Self-Storage vs Door-to-Door Storage in Luxembourg: Which Is Right for You?

Search "storage Luxembourg" and you will see two very different services bundled together in the results: traditional self-storage units, and door-to-door storage. They look similar in the listings. They are not the same thing, and the difference between them often determines whether storage feels like a relief or a chore.

The two models, briefly defined

Self-storage is the older model, imported from American suburbs in the 1980s. You rent a fixed-size unit, usually starting at 2 to 5 square metres, at a facility on the edge of town. You drive your belongings there yourself, unload them yourself, and visit whenever you need access. Most facilities are unstaffed beyond a perimeter gate. In Luxembourg, the main self-storage operators include Mystock, Allyouneed Storage, and a handful of smaller providers.

Door-to-door storage is the newer model, common in dense European cities where most residents do not own vans. You do not rent a unit at all. You rent space by the box. The storage company collects boxes from your home, holds them in a central warehouse, and delivers them back when you ask. You do not drive anywhere. Storagelux is the leading door-to-door provider in Luxembourg.

The cost question: what people get wrong

Self-storage looks cheaper at first glance. The smallest Luxembourg self-storage unit (around 2 to 5 m², enough for roughly 15 to 25 boxes) starts at about €200 per month. Storagelux is €16.00 per box per month. So if you only have a few boxes, door-to-door is dramatically cheaper. If you have a full unit's worth, 30 or more boxes plus furniture, self-storage starts to look more sensible on the headline number.

But headline numbers leave out the rest of the cost. The real cost of self-storage includes:

• Van hire for trips to and from the facility (around €39 per half-day)
• Petrol and parking for each trip
• Time: the average self-storage trip in Luxembourg, including loading and unloading, takes 90 to 150 minutes door to door
• The hassle factor, which most people quietly hate

Here is what those numbers look like for three typical scenarios:

For small to medium volumes, which is the realistic case for most Luxembourg residents, door-to-door is significantly cheaper before you even count the time. Once you do count the time, the comparison stops being close.

The time and effort comparison

When self-storage genuinely makes sense

It is not always the wrong choice. Self-storage is the better fit when:

• You need to come and go frequently: for example, seasonal business inventory you rotate every fortnight, or hobby equipment you use weekly
• You are storing items that do not fit in standard boxes: motorbikes, large machinery, complete bedroom sets, classic cars
• You want unrestricted 24/7 physical access at any hour
• You already own a van or have reliable access to one
• You have 30 or more boxes plus large furniture, and you actually prefer a single fixed-price unit you can walk into

When door-to-door is the better fit

Door-to-door storage works best when:

• You are storing for a defined reason: a lease gap, a renovation, a long trip abroad, a seasonal swap of ski gear and garden furniture
• You do not own a van and have no interest in hiring one
• You value your weekends more than instant physical access
• You have between 3 and 30 boxes, the volume range where the per-box model is most efficient
• You live somewhere with no parking, narrow stairs, or no lift
• You are leaving Luxembourg and need someone to hand your boxes to a courier

Most Luxembourg residents fall into this second category. Apartments are small, vans are inconvenient, and the things people store are usually predictable: winter gear in summer, summer gear in winter, the contents of a guest room turned into an office, the boxes that arrived from the UK and never quite found a home.

The hybrid scenario

A small number of Luxembourg residents use both. Door-to-door for the bulk of their belongings, the boxes, the seasonal items, the books, and a small self-storage unit for the irregular things they need access to: a motorbike, workshop tools, a project car. It is not common, but it is a valid approach when your situation genuinely requires both.

Most people, however, only need one. The right question is not "which is better", both have their place, but "which fits my actual situation". For a couple in a Kirchberg flat with eight boxes of overflow, door-to-door is unambiguously better. For a sole trader running a seasonal business with weekly inventory rotation, self-storage is unambiguously better. The trick is being honest about which you actually are.