The tiny house movement is all about shrinking your lifestyle so you may live a more fulfilled life without having a significant amount of debt or a large mortgage hanging over your head. While you can purchase a prefabricated home or a personalized small house on wheels, building your own tiny house will save you a ton of money.

The average cost of a tiny house, according to statistics from 2022, is about $45,000, but DIYers can easily spend more than $100,000 on bare-bones kits, which can be purchased for as little as $4,000 to $10,000.

According to data from the mortgage sector, a tiny home typically costs $300 per square foot, which is roughly twice as much as a full-size home. 2 As a result, hiring contractors to build a little 200-square-foot cottage could easily cost $60,000 in total. However, DIYers have a good chance of building one for significantly less money.

Be aware that expenses might differ significantly from year to year—and from place to location—due to changes in the cost of building materials. But here are five examples of inexpensive little dwellings that can be constructed.

John Perrle promised his wife on New Year’s Eve that he would construct her a tree house( photo 2). He did, and it quickly evolved into their second home. The job cost $4,000 and was completed in six short weeks, but this was only feasible because Perrle is a talented craftsman. Adult-sized elaborate treehouses are becoming more popular as permanent homes for people who are committed to tiny house living.

On a hillside covered in trees, John’s tiny home is located. The house has an elevated deck that looks out over the forest. Natural wood siding that requires little care and aluminum roofing give the house a cabin-like appearance.

Monolithic cabin (photo 3) are the name given to these little dome-shaped houses. They are made using a method akin to that used to create the base of a papier-mâché balloon. In this instance, concrete is poured over a steel rebar framework and a heavy-duty air pump bladder. The bladder is then deflated to expose a compact, durable housing that can withstand adverse circumstances like earthquakes, strong winds, or even lava flows.

In recent years, the tiny-house movement has adopted Monolithic, which were initially employed as temporary emergency shelters and buildings like supplementary school classrooms.