Rent or buy a shipping container?
Rent if you need the container for a few months and want it gone afterwards; buy if you will still want it in a year, because renting a used 20ft into the Pine Belt costs more than buying one delivered after about 11 months, and the box you bought is still worth money when you sell it. Longleaf sells and does not rent, so this is the honest version: for a short job, rent, and we will point you to someone local.
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.
The rough break-even
Container rental around the Pine Belt is month-to-month, with delivery and collection charged on top. With a real quote to Petal in October 2026 — $139 a month for a used 20ft plus $971 up front for delivery and pickup — renting passes the cost of buying the same box delivered at about 11 months; the table above has the numbers. Check the live delivered price on the containers page against a rental quote for your address and the arithmetic takes thirty seconds.
Past the break-even, the owner is ahead every month and still has the box. The renter is paying for the same steel again. And the owner can sell: a used container that was sound when you bought it is still sound and still sellable years later, which pulls the real cost of owning down further. See resale and what to do with a container you no longer need.
When renting is the right answer
A short, defined job. Three months between houses, a kitchen remodel, a one-off event. Someone else delivers it, collects it and worries about it. Buying for that is overkill and we will say so.
A site you do not control. Rented land, a client's jobsite, a parking lot. You cannot leave a box you own where you have no right to leave it.
No room for the long term. If the city, the HOA or the lot itself will not take a permanent container, rent for the job and let it leave. Check permit rules first either way. We do not rent, but tell us your ZIP and job length at the bottom of this page and we will point you to a local rental company that delivers there.
What owning actually includes
You own the ground it sits on, so you own the pad, the blocks and the levelling. You own the maintenance: a wire brush and a can of rust paint every couple of years, a new door gasket eventually, keeping the roof clear of leaves. None of it is hard and all of it is cheap, but a renter never thinks about it and an owner should.
You also own the choices. Cut a side door in, weld on a lock box, bolt in shelving, paint it to match the house — things a rental contract forbids. The accessories page has the lock box, vents, shelving and lights that turn a bare box into a usable building. 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
- 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 to get ready for delivery day — Prepare for a shipping container delivery: mark the spot, clear the straight run, firm up the ground, set corner blocks, and have someone there on the day.
- Renting vs buying a storage container in Hattiesburg — Storage container rental vs buying in Hattiesburg, MS: when a month-to-month rental is right, when owning a used container wins, and what a Hub City lot needs.
- 20ft vs 40ft: which container should you buy? — 20ft vs 40ft shipping container: how much each holds, why the 40 is the better value per square foot, and why the 130 feet a 40ft needs usually decides it.
- Buy a shipping container or build a shed? — Shipping container vs shed: the real cost of each once you count slab, labour and time, where a built shed is the better building, and where the box wins.
Across the Pine Belt
Hattiesburg · Petal · Laurel · Ellisville · Purvis · Sumrall · Columbia · Collins · Seminary · Wiggins