Impact windows or hurricane shutters — which costs less?
Hurricane shutters cost $35 to $350 per window installed and impact windows $280 to $490, on HomeGuide's published storm-protection table.
Both meet the same job description: keep the opening intact so wind cannot get inside and lift the roof. They meet it in very different ways, at very different prices, and with very different amounts of work on the day a storm is named.
The published table, in full
| Type | Per square foot | Per 24" x 42" window | Permanent? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane impact windows | $40 – $70 | $280 – $490 | Permanent |
| Plywood shutters | $2 – $5 | $15 – $35 | Temporary |
| Aluminium or metal storm panel | $5 – $15 | $35 – $105 | Either |
| Clear polycarbonate panel | $10 – $20 | $70 – $140 | Either |
| Accordion shutters | $15 – $25 | $105 – $175 | Permanent |
| Bahama or colonial shutters | $20 – $50 | $140 – $350 | Permanent |
| Roll-up or roll-down shutters | $20 – $50 | $140 – $350 | Permanent |
| Motorised roll-down shutters | $50 – $175 | $350 – $1,225 | Permanent |
| Steel mesh storm screen | $85 – $150 | $595 – $1,050 | Permanent |
Source: HomeGuide
Read that table next to the other published figure and the picture changes shape. HomeGuide's window replacement guide prices a hurricane window at $400 to $1,200 each installed — higher than the $280 to $490 its storm-protection guide gives for a 24-inch by 42-inch opening. One publisher, two guides, two answers. Neither is averaged here.
What you get back
HomeGuide publishes a return on investment of 80% to 86% for impact windows and 40% to 50% for hurricane shutters. It also lists what each side gives you day to day: full visibility, nothing to do before a storm and year-round ultraviolet protection for the windows; varying visibility, effort before every storm and a change to how the house looks for the shutters. Both may qualify for an insurance discount on its table, with plywood the stated exception.
Source: HomeGuide
Do you need both?
HomeGuide answers that directly: shutters are not needed with impact windows installed. It adds that impact windows withstand high winds and do not shatter but can still break from flying debris, and that fitting shutters over impact windows gives the strongest protection at the highest price. So both is a real option, and it is the expensive one.
Source: HomeGuide
The decision, in plain terms
- Money now against effort later. Windows cost more once; panels cost less and are put up and taken down by somebody, every time.
- Who is going to deploy them. HomeGuide points to motorised and accordion shutters for older or less mobile homeowners, because panels are heavy and are fitted from a ladder.
- How the house looks and lives. Windows change nothing on the outside; Bahama and colonial shutters change it on purpose; panels change it only while they are up.
- What your county requires. HomeGuide notes that some codes, Florida's among them, require every window to have hurricane protection of some kind.
Price your own window count against the impact-window bands: the impact window cost calculator.
This is general information, not advice about your house. Which products satisfy your local code is a question for your building department and a licensed installer.
Questions people ask next
- Are impact windows as good as hurricane shutters?
- For storm protection HomeGuide treats them as alternatives rather than a hierarchy, and says shutters are not needed once impact windows are in. The windows add full visibility, no pre-storm work and year-round ultraviolet protection; the shutters add a lower price and, on plywood, no insurance discount.
- Are accordion shutters cheaper than impact windows?
- Yes, on the published table. HomeGuide prices accordion shutters at $15 to $25 per square foot, or $105 to $175 per 24-inch by 42-inch window, against $40 to $70 per square foot for impact windows.
- How much do hurricane shutters cost for a house in Florida?
- HomeGuide publishes $2,000 to $8,000 on average for a house in Florida, and says the total depends on the shutter type, the material, the number and size of the windows and the labour.
Written for homeowners by Most Recommended Impact Windows, which measures which impact window companies AI assistants actually recommend. Nobody can pay to be on those lists. How we measure.