Prefab Tiny Homes 2026: Ranked for Short-Term Rentals
On published prices, the Boxabl Casita is the cheapest finished tiny home here at $60,000 for 361 square feet, or $166 per square foot. The cheapest unit on wheels is the ESCAPE ONE XL at $241. The 3 park models at the bottom of the table all land between $425 and $438.
Price is the second question. The first is whether the unit rides on a chassis or sits on a foundation, because the makers themselves say that choice changes the certification and the loan. The figures below were read off each maker's own page on 4 October 2026, and a blank is marked as one.
Wheels or foundation
A unit on wheels is usually certified as a recreational vehicle. HUD's rule at 24 CFR 3282.15, published 16 November 2018 and effective 15 January 2019, defines a recreational vehicle as one "designed only for recreational use and not as a primary residence or for permanent occupancy." A park model built to ANSI A119.5 must ship with a manufacturer's notice saying exactly that, displayed in the kitchen until the sale completes. Read it before the county does.
Wheels alone do not settle it. Washington State's Department of Labor and Industries, on its tiny homes page read 4 October 2026, defines a tiny house as a dwelling of 400 square feet or less that "may be built on wheels" and must be built to the state building code, with local permits for the foundation, the installation and the location. The certificate decides what the unit is. Your county decides where it can sit and whether it can take nightly guests.
The loan follows the same split, by the makers' own account. Wind River says its modular homes are real property deeded to the land and qualify for traditional mortgage options, while its tiny homes on wheels are "financed and insured like an RV." ESCAPE says you finance its units "in the same way you would finance a car or RV." Mustard Seed advertises mortgage terms of up to 30 years, and its page ties them to larger tiny homes with permanent placement status. No maker here publishes anything on appraisal, so put that question to the lender.
The ranking
Ranked on published base price per square foot, lowest first, in 2 groups. Units sold for permanent placement come first. Units on a chassis follow. Certification is the tiebreak.
The Toccoa is priced on its main level. Counting the loft it is $310 per square foot, which is how ESCAPE counts the ONE XL. Wind River marks its prices as starting prices, updated every 6 months.
What the prices leave out
Delivery is a per-mile bill. Boxabl puts shipping at $8 to $15 per mile on a unit-only order, and the buyer arranges installation. Wheelhaus quotes $6 to $8 per mile. ESCAPE says delivery depends on location and publishes no rate. Mustard Seed charges delivery and setup on top of the Haven's price and says its queue can be as short as 2 months.
Boxabl's own gap is the useful number. The Casita is $60,000 alone and $150,000 turnkey, so the maker prices everything around the box at $90,000. As an example only, the same $90,000 added to the $86,000 Rogue Mini makes a $176,000 project.
Revenue is not in any maker's brochure, and we will not guess it. What decides it is the land, the permit and the nightly rate your market supports. For scale, the SĹŤLSTAY playbook reports that property's own figures: lux cottages at $55,000 each and $370,000 in year 1 from 13 units. Our earlier look at tiny prefabs covered a 120 square foot unit from $35,000 and a 400 square foot unit at $360,000.
What the table says
The cheapest square foot here is the one sold without wheels. The Casita is $166 per square foot against $241 for the cheapest unit on a chassis, and the turnkey price of $150,000 shows what the base price omits.
Certification is the column with the most blanks, so get it in writing. Boxabl and Mustard Seed publish no standard on the pages we read, and Wind River's modular pages say "ADU in most jurisdictions" without naming a code.
The 2 largest park models are the same size at nearly the same price. The Haven and the Wedge are both 400 square feet, at $425 and $438 per square foot, from 2 different makers.
Small modular costs more per foot than anything on wheels. The Rogue Mini is $478 and the Rogue is $537. What that premium buys, by Wind River's account, is real property and a traditional mortgage.
Before you order
3 things to settle before you pay a deposit.
- Take the certificate to the county. Ask the maker which standard the unit is certified to, then use the zoning rules guide to confirm that the county permits that class of unit for nightly rental on your parcel.
- Confirm the loan. Start with the lender locator and ask whether the unit is financed as real property or as an RV.
- Price the ground. Run the lot through the site-prep cost estimator. Foundation, utilities and delivery access are outside every base price above.
For larger finished units, see the 8 best prefab cabins, rated.
Host Camp is not a licensed tax, legal or financial adviser. Confirm figures for your situation with a professional.
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