We Added Up the 4 Bills Behind a Prefab Cabin Quote
Already pricing a build? Download the worksheet. It adds up the quote and the 4 bills below, then shows your return on the quote next to your return on the all-in cost.
A prefab home kit is a factory-built shell that a maker ships to your site, where a builder assembles it and finishes the inside. The maker's quote covers that shell. In the finished-cost examples we checked, the quote was 20% to 42% of what the home cost to complete.
Deltec says its shell is about 1/4 of the total, and that a finished Deltec runs $250 to $600 per square foot. Mighty Small Homes prices its 600 square foot kit at $48,144 and its own finished estimate at $120,360 if you build it yourself, or $192,576 to $240,720 with a builder.
This guide adds up the 4 bills behind the quote, which are the truck, the ground, the build, and the county. Every figure comes from a maker's or local government's own page as of October 2026. Where nobody publishes a number, we say so.
The Quote
Each maker defines "shell" differently, so the price only means something next to what it leaves out.
DEN includes shipping to the lower 48 in its price. Backcountry Hut prices in Canadian dollars, and the US figure is its own conversion of $274,698 CAD.
Bill 1: The Truck
Delivery is the cost makers publish least consistently.
- DEN: Included in the kit price for the lower 48.
- Avrame: $3.25 per mile, which it estimates at $2,200 to $7,800. You also need a construction forklift to unload the truck.
- Backcountry Hut: $4,000 to $20,000 CAD per truck, plus $500 to $1,000 CAD in border fees.
- Mighty Small Homes: About $4 per mile with a $1,200 minimum from Louisville, KY, according to its ADU cost guide.
- Deltec: Freight is extra, with no rate published.
- Zook Cabins: If the truck can't reach the pad, Zook arranges a skid steer rental on delivery day. We found no delivery price.
We found no crane or forklift price on any maker's page. Put delivery and unloading equipment in the quote as separate lines.
Bill 2: The Ground
The ground is where the maker stops and your budget starts.
Deltec builds a $35,000 site-prep allowance into its estimated total, and its base shell assumes a slab foundation. Avrame includes a crawl space design in its plans and charges $1,500 or more to add a basement option, which is a design fee and not the cost of digging. Zook requires 4 to 5 inches of crushed stone or a concrete pad, offers no site preparation, and does not connect utilities. Backcountry Hut says to finish site preparation and infrastructure before the kit arrives.
Hookups and trenching depend on the lot and the local utility. We found no national government figure for them and no maker publishes a figure, so this guide doesn't give a number.
Bill 3: The Build
The build is what turns a shell into a home, and makers publish it as an estimate, not a price.
Deltec says a local builder does the on-site work, including site prep, the foundation, roof shingles, the mechanical and electrical systems, insulation, drywall, and all finishes and fixtures. DEN's builder assembles the shell in 5 to 15 days, then installs the windows and doors and finishes the roof and siding. Avrame supplies the structural part of the house and says you have to source the rest locally.
Hiring a builder changes the total more than anything else we checked. Mighty Small Homes puts the Modern 600 at $120,360 built yourself and $192,576 to $240,720 with a builder, so the builder adds $72,216 to $120,360. Its ADU guide says labor is 40% to 50% of the budget when you hire a builder.
Park models are the exception. Zook's include appliances and a mini-split, so less is left to build. Get a builder's bid before you order the kit.
Bill 4: The County
Permit fees are set locally, so the same 600 square foot unit costs different amounts in different places.
- Warren County, NY: Effective January 2026, the fee is $0.35 per square foot for dwellings including modular homes, a $25 certificate of occupancy, and a $75 septic permit. On 600 square feet, that's $210 + $25 + $75 = $310.
- Essex County, VA: The 2026 schedule charges $0.20 per square foot, a $75 plan review fee, $75 each for electrical, plumbing, and mechanical permits, and a $75 residential zoning permit. On 600 square feet, that's $120 + $75 + $225 + $75 = $495.
Septic fees swing more than building fees. Warren County charges $75 for a septic permit, while District Health Department No. 4 in Michigan charges $400 for a residential onsite sewage permit and $350 for a vacant-land evaluation. Thurston County, WA, has added a 5% technology fee to every permit and application since January 1, 2026.
What the Quote and the 4 Bills Add Up To
2 makers publish finished-cost estimates for the kits above. Neither includes the cost of land. Everything after the quote covers the 4 bills.
- Modern 600, self-built: The quote is $48,144 and the maker's finished estimate is $120,360. Everything after the quote costs $72,216, or $201 per square foot, and the quote is 40% of the total.
- Modern 600, with a builder: The finished estimate is $192,576 to $240,720. Everything after the quote costs $144,432 to $192,576, or $321 to $401 per square foot, and the quote is 20% to 25% of the total.
- Deltec Hideaway: The shell is $59,905 and Deltec's estimated total is $278,019. Everything after the shell costs $218,114, including $35,000 for site work, or $373 per square foot. The shell is 22% of the total, and Deltec calls the number an estimated minimum.
Backcountry Hut's 2019 case study shows the same pattern, with a $165,000 CAD kit inside a $390,000 CAD build, which makes the kit 42% of the total.
The Modern 600 is $80 per square foot as a kit and $201 to $401 finished, so the quote understates the finished cost by 2.5 to 5 times. The county is the cheap part: Warren County's fees on the 746 square foot Hideaway come to $361, against a $218,114 gap between shell and finished home.
Run Your Own Numbers
We built this guide into a worksheet. The Prefab All-In Cost and Return Worksheet is a complimentary Excel file for anyone pricing a prefab cabin, ADU, or tiny home as a short-term rental. You enter your quotes and it adds up the all-in cost, shows your return on the quote next to your return on the all-in cost, and works backward from a target yield to the most you can spend. It also compares quotes and lists 14 questions to ask before you pay a deposit.
Pull your expected revenue from comps in your market, for example with AirDNA. Download the worksheet.
If You Plan to Rent It Out
None of these figures include the lot or furnishing, and a lender needs the all-in number instead of the quote. Park models add 1 more check. Zook certifies them as RVs and tells buyers to confirm with the local zoning office that the site allows a park model. Do that before you pay a deposit.
Before You Order
Do these 4 things before any money changes hands.
- Price the ground. Run the lot through the site-prep cost estimator, and check the zoning rules before you buy the lot.
- Get a builder's bid. Ask what the assembly and finishing cost, and whether the bid covers everything the maker leaves out.
- Confirm the financing. Start with the lender locator. A lender needs the all-in figure, and the maker's quote covers 20% to 42% of it.
- Pull the county fee schedule. Search the county's own site for this year's schedule and add every line that applies, septic included.
Once it's built, see what it costs to run an Airbnb and the 8 best prefab cabins, rated. For backyard-size units, read Prefab ADUs 2026.
Want the numbers together? Download the worksheet and fill it in as quotes come back.
Want a second set of eyes on your all-in number before you order? Bring it to a call, and we'll tell you straight whether it works before you spend a dollar.
BOOK YOUR COMPLIMENTARY STRATEGY CALL →
Figures come from the makers' and local governments' own pages as of October 2026 and change often. This guide is educational and isn't financial advice.
