Article

Prefab Cottages 2026: Kit and Turnkey Prices Compared

October 22, 2026

Written by

Kai Andrew

If you want the lowest kit price per square foot, the cheapest is the Magnolia Creek Cottage from Amish Built Cabins: $39,900 at its sale price for 952 square feet of living space, 3 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms, or $42 per square foot. The kit leaves out the subfloor, stamped drawings, and installation. The lowest entry price is the Deltec Refuge at $24,900 for a 326-square-foot studio shell. Kanga Room Systems is the only maker here that publishes a turnkey price: $108,800 for a 336-square-foot cottage, built in Texas only.

Every maker below calls these models cottages. Kit prices cover different parts of the building, so read the “What the price includes” column first. Where a cell says “Not published”, ask the maker for that figure before you pay a deposit.

The Ranked Table

Ranked on the published kit price divided by the published size, lowest first. For Amish Built Cabins, the size is the living space the maker lists.

Rank	Model and maker	Kit price as published	Size	Price per sq ft	Beds and baths	What the price includes, as the maker states it	Where it delivers
1	Magnolia Creek Cottage, Amish Built Cabins	$39,900 sale price; regular $49,900	952 sq ft	$42	3 bed, 2 bath	Basic shell, porch, 2 doors, vinyl windows, metal roof, metal siding, and house wrap. No subfloor, no stamped drawings, and no installation	Lower 48 states
2	Redwood Sunset Cottage, Amish Built Cabins	$44,900 sale price; regular $54,900	1,008 sq ft	$45	3 bed, 2 bath	Same scope as the Magnolia Creek	Lower 48 states
3	Pinecrest Cottage, Amish Built Cabins	$49,900 sale price; regular $59,900	1,012 sq ft	$49	2 bed, 2 bath	Basic shell, porches, 3 doors, 7 vinyl windows, metal roof, metal siding, and house wrap. No subfloor, no stamped drawings, and no installation	Lower 48 states
4	Sanctuary, Deltec	$35,900 base shell	517 sq ft	$69	Studio, 1 bath	Structural shell: wall panels and roof and floor trusses. The buyer finishes the interior and installs heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical	The Caribbean and other high-wind locations are excluded. No other area is published
5	Refuge, Deltec	$24,900 base shell	326 sq ft	$76	Studio, 1 bath	Same scope as the Sanctuary	The Caribbean and other high-wind locations are excluded. No other area is published
6	Cottage 480, Mighty Small Homes	$37,000 base kit	480 sq ft	$77	1 bed, baths not published	Exterior wall and roof panels, ridge beam, house wrap, roofing underlayment, interior walls, and stamped drawings. Foundation is excluded. Windows and doors are upgrades	Not published. Shipping cost depends on kit size and distance
7	Cottage 864, Mighty Small Homes	$69,500 base kit	864 sq ft	$80	2 bed, baths not published	Same scope as the Cottage 480	Not published
8	Cottage 16x40, Kanga Room Systems	$57,800 shell kit	640 sq ft	$90	Not published	Prefabricated panels, siding, trim, and structural hardware. Foundation, installation, and permits are the buyer's	Shell kit ships to the continental US
9	Cottage 600, Mighty Small Homes	$57,415 base kit	600 sq ft	$96	2 bed, baths not published	Same scope as the Cottage 480	Not published
10	Cottage 14x24, Kanga Room Systems	$43,300 shell kit	336 sq ft	$129	Not published	Same scope as the Cottage 16x40	Shell kit ships to the continental US

All 3 Amish Built Cabins kits showed as sold out when we checked on 22 October 2026, and the maker says free shipping is for a limited time. Confirm the price, availability, and shipping before you plan around them.

The Amish Built Cabins kits leave out the subfloor, the engineered drawings, and installation. The Deltec drawings leave out the mechanical and electrical details. Mighty Small Homes includes stamped drawings. A lower price per square foot can mean more work for your builder.

What Kanga Charges to Finish a Cottage

Kanga sells each cottage at 3 prices on its pricing page. The shell kit ships anywhere in the continental US. The installed shell and the turnkey build are Texas only. Turnkey adds insulation, electrical, drywall, flooring, trim, and paint.

Kanga cottage	Shell kit	Installed shell	Turnkey	Turnkey per sq ft	Turnkey as a multiple of the kit
Cottage 14x24, 336 sq ft	$43,300	$56,800	$108,800	$324	2.5
Cottage 16x26, 416 sq ft	$51,500	$61,984	$121,184	$291	2.4
Cottage 16x40, 640 sq ft	$57,800	$89,875	$188,425	$294	3.3

The same 14x24 cottage is also listed as a cabin at $125,900 turnkey. That is $17,100 more than the studio version, and both pages list the same turnkey work. Ask Kanga in writing what the extra $17,100 buys.

Kanga’s turnkey list does not mention a kitchen, a bathroom, or plumbing. Ask Kanga whether turnkey includes them, and get them priced if not, before you compare Kanga with another maker’s finished unit.

What Each Price Leaves Out

None of these kit prices includes a foundation. Deltec allows a slab, crawl space, or piers, and does not allow a basement. Its shell prices also leave out taxes, shipping, and shell assembly. Deltec says the buyer leads the permit process and hires a builder, acts as general contractor, or builds it alone.

Mighty Small Homes also lists a “DIY finished” price and a “with builder” range for each size, such as $92,500 DIY finished and $148,000 to $185,000 with a builder for the Cottage 480. The page marks both with an asterisk it does not explain. Ask the maker what those figures include before you use them in a budget.

Zook Cabins sells a 470-square-foot A-Frame Retreat with 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom. The page lists kitchen cabinets, quartz countertops, and a soaking tub, shows space for a refrigerator, and publishes no price, so it is not ranked.

No maker here publishes revenue figures. Our guide to the cost of prefab homes breaks out delivery, site work, and permits.

What the Table Says

Price per square foot compares only kits with the same scope. The Magnolia Creek is $42 per square foot without a subfloor or stamped drawings. The Mighty Small Homes Cottage 480 is $77 with stamped drawings in the kit. Compare what each kit includes before you compare prices.

Finishing a cottage costs more than the kit. Kanga’s turnkey price is 2.4 to 3.3 times its shell kit for the same cottage. Budget for finishing before you choose a kit on price.

A smaller cottage costs more per square foot. Kanga’s 14x24 shell kit is $129 per square foot, and its 16x40 shell kit is $90, because the 16x40 adds 304 square feet for $14,500.

Before You Order

Price the ground. Run the lot through the site-prep cost estimator. No kit price above includes the foundation, utilities, or delivery access.
Confirm the loan. Start with the lender locator. A shell you finish yourself is financed differently from a finished home.
Read the zoning. Use the zoning rules guide before you buy land. Confirm that the county allows a cottage of this size as a rental dwelling.

Makers that deliver a finished unit are in the 8 best prefab cabins, rated. The Evergreen Cabins playbook shows what small units earn once they are built. For related comparisons, see small prefab homes and prefab guest houses.

Host Camp is not a licensed tax, legal, or financial adviser. Confirm figures for your situation with a professional.

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