Metal Building Sizes: How to Choose, What Fits and What Each One Costs

Choosing a metal building size is the decision that sets everything else: the price, what you can park, whether you can add a lift, and whether you will outgrow it in five years. Most size guides online give you ranges and averages. This one gives you the real installed prices for every footprint we build, from 400 square feet to 6,000.

The three rules that decide what a building costs

Before the table, the pattern behind it. These hold across our whole catalogue.

1. Length is the cheapest way to buy space. The two end walls cost the same whether a building is 30 feet long or 90. Stretching the length spreads that cost over more floor, so the price per square foot falls.

2. Width is expensive. Going wider adds material to every frame in the building, not just the ends. A 35x50 at 1,750 sq ft costs $52,672 while a 30x60 at 1,800 sq ft costs $27,344 — nearly double the price for slightly less floor.

3. Height is the most expensive of all, and the only one you cannot change later. Taller walls need longer columns, heavier bracing and more panel around the entire perimeter, and in Wisconsin they carry more wind load. Decide the height honestly before anything else.

Small buildings — under 1,000 sq ft

• ✔ 20'x20'x10' — 400 sq ft — from $9,960
• ✔ 18'x24'x9' — 432 sq ft — from $12,606
• ✔ 15'x30'x10' — 450 sq ft — from $9,939
• ✔ 16'x32'x12' — 512 sq ft — from $10,160
• ✔ 18'x30'x10' — 540 sq ft — from $12,246
• ✔ 26'x25'x10' — 650 sq ft — from $13,015
• ✔ 24'x32'x9' — 768 sq ft — from $13,080
• ✔ 24'x40'x11' — 960 sq ft — from $15,305
• ✔ 30'x30' — 900 sq ft — from $16,615

This range covers one to three vehicles and storage. The important line is 30 feet of width: below it you get one or two bays, at 30 feet you get three.

Mid-size — 1,000 to 2,000 sq ft

• ✔ 28'x36'x9' — 1,008 sq ft — from $16,330
• ✔ 30'x35'x10' — 1,050 sq ft — from $19,750
• ✔ 30'x40' — 1,200 sq ft — from $20,165
• ✔ 30'x44'x12' — 1,320 sq ft — from $24,333
• ✔ 24'x60'x12' — 1,440 sq ft — from $22,906
• ✔ 30'x48'x13' — 1,440 sq ft — from $28,672
• ✔ 30'x50' — 1,500 sq ft — from $25,375
• ✔ 35'x50'x16' — 1,750 sq ft — from $52,672
• ✔ 30'x60' — 1,800 sq ft — from $27,344

This is where most buyers land. Compare the 30x48 at $28,672 with the 30x60 at $27,344: the 30x60 is 25% bigger and costs less, because the 30x48 is a foot taller. That is rule three in a single line.

Large buildings — 2,000 sq ft and up

• ✔ 30'x70'x15' — 2,100 sq ft — from $37,530
• ✔ 40'x54'x15' — 2,160 sq ft — from $47,814
• ✔ 40'x60' — 2,400 sq ft — built to order, $36,000 to $72,000
• ✔ 42'x60'x12'/10' — 2,520 sq ft — from $36,278
• ✔ 30'x90'x14' — 2,700 sq ft — from $38,855
• ✔ 30'x100'x16' — 3,000 sq ft — from $52,335
• ✔ 40'x80'x14' with two lean-tos — 3,200 sq ft — from $80,250
• ✔ 50'x70'x20' — 3,500 sq ft — from $79,032
• ✔ 60'x80'x16' — 4,800 sq ft — from $97,910
• ✔ 60'x100'x16' — 6,000 sq ft — from $131,000

How to choose: work backwards from the deepest thing you own

Most people pick a size by floor area and get it wrong. Start instead with your longest vehicle and your tallest one.

Depth decides whether you can park two deep in a bay. Thirty feet means one vehicle per bay. Forty feet means two nose to tail with room to walk around.

Width decides your number of bays. Thirty feet is three bays. Forty feet lets you run a centre aisle with work on both sides.

Height decides what you can do inside. Ten feet is cars and storage. Twelve takes a tall truck or a cabbed tractor. Fourteen to sixteen is where a car lift becomes possible. Twenty is for a mezzanine or tall machinery.

Add roughly 20% to whatever you first think

The most common thing we hear from repeat customers is that they wish they had gone longer. Going from a 30x40 to a 30x50 adds 25% more floor for about 26% more money. Going from 30x50 to 30x60 adds 20% more floor for 8% more money. Length is cheap; regret is not.

What these prices do not include

• ✔ Concrete slab — quoted separately, and usually the biggest line outside the building
• ✔ Site preparation — a level, accessible pad
• ✔ Permits — set by your county or township
• ✔ Interior finishing — insulation, electrical, plumbing, drywall

Delivery and installation are included, and every building is engineered and certified for the snow and wind loads of the county it is going to.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most popular metal building size?
30x40 is the size we quote most often. At 1,200 square feet it holds three vehicles, or two plus a workshop, and it is the smallest footprint where you can park two deep in a bay.

What is the cheapest metal building size per square foot?
Among our 30-foot-wide buildings, the 30x60 at roughly $15 per square foot. Longer buildings spread the fixed cost of the two end walls over more floor.

How much does a metal building cost per square foot?
Across our catalogue, roughly $14 to $30 installed. Height is the biggest driver: a 12-foot building runs near the bottom of that range, a 20-foot building near the top.

What size metal building do I need for 2 cars?
A 20x20 holds two cars with little else. For two cars plus storage or a workbench, 24x32 or larger. For two cars parked two deep in one bay, you need 40 feet of depth.

Can I get a size that is not on this list?
Yes. Every building is made to order, so the sizes above are configurations we price regularly rather than a fixed catalogue.

Find your size

Build any size on screen and get a price for your address in our 3D designer, browse every configuration we make, or see current pricing.

Get a free quote — installed across Wisconsin and the Midwest.