If you need the container for a defined project of less than 12 months, compare rental. If you need it for more than eighteen months, buying may make more sense. In between, compare the totals.
Use Cases for Renting
Renting wins when the use is finite, the container is on the property for a defined window, and the rental cost is a project line item rather than an asset. Reasons to rent:
Construction jobsite storage. The build ends, the container leaves.
Renovation and remodel storage. Homeowners gut part of the house and need somewhere to put furniture, cabinetry, and appliances.
Move and bridge storage. Selling one home and waiting on the new build to close.
Event and production rentals. A film shoot, a trade show, an art fair, a festival.
Use Cases for Buying
Buying wins when the container becomes part of the operation rather than a temporary fix. Reasons to buy:
Acreage and farm storage. The container goes on the back of the property and stays there. It can stand in for a barn or pole shed.
Permanent business overflow. A small business uses a container instead of renting commercial warehouse space.
Modified or converted units. Modifications for an office, workshop, tiny home or tap room stay with the container.
Multi-year contractor or industrial use. A yard, a quarry, a service company, a fleet operation. The container is part of the infrastructure.
Recurring seasonal storage. If the same storage need comes back every year, owning avoids paying rent every season.
The Decision Matrix
Walk these four questions in order. The answers point you to the right call.
Three or four answers leaning the same direction make the call clear. A split means it is worth pricing both before you decide.
Total Cost of Ownership Thinking
Compare the total cost over the whole time you need the container. A simple model:
Rental total = monthly rate x number of months + delivery in + delivery out
Purchase total = the delivered price in your quote, less estimated resale value when you no longer need it
A quick comparison: divide the delivered price of a container by the monthly rate a rental company quotes for the same size. If you need storage for more months than that number, buying costs less, even before the rental company's charges to deliver and collect the container.
The point where buying becomes cheaper depends on the unit size, the condition grade, and what the container sells for when you no longer need it. Minnesota delivered pricing: starting at $2,465 for a 20ft Wind and Water Tight container delivered in Minneapolis.
Two factors to include:
Delivery is paid twice on a rental, once in and once out. On a short rental, those two deliveries can be a large share of the total.
Resale value. A container you no longer need can be sold, but the price depends on its grade and condition when you sell and on what the next buyer pays to move it. Treat the resale figure as an estimate when you compare the totals.
Timeline Considerations in Minnesota
Two timing scenarios to plan for:
A short-term need that becomes permanent. A 90-day jobsite rental that turns into an 18-month rental can cost more than buying would have.
A long-term need that ends suddenly. A purchase made for a project that finishes early leaves the container on a property where you no longer need storage. If you plan to resell it, allow time to find a buyer and arrange transport.
A Note on Financing
Container One offers financing through third-party partners, and the terms come from those partners. Ask about current options when you request your quote.
Common Pitfalls
Four common mistakes:
Renting when buying makes sense. A homeowner needs storage during a 14-month rebuild. Fourteen months of rent plus delivery in and out can exceed the purchase price of a used WWT unit. The fix: when the use window approaches a year, run the math both ways before signing.
Buying when renting makes sense. A contractor buys a unit for a single 6-month build, intending to resell. Finding a buyer can take longer than the project did. The fix: if the use is single-project and short, rent. Resale takes time you may not have factored in.
Skipping the access check. A buyer commits, then discovers the truck cannot reach the placement spot. The fix: check for 110 feet of straight, unobstructed space for a 20ft container or 130 feet for a 40ft container, at least 15 feet of height for driving, at least 22 feet of height along the entire unloading path, and at least 10 feet of width before ordering.
Choosing the wrong grade. Buying a used unit for a conversion, or paying for one-trip when a WWT would have been fine. The fix: read our condition guide before locking in a grade.
Delivery Areas Across Minnesota
Container One publishes no fixed delivery window: timing depends on the location, when payment is received, the weather and other factors, and its Delivery/Dispatch department contacts you to schedule a date and time. Delivery areas:
Minneapolis, St. Paul and the Twin Cities metro
Rochester and southeast Minnesota
Greater Minnesota, from St. Cloud and Mankato to Duluth and the Red River Valley
Frequently Asked Questions About Renting vs Buying
No. This site sells containers supplied by Container One. For short-term storage, a rental company is the other option to compare.
Rochester's Unified Development Code, Section 60.300.020H.6.b, restricts containers in Agricultural and Residential districts to sites containing a park, school or place of worship, with a maximum of six months per year. Section 60.300.020H.6.d also covers residential districts and sets a 14-day limit for temporary placement there and on properties with a residential primary use in Mixed Use districts. For construction of a new primary building or a major addition to an existing primary building, H.6.d specifies a placement period from issuance of the first building permit to issuance of the last certificate of occupancy or use for that building. Before arranging placement, ask Community Development at 507-328-2600 whether your site qualifies and how both provisions affect the placement period for your proposed use. If the city confirms a short placement period, compare renting for that period with buying a container and deciding where to keep it afterward.
St. Paul Legislative Code Sec. 34.08(6) prohibits accumulating and storing portable storage containers and intermodal cargo containers on residential property. Zoning Code Sec. 60.217 defines placement of an intermodal cargo container for five or fewer days as parking. Sec. 60.220 defines placement of a portable storage container as storage without specifying a minimum number of days. It also defines placement of an intermodal cargo container as storage when the container has gone more than five days without being used. Ask the Zoning Section at 651-266-9008 how these provisions apply to your lot and what counts as use of a container holding belongings before ordering.
Olmsted County's 18 townships and eight cities each administer zoning and the building code in their own way, and thirteen townships send zoning certificate questions to the Township Cooperative Planning Association. Ask Olmsted County Planning at 507-328-7100 which office covers the address before you buy.
Minneapolis reviews detached structures on house lots under its accessory structure standards, and its zoning code has no section written for shipping containers on private property. Ask Development Review at 612-673-3000 how your container would be reviewed before you buy one for long-term use.