CubeSmart vs Extra Space Storage: which is cheaper?
Short answer: whichever quotes you less for the same unit on the same day, because no free primary source compares their prices store by store. What each company files is below. Extra Space is far bigger, more specific about rate increases, and its own figures show new tenants paying well under the in-place average. CubeSmart is smaller, and its filed rent per square foot is higher; its 10-K does not say why.
CubeSmart
$22.73
same-store annual rent per occupied sq ft, FY2025, 606 stores
1,524 stores owned or managed. No rate-increase cycle disclosed.
Extra Space
$19.91
same-store annual rent per occupied sq ft, FY2025, 1,804 stores
4,281 stores at year end 2025. Increases to existing tenants “at least annually”.
Sources: CubeSmart Form 10-K, FY2025 and Extra Space Storage Form 10-K, FY2025, both on SEC EDGAR, read 16 October 2026. Annual rent per occupied square foot, all unit sizes blended, one operator's same-store pool each. Not a quote, and not to be multiplied into a monthly unit price.
Side by side
| From the FY2025 10-K | CubeSmart | Extra Space |
|---|---|---|
| Stores owned or managed (31 Dec 2025) | 1,524 | 4,281 (4,410 at 30 Jun 2026) |
| Of which managed for third parties | 862 | 1,856 |
| Same-store annual rent per occupied sq ft, FY2025 | $22.73 | $19.91 |
| Same-store pool | 606 stores | 1,804 stores |
| New-lease annual rent per sq ft, FY2025 | Not disclosed | $13.16 |
| Occupancy | 89.7% same-store average, 2025 | 92.6% same-store, year end 2025 |
| Rate increases, as disclosed | Lease allows increases "over time as market conditions permit"; no schedule | "At least annually" for existing tenants |
| Administrative fee | Yes, provided for in its leases; amount not filed | Yes, recognised as income; amount not filed |
| Protection for stored goods | Storage protection plan offered; price not filed | Tenant reinsurance up to ten thousand dollars of cover for a monthly fee |
Every row comes from the company's own annual report, except Extra Space's mid-2026 store count, which is from its second-quarter 2026 results. The two same-store pools differ in size and market mix, so the rent rows are not a like-for-like price comparison.
Pricing a unit at both
No free primary source publishes either chain's rates by unit size, so this page does not print a size table. The rate you will be offered depends on the store's land cost and occupancy that week, the unit size and floor, climate control, and whatever introductory offer is running. Both companies price dynamically, so collect the two quotes on the same day.
Extra Space's own figures show why the month-one price is the wrong thing to compare: new leases in its same-store pool averaged $13.16 per square foot a year in 2025, about a third below the $19.91 average across all occupied space in the same stores. Ask both stores what the rate becomes after the first review, not just what it is today.
Ask both stores, same size, same day
- What is the rate online and at the counter, and is any of it an introductory discount?
- What is the rate once the discount ends, and when does the first review usually fall?
- What is the administrative fee, and what is the total due on day one?
- What does your protection plan cost at each coverage level, and will you accept my own policy?
- Is the unit climate controlled, ground floor or drive-up, and what are the access hours?
Where each one wins
Choose CubeSmart when
- It has a store near you and its written quote, after any intro offer, is the lower of the two.
- You are in one of its heaviest owned states: Texas, Florida, California, New York, Arizona or Illinois.
- The store itself suits you better on access, climate control or condition.
Choose Extra Space when
- CubeSmart has no store within reach, which is common given the difference in size.
- Its written quote, after any intro offer, is the lower of the two.
- You are comparing a former Life Storage store, now trading as Extra Space after the merger closed on 20 July 2023.
The honest tie-breaker is availability. Extra Space operates nearly three times as many stores as CubeSmart, so in plenty of markets only one is actually an option. Where both compete, pull a written quote from each on the same day before committing. See the wider comparison on our providers page.
Frequently asked
Is CubeSmart or Extra Space cheaper?
No free primary source compares the two chains' prices for the same unit in the same place, so the honest answer is: whichever gives you the lower written quote for the same size on the same day. On the one measure both file, CubeSmart's same-store tenants paid $22.73 per occupied square foot a year in FY2025 against $19.91 at Extra Space. Those are portfolio averages across all unit sizes, from pools of 606 and 1,804 stores in different markets, so they reflect where each company owns as much as how it prices.
Which has more locations, CubeSmart or Extra Space?
Extra Space, by a wide margin. It owned or managed 4,281 stores at 31 December 2025 and 4,410 at 30 June 2026, against 1,524 for CubeSmart at the end of 2025. Both companies run large management businesses for other owners (1,856 stores at Extra Space, 862 at CubeSmart). In many places only one of the two is a practical option, which decides the choice before price does.
Why is CubeSmart's filed rent per square foot higher than Extra Space's?
Because the pools are different. CubeSmart's 606-store same-store pool is smaller than Extra Space's 1,804-store pool and covers a different mix of markets, and neither filing explains the gap. It is not the price of a 10x10 and does not tell you which chain is cheaper on your street.
Which raises rent more often?
Extra Space is the more specific of the two. Its FY2025 10-K says: "Existing tenants generally receive rate increases at least annually, for which no direct correlation has been drawn to our vacancy trends." CubeSmart's 10-K says its leases allow "flexibility to increase rental rates over time as market conditions permit" without stating a cycle. Neither publishes the size of its increases. Extra Space's filing also shows new leases in its same-store pool averaging $13.16 per square foot a year against $19.91 across all occupied space, which is what a pattern of low entry rates and later increases looks like in the numbers.
Is insurance required at both CubeSmart and Extra Space?
Expect both to ask for proof that your stored goods are covered at move-in, either through the operator's own product or through a home contents or renters policy that extends to goods stored off the premises. Neither 10-K states a monthly price for the operator's own cover. Extra Space's says tenants can choose up to ten thousand dollars of coverage for a monthly fee. Ask each store for the price of each coverage level and whether your own policy will be accepted.
Should I choose CubeSmart or Extra Space?
Start with which one actually has a store near you. If both do, get a written quote for the same size from each on the same day, ask each what the rate becomes after any introductory offer and when the first increase usually lands, and add the administrative fee and protection cover to get the true day-one cost. Then choose on that number and on what matters to you in the building: access hours, climate control, and how the store looks when you visit.