Self Storage Cost Calculator (2026)

Calculate the true cost of self storage including rent, insurance, admin fees, and projected rate increases. Most calculators only show the advertised rate. This one shows what you will actually pay.

Your Storage Details

State

Unit Size

Storage Duration: 6 months

1 month24 months

Climate Control (+30%)

Your True Cost Estimate

Advertised monthly rate

$95/mo

True average monthly cost

$123/mo

Total cost for 6 months

$739

Cost Breakdown

Monthly rent (before increase)$95

Monthly insurance$15

Admin fee (one-time)$25

Lock (one-time)$12

Rate increase (month 4+)+15%

Rate increase notice: Most facilities increase rates 15% after month 3. Your estimated rent goes from $95/mo to $109/mo starting month 4. This is factored into your total cost above.

How We Calculate

Base pricing

A per-state 10x10 figure held in this page's own code. It is an editorial estimate. It is not a survey result and it is not drawn from any published dataset.

Size adjustment

The state figure is scaled by a fixed multiplier per unit size. The multipliers are our own, chosen to reflect the fact that larger units cost less per square foot.

Climate premium

A flat 30% is added when climate control is selected. That percentage is an assumption of ours, not a measured national markup.

Rate increases

A 15% rise is modelled at month 4. That is a modelling assumption too, not an observed average across operators.

Read this before you use the output

This page used to say its figures came from facility surveys, publicly listed rates at the major chains and aggregator platforms, refreshed quarterly. That description was withdrawn on 7 September 2026, because it was not true: the state table and the multipliers are hand-set values in this page's code, not a dataset, and the operator listing pages it implied are not ours to collect or republish in any case. Everything this calculator prints is arithmetic on those hand-set values. Treat the output as a worked illustration of how the charges stack up, not as a price, and get real quotes before you commit to anything. The whole pricing layer of this page is under review and the numbers themselves have not yet been corrected.

The two price sources on this site that are checkable at a free primary source are the BLS producer price index and the Public Storage 10-K figures, both set out on the home page with their limits.

Frequently Asked Questions

How accurate is this calculator?+

We cannot tell you, and that is the honest answer. The per-state figures it starts from are an editorial estimate held in this page's own code rather than a measurement, so there is nothing to compare the output against. Prices between two facilities in the same city differ by more than most people expect, which is the reason no national figure can be accurate for you. Use this to understand which charges stack on top of rent, then get actual quotes.

Where does the data come from?+

From this page's own code. It used to say the figures were compiled from publicly listed rates at the major chains, aggregator platforms and independent facility surveys, refreshed quarterly. That was withdrawn on 7 September 2026 because it was not true, and because operator listing pages are not ours to collect or republish in any case. No free primary source publishes US self-storage rates by state and unit size. The pricing layer of this page is under review; the two sources on this site that are checkable at a free primary source are the BLS producer price index and Public Storage's FY2025 Form 10-K, both set out on the home page.

Should I still get quotes from facilities?+

Yes, and treat the quotes as the answer rather than as a check on this page. This calculator cannot tell you whether a facility is overcharging, because the figures it starts from are our own estimate rather than a measurement of the market. What it is genuinely useful for is the shape of the bill: seeing which charges land on top of rent and when, so you know what to ask each facility about. Ring three sites in the same week and compare them on the month-two rate.

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

The advertised rate only includes base rent. Facilities add mandatory insurance ($10-$20/month), admin fees ($15-$30 one-time), lock purchases ($10-$15), and rate increases after the promotional period (typically 15% after 3-6 months). Our calculator factors all of these in.