How much does a metal roof cost?
A standing seam metal roof costs about $20,700 to $36,800 on a typical 2,000 sq ft house, or $9 to $16 per square foot of roof, installed with the old roof torn off. Steel panels with exposed screws cost less, about $5 to $12. Either way, that’s roughly twice the price of architectural shingles.
Whether it’s worth it comes down mostly to how long you’ll stay in the house. The comparison with shingles below shows why.
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Metal roof prices by type
“Metal roof” covers several very different products. These are installed prices with tear-off, and the total is for about 23 squares of roof, which is what a typical 2,000 sq ft house has.
| Type | Per sq ft of roof | 2,000 sq ft house | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exposed-fastener steel panels | $5 – $12 | $11,500 – $27,600 | Ribbed or corrugated panels screwed through the face. The budget option. |
| Metal shingles or stone-coated steel | $6 – $14 | $13,800 – $32,200 | Shaped to look like shingles, tile or shake. |
| Standing seam steel | $9 – $16 | $20,700 – $36,800 | Hidden fasteners and raised seams. The usual choice for a house you plan to keep. |
| Aluminum | $7 – $17 | $16,100 – $39,100 | Doesn’t rust, so it’s popular near the coast. |
| Copper | $13 – $30 | $29,900 – $69,000 | A premium, mostly for accents and historic homes. |
Standing seam uses the same rate as our roof cost guide and calculator. The other rows are from HomeGuide (updated November 2025).
To price a roof that isn’t 23 squares, find its size below. A square is 100 sq ft of roof, and a roof is usually 10 to 20 percent bigger than the floor it covers.
| Type | 15 squares1,300 sq ft house | 20 squares1,750 sq ft house | 25 squares2,150 sq ft house | 30 squares2,600 sq ft house |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standing seam | $13,500 – $24,000 | $18,000 – $32,000 | $22,500 – $40,000 | $27,000 – $48,000 |
| Exposed-fastener panels | $7,500 – $18,000 | $10,000 – $24,000 | $12,500 – $30,000 | $15,000 – $36,000 |
| Architectural shingles, for comparison | $6,750 – $11,250 | $9,000 – $15,000 | $11,250 – $18,750 | $13,500 – $22,500 |
House sizes assume a single-story home with an average pitch. On a phone, swipe the table sideways.
The prices include removing one layer of old roofing, underlayment, trim and flashing, and labor. A second layer of old shingles, rotten decking and gutters are extra. People often call any metal roof a “tin roof”; today it’s almost always coated steel. Prices also vary by area: in Texas, for example, metal runs about $8 to $16 per square foot in Houston, and standing seam about $10 to $16 across Florida, including metal roofing in Tampa.
Standing seam or exposed fastener?
Most metal roof quotes are for one of two systems, and the difference matters more than the brand. Standing seam panels lock together at raised seams and are held down by clips hidden underneath, so nothing pierces the face of the roof. Exposed-fastener panels, the ribbed or corrugated kind, are screwed straight through the metal.
Those screws are the weak point. Each one has a rubber washer that ages in the sun, and the manufacturer MBCI recommends checking an exposed-fastener roof at least once a year and replacing loose or rusty screws. Standing seam avoids almost all of that, which is a large part of why it costs more. It typically lasts about 40 to 70 years, according to our guide to how long a roof lasts. How long exposed-fastener panels last depends largely on keeping those screws tight and sealed.
Exposed-fastener panels make sense on a tight budget, a simple low roof or a garage or barn. For a house you plan to keep for decades, standing seam is usually the one worth pricing.
Metal vs shingles: does metal pay off?
Here are both roofs on the same 2,000 sq ft house, with the price spread over how long each one lasts.
| Compared | Architectural shingles | Standing seam metal |
|---|---|---|
| Installed cost | $10,350 – $17,250 | $20,700 – $36,800 |
| Typical lifespan | 25 – 30 years | 40 – 70 years |
| Cost per year of roof life, mid-range | about $500 | about $520 |
| Share of cost added to resale value | 68% | 50% |
Resale figures are from the 2025 Cost vs Value report, for a 30-square roof.
Mid-range national prices for a 23-square roof, in today’s dollars. A second shingle roof bought decades from now will almost certainly cost more than today’s price.
Over a full lifetime, the two cost about the same per year. That’s the honest answer to “is metal worth it”, and it’s why the decision comes down to time. With shingles, you pay less now and pay again in about 25 to 30 years. With metal, you pay about twice as much now and may never need to re-roof that house again.
So the question is how long you’ll stay. If you’re likely to sell within 10 or 15 years, shingles win easily: you spend half as much, and the Cost vs Value report found a new metal roof cost $19,994 more than an asphalt one but added only $4,471 more to the sale price. If you expect to be in the house past the point where shingles would need replacing, metal catches up, and a second shingle roof bought in 25 years will cost more than today’s prices.
What else changes the math
Insurance. In states that get a lot of hail, some insurers give a premium discount for an impact-resistant roof, and metal roofs with an impact rating can qualify. The discount can come with an exclusion for cosmetic damage, which means dents that don’t let water in may not be covered. Our Dallas guide explains that catch, and the Austin guide covers metal roofs and hail. Ask your agent for the discount and the policy wording before you decide.
Energy. A light-colored metal roof reflects far more summer sun than dark shingles, which keeps the attic cooler. How much that saves depends on your climate, insulation and air conditioning, so treat any roofer’s savings promise as a sales figure.
Taxes and labels. There’s no federal tax credit for a metal roof installed in 2026, as our guide to whether a new roof is tax deductible explains. The ENERGY STAR label for roof products also ended in 2022. A roofer who quotes either as a reason to buy is working from out-of-date information.
What a metal roof quote should include
Metal quotes are harder to compare than shingle quotes, because two roofers can both say “steel roof” and mean very different things. Ask each one to put these in writing: the panel type and profile, the steel’s thickness (given as a gauge, where a lower number is thicker), the paint finish and its warranty, the underlayment, the trim and flashing, the fastener type for exposed-fastener panels, and the workmanship warranty. Paint finishes differ: the manufacturer McElroy Metal rates PVDF (Kynar 500) above SMP for resisting fading and chalking, at a modest extra cost.
Our sample roofing estimate shows how a complete quote lays out each line. If you’re torn between metal and shingles, ask each roofer to price both on the same visit, so the comparison above uses your own numbers. You can also run both through the roof replacement estimator first.
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