The cheapest coop we publish is the 4x8 A-frame tractor at $675 to $875 in materials, for 2 to 3 hens, and the cheapest fixed coop per hen is the 8x16 walk-in at $190 a bird at the top of its 19 to 26 rating. Those are different kinds of cheap, and the ranking below shows both. Every price is the plan’s own bill of materials at 2026 retail, materials only, with no labor and no tax.
Nothing here is priced under $240, and no coop is. Cheaper numbers you may have seen usually leave out lines our plans include, such as the run, the foundation, the siding and the mesh grade. Our cost breakdown lists what is inside each total.
All 26, cheapest first
| # | Plan | Holds | Materials | Low end per bird at top of rating | Build |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3-box nest bank (accessory) | 3 nest boxes | $240-$330 | n/a | 3-5 hrs |
| 2 | 4x8 A-frame tractor | 2-3 hens | $675-$875 | $225 | 14-20 hrs |
| 3 | 6x10 A-frame tractor | 4-6 hens | $800-$1,025 | $133 | 22-30 hrs |
| 4 | 6x8 standalone run | run only, 6-9 hens | $850-$1,100 | n/a | 10-14 hrs |
| 5 | 6x8 A-frame coop | 3-5 hens | $975-$1,275 | $195 | 20-28 hrs |
| 6 | 8x16 standalone run | run only, 16-25 hens | $1,300-$1,700 | n/a | 22-30 hrs |
| 7 | 4x4 starter coop | 2-3 hens | $1,650-$2,150 | $550 | 10-14 hrs |
| 8 | 4x6 coop | 3-4 hens | $1,900-$2,450 | $475 | 18-26 hrs |
| 9 | 10x20 standalone run | run only, 25-40 hens | $1,900-$2,450 | n/a | 30-40 hrs |
| 10 | 4x8 lean-to coop | 4-6 hens | $2,100-$2,750 | $350 | 12-18 hrs |
| 11 | 4x6 duck house | 3-4 ducks | $2,150-$2,800 | $538 | 16-24 hrs |
| 12 | 4x8 shed coop | 4-6 hens | $2,250-$2,900 | $375 | 16-24 hrs |
| 13 | 6x8 coop | 6-9 hens | $2,700-$3,450 | $300 | 26-34 hrs |
| 14 | 6x8 pallet-clad coop | 7-10 hens | $2,850-$3,800 | $285 | 38-50 hrs |
| 15 | 6x8 walk-in | 7-10 hens | $2,900-$3,750 | $290 | 30-38 hrs |
| 16 | 6x8 duck house | 6-8 ducks | $3,000-$3,850 | $375 | 30-38 hrs |
| 17 | 6x10 walk-in | 9-12 hens | $3,200-$4,100 | $267 | 36-44 hrs |
| 18 | 8x8 walk-in | 10-13 hens | $3,200-$4,100 | $246 | 40-52 hrs |
| 19 | 6x8 modern coop | 7-10 hens | $3,600-$4,700 | $360 | 40-52 hrs |
| 20 | 8x10 walk-in | 12-14 hens | $3,700-$4,750 | $264 | 46-58 hrs |
| 21 | 8x12 coop | 12-19 hens | $3,950-$5,050 | $208 | 55-70 hrs |
| 22 | 10x10 walk-in | 15-17 hens | $4,150-$5,350 | $244 | 60-78 hrs |
| 23 | 8x12 walk-in + feed room | 14-18 hens | $4,250-$5,450 | $236 | 60-75 hrs |
| 24 | 10x12 walk-in | 18-22 hens | $4,700-$6,000 | $214 | 75-95 hrs |
| 25 | 8x16 walk-in | 19-26 hens | $4,950-$6,400 | $190 | 90-110 hrs |
| 26 | 8x12 insulated | 14-18 hens | $5,500-$7,100 | $306 | 78-98 hrs |
Read the last column for what a bird really costs. A 4x4 starter is $550 a hen at its top of three, the 8x16 is $190 at its top of 26. At the bottom of each rating the order holds: $825 against $261. Size is the biggest saving in the table, and it is the one you cannot take back, so check the cost calculator against your real flock before you shop.
Two rows are not coops. The nest bank is an accessory, and the three standalone runs hold birds outdoors only; a run plus a coop is two lines on this list. The held 4x10 hoop tractor is not ranked.
Where the money goes on the cheap ones
Hardware cloth is the line a budget build is tempted to cut, so know its weight. Priced at the generator’s $3.10 a running foot of 36-inch, 1/4-inch, 19-gauge roll, the cloth is about 19 to 24 percent of the low-end cost on the two A-frame tractors and the A-frame coop, 12 to 17 percent on the shed and walk-in coops, and 45 to 48 percent on the standalone runs, because a run is almost all mesh. On the 4x4 starter, 75 feet of cloth is $232.
Five savings that are real
- Build the tractor. The 4x8 A-frame tractor holds the same 2 to 3 hens as the 4x4 starter for $975 to $1,275 less. It gives up a fixed footing, siding and windows, and you move it.
- Take the lean-to over the shed. The 4x8 lean-to is $150 less than the 4x8 shed coop at both ends of the range and 4 to 6 hours quicker, for the same 4 to 6 hens.
- Skip the feed room. The 8x12 coop is $300 to $400 under the 8x12 walk-in and has 22 sq ft more floor. Its run is the smaller one, 96 sq ft against 128.
- Keep the lap siding. The 6x8 modern coop costs $700 to $950 more than the lap-sided 6x8 walk-in and adds 10 to 14 hours.
- Skip insulation unless winter needs it. The 8x12 insulated coop is $1,250 to $1,650 over the plain 8x12 walk-in.
The 6x8 A-frame coop at $975 to $1,275 and the A-frame family are where small flocks start.
Three savings that are not
Chicken wire. The cheapest cut on any list is the mesh. Kentucky Extension says raccoons reach through the wires of an enclosure and take what they can, and all of our plans carry 1/4-inch hardware cloth. Chicken wire is cheaper and removes the thing the cloth is paying for.
Free pallet boards. The pallet-clad coop is $2,850 to $3,800 against $2,900 to $3,750 for lap siding on the same frame, so the free boards save nothing, and the build runs 18 to 22 hours longer counting the stripping. The pallet guide has the line items.
Skimping where wood meets dirt. Our run plans specify ground-contact 4x4 posts and ground-contact bottom rails, and a buried apron that costs $59 on the 6x8 run, $99 on the 8x16 and $124 on the 10x20 at the same cloth price. That is the cheapest insurance on the list.