Fence Cost & Materials Calculator
Count the posts, panels, pickets, rails and concrete bags your fence needs, then price the whole job — materials, concrete and labor — with a material list you can export or print.
Fence layout
How to use this calculator
1. Measure the run and pick a spacing
Walk the property line and add up every side you plan to fence, gate openings included. Post spacing of 8 ft on center is the wood and vinyl standard because rails and panels come in 8 ft lengths; chain link stretches comfortably to 10 ft. The last section is usually short — that is normal, and the count here already rounds up for it.
2. Choose a material, then correct the prices
Each material loads a starting set of unit prices that scale with the height you entered. They are national ballpark figures, not a quote. Pull up your lumber yard or big-box cart, type the real numbers into the per-foot, post, panel and gate boxes, and the whole estimate follows. Editing any price switches the page to custom pricing; reselecting a material puts the defaults back.
3. Size the holes before you rent the auger
Hole diameter of about three times the post width and a depth near one third of the post length is the rule of thumb, subject to your local frost depth. The concrete count subtracts the volume the post itself takes up, so it will read slightly lower than a raw cylinder calculation — that is the honest number for how many bags to buy.
4. Take the material list to the yard
The material list tab holds the full cut list with quantities, sizes and line totals. Download it as CSV for a spreadsheet or hit print for a paper copy at the counter. The share link carries every input, so a contractor or a spouse opens the exact same estimate.
Fence cost and material FAQs
How many posts do I need for a fence?
Divide the total run by your post spacing, round up, and add one for the closing end post: posts = ceil(length ÷ spacing) + 1. Every gate needs its own hinge post and latch post, so add 2 more per gate. A 100 ft run at 8 ft spacing with one gate works out to 13 sections, 14 line posts, and 16 posts in total.
How much concrete does one fence post need?
Work out the hole volume in cubic feet as π × (diameter ÷ 24)² × (depth ÷ 12) with both measurements in inches, then subtract the volume the post itself occupies. A 10 in wide, 24 in deep hole holds about 1.09 cu ft, and a 4×4 post displaces about 0.17 cu ft, leaving roughly 0.92 cu ft of concrete per hole. At the 0.6 cu ft bag yield used here that is about one and a half bags per post.
How many pickets do I need?
Convert the run to inches and divide by the covered width of one picket, which is the board width plus whatever gap you plan to leave: pickets = ceil(length × 12 ÷ (picket width + gap)). A 100 ft privacy fence built from 5.5 in boards with no gap needs 219 pickets before waste. Open a 2 in gap on the same fence and the count drops to 160.
What does a fence cost per linear foot?
Installed prices commonly land between $15 and $60 per linear foot. Chain link is the cheapest, pressure-treated wood sits in the middle, and cedar, vinyl and ornamental aluminum crowd the top of the range. Labor is often close to half the bill, which is why the labor rate here sits on its own editable line — drop it to zero and the estimate becomes a materials-only DIY budget.
How much waste should I add?
Ten percent is the usual allowance for cut-offs, crowned or warped boards, and layout mistakes. Push it to 15% on sloped ground or a run with several corners, where boards get ripped down and rails are cut short. Gate openings are left inside the run rather than deducted here, so they act as a small extra cushion on top of the waste figure.