The Student Storage Box alternative with a team, not just a courier
Student Storage Box works on a simple promise: they post you boxes, a courier picks them up, and your things come back at the end of term. It is a tidy system if everything you own fits in cardboard. YouStock sends a team to your room instead, takes the bike and the desk chair along with the boxes, and lets you see it all from your phone. Here is how the two compare for storing in London.
Both collect from your door, and both sort the boxes out
Neither service asks a student to hire a van. Student Storage Box posts out heavy-duty boxes and tape at no charge, then collects them from you on a day you pick. YouStock brings boxes and protective materials to your address, collects for free on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays across London Zones 1 to 6, and can pack for you if you would rather not.
Both also flex around the academic year, whether you are storing for eight weeks over the summer, a term abroad, or a full year out. So the awkward part, getting everything out of your room and away, is covered either way. What that actually involves is where they diverge.
With YouStock, the team comes up to your room and takes the furniture too
Two things are worth knowing about how Student Storage Box collects. In university accommodation, its couriers can only collect from your staffed ground-floor reception, so anything in your room has to be carried down by you first. And the service stores what fits in a box or a suitcase, which leaves out the bike, the desk chair and the drawers under your bed.
YouStock does both. The team comes up to your room, lifts and loads everything itself, and takes furniture and bulky items as readily as boxes, from a bike to a monitor to a full room’s worth of stuff. Nothing needs hauling down four flights before the storage even begins.
Both keep your belongings secure while you are away
Handing over everything you own before disappearing for four months takes some trust, and both companies are set up for it. Student Storage Box stores your boxes and includes cover for loss in transit as standard, with extra insurance available. YouStock keeps belongings in double-locked warehouses under 24/7 CCTV, insured from the moment they are collected to the moment they are returned.
Different setups, the same reassurance: while you are home, abroad or on a beach, your things are looked after and nobody else can get at them.
With YouStock, see your belongings and get one item back, without a week’s notice
Here is where the two systems really part. With Student Storage Box, your things go into a courier network as sealed boxes. To get them back, you log in and book your return at least a week in advance, and what returns is the boxes.
With YouStock, every item is photographed at collection and listed in your account. You scroll through your actual belongings on your phone, and if you only want the winter coat and the laptop stand back, you request those and leave the rest in storage. No guessing which box, and no planning a week ahead just to see your own things again.
| YouStock | Student Storage Box | |
|---|---|---|
| Free doorstep collection | ✅ | ✅ |
| Team comes into your room and does the lifting | ✅ | ❌ |
| Stores furniture, bikes and bulky items | ✅ | ❌ |
| Online photo inventory of every item | ✅ | ❌ |
| Request a single item back on demand | ✅ | ❌ |
| Storage in university cities across the UK | ❌ | ✅ |
| Secure storage with cover for your belongings | ✅ | ✅ |
YouStock or Student Storage Box: which fits your year?
Both were built for students. Here is where each one leads.
Studying in Leeds or Glasgow, or shipping your life to another country at the end of the year? Student Storage Box is built for that. Storing in London, with a bike and furniture and no wish to carry it downstairs? That is YouStock.
Students rate YouStock Excellent on Trustpilot
Move-out week is stressful enough without wondering whether your things will be handled properly. Here is what students and their parents say.
Storage from £9.75 a week, free midweek collection, and a team that carries everything down for you. An instant quote takes under three minutes, or book a call if you would rather ask first.
Looking at other student storage options?
If Student Storage Box is one of a few names you are weighing up, these comparisons cover the rest:
FAQ - YouStock vs Student Storage Box
Not in halls. Their own guidance states that at university accommodation they can only collect from your staffed ground-floor reception, so you carry everything down yourself. YouStock’s team comes up to your room, does the lifting and takes it from there, which matters if you are on the fourth floor with no lift.
Not with Student Storage Box, which stores what fits in boxes and suitcases. YouStock stores furniture, bikes, desk chairs and bulky items alongside your boxes, so a whole student room goes in one collection rather than being reduced to what fits in cardboard.
With Student Storage Box, you need to book your return at least a week in advance, even if you already gave a return date when booking. With YouStock, you request delivery from your account and your belongings are brought back to your London address, and you can ask for a single item rather than everything.
Student Storage Box includes free heavy-duty boxes and tape with its storage, which is a genuine saving. YouStock brings boxes and protective materials to your door and offers a packing service, and collection is free on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays across London Zones 1 to 6. Note that with both services, delivering your belongings back to you is charged separately, so compare both legs.
Student Storage Box operates across nearly every UK university city, from Aberdeen to Exeter, so if you are not studying in London it has the reach. YouStock’s student storage covers London, Zones 1 to 6.
Student Storage Box ships internationally and will relocate your belongings anywhere in the world after storage, without charging extra for a different city. YouStock stores your things in London and delivers them back when you return, and also runs storage facilities in France, Belgium and Monaco.
With YouStock, yes: every item is photographed at collection and listed in your online account, so you can browse your belongings from your phone. With Student Storage Box, your things go into storage as sealed boxes, so what is inside is whatever you remember packing.