Best Asphalt shingles 2025 Complete guide

Okay will talk about the best asphalt shingles of all time, and if they are the best for your roof and all that stuff. Also, we’ll look at the different brands out there. Some famous shingle companies are Owens Corning, CertainTeed, IKO, GAF, and Atlas. They make different kinds of shingles like CertainTeed shingles, Tamko Heritage shingles, Atlas shingles, and Malarkey Legacy shingles.

There is no one shingle brand that is the absolute best. Every company has its own prices, styles, and quality. Even big companies like Malarkey and Tamko Building Products LLC can have people who don’t like their shingles.

Some roofers say Tamko shingles are not very good. Many roofers don’t like them as much as other brands.

So, it’s better to check different shingles like Owens Corning, CertainTeed, IKO, GAF, Atlas, and Malarkey before you buy. Pick the one that fits your money and looks good for your house.

Three Types of Asphalt Shingles

There are three types of asphalt shingles: three-tab, architectural, and luxury.

Three-tab shingles are the original shingle style that was made over a hundred years ago. It’s three tabs per shingle, hence the name “three-tab shingles.”

Architectural shingles, also known as 3D, dimensional, or laminate shingles, are one of the most popular shingles on the market today. They’ve been around for 50 years or a little more and are gaining popularity every day.

Luxury shingles are a newer style of shingle, and they’re made to imitate either slate roofs or wood shake roofs. They’re thicker and heavier and just have a totally different appearance than the architectural or the three-tab shingles.

Best Shingles by Category

There are different categories of shingles out there, okay? And we’re not talking about any subjective ones. I mean, nobody can really say which one is the best shingle in the market. It really depends on your needs and your choices as a homeowner like what you’re actually looking for. However, we can compare the best-in-class between the three main categories of shingles, okay?

However, we can compare the best-in-class between the three main categories of shingles: three-tab shingles, architectural shingles (also called dimensional shingles), and luxury shingles. Three-tab and architectural shingles are pretty clear in what they mean, but for clarification, luxury shingles in this case refers to any asphalt shingles that are a higher-end product than architectural shingles.

If you’re simply looking for the cheapest roofing material, then three-tab is easily the cheapest, followed by architectural shingles. If you’re looking for the shingles that last the longest, luxury shingles take that again, followed by architectural shingles. The most customizable shingle will again be luxury, followed by architectural asphalt shingles. And while it’s subjective, generally what’s considered to have the best curb appeal, the best-looking shingle, again luxury shingles, followed by architectural asphalt shingles.

At this point you’re certainly able to notice the trend. Three-tab shingles are the cheapest shingle and the lowest quality. Luxury shingles are the most expensive shingle and the highest quality. And architectural shingles are like in between them

Curb Appeal

okay the best category among the singles is one of the best categories curb Appeal a period okay this is the third type of single at the singers contain of letter and their just not and they nothing like exciting about them they are really great to protect your home from the elements but they are just not fancy at all ok they are simple
Architectural shingles, on the other hand, come in second place. They have a lot more of a dimensional look to them and it maybe draws your eye to it a little bit more.

Color Options

Now as far as the color options, three-tab shingles are getting phased out so there’s only two or three colors left. Dimensional shingles, on the other hand, have a wide array of colors. One manufacturer offers 17 different colors in the architectural style.

Luxury shingles have fewer colors, most of them are in the grays, maybe in the browns. Again, they’re made to look great from the street.

Warranties

Each shingle comes with their own manufacturer’s warranty.

Three-tab shingles come with a 25-year warranty straight out of the wrapper. Architectural shingles have a 30-year warranty and luxury shingles come with a 30- or a 50-year warranty depending on the style and the manufacturer.

Now these warranties are pro-rated which means that if the shingle should fail, the manufacturer will pay a percentage of the replacement cost of the roof after a certain amount of time which is normally 10 years.

Most manufacturers offer an enhanced warranty on a complete roof system which upgrades the warranty to a 50-year warranty on the roof system, and some of them offer a 25-year warranty on the installer’s workmanship. These warranties have strict guidelines that you have to use all the manufacturer’s components and you do have to be a certified installer certified by that manufacturer.

Storm Damage Durability

The two most common types of storm damage are wind damage and hail damage.

A three-tab roof is very prone to wind damage because they’re only rated at 60 mph. Architectural shingles have a 110 mph wind rating and can be upgraded to 130 mph wind rating with the enhanced warranty. Luxury shingles carry a 110 mph wind rating and can also be upgraded to the 130 mph wind rating with the enhanced warranty.

A three-tab shingle is probably most vulnerable of the three to hail damage because of the thickness of the shingle and they’re just not very highly rated against hail impact. Architectural shingles, on the other hand, are just a little bit thicker and are going to be a little bit more impact-resilient.

Luxury shingles are a little thicker, a little heavier, and are going to be a little more impact-resilient to hail damage than an architectural or a three-tab shingle.

Lifespan

Lifespan on a three-tab shingle is going to run somewhere between 20 and 25 years. An architectural shingle is going to run somewhere around 30 years and a luxury shingle is going to run somewhere between 30 and 50 years.

A lot of this is going to be contingent upon how well it was installed and how well the attic is ventilated.

Three-Tab Shingles

A three time shingle is the most economical asphalt shingle and one of the least expensive roofing materials. Overall, they’re a pretty thin strip of asphalt with three blocky times hanging from the strip. They tend to have a pretty uniform flat look on the roofs as well. The only real variation between them being in the color. Three times shingles were the most commonly used shingle for a long time, in large part because of that low price point.

Currently you get three times shingles for around $90 per square, which is why even today, three times are very popular amongst builders working on really large construction projects. However, three times shingles are also the asphalt shingle with the lowest overall lifespan, typically lasting 15 to 20 years. They also have a tendency to start suffering damage as soon as you approach that lifespan, especially from wind and hail, because of the gap between the times. Hail and wind can get up underneath fairly easily, breaking them off and exposing your roof to some further issues.

Architectural Shingles

Architectural shingles are the next step up from three times, and they have largely replaced three times as the roof first choice. Over the last few decades, these shingles add an extra ply of shingle and things to their design, which covers up the gaps three times when adding more weight for durability and a more textured appearance. Most architectural shingles have a similar look and design to them, but they do come in a very wide variety of colors for homeowners who wish to have a color that matches the rest of their house or stand out from their neighbors while keeping a traditional look.

Architectural shingles. It used to be much more expensive to produce and install, but as they’ve grown more popular, manufacturers have been able to reduce their prices. So instead of falling directly on the middle of the roofing shingle price scale, architectural shingles are now on the lower end at around $105 per roofing square. That increase in price, though, comes with about an extra decade of protection, as architectural shingles tend to last 25 to 30 years and aren’t as susceptible to wind damage as a result of their two ply construction. All of that is why architectural shingles have become the most widely used roofing material in the country over the last few decades.

Luxury Shingles

Luxury shingles, also known as designer shingles, are the highest end of the asphalt shingles spectrum. They are truly what their name describes — a luxury designer product. It’s usually a three point single, which allows manufacturers to get creative with their designs, simulating the look of slate, ceramic and even wood shake roofs. That third ply also adds some extra weight, which increases their resistance to wind and hail damage and makes them much more difficult to install.

They don’t necessarily have too much longer of a lifespan than architectural shingles, and they usually tend to max out at around 30 years of age, but can get better than that in good conditions and with proper maintenance. As for the price, you’re certainly going to be spending a significant amount as these shingles will run you about $180 per square. That’s a pretty penny compared to the other asphalt shingles that we’ve already talked about. That being said, the homeowners that are considering these kinds of shingles are usually comparing them to the kinds of roofs that they’re designed to look like, like slate and ceramic, which are usually going to be much more expensive and way more complicated to install.

Major Asphalt Shingle Manufacturers

The major asphalt shingle manufacturers out there are GAF, CertainTeed, Owens Corning, Atlas, Malarkey, IKO and Tamko. Pretty much every one of these brands carries some version of a three time, architectural and luxury shingle, and most also have a form of algae resistant shingle as well. Obviously, some manufacturers have better reputations for more reliable shingles than others, but a lot of it comes down to the kind of shingle that you’re getting, the contractor who installs it and the warranty that comes with it. The main discrepancy that you’ll find between the manufacturers is availability in different areas, different colors and the different warranties that they offer.

GAF: The Biggest Name in Roofing

GAF is the biggest name on the roofing market and one of the industry’s leading brands. The roofing side of the company was founded as the Standard Paint Company in 1886, but got involved in roofing in 1892, creating rubble, ruined asphalt, roofing rolls. In 1912, they began manufacturing asphalt shingles that were pretty close to how we know them today.

Those became so popular that the company rebranded to the rubber company and began focusing its energy on producing those shingles. The company became an early innovator of the roofing space, creating interlocking shingles, adding a mix of granules that are still used today, and creating the first architectural style of shingle, The Timberline. In 1967, that same year, the company merged with GAF, which was primarily a photographic film company at the time and kept the GAF name.

Today, their most popular shingle is the Timberline HD, an upgraded version of that 1967 Timberline that has high-definition granules and algae protection. GAF claims the Timberline to be the best-selling asphalt shingle in North America but also offers three time and luxury lines of asphalt shingles.

CertainTeed: Quality and Sustainability

CertainTeed to the second oldest company on this list was founded in 1904 as the General Roofing Manufacturing Company. That company had the slogan “Quality made, certain satisfaction guaranteed.” And from that slogan, the CertainTeed name was born and officially adopted in 1917. Though it started as an asphalt shingle manufacturer and continued to produce and grow as one over the years, CertainTeed became a general building manufacturer, now selling roofing, solar siding and insulation.

As far as their roof shingle offerings name a full range of asphalt shingles. But their most popular is the Landmark architectural shingle line. Now CertainTeed has made it a major part of their mission to become a producer of environmentally and socially sustainable roofing and building products.

Owens Corning: From Glass to Roofing

Owens Corning has one of the more interesting company histories, getting their start as two glass manufacturing companies — Owens Bottle Machine Company and Corning Glass Works. Owens thrived on producing bottles used for alcohol sales and had to get pretty creative to survive during the prohibition era. As such, they managed to figure out how to use glass fibers to create mineral wool insulation to help them refine their discoveries.

They began partnering with Corning in 1935, eventually merging in 1938, becoming Owens Corning. Insulation was their main game for the first few decades until they got their start in roofing by producing shingles and improving them by subbing out the predominant paper base for a fiberglass mat. This strengthened the shingle greatly and made them much more fire-resistant, so they gained a firm foothold in the roofing market as a result.

Now they have manufacturing facilities all across the globe and offer all kinds of asphalt shingles, the most popular being their Duration architectural shingle line.

IKO: A Global Roofing Supplier

IKO got its start in 1951 in Ontario, Canada. Initially, the company made building paper and expanded to asphalt roofing shingles in 1954 and grew quickly throughout eastern Canada and made its US debut in 1979. The company prides itself on continually improving its facilities by updating equipment and refining its processes to maximize productivity and reduce waste.

Since then, they’ve become one of the largest roofing companies in the world, exporting roofing products in 96 different countries. Some of those products include their Marathon Plus or three times shingles and their most popular Nordic architectural shingle line.

IKO is known for being a lower-priced alternative to other roofing manufacturers and had been considered lower quality. But they have improved in recent years. They’re also the only manufacturer to offer three-time shingles that have allergy-resistant granules, which most manufacturers are reserving for their architectural shingle line.

Atlas: A Rising Star

Atlas is the youngest company that we’re talking about today as they were founded in Meridian, Mississippi, in 1982. Though they haven’t been going around as long, they have become one of the go-to manufacturers of asphalt shingles throughout the country. Atlas offers a few different lines of shingles, including their most popular Pinnacle Pristine architectural shingle line.

The company sells a wide range of colors and textures for their shingles with architectural shingles that offer a slate look, as well as the more common wood shake look.

Professional Recommendation

We would be remiss if we didn’t give you what our professional recommendation would be on the best asphalt shingle for you and your needs. If you’re a homeowner who is both not going to stay in your home for much longer and money is tight, then three-tab shingles could be the option for you. Now, we don’t recommend three-tab shingles in any situation where you’re going to be in the same home for a while because they tear very easily when it comes to storms, and they’re being phased out of the roofing industry.

If you’re a homeowner who has no plans on moving anytime soon and you want a solid, time-tested, cost-effective roof, then look no further than architectural asphalt shingles. Lastly, if you know that you’re in your forever home and you want to invest in quality materials that are going to stand the test of time and pop out in your neighborhood, then we recommend luxury asphalt shingles.

Cheapest, Longest-Lasting, and Most Popular Options

And as time from what you really came here for. Now we’re going to talk about the cheapest shingle, the longest lasting ones and the ones that we use most frequently. In terms of affordability, your best bet is going to be going for a three times shingle. Regardless of the manufacturer, though, it’s pretty hard to find available pricing information on all of the shingles. The cheapest that we could find at major home improvement stores like the Home Depot and Lowe’s or Gas Royal soften three times at around a $33 per bundle.

For the longest lasting shingle. Again, it’s difficult to find information that’s been tested because it would take around 30 years to do, and results would vary wildly depending on the conditions. But we tend to see the most life coming from the higher end architectural shingles like the Certainty Landmark Premium and JF Timberline. As for the ones that we use the most in our market of Raleigh, North Carolina, we’ve seen that gives claim of being the most popular shingle in America holds true here for most of our roof replacements. Homeowners are choosing to go for the JF Timberline architectural shingle for its value, durability and color options that they have available. The next shingle that we use the most is CertainTeed Landmark Pro architectural, which is also a great option for durability and value.