Three standard sizes cover virtually every non-commercial use case. Here's everything you need to make the right call — real dimensions, real-world comparisons, and use-case matching for the situations we see most often.
~160 sq ft interior. Roughly a one-car garage. Good for homeowners, single-jobsite tools, and tight delivery sites.
Best for Short-term storage, smaller properties, delivery-constrained sites~320 sq ft interior. Roughly a two-car garage. The most popular size — handles most residential and farm needs without stacking.
Best for Farm storage, business inventory, long-term property storage, most ongoing useSame footprint as the 40′ but one foot taller. Choose this when ceiling height matters — tall equipment, shelving systems, or modifications.
Best for Tall equipment, shelving installations, conversion projectsThe 20-foot is exactly half the length of the 40-foot. The high cube is the same length as the 40-foot but with one extra foot of interior height.
The dimensions that matter for buying decisions are the interior ones — that's the space you actually get. Exterior dimensions determine delivery clearance requirements.
Cubic footage is abstract. Here's how the three sizes translate to spaces and situations you can actually picture.
The right size is determined more by what you're storing and where you're placing it than by price. Here are the most common situations we see.
Furniture, appliances, and household contents during a remodel. Most renovations don't fill a 40-footer, and a 20′ is easier to fit in a residential driveway.
Equipment, feed, tools, and supplies. Rural properties typically have the space for a 40-footer, and farm storage needs almost always outgrow a 20.
For a single trade on a single site, a 20′ often handles it. For a general contractor running a full build with multiple trades' tools and materials, a 40′ is the right call.
Clearing a family home, settling an estate, or downsizing into a smaller space? A container on the property gives you a secure, weather-tight place to stage contents until decisions are made — without the monthly clock of a rented storage unit running against you.
Seasonal merchandise, overflow stock, equipment between jobs. Business storage almost always expands into the space available — start with the 40.
Office build-out, workshop conversion, or accessory dwelling. The extra foot of ceiling height makes a real quality difference in a space where someone will spend time.
Narrow driveway, limited turning radius, HOA constraints, or a placement spot that won't accommodate a 100-foot truck run. The 20-footer is often the only option here.
Generator, fuel, emergency supplies, tools, and relief materials for storm season. The 40-footer gives you enough space to organize properly and still access what you need.
Fireworks stands, holiday merchandise, event equipment. Volume determines the size. Rent the 20′ if the inventory fits — the price difference may be worth the footprint savings on a temporary site.
This is how we'd walk you through the decision if you called us.
The most common sizing mistake we see is underestimating — people order a 20-footer, fill it in the first month, and wish they'd gone with the 40. Size regret is real. If you're genuinely on the fence, call us at 334-320-7071 and describe what you're storing. We'll tell you which size we'd choose for your specific situation.
The questions we hear most often when customers are working through the size decision.
At ASC, no. Our delivery fee is the same regardless of which size you order. The only cost difference between a 20-footer and a 40-footer is the container price itself. This is one of the main reasons we recommend going with the 40 if you can accommodate it — you're not paying more to get there.
The footprint is identical — same length, same width. The only difference is height. A standard 40-footer has an interior height of 7′10″. A high cube has an interior height of 8′10″ — one full foot taller. The exterior height goes from 8′6″ to 9′6″, which is why the high cube requires 15 feet of overhead clearance on the delivery approach rather than the standard 14 feet.
If ceiling height isn't relevant to your use case, the standard 40-footer is typically the better value. The high cube matters for shelving, tall equipment, and any conversion project where headroom affects the quality of the space.
In most cases, yes on length and height — but width requires attention. A standard full-size pickup (F-150, Silverado, Ram 1500 class) runs approximately 19–22 feet long and 6′2″–6′8″ wide at the body. A 40-foot container interior is 39′5″ long, 7′8″ wide, and 7′10″ tall, with a door opening of 7′8″ wide and 7′6″ tall. Length clears comfortably. Cab and bed height clears comfortably. The constraint is the door opening width: extended tow mirrors on most full-size trucks need to be folded before the truck will fit through the 7′8″ door. With mirrors folded, most standard-cab and crew-cab pickups fit. If you're working with a dually or a heavily accessorized body, measure before assuming.
A 20-foot shipping container has approximately 1,170 cubic feet of interior space. A 10′×10′ self-storage unit has approximately 800–1,000 cubic feet (units vary in ceiling height). A 20-foot container is comparable to a 10′×20′ self-storage unit, which is roughly 1,200–1,600 cubic feet — though the container has a lower ceiling height than many storage facilities. As a practical rule of thumb: a 20-footer holds one to two rooms of furniture and household goods without stacking to the ceiling.
A 40-foot container. A three-bedroom home typically generates 800–1,200 cubic feet of furniture, appliances, and household goods when loaded efficiently. A 40-footer gives you approximately 2,390 cubic feet — enough room to load without forcing you to stack precariously or leave things behind. The 20-footer works for one or two rooms, but most whole-home renovation projects outgrow it quickly.
Note that we deliver and place the container at your property — we don't transport loaded containers between addresses. If you need contents moved to a new location, that's a moving company's service, not ours.
We don't offer 10-foot or 8-foot containers. The standard sizes we carry are 20-foot, 40-foot standard, and 40-foot high cube. Smaller containers exist in the market but are specialty items with limited availability and typically higher per-square-foot costs. For most situations where a 20-footer feels too large, it's still the most practical and cost-effective option available.
Yes — the dimensions, real-world comparisons, and use-case matching in this guide are consistent regardless of where you're located. The only thing specific to our market is the delivery cost note: at ASC, we don't charge more to deliver a 40-footer than a 20-footer. Other dealers may have different delivery pricing structures, so always confirm the all-in cost for each size you're considering.
Call or click and tell us what you need — size, whether you're renting or buying, and where it's going. We'll give you a flat, all-in number in minutes.
