What does it cost to store documents in office space?

A single four-drawer filing cabinet takes up approximately 6 square feet. At UK office rents of £15-£60+ per square foot, that is £90 to £360 per year just in rent for one cabinet, before accounting for staff time, insurance and compliance costs.

Is off-site document storage cheaper than keeping records in the office?

In most cases, yes. Professional storage costs 5p to 25p per box per week, while the equivalent office space, staff time, insurance and compliance costs add up to significantly more. Off-site storage also includes security, tracking and compliance that on-site storage lacks.

Is Document Storage Cheaper Than Office Space? A Cost Comparison

Many businesses store documents on-site without realising the true cost. When you compare the price of office space with professional off-site storage, the numbers are often surprising.

What Does Office Space Really Cost for Document Storage?

Consider what you are paying for the space your filing cabinets, archive rooms and storage cupboards occupy. In the UK, average office rent ranges from around £15 per square foot outside London to over £60 per square foot in central London. A single four-drawer filing cabinet takes up approximately 6 square feet of floor space — that is £90 to £360 per year just in rent, for one cabinet.

The Hidden Costs of On-Site Storage

Rent is only part of the picture. On-site document storage carries several hidden costs:

Staff time — filing, retrieving, organising and managing physical records is labour-intensive
Insurance — increased premiums for fire and flood risk when storing large volumes of paper
Equipment — filing cabinets, shelving, boxes and labels
Compliance risk — without proper systems, meeting GDPR and industry retention requirements becomes difficult and expensive if things go wrong
Opportunity cost — the space could be used for revenue-generating activities instead

What Does Professional Off-Site Storage Cost?

Professional document storage typically costs between 5p and 25p per box per week. A standard archive box holds the equivalent of a filing cabinet drawer. So the same volume of documents that costs you hundreds of pounds per year in office space can be stored off-site for a fraction of the price — with proper security, tracking and compliance included.

Beyond Cost: What Else Do You Gain?

Moving documents off-site is not just about saving money. You also gain:

Security — purpose-built facilities with 24/7 CCTV, fire suppression and controlled access
Compliance — ISO 27001 certified handling, full audit trails and proper retention management
Space — free up valuable office or warehouse space for productive use
Reliability — barcode-tracked retrieval means you can find any document quickly
Destruction — when documents reach end of retention, secure shredding is handled for you

Making the Switch

At EvaStore, we make the transition simple. We collect your documents, catalogue everything with barcode tracking, and store them in our purpose-built facilities in Shropshire. You can request any file whenever you need it, and we handle secure destruction when the time comes.

Get a Free Quote

The best way to find out what this will cost for your business is to get in touch with our team. We will provide a clear, no-obligation quote — usually within the same day.

Call us on 01691 650355 or use the form below.