Garden rooms compared: Crown vs ten well-known UK brands

Green Retreats' A1 (about 5.04m x 3.23m) is listed at £26,065, close to Crown's Heritage 5m x 3m at £26,650. The A1 uses steel-sheet panels with 75mm foam walls and argon double glazing, and its electrics and ground-screw base are optional extras. Every Crown garden room includes triple glazing, aluminium doors, smart air conditioning and a full electrical package in the price. Green Retreats' X1, from £49,950, adds aluminium doors, air conditioning or underfloor heating and a 20-year guarantee; Crown's Sandringham Platinum 5m x 3m is £46,150. Green Retreats gives a 12-year guarantee on the A1, longer than Crown's 10 years.

Cabin Master lists its 5m x 3m garden room from £24,850, with delivery, installation, electrics and a composite pegged base included. It comes with double-glazed uPVC windows and a uPVC door, with aluminium bifolds as an upgrade, and its page does not mention heating. Crown's Heritage 5m x 3m, at £26,650, adds triple glazing, aluminium doors and windows, and smart air conditioning that heats, cools and dehumidifies. Both offer a 10-year guarantee. Cabin Master covers glass units for 4 years; Crown covers them under its structural guarantee. Cabin Master has two show sites, in Nottingham and Studley; Crown has six.

Crane Garden Buildings, founded in 1974, makes its Pavilion Garden Room in Scandinavian Redwood in more than 15 sizes, with delivery and installation by its own team. Its listed specification has double glazing with 4mm toughened glass and insulated walls and roof, with no thickness published, and its electric pack includes a 2kVA wall heater. A level base is needed, and Crane offers a base-laying service. Crown includes triple glazing, aluminium doors, smart air conditioning and a 150mm to 280mm insulated build-up. Both offer a 10-year guarantee and finance. Crane lists 12 display centres; Crown has six show sites.

David Salisbury has designed and built bespoke timber garden rooms for over 40 years, with an oak option, and shows its work at a showroom in Chelsea. It does not publish prices or a standard specification for its garden rooms, so a line-by-line comparison is not possible from its website. Crown publishes prices for every size, and every model includes triple glazing, aluminium doors, smart air conditioning and a full electrical package, with fully bespoke designs also available. If you are comparing the two, ask for each quote to set out glazing, insulation, heating and guarantee in writing.

Malvern Garden Buildings lists its Henwick garden office from £16,145, handcrafted in Worcestershire. The Henwick has 50mm insulation in the walls and ceiling and 25mm under the floor, argon double glazing and uPVC French doors, with aluminium frames, heating and air conditioning as options. It needs a firm, level base, and lighting and sockets are added by an electrician after installation. Crown's garden rooms include triple glazing, aluminium doors, smart air conditioning and a full electrical package. Both offer a 10-year structural guarantee and help with planning. Malvern lists 12 show sites; Crown has six.

Noah Garden Rooms' Signature range is made to measure from £12,727, including foundation, electrics and installation within 150 miles of Telford. It uses SIPs panels (100mm walls, 140mm roof), A-rated double glazing and multi-point locks, with heating and air conditioning as optional extras. Noah offers a 10-year structural guarantee, planning support, finance and a showroom in Telford. Crown also builds with structurally engineered SIPs on the Sandringham, Clarence and Buckingham, and adds triple glazing, aluminium doors and smart air conditioning as standard, with six show sites.

Project Timber's Evolution insulated garden office, 16ft x 10ft (about 4.9m x 3.0m), is listed at £12,479 and delivered as pre-assembled panels, with assembly as an optional service. It has composite cladding on a timber frame, 80mm insulated walls, 4-20-4mm double glazing and a uPVC door with multi-point locking. A level base is needed. Its guarantee is against rot (15 years on composite and cedar), and finance is available through humm. Crown's Heritage 5m x 3m, £26,650, is installed by our own teams, with triple glazing, aluminium doors, air conditioning, full electrics and a 10-year structural guarantee.

Dunster House sells its Severn insulated log cabin, 5m x 3m, as a self-build kit from £7,114.99 list price (£6,144.99 on offer when checked), with uPVC doors and windows, double glazing and 62mm insulated wall panels. Installation is not offered, a foundation is an optional extra, and there are no showrooms. Its guarantee covers rot in the floor bearers. Crown's Heritage 5m x 3m, at £26,650, is a different kind of purchase: designed by architects and engineers and installed by our own teams, with triple glazing, aluminium doors, air conditioning, full electrics and a 10-year structural guarantee.

Quick Garden sells its Garden Room Premium, 5m x 3m, as a kit at £6,818 list price including VAT and delivery. It is built from 34mm timber logs on a 100mm frame, with double-glazed wooden doors and windows. The insulation kit (100mm stone wool walls, 150mm roof, 50mm floor) costs £1,364 extra, and assembly is available through partners on request. A concrete base is needed, and a 10-year manufacturer's warranty applies. Crown's Heritage 5m x 3m, at £26,650, arrives insulated and installed, with triple glazing, aluminium doors, smart air conditioning and full electrics.

Summerhouse24's Ryan-I garden office, about 5m x 3m, is a self-assembly kit in 44mm Nordic spruce, listed at £5,900 (£4,800 on offer when checked). It has double-glazed tempered glass and is not insulated as standard: insulation kits cost £1,920 or £5,440 extra, and installation £1,610. It carries a 5-year factory guarantee, and there are display sites in Devon and Leeds. Crown's Heritage 5m x 3m, £26,650, comes insulated with a 150mm to 280mm build-up, triple glazing, aluminium doors, smart air conditioning, full electrics and a 10-year structural guarantee.