Fence Costs & Pricing

What drives the price

Material is the biggest lever, but three other factors move every quote: height, total length, and site conditions. A 6-foot fence uses more material and taller posts than a 4-foot one, and longer runs spread fixed costs like mobilization over more feet, which lowers your per-foot rate.

Gates, terrain, and soil are the surprises. Each gate adds hardware and a heavier post, sloped or rocky yards slow the crew, and hard or clay-heavy soil makes post holes more expensive to dig and concrete.

Tearing out an old fence is a separate line item most homeowners forget. Removal and haul-away can add hundreds to a few thousand dollars before the new fence even goes in.

Cost by material

At a standard 6-foot height, installed prices range from about $24 per linear foot for chain-link to roughly $52 for composite. Wood, vinyl, and aluminum fall in between, which is why most yards land in the $3,600 to $7,800 mid-range.

Cheaper up front does not always mean cheaper long-term. Wood costs less to install than vinyl or composite but needs staining or sealing every few years, while vinyl, aluminum, and composite trade a higher install price for near-zero upkeep. Our material-comparison guides break down that lifespan-versus-cost trade in detail.

Use the fence cost calculator to price your exact length, height, gate count, and removal, then read the individual guides for chain-link, privacy, and wood-vs-vinyl fences.

What to know before you commit

Check permits and property lines first. Many towns require a permit for fences over a set height, and building on the wrong side of a boundary is expensive to undo. Get an accurate survey rather than trusting the last owner's markers.

Price on your real measurements, not a round number. Gates, corners, slope, and soil push the same length of fence toward the high end of the range, so ballpark with the calculator, then confirm with two or three local quotes.