Fence Calculator
Estimate a wood board or picket fence — posts, concrete footings, rails, pickets, gates, and hardware — with an itemized bill of materials, U.S. pricing, a cost-by-category chart, and a downloadable PDF.
Quantities assume a straight-run board/picket fence. Prices use 2024-2025 U.S. figures and vary by region and grade. Check property lines, setbacks, utilities, and HOA rules first — for planning purposes only.
| Item | Qty | Unit | Unit $ | Total |
|---|
Estimated quantities for a 100 ft privacy fence at typical U.S. prices. Confirm post depth and spacing locally.
How to use the fence calculator
Four quick steps turn a fence run into a full bill of materials — posts, concrete footings, rails, pickets, gates, and hardware — itemized, priced in U.S. dollars, charted by category, and ready to download as a PDF.
Enter your fence
Type total length — or a yard’s length × width — plus fence height and how many gates.
Pick material & style
Choose the board material and a style — privacy, picket, shadowbox, or ranch — which sets gap and rails.
Set posts & footings
Post spacing and burial depth, concrete per post, rails per section, and post caps.
Read it & save a PDF
Get an itemized bill of materials, a cost-by-category chart, and a download.
How the material list is calculated
Posts carry the rails, rails carry the pickets, and every post sits in a concrete footing. Each part is counted from the fence run, then priced. Here is the exact math.
Worked example — 100 ft privacy fence, 6 ft tall, pressure-treated, posts @ 8 ft, 3 rails, 1 gate
Sections: ⌈100 ÷ 8⌉ = 13
Posts: 13 + 1 + 1 gate = 15 → 15 footings, 30 bags
Post length: 6 + 2 = 8 ft
Rails: 13 × 3 = 39 rails
Pickets: ⌈(100×12) ÷ 5.5⌉ = 219 × 1.05 ≈ 230
Fasteners: 230 × 6 = 1,380 → 4 boxes
15 posts, 39 rails, 230 pickets, 30 bags, 1 gate — roughly $1,600 in materials, about $16.06 / linear ft.
Concrete, rails, and gates barely move; the picket and post lines carry the swing. Stepping pressure-treated pine up to composite on the same layout nearly doubles the surface material and lifts the whole job by roughly $1,250.
Fence post, picket & cost charts
Handy lookups for the questions people ask most — the parts of a fence, post counts, picket counts, materials, and typical U.S. costs. All quantities start from the fence length, height, material, and style.
| Part | What it does | Rule of thumb |
|---|---|---|
| Posts | Carry the rails and pickets | Length ÷ spacing, +1, +gates |
| Concrete footings | Anchor each post in the ground | 1 per post, ~2 bags each |
| Rails | Span post to post, hold the pickets | Sections × rails per section |
| Pickets | The fence face (infill boards) | Length ÷ (width + gap) + waste |
| Post caps | Cap and protect each post top | 1 per post |
| Gates | Access through the run | 1 extra post per gate |
This calculator sizes each part from your fence dimensions. Actual post depth and footing sizes must come from local code.
| Fence length | 6 ft OC | 8 ft OC | 10 ft OC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 ft | 10 | 8 | 6 |
| 100 ft | 18 | 14 | 11 |
| 150 ft | 26 | 20 | 16 |
| 200 ft | 35 | 26 | 21 |
Posts = fence length divided by spacing, plus one end post. Add one extra post at each gate. Tighter spacing makes a stiffer fence under tall privacy panels.
| Fence length | 3½ in board | 5½ in board | 7¼ in board |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 ft | 181 | 116 | 88 |
| 100 ft | 361 | 230 | 175 |
| 150 ft | 541 | 345 | 262 |
| 200 ft | 721 | 459 | 349 |
Pickets = fence length in inches divided by board coverage (width + gap), plus waste. Spaced picket styles need fewer boards; shadowbox / board-on-board uses about 1.85×.
| Material | ~$ / picket | ~$ / post | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure-treated pine | $3.50 | $14 | Budget builds |
| Cedar | $4.50 | $20 | Warm look, rot resistance |
| Redwood | $5.50 | $24 | Premium, straight grain |
| Composite | $8.00 | $28 | Low maintenance, stable |
| Vinyl-look | $6.00 | $26 | No sealing, wet climates |
Per-picket and per-post pricing — the picket line is usually the biggest single swing in the whole material list.
| Style | Gap | Rails | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Privacy | 0 in | 3 | Boards butted tight, full screen |
| Picket | 2.5 in | 2 | Evenly spaced, decorative gap |
| Shadowbox / board-on-board | 0 in | 3 | Alternating sides, ~1.85× pickets |
| Ranch | 4 in | 2 | Widely spaced, open rustic look |
Style sets the gap, rails per section, and picket overlap. Board-on-board looks finished from both sides but uses far more infill.
| Component | Typical cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Support post | $14–$28 each | By material, 4×4 or 6×6 |
| Concrete (bag) | $5–$8 each | ~2 bags per footing |
| Rail | ~$5 each | 2–3 per section |
| Picket | $3.50–$8.00 each | By material |
| Gate | $100–$300 each | Materials + hardware |
| Full fence, materials | $10–$25 / lf | Excludes labor |
| Full fence, installed | $20–$45 / lf | Materials + labor |
Planning ranges only. Prices swing with region, grade, and quantity, and gates and corner posts add fixed cost regardless of length.
A fence is layers of load path: pickets fasten to rails, rails span between posts, and posts anchor in concrete footings below grade. The calculator counts each layer.
- Posts & footings — set in concrete, they carry the whole fence to the ground.
- Rails — span post to post; 2 or 3 per section depending on height and style.
- Pickets — the boards you see, run across the rails; width and gap set the count.
- Caps & gates — a cap tops each post; every gate adds a post and hardware.
Everything the calculator works out
One fence, entered any way you like, comes back as a complete bill of materials — every part counted, priced, and totaled.
Key figures behind a fence material list
Built for anyone pricing a fence build
From a short garden run to a full backyard enclosure, the same calculator turns a fence length into a complete materials list and a per-foot cost.
Fencing a backyard and needs a shopping list of every post, bag of concrete, rail, and picket.
- Enter length or yard size
- Pick material and style
- Take the PDF to the yard
Turning a fence run into a priced material list and a per-foot number fast when quoting a job.
- Enter total length for any layout
- Compare materials and styles
- Add install labor per lf
Weighing material, style, gates, and labor before committing to a build or a bid.
- See cost by category
- Split materials from labor
- Save the PDF to shop quotes
7 tips for estimating fence materials
Small habits keep your material list right and your build to code, whether you’re planning a short garden run or a full privacy enclosure.
Fence calculator FAQ
The post, picket, concrete, cost, and code questions people ask most.
A wood fence needs posts, concrete for the footings, rails, pickets (the infill boards), post caps, one or more gates with hardware, and fasteners. Optional labor rounds out the list.
For a 100 foot, 6 foot privacy fence with one gate that’s roughly 15 posts, 30 bags of concrete, 39 rails, about 230 pickets, post caps, and a gate. This calculator itemizes each into a full bill of materials.
Post count is the fence length divided by the post spacing, plus one for the end post, plus one extra post at every gate. At 8 feet on center a 100 foot fence needs about 14 line posts, then an added post per gate.
Set and brace corner, end, and gate posts first, then run the line posts between them. Closer spacing makes a stiffer fence and is common on tall privacy runs.
Picket count is the fence length in inches divided by the coverage of one board — its width plus any gap — plus a waste allowance. A 100 foot privacy fence with 5.5 inch boards butted tight needs about 230 pickets at 5% waste.
Spaced picket styles use fewer boards because of the gap, while shadowbox or board-on-board uses roughly 1.85 times as many for the overlap on both sides.
A common rule is about two bags of premixed concrete per post for a standard 6 foot residential fence, and more for taller fences, gate posts, or loose soil. A 100 foot fence at 8 foot spacing with about 15 posts needs roughly 30 bags.
Footing diameter and depth follow your local frost line and code — deeper and wider for gate and corner posts that carry more load.
Wood fence materials commonly run from about $10 to $25 per linear foot depending on the material and style — pressure-treated is cheapest, cedar and composite cost more, and gates add a fixed cost each.
Adding professional labor brings an installed fence to roughly $20 to $45 per linear foot. This calculator estimates materials, and lets you add a per-foot labor rate on top.
A common guide is to bury about one-third of the post’s total length, and always below your local frost line. For a 6 foot fence that’s roughly a 2 foot footing, which means an 8 foot post.
Loose, sandy, or wet soil and gate posts usually call for deeper, wider footings. Confirm the required depth against your local building code before you dig.
A privacy fence butts boards tight with no gap for full screening and usually uses three rails. A picket fence spaces boards with a decorative gap and often needs only two rails.
A shadowbox or board-on-board fence alternates boards on each side of the rails, using about 1.85 times the pickets but looking finished from both sides. The style you pick changes the picket count, which is why this calculator asks.
Fence posts are typically set 6 to 8 feet on center. Six-foot spacing makes a stiffer fence and is common under tall privacy panels; 8 feet is standard for many wood fences.
The calculator treats each gap between posts as one section, sizes the rails and pickets to fill it, and adds an extra post at every gate. Confirm spacing against local wind and code requirements.
General Estimating Notice: This calculator estimates fence materials — posts, concrete footings, rails, pickets, post caps, gates, hardware, and optional labor — from your fence length, height, material, and style using typical residential rules. Quantities are planning estimates and may differ from a surveyed layout. Post depth and footing size, post spacing, gate framing, and fence height must be confirmed against your local building code, along with property lines, setbacks, utility locates, and HOA rules. Prices use 2024–2025 U.S. figures and vary by region and grade. Confirm boundaries and code with a local pro — for planning purposes only.