Metal Roof vs Asphalt Shingles: Cost, Life and Which Fits Your Home

Asphalt shingles cost less on the day you install them. A metal roof costs more up front but usually lasts two to three times longer, stands up better to hail, wind and fire, and reflects more summer heat. Which one fits your home comes down to how long you plan to stay, your climate and your budget. Here is a plain comparison of metal roof vs asphalt shingles.

The short answer

Choose asphalt shingles if you need the lowest price today, you expect to sell within a few years, or your neighborhood strongly favors the shingle look. Choose metal if you plan to stay ten years or more, you live where hail, high wind, wildfire or heavy snow are part of life, or you simply want a roof you are unlikely to replace again. Many homeowners who run the numbers over the life of the house find metal the cheaper roof, but only if they stay long enough to collect the savings.

Side-by-side comparison

Upfront cost: why metal costs more

Metal panels cost more per square than shingles, and so does everything around them. Trim and flashing are fabricated from the same coated metal. Clips, high-temperature underlayment and specialty fasteners add up. Most of all, metal takes a trained crew. On a standing seam job the labor often costs as much as the material, because every panel is fitted, clipped and seamed by hand. Our metal roof cost guide breaks the bill down by style with a worked example.

Lifespan and lifetime cost

Here is where the comparison turns. Take a 20-square roof, which is 2,000 square feet of roof surface. Using the approximate ranges above, architectural shingles might run about $8,000 to $16,000 installed and standing seam steel about $24,000 to $40,000. If the shingle roof needs replacing twice during the life of the steel roof, which is a fair assumption at 15 to 30 years per shingle roof, the total spent on shingles approaches or passes the cost of the metal roof before you count inflation, three separate tear-offs and three permits.

The catch is time. Those savings only arrive if you are still the owner when the second and third shingle roofs would have been due. If you are likely to move in five years, the shingle roof wins on cash, and the metal roof becomes a question of resale appeal rather than savings.

Weather: hail, wind, fire and snow

Hail

Both materials can earn a UL 2218 Class 4 impact rating, the highest class. The difference is how they fail. Hail knocks the granules off shingles and bruises the mat, which shortens their life even when nothing leaks right away. Hail can dent metal, especially thinner gauges and wide flat pans, but a dent is usually cosmetic and the roof keeps shedding water. Thicker 24 gauge steel, textured finishes and stone-coated profiles hide hail best.

Wind

Shingles rely on nails and a self-seal strip, and wind damage usually starts with a lifted tab at an edge. Metal panels lock into each other and are clipped or screwed to the deck in a continuous pattern, so a well-installed metal roof has far fewer places for wind to get a grip. The rating belongs to the tested assembly, though, so edge metal, clip spacing and fasteners matter as much as the panel.

Fire

Metal does not burn. Both roof types can reach a Class A assembly rating, but in wildfire country a noncombustible covering that will not ignite from embers is a real advantage, provided the vents, gutters and eaves are hardened too.

Snow and ice

Metal sheds snow, which is good for the structure and sometimes bad for whatever sits below the eave. Clamp-on snow guards over doors and walkways solve that. Ice dams form on either roof when warm attic air melts snow from below, so attic insulation and ventilation matter more than the covering.

Energy, weight and the environment

A reflective metal finish bounces more sunlight than a dark shingle roof and sheds heat quickly after sunset, which keeps the attic cooler in hot climates. The benefit is real but depends on your climate, color and attic insulation, so be wary of anyone quoting a savings percentage. Metal is also light, which puts no extra load on the framing, and steel panels have high recycled content and can be recycled again at the end of their life. Asphalt shingles mostly go to the landfill.

Looks and neighborhood fit

Standing seam gives a clean modern or farmhouse line. Metal shingles, shakes, slate and tile profiles are made to blend into traditional streets, and stone-coated steel reads as tile or shake from the curb. Shingles are the familiar default and come in many blends. If you have a homeowners association, check its rules before you fall in love with a profile or color.

Maintenance and repairs

Metal needs less routine care but more skill when something does need fixing. A shingle repair is quick and any roofer can do it. Replacing a damaged standing seam panel in the middle of a roof takes a metal roofer, and a paint color that has weathered for ten years may not match a new panel exactly. Exposed-fastener metal roofs need their screws checked every few years, since the rubber washers age in the sun.

Insurance and resale

Many insurers offer premium discounts for Class 4 impact-rated roofs in hail-prone states, and a new roof of either type can improve your standing with an insurer that penalizes older roofs. Discounts vary by company and state, and some insurers attach a cosmetic damage exclusion to metal roofs that take the discount. At resale, a roof with decades of life left is a selling point, though studies of the dollar value vary. Our guide on insurance and resale covers both in detail.

Can you put metal over shingles?

Often, yes. Many codes allow a metal roof over one existing layer of shingles when the deck is sound, which saves the tear-off cost. It is not right for every house, so read our guide to metal roofs over shingles before you assume it.

Which should you choose?

• Staying 10 years or more, in hail, wind, fire or snow country: metal is usually the stronger long-term buy.
• Selling within a few years, on a tight budget: shingles cost less now, and a fresh shingle roof still helps a sale.
• Traditional neighborhood or strict HOA: metal shingles, shakes or stone-coated steel can give you metal performance with a conventional look.
• Hot, sunny climate with high cooling bills: a reflective metal finish adds a benefit shingles struggle to match.

Next step

Get bids for both options if you are torn. Ask the metal bidders to quote the same gauge, finish and scope so you can compare them to each other, then set the best metal bid beside the best shingle bid and think about how long you plan to stay. Our directory lists metal roofing companies by state, style and metal.