Estimate the installed price of a new fence by material, height, footage, and gates. You get a low, mid, and high range per linear foot and a project total. Ballpark only, not a quote.
Ballpark only, not a quote. These are planning ranges built from published industry cost data, not Kelly WM pricing. Always get 3 local bids and confirm permit, survey, and HOA rules before you sign.
Fencing is priced by the linear foot, the distance the fence runs along the ground, not by square footage. Most homeowners land somewhere between the low teens and the high double digits per foot installed. Where you fall depends on four levers: the material, the height, how many gates you need, and what the ground and access look like. This tool multiplies your footage by published cost ranges for the material and height you pick, then layers in gates, terrain, and old-fence removal to show a low, mid, and high installed total.
Contractors quote fencing per linear foot because the cost scales almost directly with how far the fence runs. A 100-foot run of 6-foot wood costs roughly twice a 50-foot run of the same fence. But the per-foot number is only the field rate. It assumes a straight, flat, accessible run with standard post spacing. The line items that blow past the per-foot rate are the ones homeowners forget: every gate, every corner and end post (they are heavier and set deeper than line posts), removal and haul-off of an old fence, hard digging through rock or clay, and permits. That is why two quotes for "the same fence" can differ by thousands. One contractor counted the gates, the slope, and the dumpster, and the other quoted a clean straight run and will hit you with change orders later.
Material is the single biggest driver of price, and the right pick is a lifetime-cost decision, not just a sticker decision.
The honest framing: a cheap pressure-treated wood fence plus a stain job every couple of years can quietly cost more over its life than a vinyl or aluminum fence that you install once and forget. Run both through the tool, then weigh the maintenance footnote against how long you plan to stay in the home.
Going taller does not just add panel material. Taller fences use longer posts set deeper in more concrete, and more labor per foot. Expect roughly a 20 to 35 percent jump moving from a 4-foot fence to a 6-foot fence, and a steeper climb to 8 feet, which can also trigger an engineered design or a permit in many areas. Gates are their own mini-projects: each one needs a sturdier post on both sides plus hinges and a latch, so a single walk gate adds a few hundred dollars and a wide drive or double gate can add a thousand or more. Sloped lots, rocky or clay soil, and tight backyard access (no room for a machine, so post holes get dug by hand) all push the number up, which is why this calculator includes a terrain setting.
Before any post goes in the ground, check three things and treat them as verify-locally items, because the rules change by city and even by parcel: a permit (many municipalities require one, especially above a certain height), a property survey so the fence sits on your line and inside the required setbacks, and HOA approval (many associations dictate material, color, and height). In Florida and other hurricane-exposed coastal areas, fences may also fall under wind-load requirements, and high-velocity hurricane zones in South Florida have stricter standards, so post spacing, depth, and panel choice can be dictated by code, not preference. Confirm the current rules with your local building department and HOA, and always call 811 to mark underground utilities before you dig.
The Pro version drops a branded cost estimator on your website with your own material rates and service area, captures every homeowner who runs a number, and emails you the lead with their fence size and scope. We build the site and the tool. Get a free mockup and see it on yours.
Get early access, book a free call →This tool estimates the installed cost of a new fence, materials and labor together, priced the way contractors price it: by the linear foot. You choose a material, a height, your total run in feet, the number of walk and drive gates, the terrain, and whether an old fence has to come out. It multiplies your footage by a published cost range for that material at a 6-foot baseline, adjusts for height and ground conditions, adds each gate as its own lump sum, adds optional removal by the foot, and returns a low, mid, and high installed total.
The per-foot ranges come from public contractor-pricing references, the kind of cost guides a homeowner finds when researching a fence, not from Kelly WM pricing. Chain-link sits at the bottom, then wood, then vinyl, aluminum, and wrought iron at the top, because material is the single biggest lever on price. Height and terrain are applied as multipliers, since a taller fence needs longer posts set deeper and rocky or sloped ground means more labor per foot. Those ranges were last reviewed in June 2026 and reflect national averages, so your local market can land above or below them.
This is a planning ballpark, not a quote. It cannot see your exact layout, your soil, your backyard access, or your area's labor rates, and it does not price permits, a property survey, or HOA approval, any of which can apply before a post goes in the ground. Treat the number as a sanity check, get three written and itemized local bids, and call 811 to mark utilities before anyone digs. If you would rather run this on your own fencing site with your own rates, that is the kind of thing we build under custom tools.
No. It returns a low, mid, and high planning range built from published industry cost data, not Kelly WM pricing and not a bid on your specific yard. Use it to set expectations, then collect three itemized local bids. Your final price depends on your exact layout, soil, access, gates, and local labor rates.
Because those are the line items that push a fence quote past the plain per-foot rate. Each gate needs heavier posts on both sides plus hinges and a latch, so the tool prices it as its own lump sum. Sloped or rocky ground and old-fence removal add labor, so it adds them on top of the per-foot total instead of hiding them in one number.