As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The Metal Roofing Cost Calculator estimates what a metal roof actually costs installed, broken down per square foot, per roofing square, and for the whole project. Choose your system — ribbed ag panel, corrugated steel, stone-coated steel shingle, standing seam steel or aluminum, or zinc and copper — then enter your house footprint, roof pitch, tear-off situation and roof complexity. The tool converts footprint to true roof surface area using the pitch multiplier, applies typical installed cost bands for that system, adjusts for complexity (hips, dormers, valleys and steep pitch all raise labour), and lists tear-off and disposal as a separate line item. Exposed-fastener panels typically run $4-$7.50 per sq ft installed while standing seam runs $10-$16, and metal commonly lasts 40-70 years against 20-25 for asphalt. Pair this with our Metal Roof materials calculator and Roof Financing calculator.
Metal roofing is priced per square like everything else, but the panel count is what drives the material side, and panel count depends on the coverage width of the profile rather than its nominal width.
| Footprint | Sloped area | Squares | 36 in coverage panels | Panel length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft | 1,118 sq ft | 11.2 | 28 | 14 ft |
| 1,500 sq ft | 1,677 sq ft | 16.8 | 34 | 16.8 ft |
| 2,000 sq ft | 2,236 sq ft | 22.4 | 34 | 22.4 ft |
| 2,500 sq ft | 2,795 sq ft | 28 | 34 | 28 ft |
| 3,000 sq ft | 3,354 sq ft | 33.5 | 40 | 28 ft |
Panels run eave to ridge, so the panel length is the rafter length, not the horizontal distance. Standing seam is usually 16 or 18 inches of coverage rather than 36, which roughly doubles the panel count.
| Exposed fastener | Standing seam | |
|---|---|---|
| Relative cost | Lower | Roughly double |
| Coverage width | Usually 36 in | Usually 16 – 18 in |
| Fasteners | Through the panel face | Hidden clips inside the seam |
| Maintenance | Washers checked every few years; refasten once in its life | Very little |
| Thermal movement | Restrained by the fasteners | Panel free to move along its length |
| Typical life | 25 – 40 years | 40 – 70 years |
The cost by state pages carry per-square installed ranges for standing-seam metal in every state, and the city pages scale them by the local metro factor. Both are planning estimates rather than quotes.
Divide the roof width by the panel coverage width — usually 36 inches for exposed-fastener panels — round up, and double it for both slopes. Panel length is the rafter length, not the horizontal run.
A 38 inch panel typically covers 36 inches once the sidelap is taken out. Calculating on the nominal width leaves you short.
Roughly 80 per square for exposed-fastener panels, with bonded EPDM washers, driven on the flat next to the rib rather than through it.
Narrower panels roughly double the panel count, the clips and seaming are more labour, and the material itself is heavier gauge. It also lasts far longer, which is the trade.
Is the premium worth it? Read metal roof vs shingles cost over the life of the roof.
Narrowed it down to standing seam? The standing seam metal roof cost calculator splits the price into panels and labour.
Stone-chip steel shake or tile? See the stone-coated steel roof cost calculator.
Thinking about copper? The copper roof cost calculator prices shingles, panels and seamed copper.
Need the panel count, screws and trim as well as the price? The metal roof calculator lays out the panels slope by slope.
Need the whole roof at once? The free roofing calculator works out roof area, squares, shingle bundles, underlayment, drip edge, ridge cap and installed cost from one set of measurements.