How much does self storage cost in Pakistan?

Most people ask about price before they ask about anything else, and that's fair. You can't decide whether storage makes sense until you know what it costs. So here's the straight answer on self storage cost in Pakistan, using our own rate card, followed by everything that moves the number up or down.

The short version: a unit with us costs PKR 200 to 250 per sq ft a month, with a 1 month minimum. The smallest unit starts from PKR 5,000 a month. Everything else on this page explains why the figure lands where it does.

How self storage is priced

Storage in Pakistan is usually sold one of three ways. Some places quote a flat monthly figure for a room. Some charge by the cubic foot of goods. And some, like us, charge by the square foot of floor you rent.

We price by floor area because it's the one number you can check yourself. A 10 x 10 unit is 100 square feet. You can measure it with a tape, you know exactly what you're paying for, and you can compare it against any other quote by doing a single division.

The rate sits inside a band rather than at one fixed figure. Where a unit falls in that band depends on things like whether it's on the ground floor, how often you'll want access, and where it sits in the building. A ground floor unit you can reach easily costs more than one upstairs, for the same reason a shop on the main road costs more than one in the lane behind it.

Monthly prices by unit size

These are the sizes we rent and what each one costs per month. The same rate card applies in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi.

If you'd rather see that as a picture, here's the cheapest month for each size side by side. The jump from a 5 x 5 to a 10 x 10 is the biggest step on the ladder, which is why it's worth being honest about how much you're storing before you pick.

We also rent whole shipping containers at a flat monthly figure. A 20 ft container is PKR 30,000 a month and a 40 ft container is PKR 50,000. We've written a separate piece on whether a container or a unit is better value, because the answer isn't as simple as bigger means cheaper.

What pushes the price up or down

Two people renting the same size unit can pay different amounts. These are the things that make the difference.

The size you actually need

This is the big one. Most people overestimate. They picture their whole house and book for it, then find half the furniture was never coming. Others underestimate and end up taking a second unit at the last minute. Our storage calculator lets you add your things item by item and tells you the smallest unit that fits, which is the quickest way to stop paying for empty air.

Access

If you only need to get in a few times a year, you don't need a prime spot by the door. If you're a business pulling stock every week, you probably do. We ask for 48 hours notice before a visit, and each visit includes an hour on site at no extra charge.

How long you store

There's no discount trap here and no lock in. The minimum is 1 month and after that it runs month by month. You pay for the months you use.

The costs that sit outside the monthly rent

This is where storage quotes in Pakistan get slippery, so ask about each of these before you agree to anything.

• Collection and delivery. If we pick up from your house and bring things back, that's quoted separately, because it depends on how much there is, which floor you're on and how far the house is from our building. Some people bring their own things in and pay nothing extra.
• Packing materials. Boxes, bubble wrap and furniture covers. Use your own if you have them.
• Insurance. We ask customers to arrange their own cover for goods in storage. Security isn't the same as insurance and we'd rather say so plainly now.
• A deposit. Ask whether one is held and when it comes back.

What storage costs over a year

A monthly figure is hard to judge on its own. Here's what twelve months looks like for the most common sizes, straight from the same rate card.

Set that against the alternatives. Renting a bigger house just to hold furniture you're not using costs far more. Selling a full house of furniture in a hurry and buying it again later usually costs more still, because you sell at a bad price and buy at a full one. For families heading overseas, we've gone through this sum in detail in our guide to storing furniture while moving abroad.

How to keep your self storage cost down

None of these are tricks. They just stop you paying for things you don't need.

1. Sort before you store. Old mattresses, broken chairs and appliances near the end of their life cost more to keep than to replace. Let them go before collection day.
2. Dismantle what comes apart. A bed frame flat against the wall takes a fraction of the space it takes standing up. The same goes for tables with removable legs.
3. Use the height. Boxes of the same size stack safely. Mismatched bags and loose items don't, and they eat floor space.
4. Measure, don't guess. The size guide shows what fits in each unit, drawn to scale.
5. Review it every few months. If you've taken things out, you may fit a smaller unit. Ask, and we'll move you.

Is storage worth the money?

It depends on what you're storing and for how long. For a family between houses, a business with more stock than shelf space, or anyone leaving the country without knowing when they'll be back, it usually is. For a garage full of things you haven't touched in five years, honestly, maybe not. Some of it is probably better sold.

The useful question isn't whether storage is cheap. It's whether it costs less than the alternative you'd actually choose. Run that sum with real figures and the answer tends to be obvious. Our prices page has the full rate card, and if you'd like the number for your own house, tell us what you're storing and we'll send you the unit and the monthly figure.