Cheap Small Sheds

What counts as a small shed?

A small shed is usually anything up to about 6ft x 4ft, the size that fits a side return, a corner by the fence or a patio without taking over the garden. The sheds on this page are smaller still: 4ft x 3ft, 5ft x 3ft and 6ft x 3ft, plus two slim bike and mower stores. That works out at roughly 1 to 1.6 square metres of floor, enough for a lawnmower, garden tools, a couple of folding chairs or a bike, but not all of them at once.

Small doesn't mean short: most are just over 2m tall at the ridge, so you can stand up inside.

Cheap small sheds compared

Here's how the cheap sheds on this page line up as garden storage, from Shedstore's own specs. Sizes are the base of the shed; the roof overhang adds a few centimetres. Each price changes daily, so check the cards above for today's figure.

The cheapest shed outright is the Forest bike store. For a proper walk-in storage shed, the Forest 4Life 4x3 is the lowest price, but the 4Life 6x3 pent gives you around 45% more floor for about £60 more, so it's the best value per square metre if it fits your space.

Wood or plastic for a small budget shed?

Every wooden one here is pressure treated, which means the preservative is forced deep into the timber at the factory. That's why Forest Garden gives 25 years against rot on the 4Life and Beckwood ranges and you never need to re-treat them. Cheaper dip treated sheds, which are only coated on the surface, need a coat of treatment every year or so, so a pressure treated shed usually costs less over its life and saves on maintenance even if it's a little dearer on day one. Timber is also easy to customise with hooks and shelves.

A small plastic shed costs a bit more for the size but needs almost no maintenance. The Palram models have UV protected polycarbonate walls on an aluminium frame and a skylight roof; the Shire Tuscany Evo is a neat recycled PVC tool store. You can't screw shelves anywhere into plastic, so plan them first. For more choice, see our cheap wooden sheds and cheap plastic sheds.

There's no metal shed in these sizes on the site right now; the smallest cheap metal sheds start a little bigger.

Overlap or shiplap?

Forest makes each of its small wooden sheds in two builds, and the difference explains most of the price gap.

• 4Life overlap: 7mm boards that overlap like roof tiles, on 28mm x 28mm framing. The budget pick, with the same 25 year cover.
• Beckwood shiplap: 12mm boards that lock together, on 28mm x 56mm framing. Stiffer, tighter against wind-driven rain and harder to prise apart, for around £100 more. Our shiplap sheds page has the bigger sizes.

If your shed will hold a few hand tools and a hose, overlap is plenty. If it's guarding a mower or bikes, the thicker shiplap is worth the extra.

Which size of small storage shed do you need?

4x3 sheds: the smallest walk-in shed

About 1.1 square metres: long-handled tools, a compact mower, a strimmer and a shelf of pots. It fits nicely in a corner.

5x3 sheds: room for a mower

An extra foot gives about 1.4 square metres, enough for a push mower plus tools, with rakes and spades hung on the back wall.

6x3 sheds: slim but long

A 6ft x 3ft shed is under 90cm deep, so it slides along a fence or down a side return where nothing wider will go. The Forest 6x3 sheds have a pent roof, so the door is on the long side and the low back sits against the fence. The Palram 6x3 is the one small plastic shed with twin doors, 1,275mm wide, so a mower or bike goes in without a fight.

Small sheds for bikes, mowers and bins

Two of these are low, wide garden storage boxes rather than walk-in sheds. The Forest bike and mower stores are about 6ft long and under 1.5m tall, with double doors 760mm wide and around 2,000 litres of space. They're built for one or two bikes or a mower that you wheel straight in. The 6'5 x 2'10 version has no floor, so wheels roll in without a step; the 6x3 has an OSB floor. For bigger two-door sheds see our double door sheds.

Will it fit? Check the door first

Most of these sheds have a single door 590mm wide. A compact electric mower, usually around 40cm wide, goes through easily, but a bike's handlebars or a wider petrol mower may not, so measure them first. If they're wider than about 55cm, pick a two-door model: the bike stores give 760mm and the Palram 6x3 gives 1,275mm. A standard wheelie bin is roughly 58cm wide and over 1m tall, so these sheds aren't bin stores; keep bins outside or use a dedicated bin store.

Pent or apex roof?

An apex roof has two slopes and gives the most headroom. A pent roof slopes one way, so the low back tucks under a window or against a fence. Here the ridged models peak at 2.09m to 2.17m and the 6x3 pent sheds are 1.99m at the front. See all apex sheds and pent sheds for more sizes.

Security on a small shed

A garden shed this size often sits near the house or the street, so think about what's going in it. Versions without windows hide what's inside, and the Beckwood models add hidden hinges so the screws can't be undone from outside. The 4Life sheds close with a hasp and staple, the Beckwood and Palram ones with a pad bolt. No padlock comes with any of them, so budget for a closed-shackle padlock, and for bikes add a ground anchor inside.

Base, assembly and delivery

Every shed needs a firm, level base, and none include one, so add it to the price. Paving slabs or a gravel-filled plastic grid are the cheapest way; concrete is best for the Palram sheds, which must be screwed down against the wind. Match the base to the shed's base size, not the overhang.

1. Clear and level the ground, then lay slabs, a grid base or concrete.
2. Put the floor down and check it's square.
3. Fix the wall panels to the floor and to each other.
4. Add the roof boards and felt, or the roof panels on plastic.
5. Hang the door, fit the lock and fix the shed down.

A small wooden shed is a two-person job that most people finish in an afternoon once the base is ready. Shedstore offers free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes. The Forest Garden website has assembly guides for its sheds, and Palram Canopia's UK site covers its plastic ones.

Do you need planning permission for a small shed?

Almost never. In England a garden shed is permitted development if it's single storey, isn't in front of the house and doesn't cover more than half the garden. If it's within 2m of a boundary it can be no more than 2.5m tall (Planning Portal outbuildings rules). The tallest one here is 2.17m, so every one can go right against your fence. Listed buildings, conservation areas and National Parks are stricter; the government's permitted development guidance has the detail.

Looking after a cheap small shed

Pressure treated wood needs no preservative, so maintenance is light: paint or stain it if you like the look, clear leaves off the roof, keep soil away from the walls and check the felt each spring. Leave a gap behind it so the back wall dries out. A plastic shed just needs a wash once or twice a year.

Cheap small sheds FAQs

What is the cheapest small shed?

The Forest Garden 6'5 x 2'10 bike shed, at around £225, is the lowest price storage shed here, but it has no floor and is under 1.5m tall. The cheapest walk-in small garden shed is the Forest 4Life 4x3 at around £250.

Is a cheap garden shed any good?

The cheap sheds we list are. Every wooden model is pressure treated with 15 or 25 years of rot cover, and the Palram sheds carry 10 years. The flimsy reputation comes from cheap dip treated sheds with thin floors that need treating every year.

What is the smallest shed you can buy?

Here, the Shire Tuscany Evo 100 at 4ft x 2ft 6in. Below that you're into low tool stores and storage boxes.

Does a small shed need a base?

Yes. Without a level one the doors stick and the timber rots or bows. A few paving slabs will do.

Can I fit a bike in a garden storage shed this size?

Yes, in the 6x3 bike stores or the Palram 6x3 with its wide double doors. A 4x3 or 5x3 shed with a single 590mm door is too tight for most adult bikes.

Need more room? Step up to our cheap 8x6 sheds or browse cheap large sheds.