Is your price realistic?

Local pricing updated August 2026

Naming a number only helps you if the number is in the neighborhood of what the work costs. Type yours in below — no email, no phone, no form. You just get the answer.

House size Under 1,200 sq ft 1,200 – 1,800 sq ft 1,800 – 2,500 sq ft 2,500 – 3,500 sq ft Over 3,500 sq ft

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What each budget actually buys in Greater Cincinnati

These tiers assume a normal 1,800–2,500 square foot house with a walkable to moderate pitch. Steeper, taller and more complex roofs shift every tier upward.

Under $8,000

Realistically, this is a repair budget, not a replacement budget — unless the house is small. On a house under 1,200 square feet with a simple walkable roof and one existing layer, $8,000 can buy a genuine 3-tab replacement. On anything larger, a contractor who says yes at this number is usually planning to skip something: ice-and-water shield, proper flashing, ventilation, or a decking allowance. Ask what is not in the bid before you sign.

$8,000 – $12,000

The value tier. Achievable on small to average houses with straightforward roofs. Expect 3-tab or entry architectural shingle, a standard manufacturer warranty, and a contractor who wants the job scheduled in a slow month. This is where flexibility on timing pays for itself. On a 2,500 square foot two-story with a steep pitch, this range will mostly get counters.

$12,000 – $18,000

The working middle of the Cincinnati market, and where most replacements actually close. Full tear-off, architectural shingles from a major manufacturer, synthetic underlayment, new flashing, ridge ventilation, ice-and-water shield at the eaves, permit pulled, a real decking allowance, and a workmanship warranty on top of the material warranty. This is the range where contractors answer quickly.

$18,000 – $25,000

Large houses, complex rooflines, or a genuine upgrade. Multiple valleys, dormers, steep pitch, three-story access, or a switch to impact-rated Class 4 shingles — which can earn a homeowners insurance discount in Ohio and Kentucky worth asking your carrier about. Also the range where an enhanced manufacturer system warranty becomes available if the contractor is factory-certified.

Over $25,000

Metal, tile, slate, or a very large and complicated roof. Standing seam metal starts around $8.50 per square foot installed and runs to $15. Slate runs $15 to $30. These are 50-to-100-year materials on a house you plan to keep. If somebody is quoting this for a standard asphalt roof, get two more bids.

Why naming a low price still works — up to a point

Contractors have slow weeks. Crews that are idle cost money. A roofer looking at an empty February will take a job at a thinner margin rather than take nothing, and a homeowner with a straightforward roof and a flexible schedule is exactly who they want to hear from. That is the real mechanism here, and it is worth real money.

What it cannot do is change what materials cost. A bundle of shingles costs what it costs, disposal costs what it costs, and a crew has to be paid. Below a certain number the job stops being thin-margin and starts being impossible, and no amount of shopping fixes that. When you see a yes far below the local range, the question worth asking is what got removed from the scope.