Best Kit Homes in Australia
Comparison 2025
How we got here
Home ownership is becoming an unaffordable and unobtainable dream for many Australians. In fact, recent data from the Grattan Institute shows the average cost of purchasing a home has increased from roughly 4 times income in the early 2000s to well over 8 times today.
If you’ve come across this comparison because you’re considering building your own home as a way of obtaining an affordable home, then you’ve come to the right place! We recently purchased our own kit home and are owner building on Russell Island in Queensland. When we purchased our kit, we did a tonne of research - which we’re happy to share with you so you can pick the right home, for you!
So here it is our comparison of Australia’s 5 biggest kit home manufacturers (or at least the ones we know of). We couldn’t include all manufacturers in this comparison, so please let us know in the comments below which other manufacturers you would like included in our next comparison.
We put this article together to share with you how we compared different kit home manufacturers before we made our purchasing decision. We’ve tried to include as much information as possible to make your decision easier, but as always, take your time and do your own research. Purchasing a kit home is certainly a big and important (and expensive!) decision.
Please note: these manufacturers update their websites regularly and prices, inclusions and other factors may have changed since this comparison was made on 02/06/2025.
The kit home manufacturers featured in the comparison are:
Wide Span Homes
Wide Span Homes (part of Wide Span Sheds) was founded in 2000 on the Gold Coast and offers steel kit homes at affordable prices. They offer a range of varying architectural styles and sizes, with most featuring a shed-like external appearance.
Imagine Kit Homes
Imagine are another Queensland-based manufacturer, and are known for being one of the largest in the market, offering over 700 floorplans to choose from.
PAAL Kit Homes
PAAL is proud to be the longest established kit home provider with multiple
locations across Australia. They feature a wide range of designs, with a particular focus on large open plan Queenslander style homes.
Prestige Kit Homes
Prestige is another Queensland based kit home manufacturer with 15 years of experience supplying kit homes, with over 100 designs to choose from.
iBuild Building Solutions
Ibuild is a Victorian based manufacturer of Kit Homes and modular homes. The company began manufacturing kit homes roughly 10 years ago and has many designs on offer.
5 metrics.
Our comparison is based on 5 metrics. We considered these metrics the most important when selecting a kit home, but you should also factor in other considerations unique to your own needs and goals.
1 / Pricing
Price per kit and price per internal square meter. We compared pricing in two ways to capture the pricing differences as much as possible. We found the lowest price 3-bedroom kit home advertised online by each manufacturer, and we also compared the internal square meter price to create a fairer comparison, as some homes are bigger than others.
2 / Inclusions
Each manufacturer has vastly different inclusions, so it’s important to consider the inclusions when looking at pricing. Full inclusion manufacturers are naturally more expensive, as there are less additional purchases to make during the build.
3 / Shipping
Kit homes aren’t small, light or cheap to transport, so it’s important to know if your manufacturer delivers to your location, and the cost involved.
4 / Ongoing support
If your owner building for the first time, you will want to be sure your manufacturer is reliable and on call to help you with building instructions, missing parts, and other guidance where needed.
5 / Reputation / reviews
A kit home is a significant and expensive purchase, so doing some due diligence to ensure you’re purchasing from a reliable and reputable manufacturer is vital.
Pricing
*Lowest cost 3 Bedroom advertised online!
Why Price Isn't Everything
As you can see from the chart above, the price paid for a 3-bedroom kit home differs greatly between providers, with Prestige coming in at the most affordable and PAAL the most expensive.
However, you can’t look at pricing without considering inclusions. The more
affordable kit home companies are often low-or-no inclusion options, whereas the more expensive providers tend to include much more of the building materials required for the build – with some even including household appliances in the advertised kit price. The type of material may also differ, so it’s important to factor in the finishes you desire for your home, as this will impact the final cost of your build.
Inclusions
The more affordable providers offer far fewer inclusions, which could be a good or bad
things depending on your build goals. For example, if your goal is to build an affordable
home on a low budget, you’re not overly concerned about the overall finishes of the home,
and you’re happy to put in the work to shop around for budget materials, then a low-
inclusion kit home could be for you. However, if you like the look of some of the more
expensive kit homes, prefer expensive finishes, and would prefer to do less time sourcing
and negotiating on building materials, then a full inclusions provider could make sense. I
would suggest looking at each of the kit home provider’s websites to see which companies
have the designs and finishes you like, and go from there. You should also consider how
much work and effort you are realistically going to invest in sourcing your own materials for
the build (for low-inclusion kits). Everyone’s situation is different, so the number of
inclusions you choose for your kit should reflect your individual abilities, effort and
availability.
Shipping
FAQs
From factory to site
Each of the manufacturers above offer good shipping terms – but it’s worth making a call before purchasing your kit to get an up-to-date quote, and ensure they can deliver to your build location before proceeding.
What support will you receive?
Ongoing Support
Ongoing support was one of the more difficult factors to find information on. However, all of these brands are well established and have great customer reviews, which is always a good sign that they’ll be reliable. I recommend calling the kit home manufacturer you’re interested in and ask them about their ongoing build support policies.
Some great questions to ask are:
What happens if my kit home is delivered with missing parts?
What happens if a part of the kit home is damaged during the build process? How soon would I be able to get replacement parts?
What is the warranty on the frame and other kit components?
Do you have someone I can talk to on the phone for guidance if I needed throughout this build (this one’s important, trust me!)?
Reputation & Reviews
Reputation matters. The last thing you want is to be mid-build and struggling with poor customer service or delays in getting replacement parts. Overall, all five manufacturers score well, but reviews can shift over time. We recommend filtering for the most recent reviews before you buy, as service levels can change quickly.
Final thoughts
Building a kit home is a big, exciting, and sometimes overwhelming undertaking.
Whether you lean toward a budget-friendly, DIY-heavy option or prefer a more complete package, the best choice will depend on your goals, budget, and how much work you want to put in along the way.
Our goal with this comparison is to give you a clear starting point. From here, dive deeper into the specific designs, inclusions, and reviews that matter most to you and remember, the cheapest option may not always the best fit.
All the best on your home building journey,
Beau & Chris