Renting vs buying a storage container in Hattiesburg
In Hattiesburg you can rent a storage container month-to-month from a local yard or buy a used one outright and have it delivered to your lot. Rent for a short job; buy if the box will be in the yard next year, because past about 11 months, renting a used 20ft has cost more than buying one delivered, and the box you bought is still sellable afterwards. Longleaf sells; it does not rent.
Rent or buy: the actual numbers
Delivered to Petal, MS (39465). Rental is a Gulf South container rental company's online quote, checked October 2026; buying is our live delivered price today.
| 20ft used (wind & watertight) | 40ft high cube used | |
|---|---|---|
| Rent: per month | $139 | $189 |
| Rent: delivery and pickup, up front | $971 | $971 |
| Rent: 6 months, total paid | $1,805 | $2,105 |
| Rent: 12 months, total paid | $2,639 | $3,239 |
| Buy from us, delivered | $2,545 and you keep it | $3,260 and you keep it |
| Renting costs more after | about 12 months | about 13 months |
A used box you own still resells when you are done with it. Prices for your own ZIP are on the containers page; pay over time with Affirm or Klarna at checkout.
Rent for the job, buy for the years
Hattiesburg proper is 39401, 39402, 39406 and 39407, and the wider area these guides cover takes in Petal across the Leaf River, Purvis and Sumrall in Lamar County, Seminary and Collins up Highway 49, and Laurel and Ellisville in Jones County. Rental yards serving that area quote by the month plus delivery and collection; their numbers are theirs to give and we do not quote them.
The honest split: a renovation, a move between houses, or a few months of overflow is a rental — someone else brings it and takes it. A workshop, a feed room, a storage building behind the house, or a business that is still going to have inventory next year is a purchase. The rent vs buy guide has the break-even logic; the containers page has the delivered price for your ZIP so you can compare against any rental quote in a minute.
What a Hattiesburg lot needs
The same thing whether you rent or buy: a straight, firm run of about 110 feet for a 20ft or 130 feet for a 40ft, 15 feet of clear sky, and ground that holds a loaded truck. Older neighbourhoods in town with narrow drives and big oaks often take a 20 and not a 40; newer subdivisions off Highway 98 and most of the county have room for either. See delivery access.
For a container you intend to keep, call the City of Hattiesburg's planning or code office before you order and ask how a permanent shipping container on a residential lot is treated — setbacks, placement, any permit. If you are in a subdivision, read the covenants; HOAs are usually stricter than the city. Outside the limits, Forrest County or Lamar County planning is the call. We do not quote the rules because they differ town to town; the call takes ten minutes. See permit rules.
What to ask before you agree to anything
Renting: what is the rent per month, what are delivery and collection, separately, and what is the minimum term. Buying: what is the total delivered to this address for this grade, what grade exactly, and what happens if the box arrives in worse shape than described. Our delivered prices already include the haul, your card is authorized rather than charged until we confirm the order and window with you, and delivery typically takes 7–10 business days after that.
Either way, budget for a lock box and vents. Theft and condensation are the two things that actually go wrong with a container in Hattiesburg, and both are cheap to prevent on the accessories page. See containers for sale — delivered price by ZIP
Only need it for a few months?
For a short job, renting is the right call, and we do not rent. Tell us your ZIP and how long, and we will point you to a local rental company that delivers there.
Buying a container?
Longleaf sells used and one-trip 20ft and 40ft shipping containers, delivered by tilt-bed across the Pine Belt. Enter your ZIP for the delivered price — it comes straight from the supplier feed and already includes the haul. Locks, vents, shelving and lights are on the accessories page. We sell; we do not rent.
- 20ft Standard Cargo Worthy (used) — from $2,885 delivered
- 20ft Standard One Trip (new) — from $3,635 delivered
- 20ft Standard Wind & Watertight (used) — from $2,470 delivered
- 40ft High Cube Cargo Worthy (used) — from $3,525 delivered
- 40ft High Cube One Trip (new) — from $4,925 delivered
- 40ft High Cube Wind & Watertight (used) — from $3,210 delivered
- 40ft Standard Cargo Worthy (used) — from $3,525 delivered
- 40ft Standard One Trip (new) — from $6,355 delivered
- 40ft Standard Wind & Watertight (used) — from $3,160 delivered
Keep reading
- Rent or buy a shipping container? — Rent or buy a shipping container: the rough break-even, what owning actually includes, when a short-term rental is the right call, and when buying wins.
- Using a container while you renovate — and after — Storage container for a home renovation: why a box in the driveway beats a unit across town, and when buying it to keep beats renting one for the job.
- How do you secure a container on a jobsite? — Securing a shipping container on a jobsite: why a lock box and puck lock beat any padlock, where to point the doors, and when a container is the wrong answer.
- Renting vs buying a storage container in Laurel, MS — Storage container rental vs buying in Laurel, MS: when a monthly rental is the right call in Jones County, when owning wins, and what a Laurel lot needs.
- Container on your property vs a storage unit across town — Buying a storage container vs renting a storage unit: where owning a box on your land wins, where a climate-controlled unit across town is the better answer.
Across the Pine Belt
Hattiesburg · Petal · Laurel · Ellisville · Purvis · Sumrall · Columbia · Collins · Seminary · Wiggins