Is it Cheaper to Buy a Shed or Build Your Own? Updated costs for 2026

I wanted to know exactly how easy and cost effective is would be to build my own shed. I couldn’t decide between the simplicity of constructing a pre-fabricated shed and the cost-effectiveness of a DIY shed. So I built both! Two sheds measuring 12x10ft, one from a reputable flat pack shed company and the other a shed I built from scratch. On the left, you can see my BillyOh 12x10ft Apex Workshop, and on the right, my DIY shed built from the ground up using timber from a local merchant. But which did I end up paying more for?

The simple answer here is that my DIY shed ended up costing less than the flat pack one from BillyOh, but there wasn’t much in it! I am, however, happy to say the DIY is much, much stronger, and I expect it to last many years beyond the BillyOh. The timber frame is thicker and stronger, the loglap cladding is thicker and better looking, and the floor is made to hold much heavier items.

Was it Easy to Build My Own Shed?

You might be asking yourself whether you have the right skills to be able to build your own shed. The answer is simple, really. If you can put together a flat-pack shed, then yes, you can. You’ll need a small selection of basic tools to make the job easier, but it’s very much the same principle.

Overall Costs – The DIY Shed Was Cheaper

In this post, I’m going to show you the difference in cost between the two sheds I have constructed. (I say shed, but really, they are both small workshops.) Both are the same size, but they differ in the construction of the base. One is made from a solid patio-style slab base, while the other is made from a budget plinth-style wooden base. It will be up to you which style base to choose, but they both pretty much deliver the same outcome.

I’ve updated the pricing for 2026 so you can see exactly what to expect in terms of pricing.

One shed cost £1853 and the other cost £1610. See below for which is which

Both of my sheds measure 10ft x 12ft (or 3m x 3.6m). Both have a dual apex roof and are covered with the same green shed felt, but the DIY shed uses much thicker materials. I later decided to insulate the roof in my DIY shed and used wool, which is the best insulation for attic and roof installations like this.

Cost comparison (Updated Jan 2026)

Here is the total cost for a flat pack shed

Material	Retailer	Cost each	Quantity	Total cost
BillyOh Expert Tongue and Groove Apex Workshop with Dual Entrance – 12 x 10ft (19mm flooring option)	Garden Buildings Direct	£1497	1	£1497
Marshalls Richmond Smooth Natural Paving Slab 450 X 450 X 32mm	Wickes	£3.55	72	£255.60
Sharp Sand – Jumbo Bag	Wickes	£42	1	£42
Granular Sub Base Mot 1 Jumbo Bag	WIckes	£42	1	£42
Blue Circle General Purpose Cement – 25kg	Wickes	£4.15	4	£16.60
				£1853.20

Now lets take a look at the costs for the custom made shed

Material	Retailer	Cost each	Quantity	Total cost
Treated Kiln Dried C16 Timber – 45 X 70 X 3600mm	Wickes	£9	8	£72
Treated Kiln Dried C16 Timber – 45 X 70 X 3000mm	Wickes	£7	6	£42
Treated Kiln Dried C16 Timber – 45 X 70 X 2400mm	Wickes	£6	60	£360
Loglap cladding – 121mm x 21mm – ~250m	Ebay seller	Priced individually	240m	£700
General Purpose OSB 3 Board – 18mm X 1220mm X 2440mm	Wickes	£22	5	£110
General Purpose OSB 3 Board – 11mm X 1220mm X 2440mm	Wickes	£22	5	£110
Timber Fence Post 100x100mmx2.4m	Wickes	£18.50	4	£74
Green Ultra Durable Super Shed Felt Roll – 1 X 10m	Wickes	£28	2	£56
Easy Trim Master Integrated Breathable Membrane 112gSM 50 X 1m	Amazon	£57	1	£57
Butt Hinge – Chrome Brass 76mm Pack Of 3	Wickes	£4.50	2	£9
Single Thread Grab Pack Zinc & Yellow Screw – Pack Of 1000	Wickes	£13	1	£13
Window (optional)	Facebook Marketplace	£40	1	£40
Blue Circle General Purpose Cement – 25kg	Wickes	£4.15	1	£4.15
Sharp Sand – Major Bag	Wickes	£2	2	£2
			TOTAL	£1609.15

So there we have it, build your own shed and you’ll come in a little cheaper than a flat pack. And the best thing is your shed will be much stronger and durable than a flat pack shed.

Flat-pack shed total cost – £1853.20

DIY custom-built shed – £1609.15

It all depends on what materials you use. The above is just a guideline, really. You can save more money by going for cheaper cladding, for example. This shiplap cladding is also great and costs a lot less than the loglap. You’ll save about £100.

You can read my step-by-step guide of how to build a shed here.

How to Keep Your DIY Shed Costs Down

Building materials can be expensive so I’ve pulled together a list of ways to keep your DIY shed costs to a minimum.

Shop Around

Create a list of materials and send it to a few different local building merchants. You’d be surprised how different the costs can be between suppliers. You can use the list I’ve provided above for everything you need. Send it to Jewsons, Travis Perkins, Wickes and any other local suppliers in your area. you could lower your costs by about £200 with this method.

Ask for Trade Discount

Building material merchants love big spenders and will offer good discounts if they think you’ll be back in the future. You don’t need to be a business to qualify for a trade account. Just ask. Something like:

“Could you offer me trade pricing on these items as I have a list of other projects to follow and I’ll be back for more”

It’s very common. Jewsons offered me a trade discount just because they became familiar with my face.

Use a Cashback Site

If you’re ordering items online, you can save more money by using a cashback site like Topcashback. I’ve been using this for all my projects and generated over £1100 in the past few years on items I’d be buying anyway. Here’s a snapshot of my current earnings:

Hunt for Free Materials

Search Facebook and Gumtree for free materials. You’ll often find people discarding perfectly good timber which can be used in your build. This isn’t always possible or the easiest way to go about building, but it can save you money.

Ensure You Get Free Delivery

When buying in bulk, especially for a build like a shed, you should always expect free delivery on your items. Be sure to check before you commit to buying.

The Shed Base

This will be an important part of the build. It’s going to add the foundations for you to sit upon and will also protect your shed from rot, which is the killer of most outdoor wooden buildings. You can’t build a shed without a base. Alongside a strong base, choosing the right exterior access doors is essential to keep your shed’s interior safe and dry. These doors help prevent moisture, pests, and drafts from entering, ensuring your tools and equipment remain protected throughout the seasons.

In my first build, the flat-pack shed, I decided to go for a solid base made from low-cost patio slabs. It involved clearing and levelling the ground, installing a 50mm hardcore sub-base using crushed aggregate, and laying patio slabs with a cement fixing. In total, the base cost me about £280.

For my custom-built workshop, I decided to save a bit of money and build a timber frame base that rests on individual reclaimed patio slabs. By doing this, I saved about £200. It was still time-consuming to clear and level the ground, but equally as effective. In some ways, I prefer this method as it provides good runoff for water, whereas the solid flat base doesn’t.

For either of these bases, you’ll need some tools, including a cement mixer. You could rent a cement mixer for about £25 per day, but I decided to buy one and sell it after. It worked out cheaper this way. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Cement mixer – £280
• Wheel barrow
• Trowel
• Shovel
• Spirit level
• Rubber mallet
• Tape measure
• String
• Wooden pegs

You don’t however have to go with either of these style bases. You could also try one of the following:

• Eco plastic grids – These work well on already levelled areas, are super easy to install and reasonably priced at about £140 for a 12ft x 10ft.
• Ecobase Fastfit System Shed Base – from WIckes

A question I’d been thinking about since the purchase of my new house. Was it going to be cheaper to build my own shed with the help of a takeoff services or to buy a flat pack one? I wanted to explore these options, as I not only wanted a shed for garden tool storage, but I also wanted a space to focus on my hobbies. I needed a workshop. Something a reasonable size that could be used for multiple purposes, like an outdoor gym building or office.

Read how I changed my workshop into a garden office with insulation and UPVc doors here

Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment below to share your own experiences.