Choose roller shutters if
Roller shutters
from €150 120×120 cm, manual, with a new window
- there is (or can be) a box above the window
- you want to open and close from inside
- you want total darkness and the lowest price
Roller shutters or window shutters?
Both protect the window from sun, cold and prying eyes. They differ in the space they need above the opening, in the everyday routine and in the façade. Nine criteria to decide.
Short answer
Choose roller shutters if you want to open and close from inside, total darkness and the lowest price (€150–190 for a 120×120 cm window, manual). Choose window shutters if there is no room for a box above the window, if the façade calls for them, or if you want louvres that let air through (€310–400 in aluminium). Motorised, both open without opening the window.
The decision in 30 seconds
Over the nine criteria: roller shutters win 3, window shutters win 2, 4 are a tie. What tips it is your window.
Choose window shutters if
Window shutters
from €310 120×120 cm, two hinged aluminium leaves
- there is no room for a box (beam, low lintel)
- the façade or the house calls for them
- you want louvres that let air through
The nine criteria, side by side
For the same window, in PVC or aluminium. Timber is left out: it needs upkeep the others do not.
Space above the windowWindow shutter wins
Roller shutterNeeds a box above the opening, inside or outside. A beam can rule it out; a new box can take height off the window.
Window shutterNeeds no box. Fixed to the wall beside the opening.
Everyday useRoller shutter wins
Roller shutterOpens and closes from inside without opening the window: strap, crank or remote.
Window shutterManual hinged shutters mean opening the window and pulling the leaves in, rain or wind. A motor fixes it, but costs as much as the shutter or more.
Cold and draughts through the boxWindow shutter wins
Roller shutterThe box is a thermal bridge above the window, and the strap slot lets air through. Fixed with an insulated box or a motor.
Window shutterNo box, so no weak spot in the wall.
Darkness and lightTie
Roller shutterClosed, it blacks the room out almost completely. Half down, it leaves chinks of light between the slats.
Window shutterFixed louvres shut out almost everything; adjustable louvres let you choose light and air with the shutter closed.
Summer heatTie
Roller shutterStops the sun outside, before the glass.
Window shutterAlso stops the sun outside; adjustable louvres let the room breathe.
SecurityTie
Roller shutterExtruded aluminium is the most rigid; PVC gives more.
Window shutterClosed and locked from inside, one more barrier. Neither is a security door.
Price per windowRoller shutter wins
Roller shutterWith a new window, 120×120 cm: €150–190 manual, €250–320 electric.
Window shutterSame window, two hinged aluminium leaves: €310–400. Motorised, from around €600 more.
UpkeepTie
Roller shutterStraps and winders wear out; a motor takes them out of the picture.
Window shutterPVC and aluminium: just wash them. Timber: sand and varnish every so often.
Façade and permissionsRoller shutter wins
Roller shutterLike-for-like replacement changes nothing you can see. A visible box where there was none does.
Window shutterShutters where there were none change the façade: in a building, two thirds of the owners' vote.
The criterion that usually decides it: the box
In most homes, the choice is made above the window. A roller shutter rolls up into a box, and that box has to fit somewhere: inside the wall, inside the room behind a cover, or outside in a compact box. When there is a beam right above the opening, or the box would mean lowering the window, the roller shutter is out and the window shutter comes in.
Where the box already exists, the roller shutter usually wins: it is cheaper, opens from inside and blacks out completely. But the old box is also the coldest spot in the wall. We cover the fixes in the shutter box guide.
The criterion people regret most: the daily routine
In conversations among people who already have window shutters, the complaint that comes up most is not price or security: it is having to open the window, lean out and pull in each leaf, every night, at every window, sometimes in the rain.
If you choose window shutters because of the box or the façade, plan for a motor from the start, at least on the windows you close every day. Budget for it: on a hinged shutter the motor costs from around €600 per window, as much as the shutter or more. On a roller shutter, a motor adds about €120, and it gets rid of the strap, the part that breaks most.
Heat: both do the job glass cannot
Roller shutters and window shutters both stop the sun outside, before it heats the glass. That is the difference from a curtain or window film, which let the heat in and only then try to stop it. Portaria 138-I/2021 measures it the same way: it counts an opening's solar factor with the shading devices fully closed.
The difference is ventilation: with adjustable louvres, a window shutter closes against the sun and still lets air through. A half-lowered roller shutter leaves gaps between the slats, but cannot be adjusted the same way.
Façade and condomínio
Replacing a roller shutter like for like changes nothing you can see. Window shutters where there were none, or a new exterior box, change the façade. In an apartment building, the Civil Code requires prior approval by the owners' meeting representing two thirds of the building's total value (article 1422, no. 3).
As for the câmara, the planning regime (RJUE, article 6-A) exempts window frame replacement from a licence but mentions neither roller shutters nor window shutters. Municipal regulations apply; for listed buildings the câmara always has a say, and in protection zones it may.
Know what you want?
Price it for your sizes, no contact details needed.
Sources
- Diário da República: Portaria 138-I/2021 — solar factor of a glazed opening with shading devices fully closed
- Portuguese Civil Code, article 1422(3) — works that change a building's architectural line (PGDL)
- RJUE (Decree-Law 555/99), article 6-A — works of scant urban relevance (PGDL)
- CYPE, Gerador de Preços Portugal — aluminium, PVC and timber shutters (cost and ten-year upkeep)
- Fórum da Casa — threads "Portadas exteriores ou estores" (2020) and "Estores, portadas ou nada" (2009)
Frequently asked questions
The thermal weak point is not the shutter, it is the box. A roller shutter needs a box above the window, which is a thermal bridge and lets air in through the strap slot. A window shutter has no box. With an insulated box or a combined unit, plus a motor, the roller shutter catches up.
As a rule, the roller shutter. For a 120×120 cm window with a new window, a manual roller shutter comes to €150–190; hinged aluminium shutters, €310–400. On a Portuguese home forum, an owner who got both quotes for the same house found the same order.
There are interior shutters: they sit inside the window and leave the façade untouched. They darken and give privacy like exterior ones, but they do not stop the sun before the glass.
Yes. For example: roller shutters in the bedrooms, where you want total darkness, and window shutters in the living room or on the main façade. In a building, the look of the façade and the condomínio decide.
We do not do that swap. We fit window shutters where there is no roller shutter, or together with new windows, and new roller shutters where there already is one.
It depends more on the material and the lock than on the type. An extruded aluminium roller shutter and an aluminium shutter locked from inside both slow down a break-in; neither is a security door. For real security, the window counts too: see the RC2 guide.
Still torn between the two?
At the survey we look at the box, the façade and how each room is used, and tell you which suits each window. In English.
✓ Free survey✓ Roller and window shutters✓ Our own team