Self Storage Cost Calculator (2026)

Type in the figures from a real quote: the monthly rent, any move-in offer, the monthly protection plan or insurance, and the one-off admin fee and lock. The calculator adds them up month by month, applies the rent reviews you expect, and shows the true cost of your stay against the advertised rate. It holds no prices of its own, so the answer is only as good as the quote you enter.

Your quote

Monthly rent after any offer ends

The standard monthly rate for the unit you were quoted, not the move-in price.

Months at the offer price

months

Leave at 0 if there is no move-in offer.

Rent in those months

Public Storage's 10-K describes offers such as "$1.00 rent for the first month".

Protection plan or insurance, per month

Many facilities require cover unless your own policy reaches off-premises storage.

Admin or set-up fee (one-off)

Lock (one-off)

First rent review in month

Then every

months

Each review adds

The review timing starts from Public Storage's own filing: “We typically increase rental rates to our long-term tenants (generally, those who have been with us for at least five months) every six to twelve months.” (Public Storage, Form 10-K, FY2025). No operator publishes the typical size of a review, so the percentage starts at 0. Ask the facility, or try a few values to see what a rise would do.

How long you will store: 12 months

1 month36 months

True cost of your stay

Enter the monthly rent from your quote to see the total. Add the other charges as the facility gives them to you; anything left blank counts as nothing.

How the calculator works

Rent

Your standard monthly rate each month, except the offer months, which use the offer rent you enter.

Rent reviews

From the month you set, the standard rate rises by your percentage, and again at each interval after that. Reviews compound. An offer month is never raised.

Cover

The protection plan or insurance you enter is added every month at a flat amount.

One-off charges

The admin fee and lock are added once, in month one.

Why it asks for your figures

No free primary source publishes US self-storage rents by state and unit size, and two facilities in one town can quote very different rates. A calculator that guessed would print a number nobody could check. This one prints arithmetic on the quote in front of you. The price figures on this site that can be checked at source, the BLS producer price index and the operators' 10-K filings, are on the home page and the cost by state page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I ask a facility for before using this?+

Five things: the standard monthly rate once any offer ends, the offer price and how many months it lasts, the monthly cost of the protection plan or insurance and whether it is compulsory, any admin or set-up fee, and whether you must buy their lock. Then ask when the first rent review usually comes and how much notice you get.

Why does the calculator start rent reviews in month 6?+

Because that is what the largest operator files. Public Storage's Form 10-K, FY2025 says: "We typically increase rental rates to our long-term tenants (generally, those who have been with us for at least five months) every six to twelve months." Change the month and interval if your facility tells you something different.

Why is the review percentage zero?+

Operators do not publish a typical review size, and we will not put a guess in front of you as if it were data. Ask the facility what its last review on existing tenants was, or enter a few values to see how much a rise would add over your stay.

Why does the full cost differ from the advertised rate?+

The advertised rate covers rent only, and often only the offer rent. Monthly cover, one-off fees and later rent reviews all sit on top. Enter each from your quote and the calculator shows how far apart the advertised figure and the real bill end up.