It depends entirely on how long you own the house. Asphalt costs less to install and is replaced sooner. Standing seam costs roughly twice as much and commonly outlasts two asphalt roofs. Below about fifteen years of ownership, asphalt usually wins.
Get Metal Roof Cost Guide connects you with licensed local companies. We are not a roofing contractor and do not perform the work ourselves.
Take the installed price and divide by the years of service you expect from it. It is crude, but it is closer to the real question than comparing invoices.
| Option | Installed on 2,000 sq ft | Typical life | Roughly per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Architectural asphalt | $9,000 to $16,000 | 15 to 30 years | $400 to $800 |
| Exposed fastener metal | $8,000 to $18,000 | 20 to 40 years | $300 to $700 |
| Standing seam steel | $20,000 to $36,000 | 40 to 70 years | $400 to $700 |
On that basis they converge, which is the honest answer. how metal roofing is installed covers the inputs.
Several things, and they mostly favor metal without being easy to price.
That last point is the one that decides it for most people. what sits inside a roofing quote compares how the systems behave.
Standing seam commonly does. Exposed fastener metal is closer to asphalt than people expect once fastener maintenance is counted.
Broadly somewhere past fifteen years of ownership, though it depends on the systems compared and what you paid for each.
Not automatically. A thin exposed fastener panel poorly maintained can underperform a well installed architectural shingle roof.
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