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Coroplast vs Aluminum Signs: Cost, Life and Mounting

Tomas Amaya

October 31, 2026Updated November 3, 20269 min read

A post mounted aluminum sign for a landscaping company stands by a sidewalk while a smaller corrugated plastic yard sign sits on wire stakes nearby.

Should You Choose Coroplast or Aluminum Signs?

An 18 x 24 inch coroplast yard sign is $64.99 and a 10 x 14 inch .040 aluminum sign is $59.99. Pick coroplast for staked, temporary signs and aluminum for permanent post, wall or fence signs. Coroplast prints the next business day, aluminum in 3 business days, both printed in the USA with flat $10 shipping.

Choose coroplast when the sign goes in the grass for weeks or months: an open house, a campaign, a job site, an event. Choose aluminum when the sign stays in one place for years on a post, a wall or a fence: a parking space, an address, a gate, a reserved entrance.

Coroplast is 4 mm corrugated plastic with hollow channels, called flutes, that run through the sheet. A wire H-stake slides into those flutes, so the sign goes into the ground in seconds with no tools. Aluminum is a solid .040 inch metal panel. It has no flutes, so it is screwed or bolted to something solid through drilled holes.

Question Coroplast yard sign Aluminum sign
Material 4 mm corrugated plastic .040 in aluminum
Starting price 18 x 24 in, $64.99 10 x 14 in, $59.99
How it mounts Wire H-stake Screws through holes
Stakes or holes Stakes are an add-on Holes are an option
Outdoor life Outdoor rated, temporary No rust, 5+ year guarantee
Production after proof approval Next business day 3 business days
Shipping to any US address Flat $10 per product Flat $10 per product

Both are printed in the USA and shipped nationwide. A sign that has to be in the ground by Saturday is a coroplast job. A sign you never want to replace is an aluminum job.

A blue Tallowbrook Plumbing 18 x 24 inch coroplast yard sign on a wire H-stake at the curb in front of a white work van

How Much Do Coroplast and Aluminum Signs Cost?

A single coroplast yard sign starts at $64.99 for the 12 x 18 inch size and $64.99 for 18 x 24 inches. A single .040 aluminum sign starts at $59.99 for 10 x 14 inches. Every figure below is the starting price the product page charges today for one sign, printed on one side.

Sign Size Starting price
Bandit coroplast yard sign 12 x 18 in $64.99
Standard coroplast yard sign 18 x 24 in $64.99
Square coroplast yard sign 24 x 24 in $69.99
Extra large coroplast yard sign 36 x 24 in $79.99
Aluminum sign 10 x 14 in $59.99

Coroplast gets cheaper per sign as the count rises, which is why campaigns and real estate teams buy it by the dozen. The quantity ladder starts at one sign on every size, and the product page shows the total for each quantity before you pay. Aluminum is priced per sign by size, from 10 x 14 inches up to 36 x 24 inches, with custom sizes priced by area.

The aluminum product page opens on this size: A 12" x 18" Aluminum Sign is $74.89. Artwork prep is $14.99 per item. Printed in the USA in 3 business days and shipped nationwide, flat $10 shipping to any US address.

Two costs sit outside the sign price. Wire H-stakes are an add-on for coroplast, and drilled holes and rounded corners are options for aluminum. Shipping is a flat $10 per product to any US address. If you already have a logo, a Canva file or a ChatGPT image, AI image to print makes it print ready for $14.99 per item, and Design it for me builds the layout from scratch for $29.99 with two revisions, free on an item of $499 or more.

How Long Does Each Material Last Outdoors?

Aluminum lasts longer, and it is the only one of the two we put a number on: the .040 aluminum sign will not rust and carries a 5+ year outdoor durability guarantee. Coroplast is rated for outdoor use and holds up well for the length of a listing, a campaign or a construction job, but it is a lighter, temporary material and we do not promise it a span of years.

That difference comes from what each sheet is. Corrugated plastic is two thin plastic skins joined by ribs. It is light, it shrugs off rain, and it bends rather than cracks. Over a long stretch of sun and wind it can bow and the edges can scuff, which is fine for a sign that comes down in a month and a problem for a sign meant to stand for years.

A metal panel does not bow in the heat and does not soak up water. The face is UV printed vinyl on the metal. The parts that age first on an aluminum sign are usually the ones around it: a steel screw that rusts, a wood post that splits, a fence that leans.

For a full material by material comparison, including foam board, PVC and acrylic, read how long outdoor signs last by material.

How Do You Mount Coroplast and Aluminum Signs?

Coroplast mounts on a wire H-stake, and aluminum mounts with screws or bolts through drilled holes. The mounting plan usually decides the material before the price does.

On a coroplast yard sign the flutes run vertically, so the two legs of an H-stake slide straight up into the bottom edge and the sign rests on the crossbar. Stakes are not included in the sign price. Every yard sign page has an H-stakes row: standard wire stakes for most lawns, and a heavy-duty grade on orders of 10 signs or more for firm ground and windy frontage. One detail matters on custom sizes: a coroplast sign wider than 48 inches has horizontal flutes, so it will not take a standard H-stake from the bottom edge.

Aluminum has no flutes. The aluminum sign page offers four hole patterns, all four corners, top corners, center top and bottom, or a custom layout, plus straight corners or four rounded radiuses from 1/8 inch to 1/2 inch. Match the holes to the post, wall or fence before you approve the proof. A U-channel sign post, a chain link fence and a stucco wall each want a different pattern.

Two sides change the answer slightly. A double-sided coroplast sign reads from both directions on a corner lot. A double-sided aluminum sign makes sense on a post that cars pass from both ways, and both materials offer print on one side or both.

Close view of a screw through the rounded corner of a teal printed aluminum sign, showing the thin metal edge

Which Material Fits Which Job?

Coroplast fits any sign that is temporary, staked, or bought by the dozen. Aluminum fits any sign that is permanent, fixed to a structure, or regulatory. A business can use both, each for a different job.

Job Better material Why
Open house, for sale, directional arrows Coroplast Up and down each weekend
Political campaign yard signs Coroplast Bought in bulk, pulled after
Contractor job site sign on the lawn Coroplast Moves to the next job
Reserved parking, no parking, tow away Aluminum Fixed to a post for years
Address, suite number, building name Aluminum Permanent, on a wall
Gate, ranch entrance, fence sign Aluminum On a fence every season

Picture a small plumbing company, Tallowbrook Plumbing. It stakes 18 x 24 inch coroplast signs in front of every job it finishes, pulls them a week later and stakes them again across town. The same company screws a 12 x 18 inch aluminum sign to the post outside its shop that reads Reserved for Service Vans. Two jobs, two materials, and neither one would do the other's work well.

If you are weighing other rigid boards too, our sign materials guide covers coroplast, foam board, PVC, ACM, aluminum and acrylic in one table.

What Should You Check on the Proof?

Check three things on the digital proof before you approve it: the hole positions on aluminum, the stake zone on coroplast, and the orientation of both. Every order comes with a free digital proof, and nothing prints until you approve it.

  1. Holes over text. On an aluminum sign, picture the screw heads at each hole. A screw that lands on a phone number digit or the edge of a logo hides it for the life of the sign. Move the artwork or change the hole pattern.
  2. The bottom 2 inches of a yard sign. The stake legs enter there and tall grass hides it. Keep the phone number and website above that strip.
  3. Orientation. A custom coroplast sign wider than 48 inches has horizontal flutes and will not take an H-stake from the bottom edge. On aluminum, portrait and landscape are separate size choices, so pick the one that matches the mount.
  4. Thin borders. A thin frame around the edge makes a tiny cut shift look uneven. Use a frame of 0.75 inch or more, or let the background color run off the edge.

How Do You Order Coroplast or Aluminum Signs?

Open the product page for the material, choose the size, sides and options, upload your file, and approve the free digital proof. Coroplast yard signs print the next business day after approval. Aluminum signs print in 3 business days. Both ship for a flat $10 per product to any US address.

For coroplast, start on the 18 x 24 inch standard yard sign page, or choose any width and height on the custom coroplast yard sign page. Pick the H-stake grade if the signs go in the ground. For aluminum, open the aluminum sign page, pick the size and orientation, then the corners and hole pattern.

Not sure about the size yet? The yard sign size guide draws all four coroplast sizes to scale with letter heights by viewing distance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Coroplast is better for a yard sign that goes in the grass on a wire H-stake, because the stake legs slide into its flutes. An 18 x 24 inch coroplast sign is $64.99. Aluminum is better for a sign that stays up for years on a post, wall or fence, and a 10 x 14 inch .040 aluminum sign is $59.99.

A 10 x 14 inch .040 aluminum sign starts at $59.99 and an 18 x 24 inch coroplast yard sign starts at $64.99. A 12" x 18" Aluminum Sign is $74.89. Artwork prep is $14.99 per item. Printed in the USA in 3 business days and shipped nationwide, flat $10 shipping to any US address.

Our .040 aluminum signs will not rust and carry a 5+ year outdoor durability guarantee. That promise covers the printed panel. The post, the screws and the wall it is fixed to are separate, so pick stainless or coated hardware for a sign that stays outside for years.

No. A wire H-stake slides into the hollow flutes of corrugated plastic, and solid aluminum has no flutes. An aluminum sign is screwed or bolted to a post, wall or fence through drilled holes, which you can add on the aluminum sign page in four patterns or a custom layout.

No. Stakes are a separate add-on on every coroplast yard sign page. Choose standard wire H-stakes, or the heavy-duty grade on orders of 10 signs or more, and the total updates before you pay. A sign and stake pack bundles both: 10 double-sided 18 x 24 inch signs with a wire H-stake for each are $174.99.

Coroplast yard signs print the next business day after you approve the digital proof. Aluminum signs print in 3 business days after approval. Both ship for a flat $10 per product to any US address, and transit time is added after production.

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