Your gateway to the German self storage industry

Understand self storage. Assess it. Deliver it.

Market data, business models, storage types and the people behind them. For anyone looking to invest in storage space, develop a site or operate a facility.

Market, drivers & trends in Germany
Every storage type, from indoor to container park
Calculator, industry directory & community

Explore the market Run the numbers

×3more storage space per capita in the United Kingdom than in GermanySource: FEDESSA 2025

Photos: Joshua Coleman, Troy Mortier / Unsplash · CoStore

Getting started

Where would you like to start?

Choose your starting point and we will show you the right next steps.

From market insight to investment decision.

Which returns are realistic, which models exist and what do experienced investors look for? Three steps to a well-founded assessment.

01Understand the marketSize, drivers, growth potential 02Compare investment modelsDirect, joint venture, equity stake 03Run the feasibility numbersYield on cost, payback

Market in numbers

A young market with plenty of headroom.

Germany is one of the least developed self storage markets in Europe, yet it has strong demand drivers.

Go to the market overview

Space in Germany~2.4million m²of self storage space, ranking 3rd in Europe after the UK and France

Per capita~0.03m²of storage space per inhabitant. The United Kingdom has around three times as much.

Occupancy~75%average occupancy of German facilities

Rent<300€ / m² / yearaverage net rent per occupied m² in Germany, slightly below the European average

Rounded individual figures based on FEDESSA/CBRE European Self Storage Industry Report 2025, not affiliated with FEDESSA or CBRE. Per-capita figure is our own calculation (population: Eurostat).

Figures & charts

DACH region

Germany, Austria, Switzerland.

Three markets, each with its own profile, together accounting for around one sixth of Europe's self storage space.

Go to the DACH comparison

~2.4 million m²space · rank 3 in Europe ~0.04 m²per capita · many micro sites >€500per m² per year · highest in Europe

The basics

Self storage is real estate, service and digital business all in one.

Tenants rent a lockable storage space on flexible terms, from a 1 m² locker to a 30 m² container, and access it independently. For owners and investors, this creates an asset let in small units to a broad tenant base.

Many small tenancies instead of one large tenant, which spreads the default risk.
Private and business customers: moving, renovation, inheritance, trades, e-commerce, archives.
Operationally driven: income depends heavily on occupancy, pricing and marketing.

How the business model works

Storage types at a glance

Not all self storage is the same.

Five concepts with very different profiles. Site, location and capital determine which one fits.

Modular · fast

Container self storage

Capital required: low to medium
Time to opening: months, not years
Typical unit: 7–30 m², drive-up access
Scalability: very high, in phases

Standardised storage containers on a paved open site in a commercial area or on the edge of town. The fastest route from a plot of land to an operating facility.

Storage containers in detail

Indoor self storage with yellow roller doors

Aga Adamek / Unsplash

Urban · space-efficient

Indoor self storage

Capital required: high
Time to opening: 12–30 months
Typical unit: 1–30 m², temperature-controlled
Space efficiency: very high, multi-storey

Multi-storey buildings with internal units, either new builds or conversions of warehouses, retail stores and offices. Highest rents per m², highest complexity.

Indoor in detail

Row of drive-up storage units with green roller doors

Adam Winger / Unsplash

Convenient

Drive-up self storage

Capital required: medium
Time to opening: approx. 1 year
Access: drive right up to the door
Target group: private & business

Single-storey rows of units with roller doors. A classic in the US, and increasingly built in Germany as steel or modular structures on the edge of town.

See the comparison

Garage court with doors on both sides of a paved lane

Timon Reinhard / Unsplash

Close to real estate

Garage & storage box parks

Capital required: medium
Operating effort: low
Rental term: typically long-term
Typical location: near housing, edge of town

From the traditional garage court with row garages to the modern garage park built from prefabricated concrete garages. Robust, durable and low-maintenance to run, closer to a real estate investment than to a service business.

Garage parks in detail

Flex unit building with roller doors on a business park

Point3D Commercial Imaging / Unsplash

B2B

Business storage & flex units

Capital required: medium to high
Typical unit: 30 to several hundred m²
Target group: trades, e-commerce, SMEs
Rental term: long

Larger flex spaces with sectional doors and power, for businesses that want to grow flexibly without a conventional commercial lease.

See the comparison

Compare all storage types

Interactive tool

Feasibility calculator

Enter space, rent, occupancy and investment, and instantly see revenue, net income, yield on cost and payback. For container and indoor concepts.

Calculate now

4 questions · 1 minute

Which storage type suits me?

Site, location, budget and time horizon: our decision guide gives you an initial steer on which concept fits your situation.

Start the decision guide

Business models

Three roles, one market.

Who makes money in self storage, and how. Most projects come about through the interplay of land, capital and operations.

Business models in detail

Landowners

Lease the land, contribute it as a partner or develop it yourself. Brownfield sites and leftover plots become a source of ongoing income.

LeasePartnershipSelf-operation

Investors

Capital for sites, assets or operating companies. From direct investment to private debt models.

DirectJoint venturePrivate debt

Operators

Letting, pricing, marketing and service. This is where value is created, or lost.

Self-operationManagementPartner model

Community

Where land, capital and know-how come together.

The industry is small and well connected. Introduce yourself, offer a site or find partners for your project.

Get listed as a partner

With a profile in the industry directory: for manufacturers, planners, software providers, lenders and operators.

Become a partner

Offer a site

Present your land and get found by operators and investors.

Submit a site

Projects & capital

Looking for project partners, equity or debt for a site? Get in touch here.

Present a project

Search the directory

Operators, manufacturers, architects, software, insurance, finance.

Go to the directory

Industry news

Latest from the industry.

Automatically collected from trade media and news sources, updated hourly. Last updated: –

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Frequently asked questions

Quick answers.

The key questions for getting started. More detail in the knowledge articles.

Ask a question

What exactly is self storage?

Self storage means renting lockable storage units to private and business customers on flexible terms, usually cancellable monthly and with independent access. Units range from small lockers inside a building to storage containers on an open site.

What returns are realistic?

That depends heavily on storage type, location, land costs and operations. The key factors are occupancy, achievable rent and ramp-up time. Our calculator lets you test your own assumptions, but it is no substitute for a professional assessment.

Indoor or storage containers: which is better?

There is no "better". Indoor facilities make very efficient use of expensive urban land but require high investment and long planning times. Container parks are faster and modular but need more land. The decision guide gives you an initial steer.

Do I need planning permission?

As a rule, yes. Container facilities also count as structures under German building law. What matters is the local development plan, the permitted use (usually a commercial or industrial zone) and the building code of the relevant federal state. Consulting the planning authority early saves time.

Who is behind this platform?

The platform was initiated by CoStore, an operator of container self storage. Editorial content is kept separate from commercial offers, and sponsored content is labelled. Details under Transparency.

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