Twenty six, if the shingle is the old 12 by 36 inch size. About 21 if it is the metric 13 and a quarter by 39 and three eighths, which is most of what is sold now. Both bundles cover the same 33 and a third square feet and three of either make a square. The coverage never moves. The count does, which is why how many shingles in a bundle is a question about shingle size rather than about packaging.
A bundle is a coverage, not a count
Shingles are packed to an area rather than to a number. The bundle is a third of a square, which is 33 and a third square feet, and the manufacturer puts in however many shingles that takes. Change the size of the shingle and the count changes; the coverage on the wrapper does not.
What one shingle covers is its width times its exposure, because the rest of it is hidden by the course above:
Shingles in a bundle
33.33 ÷ [ ( width × exposure ) ÷ 144 ]
Width and exposure in inches · exposure is what shows, not the height of the shingle · 144 turns square inches into square feet
Why the size decides how many shingles in a bundle
Asphalt shingles come in an imperial size and a metric size, and the metric one took over years ago without most people noticing, because the bundle looks identical on the pallet. These are three products from one manufacturer’s own data sheets:
| Royal Sovereign, imperial | Royal Sovereign, metric | Timberline HDZ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | 3 tab | 3 tab | Architectural |
| Size | 12 x 36 in | 13.25 x 39.375 in | 13.25 x 39.375 in |
| Exposure | 5 in | 5.625 in | 5.625 in |
| One shingle covers | 1.25 sq ft | 1.54 sq ft | 1.54 sq ft |
| Pieces per square | 79 | 64 | 64 |
| Bundles per square | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Shingles per bundle | 26 | about 21 | about 21 |
Look at the middle and right columns. A 3 tab and an architectural shingle of the same metric size hold the same count, because the count follows the size and the exposure and nothing else. The tabs are cosmetic. The laminate on an architectural shingle makes it heavier and thicker, not wider.
Now look at the left and middle columns. Same manufacturer, same product name, same 3 tab profile, same 33 and a third square feet in the bundle, and the count goes from 26 to 21 because the shingle grew by three and three eighths inches and the exposure by five eighths.
There is more than one metric size, too. IKO makes its Cambridge shingle 40 and seven eighths by 13 and three quarters at five and seven eighths of exposure, which comes to 20 shingles a bundle and 60 a square. So the honest range is about 20 to 26, and the only way to be certain is the data sheet for the shingle in front of you.
When the number on the listing cannot be right
Twenty six is the answer the internet gives, and it is repeated on product pages for shingles it does not describe. It is easy to check. A metric shingle covers 1.54 square feet, so 26 of them cover 40 square feet, not 33 and a third.
If a listing shows you a 13 and a quarter by 39 and three eighths shingle, a 33.33 square foot bundle and a count of 26, those three numbers cannot all belong to the same product. Trust the coverage, because that is the figure the packing line actually works to.
The three bundles in a square are not identical
Here is a small thing that trips people up when they count a delivery. The manufacturer publishes 79 pieces per square for the imperial shingle and 64 for the metric one. Neither divides by three.
So a square is not three equal bundles. TAMKO publishes its own split for the Heritage shingle: 64 to a square, made up of one bundle of 20 and two bundles of 22. Open one bundle, count it, multiply by three, and you can be two shingles a square out either way.
What the count is actually good for
Not ordering. You order a roof in squares and let the supplier turn that into bundles, which is what the roofing calculator does from your footprint and pitch. The piece count is useful for three other things.
- Checking a delivery, where a bundle is easier to count than to weigh
- Working out fasteners, since nails are specified per shingle and the count is how you get to a box size
- Planning a repair, where you want a handful of shingles rather than a bundle and need to know what a handful is
It is also the quickest way to tell which size you are holding without a tape measure. Count a bundle. Twenty six is imperial and about twenty to twenty two is metric, and the shingle above the one you are replacing has to match.
Work out the squares first
Frequently asked
Twenty six for the imperial 12 by 36 inch shingle and about 21 for the metric 13.25 by 39.375 inch one, which is most of what is sold now. Both bundles cover 33 and a third square feet, because shingles are packed to an area rather than to a count.
Seventy nine for the imperial size and 64 for the common metric size, according to the manufacturer data sheets, though a larger metric shingle such as IKO Cambridge comes to 60. Three bundles make a square in every case, and the count rarely divides by three, so the bundles in a square do not all hold the same number.
Because the bundle is sold by coverage, not by count. One shingle covers its width times its exposure, so a metric shingle at 1.54 square feet needs fewer pieces to reach 33 and a third square feet than an imperial one at 1.25 square feet.
In the metric size, yes. A metric 3 tab and a metric architectural shingle are both 13.25 by 39.375 inches at 5.625 inches of exposure, so both come to 64 pieces a square. The laminate on an architectural shingle makes it thicker and heavier rather than wider, and the tabs are cosmetic.
No. Order in squares and let the supplier convert to bundles. The piece count is for checking a delivery, working out fasteners, and buying a few shingles for a repair rather than a whole bundle.