A metal roof costs $500 to $3,000 per roofing square installed, a six-fold spread that depends almost entirely on which metal product you choose. Corrugated panels sit at the bottom, standing seam in the middle, copper and zinc at the top. This page is about choosing within metal. For what a replacement job costs overall, see the roof replacement cost guide.
These are national estimates, not quotes. They come from a published cost survey, not from bids on your roof. What you actually pay depends on your region, your roof and your contractor. Get at least three written estimates. The methodology page lists every source used and the rounding rules applied here.
per square · cheapest metal system
per square · the residential default
per square · looks like asphalt or slate
against 15 to 30 for asphalt
Multiply any figure above by your square count. Don’t know it? Measure your pitch with the roof pitch calculator, turn your footprint into surface area with the roof area calculator, then get squares from the roofing square calculator.
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The three metal roofing systems
Before you compare prices you have to know which of three systems you are pricing. They are made from the same metals and they are not interchangeable, either in cost or in how they behave over time.
Exposed fastener panels
Corrugated and ribbed panels screwed down through the face of the sheet, with the screw heads and their rubber washers visible on the surface. This is the cheapest metal roof at $500 to $1,200 per square, and it is the system you see on barns, workshops and outbuildings. The washers are the wear point: they sit in the weather, and on a long-lived panel they will need attention before the metal does.
Standing seam
Vertical panels joined by raised seams, with the fasteners hidden underneath. Nothing penetrates the weather surface, which is why this is the system most residential metal roofs use, and why it costs more at $900 to $1,600 per square. The panels are also free to expand and contract along their length, which matters on long runs and in climates with a wide temperature swing.
Metal shingles and tiles
Metal pressed into shingle, shake or tile profiles and installed in overlapping courses, at $600 to $1,400 per square. It buys the lifespan of metal with the appearance of a conventional roof, which is often the deciding factor where a neighbourhood or a period house makes long panels look wrong. Stone-coated steel is a variant of this, at $700 to $1,300 per square. Metal shingles are also covered briefly in the shingle roof cost guide alongside the asphalt grades.
Metal roof cost by material
Within any of those systems, the metal itself sets the price. Per-square figures are converted from cost per square foot and rounded to the nearest $5; totals are rounded to the nearest $100.
| Metal type | Installed per square | Typical total job |
|---|---|---|
| Corrugated / sheet metal | $500 to $1,200 | $6,000 to $22,000 |
| Metal shingle | $600 to $1,400 | $9,000 to $35,000 |
| Tin | $600 to $1,800 | $9,000 to $45,000 |
| Stone-coated steel | $700 to $1,300 | $12,200 to $25,900 |
| Standing seam | $900 to $1,600 | $13,500 to $40,000 |
| Zinc | $1,000 to $2,000 | $15,000 to $50,000 |
| Stainless steel | $1,000 to $2,100 | $15,000 to $52,500 |
| Copper | $1,300 to $3,000 | $19,500 to $75,000 |
Steel is the default residential metal and sits at the cheaper end in every system. Copper and zinc are architectural metals bought for appearance and for how they weather, and they cost two to three times as much as steel for the same roof. Aluminium sits between the two but our source does not price it separately, so it is not in the table.
The metal alone, before installation, runs $100 to $800 per square. Comparing that with the installed figures above shows how much of a metal roof is labour and how little is the metal itself at the cheap end of the range.
Gauge, the thickness of the sheet, also moves the price within a metal type. Our source names gauge as a cost driver but does not publish figures by gauge, so we have not put numbers on it. Expect a thicker gauge to cost more and dent less.
Is metal worth it against asphalt?
Metal costs more up front than any asphalt roof. The case for it is the lifespan, so the honest comparison is cost per year of service: the total job divided by how long the roof lasts. This is the same arithmetic used on the shingle roof cost guide, so the two pages can be read together.
| Roof | Total job | Lifespan | Cost per year of service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Architectural asphalt, low end | $7,500 | 20 to 30 years | $250 to $375 |
| Metal, low end | $7,500 | 30 to 80+ years | $95 to $250 |
| Architectural asphalt, high end | $16,000 | 20 to 30 years | $535 to $800 |
| Metal, high end | $40,000 | 30 to 80+ years | $500 to $1,335 |
At the low end the result is decisive. A metal roof and an architectural asphalt roof can both start at $7,500, and the metal one costs $95 to $250 a year against $250 to $375. Same money in, two to three times the service life out.
At the high end it stops being obvious. A $40,000 copper or stainless roof costs $500 to $1,335 a year, which straddles the $535 to $800 of a high-end asphalt roof. Whether it wins depends on landing in the upper half of that 30 to 80 year lifespan, which nobody can promise you at the point of sale.
Two honest caveats on this arithmetic. It assumes you own the house long enough to collect the extra years, which most people do not. And metal’s 30 to 80 year range is published for metal as a whole, not per product, so a corrugated panel roof and a copper roof share the same lifespan figure here even though they will not in practice.
What this page leaves to the other guides
Choosing the metal is one decision inside a much larger quote. Everything below applies to a metal roof exactly as it does to any other, and is covered on the roof replacement cost guide rather than repeated here:
- Roof size and cost by house size, which multiplies every per-square figure on this page.
- Tear-off of the existing roof and what changes with two layers.
- Decking repair, the usual cause of a mid-job price rise.
- Pitch and complexity. Worth noting for metal specifically: standing seam panels are cut to the length of each roof plane, so a cut-up roof with many planes, hips and valleys costs disproportionately more in metal than in shingles.
- Region, which moves labour rates, disposal fees and code requirements.
For how metal compares against tile, slate and asphalt as whole categories, see the material table on the roof replacement cost guide. For the asphalt grades in detail, see the shingle roof cost guide.
How to turn this into your own number
- Find your pitch with the roof pitch calculator.
- Turn your footprint, pitch and overhang into true surface area with the roof area calculator.
- Convert that area into squares with the roofing square calculator. Its bundle output is for shingles, so for metal use the square count only.
- Multiply your squares by the installed figure for the metal system and material you want.
- Add tear-off, decking contingency and regional adjustment from the roof replacement cost guide.
Sources used on this page
- HomeGuide roof replacement cost guide, dated November 7, 2025. Metal roofing cost by type, roof cost estimates by type, roofing material prices per square, and average roof lifespan by material. Every dollar figure and lifespan on this page comes from these tables.
The cost-per-year figures are our own arithmetic on those totals and lifespans, shown in full in the table above so you can check it. The asphalt comparison figures are the same ones used on the shingle roof cost guide. The methodology page explains how sources are used across the site and how often figures are reviewed.
Related guides and calculators
- Roof Replacement Cost: the whole job, by size and by material, and what moves the price.
- Shingle Roof Cost: the asphalt grades, and the same cost-per-year arithmetic applied to shingles.
- Roof Pitch Calculator: find your pitch, angle and surface area multiplier.
- Roof Area Calculator: turn footprint, pitch and overhang into true roof surface area.
- Roofing Square Calculator: convert roof area into squares.
Metal roof cost FAQ
How much does a metal roof cost?
Between $500 and $3,000 per roofing square installed, depending on the metal and the system. Corrugated panels are cheapest at $500 to $1,200, standing seam runs $900 to $1,600, and copper reaches $1,300 to $3,000. A typical metal roof job totals $7,500 to $40,000.
How much does a standing seam metal roof cost?
$900 to $1,600 per square installed, or $13,500 to $40,000 for a typical job. It costs more than corrugated panels because the fasteners are concealed beneath the seams rather than driven through the face of the panel.
What is the cheapest metal roof?
Corrugated or ribbed sheet metal with exposed fasteners, at $500 to $1,200 per square installed and $6,000 to $22,000 for a typical job. The exposed screw washers are the part that needs attention first.
Is a metal roof cheaper than asphalt in the long run?
At the low end, clearly. A $7,500 metal roof costs $95 to $250 per year over a 30 to 80 year life, against $250 to $375 per year for a $7,500 architectural asphalt roof. At the high end the two overlap, and the answer depends on how long the roof actually lasts and how long you own the house.
How long does a metal roof last?
30 to 80 years or more, against 15 to 20 for three-tab asphalt and 20 to 30 for architectural. Our source publishes that range for metal as a whole and does not break it down by metal type, so we do not quote separate lifespans for copper, steel or zinc.
Why is copper roofing so expensive?
Copper costs $1,300 to $3,000 per square installed, two to three times steel. It is an architectural metal chosen for its appearance and the way it weathers, and the material cost is a much larger share of the job than it is for steel.
Does roof shape affect metal roof cost more than shingle cost?
Yes. Standing seam panels are cut to the length of each roof plane, so hips, valleys, dormers and multiple planes generate more custom cutting and flashing than they would on a shingle roof. A simple gable is the cheapest shape to do in metal.
Are these prices quotes?
No. They are national estimates from a published cost survey. Your price depends on your region, your roof and your contractor. Get at least three written estimates.