How Much Is A Shipping Container Home?

The tiny home trend hit the world by storm and hasn't let up. Their popularity has increased the number of modular homes, manufactured homes, converted vans, houseboats, and RVs across the country. Another common option for tiny homes is the shipping container home.

If you're considering building a shipping container home, you'll need to see how it fits into your budget. Let's look at shipping container home costs and the factors that affect this price so you can decide if a shipping container home is right for you.

This is for informational purposes - always check with your permitted authority or regulatory body first.

To understand the value and costs of a shipping container home, it’s important to understand what this type of home actually is. Classed within the ‘tiny home’ family, it’s a small living space constructed from at least one standard shipping container. Often, multiple containers are welded together to extend the house (usually making it wider, but they can be multi-storey too) and they are modified to have the amenities you’d expect in a traditional house, including electricity, running water, sewage, and more. 

Shipping container home costs are a key benefit of these tiny houses (they’re pretty affordable!), but they offer other perks too. They are also:

As the frame, walls, ceilings, and doors are all made of tough, corrugated steel, shipping container homes can withstand extreme weather conditions and won’t bend under the weight of their contents. However, They don't last as long as traditional homes. Most last around twenty-five years with proper upkeep. If you don't properly maintain your home, its life expectancy may drop to about 15 years. 

Traditional homes have wooden or concrete frames and take time to build from scratch. Shipping containers are manufactured and come as a ready-built frame. They just need to be modified to be made livable, which is a much faster process. 

You can use your shipping containers to build a unique and creative home with a modern, industrial feel. Customization is a big part of the container home experience. Since you are building the home from the ground up, you can choose the layout and features you want. Many companies offer templates that help get the process started. 

The cost of a shipping container home can vary. But, on average, you can expect to spend between $25,000 to $80,000 for a single-container model.

Almost always, shipping container homes cost less than a traditional home of the same size. This is usually true even if you add the finest features to your new home. For example, a traditional home may cost up to $416,000. A shipping container home of a similar size would cost around $80,000.

While $25,000 is usually the minimum amount you will spend on a shipping container home, a few factors affect the final price.

You'll need a plot of land to place your future home. According to the USDA, farmland costs, on average, $3,800. However, you may end up paying several thousand dollars more per acre.

Farmland does not usually have access to utilities and other utilities, which you will need to add. In addition, it usually costs more to live closer to a city or more populated area.

The foundation is a critical step in building your home. It keeps it stable and helps protect it from potential damage. With a shipping container home, you can choose from either a trench, slab, or pier foundation. Pier foundations cost the most, while trench foundations are the least. The average foundation starts from $3,000.

You can choose to go with either a new or used shipping container. Most new shipping containers cost between $1,700 and $4,5000. However, some may reach up to $8,000.

Used containers usually cost less, but their price depends on the company you buy them from and how much damage they already have. Just remember these prices are for an empty container without any features.

As with most homes, a larger container home means a larger price tag. Most often, you get this extra square footage by adding on more containers. If you use multiple containers, the cost of your shipping container home can jump to over $250,000.

Most people choose to go through the process of designing and building their homes themselves. However, you can opt for a pre-built shipping container home. This option can save you a lot of work and effort. You don't need to worry about choosing what features you want to include. These types of homes come with everything you need. You just have to choose which options suit your budget.

If you do opt for a custom design rather than a pre-built one, you’d be looking at $250 to $400 per square foot, rather than $150 to $300 per square foot.

When choosing whether to build a shipping container home, cost is certainly a factor you need to consider. Your new home will cost a minimum of $25,000 but could exceed $250,000, depending on your plans.

Make sure to get quotes and build a budget so you can decide if a shipping container home is the right choice for you!

Drafting up an example site plan is a great way to start visualizing your new home before you have to commit to any costly decisions, and MySitePlan can create a mockup in as little as 24 hours.