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Metal roof cost calculator

Metal spans a wider installed range than any other residential covering — $8.25 to $22.25 a square foot — and almost all of that spread is the panel system, not the metal. Pick the system and the calculator prices the panels, the trim package and the tear-off separately.

Two-colour print of metal panels beside a partly clad roof
Panels stacked beside a roof half clad.
Metal roof, installed

Panel system drives the price far more than gauge or colour does. Pre-filled with the 21-square worked example in standing seam.

No fastener penetrates the weather plane. Site-formed panels cut delivery cost on long runs.

$29,274 – $55,482

21 squares · $12.00 – $22.25 per sq ft of panel

LineLowHigh
Panels installed$25,200$46,725
Trim, closures, clips, fasteners$3,024$5,607
Tear-off, 1 layer$1,050$3,150
Installed total$29,274$55,482

Why the trim line matters more than the gauge

On a metal roof the panels are the easy part. Ridge caps, eave and rake trim, valley metal, sidewall and endwall flashing, foam or metal closures, clips and the right fasteners together run about an eighth of the panel cost — and a bid that omits them is not a bid for a finished roof. Gauge (usually 24 or 26 on residential steel) and coating system change the price far less than most homeowners expect.

Site-formed versus shop-formed

Standing seam panels can be rolled on site from a coil, which removes freight damage and lets a single panel run eave to ridge without a transverse seam. On long runs it is usually the cheaper answer as well. Shop-formed panels arrive cut to length and are faster on small, cut-up roofs where the roll former cannot pay for its mobilisation. See the standing seam cost guide for the detail.

Metal over shingles is sometimes legal, rarely wise

Many jurisdictions permit a metal roof over one existing layer of asphalt. It saves tear-off but it hides the deck, traps the old covering’s granules against the panel underside and complicates any future warranty claim. Set the tear-off line to zero above only if your inspector and your manufacturer both agree in writing.

Against asphalt on the same roof

The same 21 squares in architectural asphalt runs $9,975 to $39,375 installed. Metal costs more up front and lasts two to three times as long, which is a different arithmetic rather than a worse one — the side-by-side comparison runs it over a sixty-year horizon.

Related

Sources

  1. Fixr, Roof Replacement Cost (updated 4 February 2026) — read 2026-09-04