A louvered pergola is a freestanding or wall-mounted frame with a roof of slats you can tilt. Open them and you get light and air. Close them and you get shade and, if the drainage works, a dry patio in the rain. Kits sold online run from about $700 to over $6,000. Here is what decides which one you need.
1. Measure first
Measure the space where the posts will stand, not the furniture. The posts sit at the very corners, so a 10 x 12 ft pergola needs a flat, solid area at least that big. Leave room to walk around the posts. Our size guide shows what fits under each size.
2. Aluminum or steel
All-aluminum pergolas cost more but do not rust. Steel is cheaper and stiffer, but rust starts wherever the coating chips. Many mid-priced kits mix both: an aluminum frame with steel louvers. If you live near the coast, by a pool or somewhere wet, go all aluminum. Details in aluminum or steel.
3. A wind rating in mph
The single most useful spec. A number like "72 mph" means the maker tested or calculated the frame at that wind speed, anchored the way the manual says. "Wind resistant" with no number means nothing. In an open yard, on the plains or near the coast, look for 70 mph or more. Read the wind rating guide.
4. How the louvers turn
- Hand crank: the most common, smooth and precise.
- Pole, handle or lever: fine on a small roof, slower on a big one.
- Sling or rope: cheapest and least precise.
- Motor: a remote or switch, needs power, costs a lot more.
Bigger roofs often split into two to four zones you turn on their own, handy if you want sun on one half and shade on the other.
5. Drainage
Good kits catch rain in gutters and send it down through the posts. Without that, closed louvers just pour water off the edges. Almost every model in our list has drainage. The Mirador 80S does not.
6. Snow
Few makers publish a snow rating. If you get real winters, open the louvers flat before a storm and clear heavy snow off the roof. Only Mirador's 111DA and Infinite publish a solid figure, 26.6 psf.
7. Warranty
Most Amazon kits list no written warranty. Domi's steel models list 5 years, Mirador's direct models 4 plus 1. We score a missing warranty as zero.
8. What is in the box
Curtains, mosquito netting and LED lights add a few hundred dollars if you buy them later. Check what is included before you compare prices.
Before you order
- Check with your town or HOA whether you need a permit, see permits and HOA rules.
- Plan how you will anchor it, see anchoring a pergola.
- Count on two to four people and a full day for assembly. Most kits weigh 250 to 650 lb.
- Still torn between a tilting roof and a fixed one? See louvered pergola vs. gazebo.
