and an operator with empty units has every reason to price keenly. The report doesn’t publish that split for the North alone, so we can’t say how much of the regional gap it explains.
How does a real Teesside price list compare with the index?
Below it. On the Redcar price list, the indoor units work out between about £12 and £16 per square foot per year before VAT, against the North’s £21.65.
We’ve done the sum the same way as the index: monthly price before VAT, times twelve, divided by floor area.
| Indoor unit (Redcar price list) | Per month, inc VAT | Per month, before VAT | Per sq ft per year, before VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 sq ft, first floor | £130 | £108.33 | £14.44 |
| 90 sq ft | £140 | £116.67 | £15.56 |
| 96 sq ft | £150 | £125.00 | £15.63 |
| 108 sq ft | £160 | £133.33 | £14.81 |
| 135 sq ft | £160 | £133.33 | £11.85 |
| North, industry average | £21.65 | ||
| UK, industry average | £27.40 |
Guide prices, checked 2 October 2026. Sizes and availability change from week to week, and not every size is offered at every site. For what's available today, with live prices, see the Redcar, Ingleby Barwick and Stockton (Preston Farm) pages.
Read that fairly, though. It isn’t quite like for like. The industry average blends every size of unit, and small units cost more per square foot than big ones. You can see the effect inside our own list: the 135 sq ft unit costs the same per month as the 108, so its rate per square foot is the lowest in the table. A list made up of mid-sized and larger units will always look good against an average that includes lockers.
Containers aren’t in the table because they’re sold by length, not floor area. For the record, the 20ft container is £118.80 a month with VAT, or £99 before it, and it’s the one size offered at all three iBOXED sites.
If it’s the monthly bill you’re after and not the index, our Teesside storage price guide is the page for that. And because size drives the bill more than anything else, the unit size guide is worth five minutes before you compare quotes.
Are storage prices falling in 2026?
Nationally, yes. In the North, no.
The UK figure fell 5.1%, from £28.87 to £27.40. Over the same year the North went the other way, up 2.9% from £21.04. The gap between the North and the rest of the country narrowed, but it’s still nearly six pounds a square foot.
Should you wait for prices to drop before booking? Probably not. A 5% move on a £118.80 container is about £6 a month. If you need the space, a month of waiting costs you more in hassle than it could save. Locally, the Redcar price list didn’t change at all between our checks in July and October 2026.
One more thing from the same reports. People are driving further for storage than they used to. In the 2025 customer survey, 60% of customers lived within 20 minutes of their store, down from 77% the year before. Storage is something most people visit rarely, so a slightly longer drive to a better price can be a sensible trade.
Where this leaves a Teesside customer
In a cheap region for storage, with a price list you can check before you ring anyone. Our Redcar site lists every unit price online, and all three iBOXED sites are pinned on the map below.
