Editorial note: Homefront (defined in the Disclosure below) may earn a commission from affiliate partner links featured on our site. This commission does not influence our editors’ opinions or evaluations.
Dan Simms is a contributing writer at USA TODAY Homefront specializing in home repair, renovation and renewable energy. While working as a property manager for one of the largest real estate management firms in New York, Dan worked alongside contractors and renovation specialists to prepare homes for sale. He is an avid DIYer and has completed a shed construction and a bathroom renovation in his own home and investment properties. He lives on Long Island, New York. Reach out to him on LinkedIn.
The amount of annual rainfall your area receives can help you decide on the right gutter alternative.
Gutter alternatives range from roughly $100 for rain chains to $4,500 for a French drain.
Alternative roof drainage systems may require less maintenance than gutters and still perform well in some climates.
Gutters may be the most popular roof drainage option, but they aren’t the only way to handle water runoff around your home. If you’re tired of cleaning clogs in your gutters, or if they’re not working as well as you want them to, consider gutter alternatives for your home’s rainwater management needs.
In some dry climates, specifically in the western half of the United States, gutters aren’t mandated, per Energy Star’s guidelines. In these cases, adding a drip edge to your roof or installing a French drain around the perimeter of your home can reduce annual maintenance and provide protection from water runoff.
While gutter alternatives may work in the Desert Southwest, in wetter climates — such as the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast — you’ll have to supplement your gutters with extra drainage safeguards or install a complex in-ground solution, such as a French drain. A proper drainage mechanism means a lower risk of foundation issues and water damage; plus, it’s usually required by local building codes.
Deciding which gutter alternative is right for you will probably require that you speak with a professional in your area, but understanding that there are other options — and how they work — can help get the conversation started.
Gutters are only one solution to managing rainwater and runoff around your home. They work well and are one of the most common residential drainage systems, but they’re not the only option.
You may be searching for an alternative system because you live in a dry climate and feel that your gutters are overkill. Maybe you don’t like the look of gutters, you may be worried about gutter installation cost, or you’re tired of cleaning them twice per year. Gutter guards can help, but if your home doesn’t get much rain, they may not be worth it — especially since they cost $3,873 per 200 linear feet, on average, according to our October 2023 survey data.
Thinking about replacing your gutters with another type of home drainage system? Consider the following factors:
All of the following drainage systems work well in certain circumstances, but there isn’t a single one-size-fits-all option. Below, we break down the strengths and weaknesses of the five best gutter alternatives on the market.
One of the simplest traditional gutter alternatives is a rain chain. These systems consist of decorative chains or strings of cups that hang vertically from your roof to guide rainwater to the ground. Rain chains have endless opportunities for customization and look quaint. Copper or brass models can sound like wind chimes.
Most rain chains hang above some type of collection bucket, such as a rain barrel or a decorative basin. Since these are simple to install and don’t need to sit at specific angles for drainage, they’re a good DIY option.
One disadvantage of rain chains is that they can’t handle a lot of water. “Rain chains work well for light to moderate rainfall,” Hock said. “However, they can be overwhelmed in heavy rain and may not be as effective as traditional downspouts, especially in icy climates.”
You should only consider a rain chain if you live somewhere with relatively low amounts of rainfall and if your yard has good drainage to deal with splashing and potential periods of concentrated rain.
Another downside to rain chains is that they typically can’t replace your entire rain gutter system. They’re best suited as a downspout replacement.
You can pick up a rain chain from Home Depot. They range between $50 and $100 and come in copper, aluminum and other materials.
Rain dispersal systems — also called rainhandlers — break up water as it falls off your roof to help disperse it over a larger part of your yard. These systems often look like the fins you’d find on baseboard heaters. They attach to the fascia board just like ordinary gutters.
These systems are great for a yard with excellent drainage but can cause problems if water tends to pool around the base of your home. They’re also only good in areas that get fewer than five inches of rain annually. Otherwise, you might end up with saturated soil around your home as well as potential foundation damage if heavy rain is prevalent.
Since rain dispersal systems don’t catch water, they’re very easy to maintain. They can last longer than gutters since they don’t hold water, so you won’t have to worry about clogs or leaks.
One possible downside to rain dispersal systems is their look. You install them a few inches below your roofline, and they extend out from your exterior wall to catch and disperse rain. Some homeowners don’t like the look of large metal fins hanging off of their homes. If you don’t care much about aesthetics, you may not have a problem with them, but they’re not the most appealing option.
Rainhandlers usually cost about $100 per 25 feet, depending on the material and width.
Drip edges are strips of metal that mount on the overhang of your roof to help direct water into gutters. Drip edges can improve the performance of your current gutters, but they usually aren’t drainage solutions on their own.
The primary purpose of a drip edge is to prevent water from missing your gutters. If you have water slipping between your gutters and your roof, you could wind up with water damage on your soffits or fascia board. Installing a drip edge can help make sure water makes it into your gutters for proper disposal.
Most DIYers can install a drip edge themselves without much trouble. They’re also inexpensive, costing between $5 and $35 at Home Depot, depending on the length and whether you choose vinyl or aluminum.
French drains collect water from the soil around your home and transport it to a safe place on your property for disposal.
French drains are expensive and time-consuming to install. Installing a French drain requires digging a trench, seating a perforated pipe in the trench and surrounding it with rocks or gravel to redirect surface and groundwater away from the area, Hock said. And that’s just the process for installing one. You’ll need to install multiple drains to ensure you have good drainage around your home’s entire perimeter.
“French drains are highly effective for controlling dampness and water infiltration in basements or crawl spaces and preventing saturated yards and gardens,” Hock said. ”Retrofitting these to old homes is also very common. Erosion is the number-one cause of severe damage to the foundation of a house, which is the most costly expense a home can incur.”
You can find French drain pipes from Home Depot and other home improvement stores, but given how challenging it is to install French drains properly, hiring a professional is best. A professional installation will cost between $500 and $4,500, according to Jamin Katzer, senior construction manager at Earth Saving Solutions.
This type of gutter was popular in the past but fell out of favor as the more flexible, modular gutter systems you see on homes today became prevalent. “They are found on older or historical homes or low-slope roofs,” Hock said.
Built-in gutters are — as you may expect — built into your roof. That makes them sturdier and capable of handling larger volumes of water but harder to repair, maintain and replace. “It is difficult to find the leaks when they are hidden in the soffit of the building, and they have caused big-dollar issues for my clients,” Hock added.
Many homeowners find the look of built-in gutters appealing, but they’re not a great option unless you need a new roof. Installing built-in gutters is a major home improvement project and not something the average DIY enthusiast can tackle. They’re also expensive to install and a pain to fix if something breaks.
A lot of built-in gutters are also seamless gutters, which require less maintenance and last longer than regular gutters. You’ll find that many built-in gutters are made from copper since copper gutters were popular in the past when built-in gutters were more common.
No matter what type of gutter system or gutter alternative you have, you should have good grading to avoid pooling water and foundation issues. Grading your yard means sloping the ground away from your home so that water flows away from rather than toward it. The slope of your yard is limited by your property area and how you use your outdoor area, so you’ll have to work with the space you have.
You shouldn’t think of yard grading as a standalone drainage system since you still need some type of roof-based drainage system to go with it. Proper grading is required for some gutter alternatives to work well — most notably, rain dispersal systems — but it will help keep your home’s foundation safer no matter what type of system you have.
Unless you’re an experienced landscaper, we recommend having a professional grade your yard. It’s a time-consuming process that requires precision to get it to a specific grade of 2% over 10 feet, as recommended by the U.S. Department of Energy. Improper grading can lead to issues such as foundation leaks and damaged walls from hydrostatic pressure.
Another option is to create a drip path — a swath of rocks or gravel that’s meant to catch falling water and lead it away from your home. They’re usually placed at the end of a downspout or under a rain chain. They look charming and can enhance the look of a yard or garden, but they only work with low volumes of water, so they’re not always ideal if you’re trying to avoid puddle formation or move a lot of water away from your foundation.
Another drawback is that you’ll have to maintain a drip path so that it doesn’t erode over time. Reshape and weed to ensure nature doesn’t take it over.
As gutterless drainage systems are less predictable, they have a few drawbacks that make them less common than ordinary gutter systems. Unless your gutters are damaged or clogged, you know precisely where the water from your roof will drain. That makes it easy to ensure you have enough drainage in that area to prevent water from damaging your foundation or exterior walls. Gutterless systems — such as rain dispersal systems — are less predictable because the flow of water isn’t well controlled.
Some gutter alternatives — including French drain systems and drip paths — are low-maintenance but require extensive work when something does go wrong. If you think cleaning out clogged gutters is a pain, imagine how difficult it is to dig up a French drain and replace it.
Most importantly, gutter alternatives can only help in dryer climates, unless they’re expensive systems like French drains. Rain chains and drip paths can’t handle heavy rainfall. You shouldn’t rely on drip edges and yard grading as the only way of keeping water away from the house.
Most homes need gutters to have optimal drainage. But if you live in an area with minimal rainfall, a gutter alternative can be a solution to gutter installation on the edge of your roof. Before you find a new way to channel water, look at the weather patterns in your area. Even if you still have adequate rainfall, these gutter alternatives can work as supplements.
Editorial note: The name “Homefront” refers to the alliance between USA TODAY and Home Solutions that publishes review, comparison, and informational articles designed to help USA TODAY readers make smarter purchasing and investment decisions about their home. Under the alliance, Homefront provides and publishes research and articles about home service and home improvement topics.
Homefront has an affiliate disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Homefront editorial staff alone (see About Homefront). Homefront adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is believed to be accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.
LeafFilter is our top pick for professional gutter guard installations. We like Raptor for do-it-yourself (DIY) projects. But before you choose the best gutter guards for your home, you must decide whether to hire a professional or install them yourself. The decision often comes down to price. It’s not always that simple, though. Costs for…
Gutter guards are worth it if you live someplace where pine needles, twigs, leaves and other debris consistently clog your gutters. If you’ve come to dread cleaning your uncovered gutters, gutter guards can reduce the frequency and difficulty of that outdoor chore. The best gutter guards, also known as gutter covers or leaf guards, add…
If you’re understandably tired of cleaning your gutters and beginning to wonder if they’re even necessary, keep the following points in mind. Gutters guide water away from your home’s foundation, preventing leaks, mold growth and crack formation. They also help protect soffits, fascia, trim, siding and landscaping features — such as plants, decks and patios…
Our hands-on testing helped us conclude that LeafFilter’s micro-mesh product offers the best gutter guards for pine needles. This decision was also based on our survey of 1,500 customers of popular gutter guard companies and interviews with industry experts. You should find the best protection available to prevent pine needle accumulation because pine needles are…
Our editorial team is committed to creating independent and objective content focused on helping our readers make informed decisions. To help support these efforts we receive compensation from companies that advertise with us.
The compensation we receive from these companies may impact how and where products appear on this site. This compensation does not influence the recommendations or advice our editorial team provides within our content. We do not include all companies, products or offers that may be available.