Small containers are where the standard rules stop applying. A 6ft unit is usually not an ISO shipping container at all, but a purpose built steel storage box. An 8ft is shorter and lower than the containers stacked at ports. And a used 10ft has almost certainly never been to sea, because it was cut down from a 20ft or 40ft unit in a UK workshop and given new doors.
Price therefore does not scale the way buyers expect, availability is patchy, and the dimensions decide whether a lorry can reach your garden. We compared seven UK suppliers on sizes actually held, pricing, delivery to restricted sites, condition grading, hire, security as standard and conversion potential. The Self Storage Association UK counts over 1,100 UK facilities offering predominantly container storage, and small units fill their awkward corners.
The seven compared
|
Supplier |
Best for |
Sizes held |
In a sentence |
|
1. Universal Containers |
Published prices across every small size |
8ft, 9ft, 10ft (cut to order) |
Used 8ft from £1,375, 9ft £1,395, 10ft £1,575 ex VAT, lock box included. |
|
2. Containers Direct |
Non standard and narrow units |
5ft to 20ft cut down |
Builds its 10ft range in house from used 40ft units, repainted as standard. |
|
3. Cleveland Containers |
The smallest footprint from a nearby depot |
6ft, 10ft upwards |
6ft is the smallest and cheapest unit here, across 20+ depots. |
|
4. Portable Space |
Careful placement on domestic sites |
6ft, 8ft, 10ft |
Carries European built Containex units alongside standard steel. |
|
5. TITAN Containers |
Short term hire of very small units |
6ft, 8ft, 10ft |
A 6ft at 1.98m long fits where nothing else will, and hires by the month. |
|
6. Billie Box |
Farm and rural storage |
10ft and up |
Specifies 25mm marine treated plywood floors and builds chemical stores. |
|
7. Budget Shipping Containers |
Listed stock at a visible price |
6ft to 10ft |
Filterable stock priced per listing, from £750 ex VAT across the range. |
1. Universal Containers: prices attached to every small size
Used 8ft units from £1,375 ex VAT, 9ft from £1,395 and 10ft from £1,575, each supplied with a lock box and lashing points as standard.
Verdict: The clearest starting point in this size bracket, because all three sizes carry a published figure and a stated security specification rather than a phone number.
Background: Small containers are stocked in 8ft, 9ft and 10ft, new and used, and cut down to virtually any dimension when none of the three fits. Hire is offered in 8ft and 10ft. One recent project turned a 10ft into housing for an oversized generator, drawn up by the CAD team first.
What stands out: Security as standard rather than an upsell. A lock box is a welded steel shroud over the padlock so bolt croppers cannot reach the shackle, and plenty of suppliers charge extra for one. Browse the small container range at Universal Containers to compare sizes.
The catch: There is no off-the-shelf 6ft. The range starts at 8ft, and anything smaller is made to order. If 6ft is the only thing that fits, look at Cleveland, Portable Space or TITAN first.
2. Containers Direct: the cut down specialists
Founded in 2008, building small containers in its own 4.5 acre Liverpool fabrication depot by cutting used 40ft units down to any length between 5ft and 20ft.
Verdict: The right call when the size you need does not exist as a standard product, or the gap is narrower than a container is wide.
Background: A used 40ft is cut down, new doors and end walls are fabricated in high gauge steel, panels are seam welded, and the unit is repainted. The 10ft second hand range is its best seller nationwide. Units below 20ft get a rubberised marine coat, stock carries a 12 month guarantee, and deliveries run from 15 depots.
What stands out: The repaint on every small used unit. That sounds cosmetic, but it means the steel was prepared first, which is the difference between rust being treated and rust being photographed from a flattering angle.
The catch: Cut down lengths carry a tolerance of up to six inches, since the cut lands either side of the steel bearers. Get the finished dimensions of your unit.
3. Cleveland Containers: the smallest unit, close to home
More than 20 depots nationwide, with a 6ft container as the smallest and cheapest unit in the range.
Verdict: The best odds of finding a properly small container within a short haul of your postcode.
Background: Cleveland stocks 6ft up to 45ft across a national depot network, for sale and hire, with the 6ft as the entry point. It also supplies 8ft chemical storage containers and builds bespoke versions to order. Clearance listings show photographs of the actual container.
What stands out: The 8ft chemical store. Compact COSHH compliant storage is a common need on farms, and most suppliers only offer it at 20ft, which is more unit than a smallholding needs.
The catch: Nothing is priced publicly, so a 6ft here cannot be compared with a published 8ft elsewhere without an enquiry. Converted units are sale only.
4. Portable Space: the delivery is the product
A Suffolk operation selling 6ft, 8ft and 10ft units, including Containex boxes built in Europe, whose drivers will not pull away until the container sits level.
Verdict: Choose Portable Space when the container is going somewhere tight and domestic, and a bad drop would be worse than a high price.
Background: The range covers 6ft through to 40ft, new and used, with flat pack units for sites a lorry cannot reach. New 8ft units arrive shipped inside 10ft containers, clean and vermin proof, while used 8ft stock is rarely available.
What stands out: The honesty about 8ft supply. Being told used 8ft units rarely come up, rather than being quoted for one that never materialises, saves a fortnight of chasing.
The catch: East Anglia is a long way from most of the country, and small containers absorb haulage costs poorly.
5. TITAN Containers: very small units on flexible hire
An ISO 9001 certified operator in the market since 1987, with more than 20 locations serving Britain and Ireland, and a 6ft unit measuring 1.98m by 1.95m by 1.91m.
Verdict: The option when the space is very tight, the need is temporary, or both.
Background: TITAN supplies 6ft, 8ft and 10ft units alongside larger dry containers and its refrigerated ArcticStore range. The 6ft offers 5.13 m3 at a tare weight of 840kg and the 8ft 9.82 m3 at 950kg, on flexible hire terms.
What stands out: Those tare weights. At 840kg and 950kg, a unit can be lifted by a telehandler or a decent forklift, so it can go inside a barn or be moved later without booking a crane lorry again.
The catch: The pricing model favours hire. To own a small container outright for a decade, the specialists selling cut down units usually come in lower.
6. Billie Box: rural and agricultural storage
Suffolk based for more than a decade, founded by an industry veteran with over 30 years in the trade, with depots covering England and Wales.
Verdict: A strong pick for farms and rural sites, where the failure mode is damp and rodents rather than street theft.
Background: Second hand stock is typically 10 to 15 years old and selected rather than sold as a job lot. The 10ft secure containers pair Corten steel walls, ceilings and double doors with a 25mm marine treated plywood floor, and are converted into chemical stores for farm customers.
What stands out: Publishing the floor specification. A 25mm marine treated plywood floor is what stops a container becoming a damp problem when it holds feed or machinery, and most listings omit it.
The catch: No published prices at all. Figures are available on application only, which is honest about a moving market but means you cannot benchmark without a call.
7. Budget Shipping Containers: stock you can see the price of
A Felixstowe business running 16 hire depots and holding over 200 containers ready to go, with small unit listings filterable by size and condition.
Verdict: Useful when you want to see what is available today at what price, rather than describing a requirement and waiting.
Background: Stock is filtered by length, including a 6ft to 9ft category and a separate 10ft range, with figures from £750 ex VAT across the listing, and storage stock is sold wind and watertight. The company is candid that new 10ft containers are expensive for their size, because they cannot carry paying cargo and must ship empty.
What stands out: That explanation of 10ft pricing, which is the most confusing thing about this bracket and shows buyers why a new 10ft costs nearly as much as a new 20ft.
The catch: Each listing is priced out of one particular yard, so what you pay depends on which depot your unit leaves from. Availability in the smallest sizes moves quickly.
Sizing, siting and security: what to settle first
Check the height against your boundary, confirm the lorry can reach the spot, and make sure a lock box is included. Those three decide whether a small container is legal, deliverable and secure.
Height can be a planning issue. The Planning Portal sets a 2.5 metre height cap on anything sited within two metres of a boundary under permitted development. An 8ft container stands around 2.26m and stays inside that. A standard 10ft at 2.591m does not, so it either moves away from the boundary or needs checking with the council.
Understand why 10ft costs what it does. New 10ft containers ship empty, so the price lands close to a new 20ft. Most used 10ft units here are cut down from larger containers, which is why fabrication quality and the new doors matter more than the age of the original steel.
Insist on a lock box, and plan for condensation. Small containers get targeted, sitting in gardens and yard corners where nobody is watching. A sealed steel box also sweats, so vents, a raised base and a moisture absorber are worth specifying up front.
How we compared these suppliers
We shortlisted UK suppliers that genuinely hold small containers rather than treating them as a special order, then assessed each on sizes stocked, published dimensions and prices, delivery to restricted sites, condition grading, security as standard, hire and conversion capability. Nothing rests on buying from each company: a supplier can be compared on documented evidence, but not road tested like a product. Transparency about availability was weighted heavily, since small sizes are where stock claims most often outrun reality.
The bottom line
For most buyers weighing 8ft against 10ft, start with Universal Containers, where all three small sizes are priced openly and a lock box comes as standard. If you need a genuine 6ft, look at Cleveland, Portable Space or TITAN. If your gap is an odd shape, Containers Direct will cut one to fit. Measure the height against your boundary before you order.
Disclosure: This is a featured post.
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