Metal Carports: Sizes, Prices & 3D Carport Builder

Metal carport prices by size

Open carports from one car to three and an RV cover, each a roof on tube-steel legs priced by the same model as the designer above: the dealer’s list price, delivered and installed on your level site. The vehicle columns are how many park under it by the designer’s clearances, each at the size its maker publishes. Prices were read Oct 30, 2026. Pick a carport to open it in the designer.

Size	Cars under it	Price, installed	Pickups under it	SUVs under it	4 in slab	Concrete
12 × 20 ft7 ft legs, open sides	1 car	$1,200–$3,300	0 pickups	0 SUVs	$1,000–$1,900	5 cu yd
12 × 24 ft7 ft legs, open sides	1 car	$1,400–$3,900	1 pickup	1 SUV	$1,200–$2,300	6 cu yd
20 × 20 ft7 ft legs, open sides	2 cars	$2,000–$5,500	0 pickups	0 SUVs	$1,600–$3,200	7.5 cu yd
18 × 26 ft7 ft legs, open sides	1 car	$2,300–$6,400	1 pickup	1 SUV	$1,900–$3,700	8.75 cu yd
20 × 26 ft7 ft legs, open sides	2 cars	$2,600–$7,100	1 pickup	1 SUV	$2,100–$4,200	9.5 cu yd
22 × 26 ft7 ft legs, open sides	2 cars	$2,800–$7,800	2 pickups	1 SUV	$2,300–$4,600	11 cu yd
30 × 26 ft8 ft legs, open sides	3 cars	$3,900–$10,700	3 pickups	2 SUVs	$3,100–$6,200	14 cu yd
18 × 40 ft14 ft legs, open sides	2 cars	$3,600–$9,900	1 pickup	1 SUV	$2,900–$5,800	13 cu yd

Sellers list an 18 × 26 ft carport as a two-car carport. By the designer’s clearances it parks 1 car: two cars side by side need 19 ft 1 in across, with room to open their doors.

These are planning sizes of where vehicles park, not construction plans. The frame, its footings and its loads come from the dealer’s drawings and your building department.

Carport sizes by the number of vehicles

The designer parks vehicles side by side first, nose to the open end, with 2 ft to the legs on each side, 3 ft between two vehicles, 1 ft in front and 2 ft behind under the roof. The least carport that parks one to three of a kind that way, width by length in whole feet, on 7 ft legs:

Least footprint, width by length, for vehicles side by side
Side by side	One	Two	Three
Cars2027 Toyota Camry	11 × 20 ft	20 × 20 ft	29 × 20 ft
Pickups2026 Ford F-150	11 × 23 ft	21 × 23 ft	30 × 23 ft
SUVs2027 Chevrolet Tahoe	12 × 21 ft	23 × 21 ft	34 × 21 ft

The width grows with each vehicle and the length stays: 20 ft for cars, 21 ft for SUVs and 23 ft for full-size pickups. On a 20 × 20 ft carport with a pickup the designer says: “A pickup is 19 ft 4 in long: the carport is 20 ft long.”

Covers for a boat, a camper or an RV

Width and leg height decide these covers. Each opens in the designer with what it covers parked under it:

Parked under it	Price, installed
Two pickups22 × 26 ft, 7 ft legs, open sides	$2,800–$7,800
A boat14 × 26 ft, 9 ft legs, open sides	$1,800–$5,000
A travel trailer18 × 36 ft, 12 ft legs, open sides	$3,200–$8,900
An RV18 × 40 ft, 14 ft legs, open sides	$3,600–$9,900

A boat on its trailer is wider than a car. On a narrower carport the designer says: “A boat is 8 ft 6 in wide: the carport is 12 ft wide.” The boat cover in the table is 14 × 26 ft. An RV is the tallest vehicle here, and the designer wants 6 in above it. On lower legs it says: “An RV is 12 ft 10 in tall: the legs need more height.” The RV cover stands on 14 ft legs.

Building a metal carport

Size it by what you park. Put your vehicles in the designer: it parks them, then says which one does not fit and why.
Pick the leg height. The tallest vehicle sets it, with 6 in above it under the roof.
Ask about a permit. Your city or county decides whether a carport needs one and how close to the property line it may stand.
Prepare the ground. Dealers install on a level site. A concrete slab is extra; the designer gives the concrete in cubic yards for the size you pick.
Order it. The prices here are dealer list prices, delivered and installed. A carport kit you put up yourself is priced by its seller, not by these listings.

To close it in later, set the walls to Enclosed in the designer and raise them for the roll-up doors: it adds the walls and doors and prices the building with them.

How the sizes and prices are worked out

Clearances

The vehicle sizes are the makers’ published specifications. The clearances are the designer’s, for opening doors and walking around under the roof, not a code minimum. The tallest point a vehicle may reach is the roof line over its lane less 6 in; the roof rises from the legs to the ridge at the roof pitch you set.

Price range

What it covers: A tube-steel carport at the dealer’s list price, delivered and installed on your level site. The slab and site preparation are extra.
What moves it: On an open carport, the roof area: the model gives open sides no wall area, so walls and doors only enter it once you enclose the carport. The model is fitted to 146 published prices from Alan's Factory Outlet, Carport Central and Get Carports, carports among them.
Why it is wide: Sellers list the same carport at very different prices, and the range holds the middle 80% of them. Where your quote lands depends on the seller, the steel gauge and the options you add.
Where it stops: The data holds widths of 12 to 100 ft, lengths of 20 to 250 ft and walls of 6 to 20 ft. On an open carport the leg height does not move the range; ask the dealer what taller legs add.

Questions

What size metal carport for 2 cars?

Two cars park side by side under a 20 × 20 ft carport at the least. Two full-size pickups need 21 × 23 ft and two SUVs 23 × 21 ft. The designer opens on a 20 × 26 ft carport on 7 ft legs, which parks a pickup beside a car.

Do you need a permit for a 20x20 carport?

That is up to your city or county; there is no single national rule. A 20 × 20 ft carport covers 400 sq ft, and building departments set their own limits on size and height and on how close to the property line it may stand. Ask yours before you order, with the size and the dealer’s drawings.

What is the average cost of building a carport?

From dealer list prices, delivered and installed on a level site: a 12 × 20 ft single carport lists for $1,200–$3,300, a 20 × 20 ft double for $2,000–$5,500 and a 30 × 26 ft carport for three cars for $3,900–$10,700. A 4 in slab under the double adds $1,600–$3,200.

Sources

Vehicle sizes: the makers’ published specifications (see the designer’s vehicle list).
Carport prices: 146 published prices of tube-steel buildings, carports among them, from Alan's Factory Outlet, Carport Central and Get Carports, read Oct 30, 2026.