What Size Storage Container Do I Need? 10ft vs 20ft Guide

It’s the question almost every customer asks before booking: “What size storage container do I need?” Pick too small and you’ll be rearranging boxes in the rain. Pick too big and you’re paying for empty space every week. The good news is that for most people the choice is simpler than it looks — the vast majority of container storage comes down to two sizes: the 10ft and the 20ft.

Here’s the honest breakdown, based on what we see stored at our Salford yard every week.

The Short Answer

10ft container (around 80 sq ft): roughly the contents of a studio or one-bedroom flat — ideal for a few rooms of furniture, a full set of trade tools, a motorbike with room to spare, or a growing pile of business stock.

20ft container (around 160 sq ft): roughly a two to three-bedroom house — the right choice for full house moves, renovation clear-outs, bulky workshop equipment, or commercial inventory at scale.

That’s the starting point. The rest of this guide helps you be sure.

10ft vs 20ft: Actual Dimensions

A 10ft container measures roughly 3 metres long by 2.4 metres wide externally, with internal space of about 2.8m long, 2.35m wide and 2.39m high. A 20ft container is roughly 6 metres long externally — about 5.9m of usable length inside, with the same width and height.

Both stand a little over 2.5 metres tall outside. The width is the thing people underestimate: 2.35m of usable interior width means a standard sofa goes in sideways with room to walk past, and two people can load comfortably shoulder to shoulder.

Because the heights match, a 20ft container genuinely holds about double the volume of a 10ft — not a fraction more. If you’re on the fence, that ratio matters.

What Fits in a 10ft Container?

A 10ft unit comfortably takes:

• The furniture from a studio or one-bedroom flat — bed, wardrobe, sofa, dining set, boxes of books and kitchenware
• A complete set of trade tools: power tools, hand tools, ladders and a workbench, with the kit for a small crew
• Two or three motorbikes with riding gear alongside
• 100–150 archive boxes of documents — enough for several years of business records
• The contents of a double garage, plus room to spare

The 10ft is our most popular unit for a reason: it suits the majority of single-room clear-outs, student moves and small business stock. Our tool storage for tradesmen page and personal storage page both use the 10ft as their reference size.

What Fits in a 20ft Container?

A 20ft unit is built for the big jobs:

• A full two to three-bedroom house move, packed properly with a walkway
• Furniture for an entire flat or office during a renovation — sofas, beds, desks and white goods
• Workshop machinery, palletised stock and bulk materials for trades and small manufacturers
• Seasonal retail stock at scale — see our Christmas stock storage page for how retailers use the extra room

Because the width is identical to the 10ft, the 20ft earns its keep in length: you can keep the back half packed tight and still reach the front half without unloading everything. See our packing guide for how to load a long unit so the things you need stay reachable.

How to Decide: 5 Quick Rules

1. Count the rooms, not the boxes

Boxes lie. A single room’s furniture — bed, wardrobe, drawers — takes up more floor space than thirty neatly stacked boxes. If you’re storing the contents of more than one proper room, lean toward the 20ft.

2. Factor in how you’ll use it

Long-term storage where you rarely visit can be packed drum-tight. If you’ll be coming back for things — tools you use weekly, stock you’re rotating — you need a walkway and reachable shelving, which eats a surprising amount of space. Active use nearly always needs the bigger unit.

3. Measure your biggest items

One three-seater sofa is 2.2m long; a king-size mattress is 2m. Nothing is worse than discovering on moving day that your longest item only just doesn’t fit. Tape-measure the two or three biggest pieces before you book.

4. Do the weekly maths

Our 10ft containers start from £25/week and 20ft from £40/week. Two 10ft units cost more than one 20ft and leave you walking between doors. If you’re genuinely torn, the 20ft is usually better value per square foot — plus you get the walkway effect of extra length.

5. Ask before you guess

We do this every day. Tell us what you’re storing — roughly how many rooms, any bulky items — and we’ll tell you straight which size fits. Call 07375 063637; we’re open 7 days, 9am–9pm.

Mistakes We See Every Week

Underestimating by one room. “Mostly a bedroom” turns out to include the hallway, the shed and half the loft. When in doubt, size up.

Forgetting height. Containers are over 2.3m tall inside. Stackable boxes, wardrobes stood upright and shelving turn that height into real capacity — people who plan vertically often fit a 20ft job into a 10ft.

Ignoring the walkway. Packing a container solid is fine if it’s going to sit untouched for months. But if you’ll need the box at the back in week three, leave yourself a path.

And if you’re wondering what you can actually put in a container in the first place, our guide to what you can store in a storage container covers allowed and prohibited items in full.

Still Not Sure?

Most people who ask “what size storage container do I need?” end up with a clear answer after a two-minute conversation. Bring us your list — or just your best guess — and we’ll match you to the right unit rather than selling you the bigger one.

We’re at 21 Cheltenham Street, Salford M6 6WY, open 7 days a week from 9am to 9pm, and every unit is covered by 24/7 CCTV monitoring. Call 07375 063637 or send an enquiry through our contact page — and if you’re between homes while you decide, our house move storage guide walks through the timing.