7 Best Tiny Home Kits in 2023 – Top Picks & Reviews

Tiny homes are becoming very popular due to their affordable price and small footprint, with a variety of kits available. Despite the name, only some are suitable for habitation, while others are better suited as sheds, gazebos, or other secondary freestanding structures. Tiny homes may be a fraction of a normal house’s size, but with enough work and decoration, you can make it just as homey as a mansion.

In this article, we’ve reviewed the very best tiny home kits you can order today and described what makes them the best of the best. Wade in below for the details and links.

A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites in 2023

Rating	Image	Product	Details
Best Overall		Allwood Solvalla Studio Cabin Kit	Eco-friendly materials Generous indoor & outdoor space Doesn’t require a full arsenal of tools	CHECK PRICE
Best Value		Best Barns New Castle Wood Shed Kit	Large double doors Shingle-compatible roof Can be modified into a larger building	CHECK PRICE
Premium Choice		WZH Group Container Home	Fire and waterproof 2-hour estimated assembly time Fully habitable with kitchen and bathroom	CHECK PRICE
		Allwood Estelle 4 Cabin Kit	High-quality spruce wood construction Smaller alcove perfect for storage, sleeping, etc. Large room suitable for a bedroom or sitting room	CHECK PRICE
		Handy Home Products Windemere	Pre-hung barn-style double doors Lockable door provides privacy and security Three main windows with smaller transom windows	CHECK PRICE

The 7 Best Tiny Home Kits

1. Allwood Solvalla Studio Cabin Kit – Best Overall

While not all ‘tiny home kits’ are really designed for habitation, the Allwood Solvalla serves admirably as a single-person cabin, backyard guest house, office, playhouse, etc. The kit comes with all the materials and easy-to-follow numbered drawings to help you get started, and it requires minimal tools.

The base material is high-quality Nordic wood, which comes unfinished so you can paint it yourself. The square footage is a little deceiving on this one because nearly half of it is an outdoor patio. You can put it together in an estimated two days with two people, but the bad news is you’re looking at more than a month for it to ship.

2. Best Barns New Castle Wood Shed Kit – Best Value

While not suitable for habitation, the Best Barns New Castle Wood Shed Kit is a cut above the other sheds out there—especially for the price. The pinewood construction is fairly standard, but what sets it apart are the shuttered windows, shingle-compatible roof, and gorgeous cupola up on top. Double doors make hauling the lawnmower in and out a cinch but work great for moving any large equipment or even storage.

While not livable out of the box, we don’t see why it couldn’t be modified into a workshop, man (or woman) cave, playhouse, or other private space. Our biggest gripe is that the shingles aren’t included, so that’s more money and work for you.

3. WZH Group Insulated Container Home With Solar Panels – Premium Choice

WZH Group’s eco-friendly 20x40ft container home comes complete with solar panels to reduce dependence on the power grid. Inside, you have 800 spacious square feet of space, complete with a tiny kitchen and bathroom. Made of fireproof and waterproof alloy steel panels, you get to skip out on the hazards a wood home would invite.

The panels are modular, and the kit claims you can assemble it within 2 hours. As a bonus, this tiny home is also rated for anti-seismic and wind resistance. Honestly, the only thing we can complain about is the shockingly high price.

4. Allwood Estelle 4 Cabin Kit

The Allwood Estelle 4 is made of striking spruce wood, and the walls are nearly 2 inches thick. That makes it a great music studio or home office, but it could work for nearly anything where privacy is a concern. There’s a second, smaller space ostensibly for storage, but it could be converted into a sleeping or reading alcove too. The main room comes with wide double doors, which makes it a natural fit next to barns or in backyards.

The biggest downside is that it has a length estimated assembly time—3 to 5 days with 2 adults. Another notable black mark is that the room divider is optional and sold separately.

5. Handy Home Products Windemere

The Windemere 10×12 shed from Handy Home Products is much more than a regular shed. It has 120 square feet of space which makes it ideal for workshops, home offices, storage sheds, or a tiny guest house. The prehung double doors make moving furniture or lawnmowers in and out easy, and the overhead transom windows let in tons of natural sunlight.

Our favorite parts are the 10-foot-tall roof, 7-foot-tall walls, and generous overhang, which makes it great for taller folks who have trouble finding tiny homes with tall enough ceilings. It’s not technically a tiny house, but it’s close enough that you couldn’t tell the difference. Oddly enough, the product isn’t available for Floridians due to weather restrictions.

6. Puzhong’s New Spire Container Home

Straight from China, where modular prefab housing is exploding, the Puzhong New Spire Container Home has nearly all the same amenities as a regular house. There’s a main living area, tiny kitchen, tiny bathroom, and even a pretty nice balcony/patio!

This tiny home kit is fully prefabbed with elaborate detailing, so you don’t have to do much in the way of painting. Our biggest issue with this kit is that the online customer support is nearly non-existent, so you’ll have to deal with overseas phone or email support.

7. Allwood Pioneer

A tinier offering from Allwood is the Pioneer cabin kit, which can easily replace a tin can travel trailer with something cozier. You go through a nice little porch to get into the main chamber, which has a high sleeping alcove with its own window in the back – yup, just like a lot of campers! Unlike other tiny homes that are heavy and made to be put on a permanent foundation, this tiny cabin can be easily towed around. It’s pretty good as far as budget tiny cabins go but has fairly thin walls.

Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Best Tiny Home Kit

There are a lot of considerations that go into buying a tiny home, and it’s definitely not something you should jump into. You should consider what’s not included, your lifestyle, price, and square footage. There’s more, but since those are the main variables to think about, let’s expand on them below.

What’s Not Included

It’s easy to think a tiny home kit comes with everything you need to move in furniture, but that’s not the case! Tiny home kits are typically just shells that you need to put a lot more time and money into. We know, it’s sad.

Once you buy the kit and shell out for everything you need, you may be looking at much, much more than you initially estimated. Let’s briefly cover what’s not included with most tiny home kits.

Lifestyle

Let’s just get this out of the way: we don’t recommend tiny home living for anyone with kids. It’s simply untenable in the best of situations, but in the end, we’re not your parents or boss and you can do as you like.

A tiny home is ideal for one or two people and adding more is pushing your luck unless everyone’s okay with the limited space. If you have a significant other, do not buy a tiny home without discussing it. We’ve seen folks online whose SO thought a tiny home was a huge, pleasant surprise. Just like any big purchase, communication is important.

Tiny home living also forces you to live minimally, so pack rats would probably find it uncomfortable. However, it could be just the thing to force you to throw out your junk! Your mileage may vary.

If you’re tired of the metaphorical rat race and the soaring cost of ‘real homes,’ a tiny home could be just the thing to get a fresh lease on life. You’ll have to put in a lot of money and work to make it livable, but in the end, you’ll have a fully habitable home of your own. Single people and young professionals trying to save money for the future would also appreciate the minimalist tiny home lifestyle.

Price

Smaller tiny homes and sheds typically cost less, but for basic or more upscale tiny homes you’re looking at least $8,000, if not more. Full-fledged tiny homes with amenities like bathrooms and kitchens cost even more!

As mentioned above, you’ll need much more than just a tiny home kit. Don’t think you’re going to get a fully furnished 1/100 McMansion, because that’s unfortunately not how tiny homes work.

You’ll have to account for insulating, wiring, plumbing, electrical panels, labor, roofing materials, furniture, and much more just to make the house livable.

We’d suggest finding a tiny home you like and then estimating how much that other stuff would be. Your budget will be the deciding factor in the end.

Conclusion

Tiny homes are getting more and more popular as affordable housing remains elusive for many people, and there are some pretty good ones on the market. We’d recommend the Allwood Solvalla Studio Cabin Kit for a premium choice, while the Best Barns New Castle Shed Kit can be converted into a tiny home for a bit less cash.