Buying means one upfront cost (or a fixed interest-free payment plan) and then it's yours, with no ongoing fees. Leasing spreads the cost over time, but you're paying for as long as you keep the container, and the total cost can overtake the purchase price if you hold onto it for more than a year or so.

As a rough guide, a 20ft used container from Empire Containers costs from $3,344 on an interest-free lease-to-own plan (39 fortnightly payments), working out at around $6.12 a day. A new 20ft container is from $6,270 over the same term, or about $11.48 a day. Once it's paid off, there are no further costs. Leasing or hiring a container long-term, by contrast, means you keep paying every month for as long as you need the space, even after you've technically covered its value several times over.

For long-term storage on a farm or rural property, buying is almost always the better option. Once you own the container, there are no ongoing fees, and it becomes a permanent, useful asset you can move, repurpose or sell on later if your needs change. Leasing only makes sense here if you're storing something temporarily, such as gear for a single season or during a renovation. Farmers and rural operators are some of our most common customers at Empire Containers, and most choose to buy outright or use our interest-free lease-to-own option, since it means the container is paid off within a couple of years and then costs nothing more to keep.