Guides / Product Selection
They get compared because they are both small and both look like an escape from a normal building, and they are priced on almost nothing in common. A capsule is quoted per project off six published inputs. A tiny house is usually bought through a local builder or a kit, where the price turns on very different questions. This page sets out the capsule inputs from our own product pages, then the questions that make a capsule quote and a tiny house quote comparable instead of merely different totals.
Neither type carries a price you can read off a list. Our capsule range is explicit about it: prices follow steel and aluminium material cost and are quoted per project, not fixed. What we do publish is what moves the number. Six factors decide a capsule unit price — shell aluminium thickness, glass configuration, interior finish grade, smart and bathroom fit-out, quantity and destination, and the foundation requirement on your site. Change any one and the number moves.
A tiny house is a different product with a different supply chain, and we do not build one. That makes the useful comparison a checklist rather than a figure: what the shell includes, what the quote excludes, how the unit reaches the site, and what it stands on. Run the same checklist against both proposals and the difference between them becomes visible instead of assumed.
A capsule in our range is an aluminium-shell modular unit built on a galvanised steel frame with an aluminium shell and a tempered glass curtain wall. Inside, the standard arrangement is a bed area, a bathroom pod and a position for air conditioning; the electrical and insulation specification is confirmed per project rather than fixed at catalogue level.
The range is built around four sub-models, which is where a buyer's conversation normally starts: the Mini Modular Space Capsule, the 12M Modular Space Capsule, the Capsule with Terrace and the Camping Pod. They are positioned for glamping, resorts and eco-tourism, and the site conditions the range is written for are lakeside, forest, beach, desert, mountain and snow resort. That list is not decoration. A beach site and a snow resort site will not come back with the same glazing or the same foundation, and on a capsule both of those are cost inputs rather than afterthoughts.
The full range, glazing information and sub-model list sit on the space capsules and camping pods product page.
These are the factors our own pricing page publishes, in the order it publishes them. When a capsule price looks high or low next to another unit, one of these six is almost always the reason.
| Input | What it covers | Why the buyer asks |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Shell aluminium thickness | The outer aluminium panel gauge | It sets durability against weather and handling, and it is the first line that separates one shell from another |
| 2. Glass configuration | Single versus double-glazed, and the area of tempered curtain-wall glass | Glazing is the most visible cost lever on a capsule, and the largest for a cold or hot climate |
| 3. Interior finish grade | Standard versus premium interior fit-out | Finish is what a guest sees, and it is the easiest item to budget down without changing the structure |
| 4. Smart & bathroom fit-out | Smart controls, bathroom pod, kitchenette options | Fit-out decides whether the unit is habitable as delivered or needs a second trade on site |
| 5. Quantity & destination | Order volume and the shipping destination | Both the volume and the destination move landed cost, so they belong in the same sentence as the unit price |
| 6. Foundation requirement | A piling or steel base versus a concrete pad | It is usually the buyer’s scope, and the single most common item left out of a like-for-like comparison |
Prices follow steel and aluminium material cost and are quoted per project. The minimum order quantity is also quoted per project rather than published as a fixed number.
Shipping is where a capsule differs most from a building that arrives on a trailer under its own wheels, and the mechanics are published on the product page. A capsule is shipped by container or flat-rack and lifted by crane at destination, with lifting points and a handling guide supplied with every unit. That single sentence decides a lot: if a crane cannot reach the plot, or the access road cannot take the delivery vehicle, the unit cannot be positioned as planned.
The foundation is the second half of the same problem. A capsule typically sits on a steel or piling base, or a concrete pad, and the foundation drawing is provided with the order. Because the base is normally the buyer’s works, it is a line item that a supplier can legitimately leave out of a unit price while still being honest about the quotation.
Utilities follow the same pattern. Units arrive pre-plumbed and pre-wired for site hook-up, with the connection diagram supplied, so what remains is connecting the unit to services at your boundary. The practical question for a buyer is not whether the capsule can be connected, but who is responsible for the trench, the cable and the water line that get it there. That is a question to settle before the foundation is poured, not after. The shipping and unloading guide covers the delivery end of the same journey for our modular buildings.
Tell us the terrain, the unit count and the finish you have in mind. We will come back with the inputs that actually move the price, and we will say which ones are on us and which ones are on your site.
We should be plain about scope here. Our lines are container-based modular buildings, space capsules and camping pods, light-steel villas, container shops and kiosks, and aluminium ceiling and facade systems. A tiny house is not one of them, and a page that pretended to price one would be guessing.
What can be said usefully is where the money typically sits on a tiny house, so that the two quotes can be read side by side:
Notice what those questions have in common with the six capsule inputs: the unit itself is only part of the figure. The ground it sits on, the way it arrives and the services it connects to are the rest.
Ask both suppliers the same eight things, and ask for the answers in writing on the quotation. A quote that cannot answer them is not cheaper; it is quieter.
Nothing on this page is a quotation or a promise about a specific project. It is the set of inputs our own product pages publish, arranged so that a capsule and a different kind of small building can be evaluated on the same terms. When the checklist is done, the conversation with us starts with the terrain and the unit count, and the products overview is where the rest of the range sits alongside the capsules.
There is no honest flat answer, because the two are priced on different inputs and bought through different supply chains. A capsule from our range is quoted per project: unit price follows shell aluminium thickness, glazing, interior finish, fit-out, order volume and destination, plus the foundation on your site. A tiny house is normally bought locally or as a kit, where the price turns on chassis versus foundation, code compliance and whether delivery placement is included. Compare line items, not headline numbers.
The range is built around four sub-models: the Mini Modular Space Capsule, the 12M Modular Space Capsule, the Capsule with Terrace and the Camping Pod. Dimensions, insulation and electrical specification are confirmed per project, so the sizing conversation starts with the site and the use rather than with a fixed catalogue size.
No. Prices are quoted per project and destination is one of the six inputs that moves a capsule unit price, so freight is not folded into a headline unit figure. Ask for the unit price, the packing plan and the freight separately, and ask whether the destination side, including unloading and crane arrangements, sits with you.
Typically a steel or piling base, or a concrete pad. The foundation drawing is provided with your order. Because the base is usually the buyer side of the project, it belongs in the schedule before the unit is lifted, and it is a cost that is easy to leave out when two suppliers are being compared on unit price alone.
Capsules arrive pre-plumbed and pre-wired for site hook-up, and the connection diagram is supplied with the unit. The on-site works are the connection to your services, so confirm what your site offers at the boundary before ordering and hand the diagram to whoever is doing the groundwork.
Yes. Finish level, glazing and layout can be customised for volume orders, and the minimum order quantity is quoted per project rather than published as a fixed figure. For a multi-unit resort the layout and unit count are usually settled alongside the site plan, so bring those to the enquiry.
No. The product lines are container-based modular buildings, space capsules and camping pods, light-steel villas, container shops and kiosks, and architectural aluminium ceiling and facade systems. Tiny houses are a different product category, and this page explains how to compare one with a capsule rather than pretending to price one.