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Estimated cost
$0
| Item | Cost range |
|---|
Same size, national average, house only
- Prefab
- Custom build
Living in a tiny house typically costs $500 – $1,000 a month (utilities, insurance, taxes or lot rent, upkeep).
Estimate from published US averages. Get itemized quotes before you budget: land, delivery, permits and utility connections are not included unless you add them.
Where the money goes in a custom build
Typical installed cost of each part, US national averages. The bar runs from the low to the high figure; the percent is each part's share of the middle of the ranges.
Sources and method
- Fixr, "How much does it cost to build a tiny house?" (updated October 14, 2022)
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Producer Price Index: inputs to residential construction, goods (WPUIP2311001)
The house price is read from published prices for 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 sq ft, with straight-line steps in between. Prefab homes on wheels arrive with their trailer; a custom home on wheels adds the trailer, and every home on a foundation adds the foundation.
This tiny house cost calculator estimates what it costs to build a tiny home of 100 to 500 sq ft. Choose prefab or custom, wheels or a foundation, add extras such as built in furniture or off grid power, and you get a cost range, a line by line breakdown and a price per square foot taken from a published US cost guide.
Every default price comes from Fixr’s tiny house cost guide, brought forward from 2022 with a US government price index. Costs the guide does not price, such as land, delivery and permits, are yours to add as separate lines.
How to use the tiny house cost calculator
- Enter the floor area. Type the size or drag the slider, in sq ft or m². The price data covers 100 to 500 sq ft (about 9.3 to 46.5 m²), and a value outside that range is moved to the nearest end. A sleeping loft is usually not counted in the floor area.
- Choose how it will be built. Prefab is a factory built home delivered to you; custom means a builder works from your plans.
- Choose where it will sit. On wheels puts the home on a trailer so it can be moved; on a foundation fixes it on a slab on your land.
- Pick a location. US national average or California. California uses one price per square foot for every build type, so the build choice is switched off when you select it.
- Add extras. Custom storage, built in furniture, a deck (foundation homes only), off grid power and an architect. Each checkbox shows its price range next to it.
- Add your own costs. The Land, Delivery, Permits, Utility connections and Other buttons add up to 10 lines with your own amounts.
- Read and keep the estimate. The result shows the total range, the midpoint, the cost per square foot and every line. Print it or save it as a PDF, copy a text summary, download a CSV or copy a share link.
The calculator runs entirely in your browser. Your last estimate stays in local storage, and a share link carries the estimate inside the link, so nothing is sent to a server.
How the estimate is calculated
The estimate is a sum of lines, each with a low and a high figure: the house, then a trailer or foundation where it applies, the extras you tick, an architect fee and your own costs. Every line is rounded to the nearest $100, since the source gives ranges.
The house price by size
Fixr publishes installed prices, labor included, for five sizes. The calculator reads your size from this table and draws a straight line between the rows, so 250 sq ft sits exactly halfway between the 200 and 300 sq ft prices.
| Floor area | Prefab (2022 dollars) | Custom build (2022 dollars) |
|---|---|---|
| 100 sq ft | $20,000 to $25,000 | $25,000 to $40,000 |
| 200 sq ft | $40,000 to $50,000 | $50,000 to $80,000 |
| 300 sq ft | $60,000 to $75,000 | $75,000 to $120,000 |
| 400 sq ft | $80,000 to $100,000 | $100,000 to $160,000 |
| 500 sq ft | $100,000 to $125,000 | $125,000 to $200,000 |
The table works out to a flat $200 to $250 per sq ft for prefab and $250 to $400 per sq ft for custom at every size, and the top of the prefab range always equals the bottom of the custom range.
Trailer or foundation
The source notes that prefab homes tend to be all inclusive and that prefab homes on wheels are usually delivered complete. A custom home on wheels adds a trailer line of $3,500 to $5,000 in 2022 dollars, or $3,800 to $5,500 after the price update. Any home on a foundation, prefab or custom, adds foundation and site work at $4,000 to $6,000, or $4,400 to $6,600 updated. A prefab home on wheels adds neither, because the trailer comes with the home.
Extras and the architect fee
Extras are fixed ranges from the same guide: custom storage such as stair drawers or a storage loft at $1,000 to $5,000, built in furniture such as bench seating and beds at $1,000 to $10,000, a deck from $500 for foundation homes, and off grid power with solar or a generator at $5,000 to $10,000 before rebates. The architect is priced differently, at 10% to 17% of the building budget: the low fee is 10% of the low total and the high fee is 17% of the high total, both calculated on the house, the trailer or foundation and the extras together.
California
For California, Fixr quotes $350 to $450 per sq ft, against $200 to $400 nationally. The calculator multiplies your floor area by that figure and treats it as an all in price, so no trailer or foundation line is added and the prefab or custom choice does not apply. Extras and your own lines still count.
Bringing 2022 prices up to date
The Fixr figures date from October 2022. With the default setting on, the calculator raises every published price by 10.0%, the change in the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index for inputs to residential construction between October 2022 and May 2026 (from 315.505 to 346.977). That index tracks material prices, not labor, so treat the update as an approximation. Untick the box to see the original 2022 figures. Your own cost lines are never adjusted.
Tiny house cost by size
The calculator’s house line at the published sizes, with the price update on:
| Floor area | Prefab, house only | Custom build, house only |
|---|---|---|
| 100 sq ft | $22,000 to $27,500 | $27,500 to $44,000 |
| 200 sq ft | $44,000 to $55,000 | $55,000 to $88,000 |
| 300 sq ft | $66,000 to $82,500 | $82,500 to $132,000 |
| 400 sq ft | $88,000 to $110,000 | $110,000 to $176,000 |
| 500 sq ft | $110,000 to $137,500 | $137,500 to $220,000 |
Because the trailer is a fixed cost, it weighs more on a small home. A 100 sq ft custom home on wheels comes to $31,300 to $49,500, or $313 to $495 per sq ft, while a 500 sq ft one comes to $141,300 to $225,500, or $283 to $451 per sq ft.
Worked examples
Example 1: a 160 sq ft custom home on wheels with storage and furniture
A 160 sq ft custom build on a trailer with custom storage and built in furniture comes to $50,000 to $92,400, with a midpoint of $71,200. The house line is $44,000 to $70,400, the trailer $3,800 to $5,500, storage $1,100 to $5,500 and furniture $1,100 to $11,000. Together the two extras add $2,200 at the low end and $16,500 at the high end, which is why the price per square foot runs from $313 to $578.
Example 2: a 300 sq ft prefab home on a foundation, off grid
A 300 sq ft prefab home on a foundation with a deck and off grid power comes to $76,400 to $100,600, with a midpoint of $88,500. The lines are the prefab house at $66,000 to $82,500, foundation and site work at $4,400 to $6,600, the deck at $500 and off grid power at $5,500 to $11,000 before rebates. That is $255 to $335 per sq ft. A custom build of the same size would cost $82,500 to $132,000 for the house alone.
Example 3: a 400 sq ft custom home on a foundation with an architect
Without extras, a 400 sq ft custom home on a foundation costs $114,400 to $182,600. Ticking the architect adds a fee of $11,400 to $31,000 for a total of $125,800 to $213,600, or $315 to $534 per sq ft. Both the percentage and the base move, so the fee range is wide; leave the box off if you already have plans.
Example 4: a 250 sq ft home in California
Switch the location to California and a 250 sq ft home comes to $96,200 to $123,700, the floor area times the updated $385 to $495 per sq ft. The same home built as a custom home on wheels at the national average costs $72,500 to $115,500 including the trailer. Here the build type cards are greyed out and the national comparison box is hidden.
Where the money goes in a custom build
Below the calculator, a bar chart splits a custom build into its parts using Fixr’s installed averages, updated by the same index. Each bar runs from the low to the high figure, and the percentage is that part’s share of the middle of the ranges. For a home on wheels it reads:
| Part | Installed cost | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Framing | $5,500 to $15,400 | 26% |
| Exterior (windows, doors, roof, siding, insulation) | $2,700 to $14,800 | 22% |
| Plumbing | $3,300 to $7,700 | 14% |
| Trailer | $3,800 to $5,500 | 12% |
| Interior finishing (walls, floors, cabinets, paint) | $1,500 to $6,800 | 10% |
| Appliances | $400 to $4,400 | 6% |
| Electrical | $800 to $3,300 | 5% |
| Heating and cooling | $1,100 to $2,700 | 5% |
Choose a foundation and the trailer bar is replaced by the foundation at $4,400 to $6,600 (14%), with the exterior share at 21%. The chart shows proportions only and is not added to your estimate, which uses the size table above. Framing and the envelope are the largest parts, so settle roof shape and window count early: our guide to roof types and shapes covers the options, and building materials and their properties compares timber, steel, insulation and the other material families.
What drives tiny house costs
Prefab or custom
In the source data, the most a prefab home costs is the least a custom one costs, at every size. Custom pays for design freedom, and its range is wider, $150 per sq ft between its low and high figures against $50 for prefab, so a custom budget needs firmer quotes before you rely on it.
Size and layout
House prices in the source grow in a straight line with floor area. Every 100 sq ft you remove saves $22,000 to $27,500 on a prefab home and $27,500 to $44,000 on a custom one at updated prices, which makes a tighter plan the most direct saving. Our article on small house plans and layouts breaks down eight compact layouts and the storage and daylight moves that make them work, and the free circulation diagram maker lets you map how people move through a plan before you fix its size.
Wheels or a foundation
The trailer and foundation lines are close in price; the real difference sits in the costs around them. A tiny home on wheels sold as a recreational vehicle is built to NFPA 1192, the standard on recreational vehicles, which sets its fire and life safety criteria; whether you may live in it full time depends on local zoning. A home on a foundation is a dwelling under the local building code, and the International Residential Code has a tiny house appendix that applies only where a jurisdiction adopts it. Ask your local planning office before you buy land or a trailer, since the answer decides your permit, land and utility lines.
Location
The source gives two price sets, the national average and California. Anywhere else, start from the national figures and adjust once you have local quotes; local labor rates are not reflected, and labor is also the part the price update does not track.
Off grid power
The source puts going off grid at less than $10,000 before rebates, sometimes under $5,000, hence the $5,500 to $11,000 updated range. Incentives differ by state and utility, so check what applies before you count on one.
Planning the rest of the budget
- Price land, delivery and hookups yourself and add them as your own lines: the total then covers the whole project, while the per square foot figure stays a building cost.
- Put the build in writing. A clear scope, payment schedule and change process protect a fixed budget, and the free contractor agreement generator drafts one you can review with your builder.
- Plan for running costs. The calculator notes that living in a tiny house typically costs $500 to $1,000 a month for utilities, insurance, taxes or lot rent and upkeep. Our article on sustainable architecture on a budget covers materials and strategies that keep costs down.
- If you are converting a garage or outbuilding instead of building new, the renovation cost calculator prices the work trade by trade.
- Check the layout before you commit to built in furniture, which is hard to change later. A floor plan to 3D render from ArchFine turns a 2D layout into a view of the room.
What the calculator does not include
Land, delivery, permits, utility connections and insurance are not priced, because the source does not give figures for them. Furnishings beyond the built in options, financing and taxes are also outside the estimate, and the 2022 figures are updated with a material index, so changes in labor rates since then are not captured. The original Fixr tiny house cost guide lists the published ranges behind every default figure.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to build a tiny house?
With prices updated to May 2026, a 200 sq ft prefab home on wheels comes to $44,000 to $55,000, and a custom build of the same size on a trailer comes to $58,800 to $93,500. A 500 sq ft custom home on wheels reaches $141,300 to $225,500. Land, delivery and permits come on top.
Is a prefab tiny house cheaper than a custom build?
In the published figures, yes. At every size from 100 to 500 sq ft, the top of the prefab range equals the bottom of the custom range, and a prefab home on wheels arrives with its trailer, while a custom home on wheels adds $3,800 to $5,500 for one.
How accurate is a tiny house cost calculator?
It gives a planning figure, not a quote. The prices are published US averages from October 2022, raised by 10.0% with a material price index. Use the result to compare options and set a first budget, then get itemized quotes.
How much does a tiny house cost per square foot?
For the house alone, with the price update on, prefab runs $220 to $275 per sq ft and custom $275 to $440 per sq ft nationally, while California comes to $385 to $495 per sq ft.
Does the estimate include land, delivery and permits?
No. The source does not price them, so the calculator leaves them out. Add each one with the Land, Delivery, Permits or Utility connections buttons and they appear in the total, but not in the price per square foot.
Can I use square meters, and is my estimate stored anywhere?
Switch the unit to m² and the size and price per square meter follow; the prices stay in US dollars. The estimate is kept only in your browser, and a share link carries it inside the link, so nothing is stored on a server.