Langstroth vs Top Bar vs Warré Hive: Which Hive Type to Start With
Affiliate disclosure: product links on this page go to Amazon, or to the maker's own store for brands that sell only direct. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you; a link to a maker's store earns us nothing. No retailer or brand sees our picks before they are published or has any say in them. How we choose.
Start with a Langstroth unless you have a reason not to. It is what every extension bee school teaches (Oregon State's FAQ: any hive type is allowed in the course, but the practical instruction is on Langstroth), what every nuc comes on (Michigan State: most suppliers sell nucs on Langstroth-dimension frames), what every club extractor spins, and what the Hoover Hives Gold Standard delivers for about $155. A top bar hive is the choice for someone who cannot lift a 60-pound box and is willing to work one 7-pound comb at a time (Bee Built's own comparison), with the Mann Lake Top Bar Hive ($324.50, 28 bars) and Bee Built's Standard Top Bar ($412) as the kits. The Warré is the third way: small square boxes added underneath, a minimal-inspection philosophy, and the fewest suppliers, with Bee Built's Warré kit at $635.
This is a comparison of what each hive asks of the beekeeper, priced from the makers' pages and grounded in what the extension guides and the hive makers themselves say.
Our top picks at a glance
1. Langstroth pick
Hoover Hives Gold Standard 10-Frame Beehive Kit (2 deeps, 1 medium, beeswax dipped)Hive type: Langstroth, 10-frame, vertical · Comb: 30 framed combs on wax-coated foundation; standard 19 in frames (Hoover) · Price: About $155 on Amazon
2. Top bar pick, supplier
Mann Lake Top Bar Hive Kit (28 bars)Hive type: Top bar, horizontal · Comb: 28 bars; the bees build free comb hanging from each bar (Mann Lake) · Price: $324.50 at Mann Lake
3. Top bar pick, specialist
Bee Built Standard Top Bar Hive (28 bars)Hive type: Top bar, horizontal · Comb: 28 bars, each 19 x 1 7/8 x 1 in (Bee Built) · Price: $412 (standard); cedar versions $749 to $799
4. Warré pick
Bee Built Warre Hive KitHive type: Warré, vertical, small square boxes · Comb: Free comb on top bars in each box (Bee Built) · Price: $635 at Bee Built
| Pick | Hive type | Comb | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoover Hives Gold Standard 10-Frame Beehive Kit (2 deeps, 1 medium, beeswax dipped)Langstroth pick | Langstroth, 10-frame, vertical | 30 framed combs on wax-coated foundation; standard 19 in frames (Hoover) | About $155 on Amazon | Amazon |
| Mann Lake Top Bar Hive Kit (28 bars)Top bar pick, supplier | Top bar, horizontal | 28 bars; the bees build free comb hanging from each bar (Mann Lake) | $324.50 at Mann Lake | Mann Lake |
| Bee Built Standard Top Bar Hive (28 bars)Top bar pick, specialist | Top bar, horizontal | 28 bars, each 19 x 1 7/8 x 1 in (Bee Built) | $412 (standard); cedar versions $749 to $799 | Bee Built |
| Bee Built Warre Hive KitWarré pick | Warré, vertical, small square boxes | Free comb on top bars in each box (Bee Built) | $635 at Bee Built | Bee Built |
Langstroth pick
Hoover Hives Gold Standard 10-Frame Beehive Kit (2 deeps, 1 medium, beeswax dipped)
Two deeps, a medium and thirty frames, beeswax dipped, for about $155: the hive the bee school, the nuc seller and the club extractor all assume.
- Hive type
- Langstroth, 10-frame, vertical
- Comb
- 30 framed combs on wax-coated foundation; standard 19 in frames (Hoover)
- Price
- About $155 on Amazon
- Lifting
- A full deep of honey can weigh up to 60 lb (Bee Built's comparison); a full medium about 40 lb (Betterbee)
Pros
- Every supplier, nuc, extractor, excluder and feeder fits it
- Extension bee schools teach on it
- Framed comb survives extraction and reuse
Cons
- Heavy boxes to lift, which is the whole case for the other two
- More parts to buy and store
- Unassembled
The Langstroth is the standard because its frames are a standard: 19 inches long, 9 1/8 or 6 1/4 inches deep (Hoover, Betterbee). The University of Georgia's lecture notes give a standard 10-frame deep about 2,700 square inches of comb. The Hoover kit is the version in our beginner hives guide; the 8 vs 10 frame comparison covers the lighter width, which is the Langstroth answer to the lifting problem before you leave the system.
Top bar pick, supplier
Mann Lake Top Bar Hive Kit (28 bars)
Mann Lake's top bar hive kit with 28 bars for $324.50, a horizontal hive from the supplier whose catalogue covers everything else.
- Hive type
- Top bar, horizontal
- Comb
- 28 bars; the bees build free comb hanging from each bar (Mann Lake)
- Price
- $324.50 at Mann Lake
- Lifting
- One comb at a time; no boxes
Pros
- Nothing to lift but a bar
- Mann Lake sells it alongside the Langstroth parts you will still need (smoker, tools, feeder)
- Kit form
Cons
- Free comb cannot go in a club extractor; honey is crushed and strained
- A nuc's Langstroth frames do not fit; start from a package
- Mann Lake's page gives the bar count, not the body dimensions
Mann Lake lists its Top Bar Hive kit at $324.50 with 28 bars. The bees build comb from each bar without foundation, and the beekeeper works one comb at a time from the end, which is the reason to choose it. The trade is honey harvest: comb with no frame is cut and crushed, not spun, and the yield per colony is lower because the wax is not reused. The Dadant top bar hive (assembled, 26 bars, $311.70) is the other supplier option.
Top bar pick, specialist
Bee Built Standard Top Bar Hive (28 bars)
Bee Built's Standard Top Bar Hive, 28 bars, 40 by 18 by 19 inches, $412, from a maker that publishes the dimensions and the case for the design.
- Hive type
- Top bar, horizontal
- Comb
- 28 bars, each 19 x 1 7/8 x 1 in (Bee Built)
- Price
- $412 (standard); cedar versions $749 to $799
- Lifting
- A single comb about 7 lb against a Langstroth box up to 60 lb (Bee Built)
Pros
- Dimensions and bar dimensions published
- Bee Built's comparison page states the weights honestly for both systems
- Cedar version for weather
Cons
- $412 against $155 for a Langstroth kit
- Same harvest limits as every top bar
- Sold direct
Bee Built lists the Standard Top Bar Hive at $412 with 28 bars, a body of 40 by 18 by 19 inches and bars of 19 by 1 7/8 by 1 inch; its cedar versions are $749 to $799. Its own comparison is the clearest statement of the trade: a single top bar comb weighs about 7 pounds, a full Langstroth box up to 60. It also sells a Warré kit ($635).
Warré pick
Bee Built Warre Hive Kit
Bee Built's Warré hive kit at $635: small square boxes, top bars rather than frames, boxes added underneath, for the beekeeper who wants to open the hive rarely.
- Hive type
- Warré, vertical, small square boxes
- Comb
- Free comb on top bars in each box (Bee Built)
- Price
- $635 at Bee Built
- Lifting
- Whole stacks are lifted to add a box beneath; boxes are smaller than Langstroth
Pros
- Smaller, lighter boxes than Langstroth
- Designed around minimal inspection
- Bee Built publishes the design
Cons
- The most expensive and least supported of the three
- Adding boxes underneath means lifting the whole stack
- Free comb, no extractor, no nuc compatibility
Bee Built lists its Warré kit at $635. The Warré (Émile Warré's "people's hive") is a vertical hive of small square boxes with top bars, new boxes added at the bottom so the colony builds downward, inspected as little as possible. It suits a beekeeper who wants bees more than honey and is comfortable without the frame-by-frame inspection the extension guides are built around (Penn State: inspect every two weeks from late spring to early summer). Varroa monitoring is harder without frames to pull; the monitoring guide assumes a frame.
The short version
| Langstroth | Top bar | Warré | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orientation | Vertical boxes | One horizontal body | Vertical small boxes, added below |
| Comb | Frames with foundation; standard 19 in | Free comb from bars | Free comb from bars |
| What lifts | Boxes to 60 lb (deep) or ~40 lb (medium) | One comb, ~7 lb (Bee Built) | Whole stack when adding a box |
| Honey | Spun in an extractor, comb reused | Crushed and strained | Crushed and strained |
| Nuc fits | Yes (Michigan State: nucs on Langstroth frames) | No; start from a package | No |
| Bee school teaches | Yes (Oregon State FAQ) | Rarely | Rarely |
| Parts and suppliers | Every supplier | Mann Lake, Dadant, Bee Built | Bee Built, few others |
| Kit price | $155 (Hoover) to $390 (Mann Lake painted) | $311 (Dadant) to $412 (Bee Built), cedar to $799 | $635 (Bee Built) |
Where each one wins
Langstroth: support and yield
The Langstroth wins on everything that involves other people: the bee school (Oregon State teaches on it), the nuc seller (Michigan State), the club extractor, the treatment labels written for brood chambers (Apivar: strips per brood chamber), the feeders, excluders and stands. It wins on honey because framed comb is spun and returned to the bees. It loses on weight, which 8-frame boxes and all-medium hives partly answer (Betterbee's heavy-box article lays out both routes).
Top bar: the back
The top bar wins for anyone who cannot or will not lift boxes. Bee Built's 7-pound comb against a 60-pound box is the whole argument. It loses on harvest (crush and strain, no comb reuse, lower yield), on nucs (none fit), on feeders and treatments designed for boxes, and on the fact that free comb is fragile in heat and in a beginner's hands. The hive makers themselves say so; Bee Built's comparison page does not oversell it.
Warré: the philosophy
The Warré wins for someone who wants to keep bees with as little intervention as the law and Varroa allow. It loses on support (the fewest suppliers), on inspection (frames cannot be lifted, so mite monitoring by wash is awkward), and on adding boxes (the stack comes up). It is a hive for a second or third hive, once you know what a colony looks like inside.
What the extension guides assume
Every husbandry figure on this site comes from Langstroth-based extension guidance: Penn State's inspection cadence, UGA's 60-pound winter stores, the Honey Bee Health Coalition's 300-bee mite sample from a brood frame, UF/IFAS's nuc hiving. Oregon State's bee school FAQ allows any hive type but teaches Langstroth. A top bar or Warré beekeeper translates those as they go; a Langstroth beekeeper follows them.
Our recommendation
Langstroth for the first hive, 8-frame if lifting is the worry (the width comparison). Top bar for a first hive only if a box is out of the question, with a package rather than a nuc and a crush-and-strain harvest accepted up front. Warré as a second hive. The beginner hives guide and Flow comparison cover the Langstroth options.
Frequently asked questions
Is a top bar hive easier than a Langstroth?
Easier on the back: Bee Built puts a single top bar comb at about 7 pounds against a full Langstroth box of up to 60. Harder in other ways: free comb is fragile, honey is crushed and strained rather than spun, nucs do not fit, and bee schools teach on Langstroth.
Can I put a nuc in a top bar hive?
Not directly. Nucs come on Langstroth-dimension frames (Michigan State Extension), which do not fit a top bar body. Top bar and Warré hives are started from a package.
Which hive produces more honey?
The Langstroth. Framed comb is spun in an extractor and returned to the bees, so the colony does not rebuild wax each harvest; top bar and Warré comb is crushed. Yield figures vary by region, so we do not print one.
What does a Warré hive cost?
Bee Built's Warré kit is $635 on its page. Top bar kits run $311 (Dadant, assembled) to $412 (Bee Built) and $749 to $799 in cedar; the Hoover Langstroth kit is about $155.
Do bee schools teach top bar beekeeping?
Oregon State's course FAQ says any hive type is allowed but the practical instruction is on Langstroth; other extension programs are similar. A top bar beekeeper translates the guidance.
Can I run a top bar hive and a Langstroth together?
Yes, and many do, but comb and frames cannot move between them, so a weak hive cannot be boosted with a frame of brood from the other. Two Langstroths can share frames; that is the practical reason to start with two of the same.
Sources
- Top Bar vs Langstroth: Which Beehive is Right for You?, Bee Built
- Standard Top Bar Hive, Bee Built
- Warre Hive Kit, Bee Built
- Top Bar Hive Kit, Mann Lake
- Top Bar Hive, Assembled, Dadant & Sons
- The Gold Standard (10 Frame), Hoover Hives
- Oregon Master Beekeeper Program: Frequently Asked Questions, Oregon State University Extension
- Transferring and placing honey bees this spring, Michigan State University Extension
- Beekeeping Equipment (lecture notes), University of Georgia Honey Bee Program
- My Hive Boxes are So Heavy I May Need to Quit Beekeeping!, Betterbee
- Beekeeping - Honey Bees, Penn State Extension
Cover photo: The Overturned Beehive, CC0 1.0, via rawpixel. Cropped.
Related guides
8-Frame vs 10-Frame Langstroth: Weight, Cost, Compatibility and Which to Buy
Dimensions, weight when full, cost and compatibility, from Oregon State, Mann Lake, Betterbee and Hoover, so you pick one width and never mix them.
Beehive Wood and Coating Guide: Pine, Cedar, Beeswax Dip, Paint and Polystyrene
Beeswax dip, exterior latex, cedar and polystyrene compared from the suppliers' painting guides and extension sources, with what never gets painted.
Best Beehives for Beginners (2026): Langstroth Woodenware for a First Colony
Seven Langstroth hives for a first colony, compared on boxes and frames included, finish, dimensions and what the extension guides say a beginner needs.