10 Best Roofing Shingles (October 2026)

The best roofing shingles for a sidewall or a low-slope roof deck are grade #1 cedar shingles, and the single line I keep recommending is the Miller Shingle 18 Inch Rebutted and Rejointed Natural Groove cedar. It has the widest review base of any product we looked at, the cleanest grade story, and coverage numbers you can actually plan a quote around. It also has real competition: a handsplit shake for rustic texture, a 3-tab asphalt pack for patch jobs, and a polymer shingle siding panel for walls that never need stain.

I have been sorting through shingle cartons for years, and the mistake almost everybody makes is buying by grade label alone. Grade tells you how the wood looks, not how many bundles cover your wall or whether the piece is legal on a roof deck. Exposure, coverage per bundle, and the pitch limit printed on the carton decide most of that.

So this roundup is built around the cartons themselves. Every spec below comes from the manufacturer listing, and every owner note comes from the reviews attached to that listing. I am not ranking on brand reputation. I am ranking on what is in the carton, what it covers, and how it held up for the people who bought it.

If you are building out a full roof system rather than just the covering, our roofing panels guide covers the underlayment side of the assembly.

Our Top 3 Shingle Picks for 2026

All 10 Shingles and Shakes Compared Side by Side

Types of Roofing Shingles: Cedar, Shake, Asphalt and Polymer

Before the picks, it helps to know the four material families you will run into. They differ in how they are graded, how they weather, and where they are legal to install.

• Cedar shingles are kiln dried, machine sawn Western Red Cedar or Eastern White Cedar cut to uniform thickness. Grade #1 Perfections grade means minimal knots and consistent dimensions, and CERTI-Grade certification by the Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau is a third-party check on that label. Expect a lighter, more even face than a shake.
• Cedar shakes and handsplits are split along the grain rather than sawn, producing a thicker, more irregular face with deep shadow lines. They cost more per square of coverage and take longer to install, but nothing else matches the texture.
• 3-tab asphalt shingles are the cheapest option and the only entry here with a published wind rating of its own. A single-layer strip shingle carries a much lower wind tolerance than a laminated or wood product, so it belongs on small repairs and low-exposure outbuildings.
• Polymer shingle siding panels imitate a cedar wall without the maintenance. They are engineered for vertical wall applications, come with their own locking edge for wind, and should not be treated as a roof covering.

One term to settle first: a roof square is 100 square feet of coverage. Almost every carton in this roundup is sold by the bundle, and the bundles-per-square count changes with exposure. That single number is what turns a carton price into a real material budget.

1. Miller Shingle 18 Inch R and R Natural Groove Cedar Sidewall

This is the carton I reach for first, and it earned that position on evidence rather than name recognition. It is grade #1 kiln dried cedar, grooved on one side and built for sidewall application using rebutted and rejoined construction. Buyers restoring homes from the 1940s through the 1970s use it specifically because the factory groove matches original cedar shingles.

The machining is the story here. Reviewers repeatedly call out crisp, square edges and consistent sides, which sounds like a small detail until you have spent an afternoon trying to fit uneven pieces around a window return. The mixed natural widths also mean you are not sorting every piece before nailing it.

The mill behind it is in Granite Falls, Washington, and that proximity matters for a product whose spec sheet ends at one square. The carton holds 250 pieces by weight rather than count, so coverage is the reliable planning figure.

What the coverage numbers mean for your wall

A half-square carton covers 50 square feet at 14 inch exposure, which is the standard double-coursed sidewall detail. Drop the exposure to 8 inches for a single-coursed look and the same carton covers 28.5 square feet. That is a 43 percent swing in material from a single decision made before the first shingle is placed.

Plan two half-square cartons for a typical small gable end, or mix in full-square cartons once you get past the tricky cuts. The carton weight of 30 pounds is light enough for a two-person crew on a ladder.

Where the groove actually matters

The groove is a vertical shadow line, and it is the entire reason this product looks like a repair rather than a patch. On a wall that was built with cedar, an ungrooved shingle reads as a mismatch even when the color is close.

If your existing wall is painted or stained gray, this natural option will not blend without a stain. That is the one scenario where a factory-finished product makes more sense.

What the primer option does and does not solve

A primed face saves you a day of stain work and gives you a stable color base. The honest drawback, and it appears more than once in the reviews, is that the factory coat occasionally misses a spot, which means going back with a brush anyway.

Budget one extra coat of primer for a primed order. It is a small cost against a full wall.

Who this fits and who it does not

Choose this if you are matching cedar on an older home, building a shed or garage wall, or want a grade #1 sidewall product with the deepest review history in the category. Skip it if you need a roof deck surface at a shallow pitch or want a factory color that will not need staining.

2. CIPER 3-Tab Gray 8-Pack Asphalt Repair Shingles

This is the only asphalt product in the roundup, and it earns its place by doing one job well: patching an existing gray 3-tab roof. The pack holds 8 shingles at 39.4 by 13.1 inches, and 6 galvanized roofing nails come included with each one, which removes the most common reason a small repair job stalls.

Reviewers use it for sheds, pet houses and small roof areas rather than full replacements, and the feedback fits that use. Packaging gets called out as a genuine strength, with shingles arriving undamaged because they are packed between protective film and wooden boards.

The 60 mph rating is the whole story

This product carries a published wind rating of 60 mph, which is low next to anything else here. On a low-slope, sheltered roof surface that number is fine. On an exposed gable end or a roofline the wind hits directly, it is not fine.

Three-tab is a single-layer strip shingle. Laminated and wood products hold their fasteners across a deeper, stiffer profile, and that geometry is where the extra wind tolerance comes from.

Coverage math for a repair patch

One pack covers roughly 12.8 square feet, so even a modest section repair means several packs. Buy more than the patch needs, because matching an existing weathered roof is much easier with identical material than with a close color match from a different lot.

The same gray is also offered in tan, black and red, which is useful if your existing roof was not the original color.

Best use versus wrong use

Buy it for a repair, a shed, or a pet house roof. Do not buy it for a primary residence roof replacement in a region with strong storms, and do not assume the included nails substitute for a proper nail pattern on anything larger than a patch.

The included nails are the reason this is our value pick. Everything else about it is deliberately modest.

3. CertainTeed Cedar Impressions Double 7 Inch Straight Edge

The CertainTeed Cedar Impressions panel is not a shingle you nail to a roof. It is a horizontal shingle-profile wall panel in polymer, and that distinction matters for anyone tempted to treat it as a roofing material. Where it belongs is a gable end, a dormer face, or an accent band on a wall that needs cedar texture with no maintenance schedule.

Buyers rate the appearance highly, and the engineering behind it is more than cosmetic. The molded continuous perimeter lock holds panels tight against each other, and the product is designed and tested to withstand hurricane force winds on the wall plane. A patented PanelThermometer is included to check installation.

The 3/4 inch J channel rule

Panel projection is 3/4 inch, and that dimension accepts a 3/4 inch J channel only. This is the accessory constraint that shows up most often in the reviews. If your existing trim is a different profile, you are replacing more than the panels.

Check your current J channel width before you commit. It is a 10 minute job that saves a return trip.

Code compliance and warranty

The panels comply with the International Building Code, the International Residential Code, the Florida Building Code, and the National Building Code of Canada. That list matters in coastal and hurricane-prone jurisdictions where wall cladding gets scrutinized.

CertainTeed backs the product with a limited lifetime warranty, which for a wall panel is a genuinely long commitment on a synthetic material.

Who this fits and who it does not

Choose it for a wall that needs the cedar look, on a home where maintaining real cedar is not realistic, or for a gable face where a full shake budget does not make sense. Nine colors including Herringbone, Charcoal Gray and Colonial White cover most of the common schemes.

Skip it for roof decks. Skip it if your trim accessories are not 3/4 inch. And plan on multiple cartons, since one covers about 50.26 square feet.

4. Miller Shingle 18 Inch Grade 4 Undercourse Cedar

This is the layer you never see, which is exactly why it is easy to buy wrong. The 18 inch grade #4 undercourse shingle is a utility grade Western Red Cedar product designed for undercoursing double-coursed sidewalls and for starter applications. It is not a finish shingle, and the carton says so plainly.

Undercoursing is the hidden first layer in a double-coursed wall. It sits behind the visible course to close the gap that wide shake and shingle profiles leave open, so light and wind do not pass straight through to the sheathing.

Grade 4 means utility, not appearance

Grade #4 permits more knots and more variation than the grade #1 finish products. That is fine for a hidden layer, and it is also why the price per piece sits lower. Owners use it for sidewall repair and outbuilding projects where premium finish shingles are hard to source.

The recurring complaint in the reviews is knots. Pieces with knots are harder to trim at corners, and one buyer recommends keeping a small block plane within reach. Plan for a little extra fitting time rather than assuming every piece cuts clean.

Coverage and where it may be used

A full square carton holds 250 pieces and covers 100 square feet at 14 inch exposure, or 50 square feet at 7 inch exposure. The mill states directly that this shingle is not recommended for roofing or for a starter course on roofs.

Respect that line. A utility grade piece used on an exposed roof edge is exactly the failure that shows up two winters later.

Who this fits and who it does not

Buy it when you are double-coursing a cedar wall and need the hidden layer, or when you are matching an old outbuilding where finish-grade cedar is not available. It is also a reasonable choice for a shop or shed that just needs a sound underlayer.

Skip it if you want a visible wall surface, and skip it for any roof application. Some pieces will need cutting in half before they are usable, so order slightly more than the coverage math suggests.

5. MasterCut Round Decorative Cedar Shingles

Every one of the 19 owner reviews on this decorative pack is a five star, which is unusual enough that it deserves context. Nobody is buying 104 round cedar pieces to cover a roof. They are buying them to cap a gable, edge an eave, break a corner, or fill a decorative band.

The pieces are cut from grade #1 18 inch rebutted and rejoined cedar, sanded on one side, and measure 17 inches long by 4-15/16 inches wide. Sanding is what makes these usable as accents, because one flat face sits tight against the surface below.

Shape choices for different styles

Round works well on Victorian and Craftsman gable ends. The same carton format is also produced in Octagonal, Half Cove, Square, Arrow, Fish Scale, Diamond and Hexagonal shapes, so you can match a house style rather than settling for what is round.

Fish Scale and Hexagonal patterns need a fair amount of layout planning because the repeat has to line up. Round and Half Cove are far more forgiving on a straight run.

The honest limitation

This is an accent product. The geometry does not interlock, so it does not shed water as a shingle course does and it is not meant to cover a roof surface. Use it where it terminates a visible edge or fills a decorative field against a wall.

At 104 pieces per carton, a 30 pound package, and a clean cut that repeats well, it is the easiest item in this roundup to use well on the first attempt.

Who this fits and who it does not

Choose it for gable accents, eave returns, and porch trim where you want a hand-split cedar look on a small area. It also works as a repair material on homes that already have decorative shake detailing.

Skip it for field coverage of any kind. The price per square makes no sense for area work, and nothing in the construction is designed for water shedding.

6. Watkins 24 Inch Grade 1 Medium Handsplit Cedar

The Watkins handsplit is the heaviest, thickest profile here, at a nominal 3/4 inch and 24 inches long. That thickness is the point. If you are restoring a home that already has cedar shakes and the goal is a match rather than an approximation, this is the profile that gets you there.

It is split along the grain rather than sawn, and the back is resawn so fasteners bite into a flat surface instead of a wedge. That combination of thick face and workable back is what makes handsplits installable by one person on a ladder.

Why the ratings sit at four stars

Appearance is praised consistently, especially for matching existing shakes on vintage homes. The ratings hold back for reasons that have nothing to do with the wood. Buyers report bundles arriving loosely packed with uneven butt ends, and a general inconsistency of quality between bundles within the same order.

That is a sourcing complaint more than a product complaint, and it is manageable. Sort by bundle as you unload and use the cleanest material on the most visible courses.

No treated version is available

There is no fire retardant treated option in this listing. On a wall near a chimney or in a wildfire-prone region, that is a real gap to plan around, and it is worth asking about before you commit to a large order.

Western Red Cedar is naturally resistant to rot, decay and insects, which handles moisture and pests but does nothing for fire.

Who this fits and who it does not

Choose it for a whole-house shake replacement on an older home where matching the original profile is the priority, and for owners who want the deepest shadow lines available from a wood covering. It suits both roofing and siding applications.

Skip it if you need a uniform look. This is deliberately irregular, which is the appeal and the drawback at the same time.

7. 18 Inch Perfections CERTI-Grade Western Red Cedar

This is the only product here with a third-party grade certification attached to it. The Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau CERTI-Grade mark means the wood was graded to an external standard rather than only self-reported by the mill, and for a buyer who plans to keep this on for decades that is worth paying attention to.

The grade is #1 Perfections, hand-selected for minimal knots and consistent dimensions, in clear vertical grain Western Red Cedar. Clear vertical grain means the grain runs straight through the board, which is what gives shakes their lengthwise stability as they weather.

Random widths and why they matter

Widths run from roughly 4 to 14 inches, which produces the traditional staggered look that uniform-width products cannot fake. The trade-off is layout planning. You cannot set a course and assume the next piece matches it.

Experienced installers work from the bottom course up, sorting pieces as they go, and treat the variation as free texture rather than an obstacle.

The variable bundle weight

Bundle weight varies between 50 and 80 pounds depending on moisture content. That is the most common source of confusion in the reviews, and it is not a defect. Wet cedar is heavier than dry cedar, and the kiln drying is what brings it toward the lower end.

Plan your labor and your lifting capacity around the heavier figure rather than the average. Coverage is about 25 square feet per carton at 5-1/2 inch exposure, so count cartons rather than pounds when you plan coverage.

Who this fits and who it does not

Choose it when you want a certified grade, a kiln-dried material with low movement across seasons, and the most authentic traditional appearance of anything on this list. It works for both siding and roofing.

Skip it if your project is small and you want predictable pieces. Random widths and a wide weight range are a poor match for a first-time installer.

8. Waska Eastern White Cedar in Cape Cod Gray

Eastern White Cedar solves a problem the Western Red Cedar products cannot. It is lighter, it holds a factory finish well, and it does not go dark the way red cedar weathers, which means the color you buy is closer to the color you keep.

This one arrives in Cape Cod Gray, a factory-applied two-coat finish across grade A Extra Clear stock. Nothing has to be stained on site, and no one on the crew needs to finish the wall after it goes up.

The four-bundle-per-square rule

At 5 inch exposure you need four bundles to cover one square of wall area, with 25 square feet per bundle. That is the most bundles per square of any product here, and it comes from the shorter 16 inch length combined with the shallow exposure.

Four bundles per square also means four cut points per square, and cuts are where waste shows up. Order your waste factor accordingly, because factory-finished pieces cannot be returned once stained.

Light weight as an installation advantage

The carton weighs 30 pounds. For a tall wall reached by ladder, that difference compounds across a day of work, and it is the practical reason owners single out the weight in reviews.

One installation note from the manufacturer: the natural tones at the top of each shingle are covered during installation, so set the pieces consistently or the color blend will not line up.

Who this fits and who it does not

Choose it when you want a painted or stained look without scheduling stain work, when the wall is large and weight matters, or when you want a color that will not shift much in its first few years. Weathering Stain and Ecobleach Stain are also offered.

Skip it if you want to change the color later. The factory finish is effectively permanent once installed, and you would be sanding two coats off every piece.

9. A and R 24 Inch Royals CERTI-Grade Cedar

Four reviews is a thin evidence base, so treat this rating as encouraging rather than proven. What the owners who did review it describe is specific and useful: the thickness matched shakes on homes more than a century old.

That is the hardest match to achieve. Royals grade gives you fewer imperfections than standard grade at a nominal 1/2 inch thickness, and at 24 inches long you have room for a 7-1/2 inch exposure, which cuts the number of courses you install.

Why 24 inches changes the math

Longer shingles mean fewer courses for the same wall height, and at 7-1/2 inch exposure you get about 4 bundles per square. Compare that to a 16 inch product at 5 inch exposure needing four bundles, and the labor difference is significant even though the bundle count looks similar.

Clear vertical grain plus kiln drying is what keeps a 24 inch piece from cupping as it dries in place. Both are specified on this product.

Planning a per-bundle purchase

This listing is priced and sold by the bundle, so roughly four bundles cover one square. Buyers who account for that at the outset report no surprise; buyers who do not end up short on a large job.

Random widths from about 4 to 14 inches keep the traditional staggered appearance, the same tradeoff described on other #1 grade products in this roundup.

Who this fits and who it does not

Choose it for a historic restoration where matching thickness and exposure to the original is the whole project, and for anyone who wants fewer courses and less labor on a tall wall.

Skip it if you want a large body of owner feedback. With 4 reviews, you are buying on specification rather than on a track record.

10. DLM 18 Inch Grade 1 Medium Handsplit Cedar

This one closes the list on honesty rather than on performance. A single review produced a five star, which tells you almost nothing about how a bundle ages over twenty years. The spec sheet is what makes it worth considering.

It is grade #1 Western Red Cedar at 18 inches long and 1/2 inch thick, with a medium handsplit texture. At 25 square feet per bundle and a 7-1/2 inch exposure, five bundles make one square, and the 12/12 pack configuration covers a full square plus the two extra bundles a waste factor usually eats.

The pitch limit is stated plainly

The manufacturer specifies walls and roofs on 4:12 pitch and steeper. That is a real constraint on a low-slope roof, and it is stated rather than buried, which is more than most listings manage.

Below 4:12 you would be outside the specified application, so plan on a different product for that section of the structure.

Where this fits in a project

The 1/2 inch thickness and 18 inch length put it between a sawn shingle and a heavy handsplit. It gives you the rustic face that uniform-width shingles cannot, at a lighter weight and with fewer courses than a 16 inch product.

At 35 pounds per bundle it is comfortable for ladder work, and the natural rot and insect resistance of Western Red Cedar means no treatment schedule.

Who this fits and who it does not

Choose it for a rustic accent wall, a detached garage, a shed, or a small roof section at 4:12 pitch or steeper. It is a sensible size for a first project.

Skip it for a full primary roof replacement where you want a documented service history. One review is not a service history.

How to Choose Shingles and Shakes for Your Project

Brand matters far less than most guides admit. On r/Roofing and other installer forums the consensus is consistent: a correctly installed mid-grade shingle outlasts a premium one installed badly. Your material choice sets the ceiling, but the details on site decide how close you get to it.

Here is what actually changes the outcome.

Read the grade, then read the certification

Grade #1 Perfections means minimal knots and consistent dimensions. Grade A Extra Clear is the Eastern White Cedar equivalent. Grade #4 is utility grade, and that is a signal that the piece belongs behind something else rather than on the visible face.

Where certification exists, take it. The CERTI-Grade mark from the Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau is an external check that the mill’s own grade label holds up. Two products in this roundup carry it.

Do the exposure and bundles-per-square math before ordering

Start with your wall area in square feet, then pick an exposure, then look up how many bundles that product needs per square at that exposure. The numbers vary widely across this list.

• At 14 inch exposure the Miller R&R carton covers 50 sq ft per half square, and the grade #4 undercourse carton covers 100 sq ft per full square.
• At 5-1/2 inch exposure the 18 inch Perfections carton covers about 25 sq ft.
• At 5 inch exposure the Waska bundle covers 25 sq ft, but you need four bundles per square.
• At 7-1/2 inch exposure the 24 inch Royals product runs about 4 bundles per square, and the DLM 18 inch product runs 5.

Add a waste factor for cuts at openings and eaves. Ten percent is a reasonable starting point for a simple wall, and more for a wall with many windows or a lot of corners.

Match the product to the pitch and the application

Two products here carry explicit limits. The DLM handsplit is specified for walls and roofs at 4:12 pitch and steeper. The grade #4 undercourse shingle is explicitly not recommended as a roofing or starter-course shingle.

The CertainTeed Cedar Impressions panel is a wall product and should not be treated as a roof covering. Reading the stated application before you order prevents the single most expensive mistake in this category.

Decide between natural and factory finish

Natural cedar weathers toward gray and silver. If you want a specific color, choose a factory-finished product and accept that you will not be able to change it later. If you want the color to evolve, go natural and seal it on your own schedule.

The primed Miller R&R option sits in the middle, and buyers note occasional spots that need a second coat. Budget for one extra primer pass.

Plan for weight and access

Bundle weights range from 25 square feet at 30 pounds for the Waska product, up to an 80 pound carton for the 18 inch Perfections shingles. Before you commit to a material, work out how it gets from the driveway to the roof deck.

For work above a safe height, a fall protection system rated for the job is not optional. Our roofing safety harness guide covers the gear side of that decision.

Check what your local supplier actually carries

Regional supply is a genuine constraint. Some grades and some decorative shapes are easier to find in the West, where most of these mills operate, and harder elsewhere. Ask your supplier to confirm the exact product and grade before you commit to a full order.

Two products in this roundup have very small review counts. That usually reflects regional availability as much as it reflects demand, and it is worth asking around locally before assuming nobody is using them.

What a Shingle Quote Often Skips

The spec sheet tells you what a product is. It does not tell you whether the installer followed the instructions for it. Here are the gaps that show up most often.

Exposure is never written down

Exposure determines coverage, appearance, and how many courses you install. A quote that gives you a total carton count without naming the exposure leaves room for the exposure to stretch, which quietly reduces the coverage you are paying for. Ask for both numbers in writing.

Undercoursing gets skipped

Double-coursed sidewalls need a hidden undercourse layer behind the visible shingles. It is the easiest line item to omit because nothing shows it, and its absence leaves gaps that light and wind move through. If your design is double-coursed, the undercourse should be a line item on the quote.

Utility grade gets used as a finish product

The grade #4 undercourse shingle in this roundup is priced and specified for hidden layers and starter applications on sidewalls. Using a utility grade piece on an exposed roof starter course is the kind of substitution that surfaces as a warranty problem later rather than a complaint on day one.

Pitch limits are treated as suggestions

The 4:12 and steeper specification on the DLM handsplit is not a suggestion, and neither is any similar limit printed on another carton. If a quote proposes a product outside its stated application, ask for the reasoning in writing.

No one names the accessories

Panel profiles, J channel widths, corner trim, starter courses, ridge pieces, and flashing all have to match the material you chose. The 3/4 inch J channel requirement on the CertainTeed panel is exactly this kind of constraint, and it can change the cost of a job significantly after installation begins.

Get the grade and product name in writing

Ask for the exact product and grade on the contract, not just the manufacturer name. This is the cheapest protection available, and it is the one piece of advice that comes up most consistently across installer forums. A contract that says only the brand name gives you no way to verify what was actually delivered.

Roof work above a safe height and any structural deck work should be professionally installed, and local building code plus the manufacturer’s installation instructions govern the final result.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Shingle Should You Actually Buy?

If you want one recommendation for most projects, start with the Miller Shingle 18 Inch R and R Natural Groove cedar. It has the deepest owner history in this category, a grade #1 kiln dried spec, clear coverage figures at two exposures, and a groove that lets it blend into an older cedar wall instead of announcing the repair.

Match your pick to the job instead. If you need the heaviest texture and you are restoring shakes on an old house, the Watkins 24 inch handsplit is the profile that matches. If you want a certified grade and a traditional random-width look, go with the 18 inch Perfections CERTI-Grade shingles. If color consistency without stain work matters, the Waska Cape Cod Gray is already finished. If the job is a small patch on an existing gray roof, the CIPER 3-tab pack with included nails is all you need. And if you are covering walls with no maintenance schedule in mind, the CertainTeed Cedar Impressions panel does the job without touching a stain brush.

Whichever one you land on, get the exact product and grade written on the contract along with the exposure figure. That single line does more for your roof than any premium tier on this list.