The Storage King alternative that brings the team, not just the van
Storage King is one of the UK’s biggest self-storage names, with units you rent, fill and visit yourself. YouStock works the other way: your belongings are collected, stored and delivered back by a team, and you pay for the space they fill rather than a unit size. Here is where each one comes out ahead.
Two well-rated services, with people behind them
Storage is only as good as the people running it, and both companies have built a solid reputation on that front. Storage King has been in the business for over two decades, with staff on hand in store to help you work out what you need. YouStock’s team guides you from your first quote through to every delivery back, and stays reachable when plans change.
Customers speak well of both, and that consistency of feedback says something in a sector where you are trusting someone else with things that matter to you. Where the two part company is not how seriously they take the job, but who ends up doing the heavy lifting.
Storage King will rent you a van. YouStock brings the team.
It is a telling detail that Storage King offers van hire as a service: with self storage, moving your belongings is a job you still have to do. You book the van, you load it, you drive to the store, you carry everything into your unit, and you do it all again in reverse months later.
YouStock removes that job completely. A team arrives at your address, carries your belongings out, transports them to storage, and brings them back to your door whenever you ask. Collection and delivery are the service, not an add-on you rent. If you have ever hauled a sofa down a communal staircase, you will know exactly what that is worth.
Students, households, businesses: both are set up for all three
Storage rarely means the same thing to two people, and both services are built to cope with that. Storage King runs dedicated personal, business and student offers, alongside office space and document shredding. YouStock does the same, with services shaped for individuals, for students and for companies, right through to commercial logistics and inventory tracking.
So the end-of-term move, the flat being rewired, the retailer whose stockroom has overflowed: all three are familiar ground either way. The question is never whether they will take it, but who carries it and what lands on the invoice.
Pay only for the space you fill, with no two-week minimum
Storage King rents by the unit, in set sizes, with a minimum stay of two weeks. Pick a unit that is slightly too big and you pay for the empty half; need storage for four days and you still pay for a fortnight.
YouStock charges by the square foot your belongings actually occupy, with no minimum term at all, so a single day is a single day. And because every item is photographed at collection and listed in your online account, you can see exactly what is in storage and ask for one thing back without visiting anywhere. You pay for precisely what you store, and you can look at it whenever you like.
| YouStock | Storage King | |
|---|---|---|
| Collection and delivery included as standard | ✅ | ❌ |
| Walk-in access to your own unit | ❌ | ✅ |
| Online photo inventory of your items | ✅ | ❌ |
| Charged by the sqft you fill, not a unit size | ✅ | ❌ |
| Secure, CCTV-monitored storage | ✅ | ✅ |
| Established service with strong customer feedback | ✅ | ✅ |
YouStock or Storage King: which is right for you?
Two very different ways to store. Here is where each one leads.
Outside London, or keen to visit your own unit whenever you like? Storage King has the network for it. Storing in London and would rather never touch a van? That is what YouStock is for.
Londoners rate YouStock Excellent on Trustpilot
Reviews tell you more than any comparison table. Here is what customers say once YouStock has their belongings.
If you are in London and would rather hand the whole job over, your quote takes a minute. Price it up from your inventory, or book a call and we will explain how collection and delivery work.
omparing other storage companies too?
If Storage King is one of several on your shortlist, these guides cover the others:
FAQ - YouStock vs Storage King
Storage King rents you a unit in a fixed size, anywhere from a 10 sq ft locker to a 1,000 sq ft space, which you fill and visit yourself at one of its 49 UK stores. YouStock collects your belongings, stores them, photographs each item in an online inventory, and charges by the square foot they actually fill. One rents you space; the other takes the job off your hands.
No. Storage King is self storage, so you transport your belongings to your unit yourself, and it offers van hire if you need a vehicle to do it. With YouStock, collection and delivery are included as standard: a team comes to your address, takes your things into storage and brings them back on request.
YouStock’s UK service is centred on London, and it also runs storage facilities in France, Belgium and Monaco. Storage King has the far wider UK network, with 49 stores from Liverpool to Exeter, so if you are storing well outside London, Storage King covers more ground.
Not in person, and it is worth being clear about that. Storage King gives you your own unit with flexible access hours, so you can drop in. With YouStock, you view your belongings through an online photo inventory and request delivery of anything you want back, but you do not visit a unit. If you like popping into your storage, self storage suits you better.
They are structured differently. Storage King rents units by size, runs a price match promise and promotional offers, and you pay for the whole unit whether it is full or not. YouStock charges by the square foot your belongings occupy and includes collection and delivery, which takes van hire out of the equation. Comparing like for like means getting a quote from each for your own items, transport included.
With YouStock, yes, item by item. Everything is photographed at collection and listed in your account, so you can browse your belongings and request any single item back. With a Storage King unit, what is inside is whatever you remember packing, and retrieving one item means a trip to the store.