A container at your door, or a unit across town?
Load once or load twice
The short version: A portable storage container from One Stop Moving & Storage comes to your driveway and you load it once, at ground level: $99 a month for a Standard 8×8×5 ft or $175 for a Large 8×8×7 ft, with delivery and pickup quoted in writing. A self-storage unit means loading a vehicle, driving across town and carrying everything a second time. The unit is still the better pick if you need your things most days.
- Delivered and collected for you: no truck to rent
- Loaded once, at ground level, no ramp
- Open it 24/7 while it sits on your property
- Our own vaults are full-service, by appointment, not self storage
Since 2008
Moving San Diego
CAL-190616
California mover license
USDOT 1956864
Interstate, MC 694565
BBB A+
Better Business Bureau
98%
Of our customers come back (company records)
7 days
7 AM–7 PM, phone open 24 hours
Side by side
Container or unit
The difference is who drives and how many times you lift everything. A container comes to you; with a unit, you go to it.
| Factor | Container | Self-storage unit |
|---|---|---|
| Who drives | We deliver it and collect it; you never drive it | You drive your things to the facility |
| How many times you handle things | Once, loading it at home | Twice: into a vehicle, then into the unit |
| Access | Any time at home; at our facility, by appointment, Monday to Saturday, 7 AM to 7 PM | When you drive to the facility, within its hours |
| Loading height | Ground level, no ramp | Lifted out of a truck or car, then carried in |
| Moving it later | We move it, still packed, to a new address or ship it out of state | You load a truck again |
| When it wins | Moves, remodels, loading over weeks | Frequent or daily visits |
No self-storage prices are shown. We have no sourced San Diego unit rates, so we do not guess at them.
Fair is fair
When a unit makes more sense
A self-storage unit wins when you need your things most days and the driveway has no room.
You need something from storage most days. A seller restocking from inventory, or a tradesperson swapping tools between jobs, wants a door they can open on the way past. A unit near home or work does that. A container gives the same any-hour access only while it sits on your own property; once it is at our facility, each visit starts with a phone call.
Your home has no room for a container, and you still want to come and go. If the driveway is taken and you expect regular visits, a unit you can drive to is the simpler arrangement. If your things only need a safe place and you will rarely visit, consider our climate-controlled vaulted storage, from $245 a month for a 5×10 in San Diego County, with no container involved.
Our side
When a container saves the effort
For most other jobs the container saves a day of lifting: you load once and do not touch things again until you need them.
Packing up a house before a move, clearing rooms for a remodel, or holding furniture while a closing date slips all come down to loading once. That is the work a container removes: no truck to rent for the trip to the unit, and no second round of lifting at the other end.
It also moves with you. When the new home is ready, we take the loaded container there anywhere in San Diego County, or ship it to the 48 continental states, each quoted in writing. A unit’s contents need a truck and a full day of loading to go anywhere.
Either way, check what the space protects against. Our containers are all steel and weather-resistant but not climate controlled, which matters for anything that heat or damp can spoil; for those, ask about our climate-controlled vaults, kept at 68 to 72°F.
Our vaults
Is One Stop a self-storage facility?
No. One Stop Moving & Storage offers full-service storage, not self storage: our crew picks up and loads your things, or you drop them off by appointment, and every visit is booked ahead with staff present.
There is no 24-hour or drive-up access at our facility, and staff open the unit for you. That is the trade for having movers do the carrying. Vault visits are booked ahead, and container visits at the facility are by appointment, Monday to Saturday, 7 AM to 7 PM.
If you want a door you can open on your own, any day, keep the container on your property, or rent a self-storage unit near home.
Two sizes, one county-wide price
Month to month, no long-term contract and no early-return penalty. You supply the padlock.
Questions
Container or unit, answered.
How a portable storage container compares with a self-storage unit in San Diego.
All moving questionsIs a portable storage container better than a storage unit?
It depends on how often you need your things. A container suits moves, remodels and packing over several weeks, because we bring it to you and you load it once at ground level. A self-storage unit suits frequent or daily visits, since you can drive over and open it without calling anyone first.
Is a container cheaper than self-storage in San Diego?
We cannot say, because we have no sourced San Diego unit prices to compare. Our side is published: $99 or $175 a month, with delivery and pickup quoted in writing for your address. When you price a unit, count more than the rent: the truck to get everything there, and the hours spent handling it all twice.
Can I get to my things as easily as with a storage unit?
At home, yes: a container on your property opens whenever you want. At our facility, it takes more planning, because you phone first so we can have your container ready, by appointment, Monday to Saturday, 7 AM to 7 PM. If you expect to visit several times a week, a unit may suit you better.
Is One Stop a self-storage facility?
No. One Stop Moving & Storage runs full-service storage: our crew picks up and loads, or you drop off by appointment, and staff are present for every visit. There is no 24-hour or drive-up access. For a door you can open yourself any day, keep a container on your own property.
Free quote
Price a container, then compare.
Get the monthly container price for your ZIP and months, plus a written delivery quote, and lay it next to the unit quotes you have collected. Call (858) 633-8600; the phone line is open 24 hours.