Ask five UK suppliers what a refrigerated container costs and four will tell you to ring for a quote. Published rates are genuinely rare in this market, which makes budgeting difficult before you have spoken to anyone. This guide gathers the available evidence in one place: indicative brackets observed across the UK market in 2026, always quoted ex VAT (add 20%), and always as ranges rather than tariffs — because the price you are actually offered depends on size, condition, hire term and location.
The short answer: long-term hire starts at around £12 per day, a used working unit typically changes hands for £4,500 to £7,500, and a new “one-trip” reefer lists at £18,995 to £22,500, all ex VAT. The honest answer is longer, because the hire or purchase price is only one line in the total cost of running a refrigerated container — electricity alone can rival the hire charge over a season.
UK price ranges at a glance
| Cost line | Indicative UK range (ex VAT) |
|---|---|
| Long-term hire | from around £12 per day (≈ £365 over a 30-day month) |
| Used refrigerated container, working order | £4,500 – £7,500 |
| New one-trip refrigerated container | £18,995 – £22,500 |
| Electricity consumption | 70 – 170 kWh per day, billed at your contracted unit rate |
Treat these as observed brackets, not quotations. A supplier pricing a specific unit, on a specific term, delivered to a specific postcode can land outside them for perfectly good reasons.
Hire prices: the £12-a-day headline, and the small print
Day rates from around £12 ex VAT are achievable in the UK, but that headline figure is a long-term rate. Many hire companies apply minimum terms, and 90 days is a common floor — worth knowing before you plan a six-week project around a daily price. Genuine short-term hire does exist with some suppliers, at a higher daily rate: the shorter the term, the more each day costs, which is simply how hire degressivity works.
Whatever the term, the hire rate covers the container and its refrigeration machinery — not delivery, collection or the electricity it consumes on your site. Our hire section covers the formats and set-ups in more detail.
Buying: used or new one-trip
A used refrigerated container in working order typically sells for £4,500 to £7,500 ex VAT. Within that bracket, condition matters more than age alone: the trade grades units from class A (generally under 12 years old, machinery in strong order) down to class C. A sound used unit still has around 10 to 15 years of service life ahead of it, which is why a recent PTI — Pre-Trip Inspection, ideally under three months old — is the single most useful document to ask for. Our used buying pages go through grades and checks in detail.
New “one-trip” units — built, shipped once with cargo, then sold — list at £18,995 to £22,500 ex VAT. The premium buys the newest machinery and the longest service life ahead, which changes the arithmetic if you intend to run the unit for many years.
Running costs: the number nobody puts on the price list
A refrigerated container draws roughly 70 to 170 kWh per day depending on size and set point. A 20ft unit holding +2 °C typically consumes 85 to 95 kWh a day; at -18 °C that rises to around 95 to 110 kWh, and larger high-cube formats sit towards the top of the overall range. Because electricity contracts vary so widely, the useful habit is arithmetic rather than a fixed figure: every 10 pence per kWh on your unit rate adds £7 to £17 per day across that consumption span.
Power supply matters too. Most units run on three-phase 380/400 V through a five-pin 32 A CEE plug, though some small formats run on single-phase 230 V. If suitable three-phase power is already on site, connection can cost nothing; if not, budget for an electrician before the container arrives. And if you buy rather than hire, allow for an annual service of the refrigeration unit. Our running costs guide works through all of this.
Delivery and siting
Refrigerated containers are usually delivered by crane-equipped lorry (HIAB), and the cost depends on distance and on access at your site — a flat, firm surface with room for the vehicle to manoeuvre keeps the bill down. There is no meaningful national flat rate, so treat delivery as a line to be quoted alongside the container itself, and ask for delivery and collection pricing up front on hire.
A worked example: six months of chilled storage
Take a 20ft container held at +2 °C for 180 days on long-term hire:
- Hire: from around £2,160 ex VAT (180 days at the £12 long-term day rate).
- Electricity: roughly 15,000 to 17,000 kWh over the period. Every 10 pence per kWh on your unit rate represents about £1,500 to £1,700.
- Delivery and collection: quoted separately, by distance and access.
- VAT: 20% on top of the lot.
Depending on your electricity contract, the power bill lands on the same order of magnitude as the hire itself. That is the real answer to “how much does a refrigerated container cost”: the headline rate is half the story, and comparing suppliers on the whole bundle beats comparing day rates alone.
Hire or buy?
The crossover sits at around 18 to 24 months of continuous use. Below that, hiring keeps capital free and hands the machinery risk to the supplier. Beyond it, buying a used unit at £4,500 to £7,500 usually works out cheaper over the container’s remaining 10 to 15 years of service — and asset finance terms of 24 to 60 months exist if you would rather spread the cost.
From ranges to real quotes
EuroReefer is an editorial comparison site specialised in refrigerated containers: we publish the ranges, and when you are ready we pass your request to specialist suppliers, who contact you directly if they can meet your requirement. Request your quotes with your size, temperature and term, and compare the offers on total cost — hire or purchase, electricity, delivery and VAT — rather than on the headline rate.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to hire a refrigerated container in the UK?
Long-term hire starts at around £12 per day ex VAT for standard sizes, which works out at roughly £365 over a 30-day month. Be aware that many hire companies apply a minimum term — 90 days is common — although some do offer genuine short-term hire at a higher daily rate. Delivery, collection and electricity are all charged on top of the hire rate itself.
How much is a used refrigerated container?
A used refrigerated container in working order typically costs £4,500 to £7,500 ex VAT in the UK. Condition grades run from class A (usually under 12 years old) down to class C. A well-maintained used unit still has around 10 to 15 years of service life ahead of it — ask the seller for a recent PTI (Pre-Trip Inspection) report, ideally less than three months old.
How much electricity does a refrigerated container use?
Expect roughly 70 to 170 kWh per day depending on size and set point. A 20ft unit holding +2 °C typically draws 85 to 95 kWh a day; running at -18 °C, or stepping up to a 40ft high cube, pushes consumption towards the top of the range. Multiply the daily kWh by the unit rate on your business electricity contract to estimate your true running cost.
Are refrigerated container prices quoted ex VAT?
Yes. In the UK, hire rates and sale prices for refrigerated containers are almost always quoted ex VAT, and every figure on this page follows that convention. VAT is then added at 20%, so a £6,000 used unit becomes £7,200 including VAT. When comparing offers, check which basis each supplier is using before you put the numbers side by side.