What a shed actually costs — kit or custom built, with the foundation, permit and DIY material share itemised.
Shed Cost Calculator
Inputs
0 = none (skids on grade), 1 = gravel pad, 2 = concrete slab.
Many areas require one above 100–200 ft². Check locally — retroactive approval costs far more.
Results
Estimated total cost
$3,330 – $7,830
area × $25–$60/ft² built + $1.5–$4/ft² foundation
Calculated with BuildCalculators.com
Calculated with BuildCalculators.com · buildcalculators.com/shed-cost-calculator
Estimates are for planning only — confirm quantities with your supplier or contractor before ordering.
A shed is priced per square foot of floor area, and the range is wide because "shed" covers everything from a flat-pack metal box to a framed outbuilding with a window and a proper door. This calculator splits the estimate the way the money actually divides: the building itself, the foundation under it, the permit if your area wants one, and — separately — what the materials alone would cost if you built it yourself.
Every figure is a 2026 US installed range. Where you land inside it depends on construction quality, siding and roofing choice, whether the site is level, and how far the delivery truck can get.
A = length × widthA × $25–$60/ft²A × $60–$150/ft²gravel A × $1.50–$4; slab A × $6–$12A kit is a designed, pre-cut package: the parts fit, the instructions exist, and assembly is a weekend for two people. Custom means a carpenter framing on site, which buys you any size, any roofline, siding that matches the house, and a building that will outlive the kit — for roughly two and a half times the price per square foot. Most people who want storage buy a kit; most people who want a workshop or a building that reads as part of the house go custom.
Skids on level ground cost nothing and suit small sheds on well-drained sites, but the floor sits close to damp. A gravel pad ($1.50–$4/ft²) is the value option: it drains, it levels, it keeps the floor dry, and it is the right answer for most sheds up to about 12 × 16. A concrete slab ($6–$12/ft²) costs several times as much and earns it only where you will park machinery, run a workshop, or want the building to be permanent.
Material for a self-built shed runs about $18–$45 per square foot — lumber, sheathing, roofing, siding, fasteners, door and windows. Compare that against the installed range and the labour share becomes visible. On a kit at the bottom of the range, DIY saves relatively little; on a custom build at $150/ft², labour is the majority of the price and your own weekends are worth real money.
Most jurisdictions exempt small sheds from a building permit — commonly under 100, 120 or 200 square feet, with a height limit. What is almost never exempt is the setback rule: how close to a property line or easement you may build. A perfectly legal-sized shed in the wrong spot still has to move. One phone call to the building department before you order settles both questions.
Basic garden storage, the most common size sold.
$2,120 – $5,120
Material only, if you build it yourself: $1,440–$3,600. At the low end of the kit range, buying the kit is barely more than buying the lumber.
A larger storage shed, over the exemption threshold in many areas.
$3,330 – $7,830
120 ft² is exactly where permit rules start to bite — many jurisdictions exempt under 100 or 120 ft². Worth checking before choosing between a 10 × 10 and a 12 × 10.
A framed building with a slab floor, matching house siding.
$12,922 – $31,354
At this size and spec the project is a small building, not a shed purchase — expect a permit, expect an inspection, and price electrical separately if you want power out there.
Kit installed, before foundation and permit.
| Size | Area | Kit installed | Custom built |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 × 8 | 48 ft² | $1,200–$2,880 | $2,880–$7,200 |
| 8 × 10 | 80 ft² | $2,000–$4,800 | $4,800–$12,000 |
| 10 × 12 | 120 ft² | $3,000–$7,200 | $7,200–$18,000 |
| 12 × 16 | 192 ft² | $4,800–$11,520 | $11,520–$28,800 |
| 16 × 20 | 320 ft² | $8,000–$19,200 | $19,200–$48,000 |
| Foundation | Per ft² | Right for |
|---|---|---|
| Skids on grade | $0 | Small sheds, level well-drained ground |
| Gravel pad, 4–6 in | $1.50–$4 | Most sheds — drains, levels, cheap |
| Concrete slab, 4 in | $6–$12 | Workshops, machinery, permanent builds |
The building is most of the budget, but the lines around it — foundation, delivery, site levelling, permit, and power if you want it — routinely add 15–30% to a shed project. Pricing them upfront is what stops a $3,000 shed becoming a $5,000 weekend.
Toward the bottom: standard sizes, metal or basic wood siding, asphalt shingle roof, level site, easy truck access. Toward the top: custom dimensions, lap siding matched to the house, metal roofing, windows, a ramp, a loft, and a site the delivery truck cannot reach so everything is carried by hand.
At $1.50–$4 per square foot it is a small fraction of the build and it does most of what a slab does for a storage shed: level base, drainage, no ground contact for the floor frame. Four to six inches of compacted crusher run inside a timber or steel edge — the crusher run calculator prices the stone.
Running power to a shed is a separate trade and a separate permit almost everywhere: $600–$2,500 depending on distance, whether the trench is yours to dig, and whether the panel has capacity. Solar-plus-battery for lighting alone starts around $200 and needs no inspection.
A shed set straight on soil rots from the floor up and racks out of square as the ground moves under it. The pad is 5–10% of the project and it is what decides whether the building lasts eight years or twenty-five.
Staying under the permit threshold does not exempt you from how close you may build to a boundary. Setback violations are found at resale, and the remedy is moving the building.
The universal shed regret is that it filled up immediately. Going one size up costs proportionally less than the first size did — the foundation, delivery and permit are already paid for.
A $2,000 kit price at a big-box store is the box on a pallet, not a built shed on a level pad. Assembly, delivery and site prep are the difference between that number and the range on this page.
A 120 ft² shed runs about $3,000–$7,200 as a kit installed, or $7,200–$18,000 custom built, before the foundation. A gravel pad adds $180–$480; a concrete slab $720–$1,440. Material alone for a DIY build is roughly $2,160–$5,400.
Buying a kit and assembling it yourself is usually cheapest — kits run $25–$60 per ft² installed against $60–$150 for custom carpentry. Building from scratch beats a kit on price only if you already own the tools and value your weekends at zero; it wins on quality, size flexibility and matching an existing house.
It depends entirely on your jurisdiction. Many areas exempt sheds under 100–200 ft² and under a height limit, but setback rules from property lines usually apply regardless of size. Ask your building department before ordering — an unpermitted structure can have to be moved or removed when you sell.
Small sheds under about 8 × 10 sit fine on treated skids over a level gravel pad. Anything bigger, anything storing heavy equipment, and anything you want to last 20 years wants a 4 inch gravel base at minimum, and a concrete slab if you will park a mower or work inside. The gravel pad is the value option — cheap, drains well, and keeps the floor off wet ground.
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This calculator uses published constants from named industry sources, each asserted in an automated test that runs on every build. The formula is printed with the result above, and any correction we make is logged on the changelog.
It is a planning estimate. It does not replace an engineer, a site visit or a written quote — confirm quantities with your supplier before ordering.