Extant studies on Self-Help Housing (SHH) have centered on the types, processes, value, and challenges, but rare on the criteria for assessing its affordability. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the criteria based on published literature in 32 peer-reviewed journals. 81 relevant peer-reviewed papers were used for the study. A total of 8 criteria sets, including 31 associated determinants were identified to have an influence on SHH affordability. The criteria were; financing, access to land, building quality, development controls and planning regulations, building cost, location, infrastructure and services, and social issues. A framework method was adopted to select the papers. Authors from both developed and developing countries were noted to have made various pioneering contributions to SHH studies. The mean SCImago Journal Rank indicator obtained was above1.00, which showed that the journals used for the review were quality within the time frame of 1997 to 2020. Limitations were mainly seen in our dependence on Scopus, the few search engines, and the selected papers used. This study's outcome will broaden understanding of SHH affordability in developing countries on; policy formulation, housing market conditions, and research This review provides the opportunity for further empirical studies on SHH affordability metric development.