Fencing Cost Calculator UK
Putting up a fence looks simple until you price it, and the cost is rarely just the panels. Posts, gravel boards and the concrete to set everything usually add up to as much as the panels themselves, and it's easy to be a bay short on the day. This UK fencing cost calculator works out how many panels or featheredge boards, posts, gravel boards and bags of postmix your run needs, then gives you a materials total, a sensible price range and a cost per metre. It works in metres, uses standard 1.83 m UK panel widths, and runs on your phone at the merchant's trade counter. Enter your run length and height to start.
Panel fencing options
Enter your fence details to see materials and cost.
| Item | Standard UK size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fence panel width | 1.83 m (6 ft) | The near-universal UK panel width |
| Panel heights | 0.9 / 1.2 / 1.5 / 1.8 m | 1.8 m is the common boundary height |
| Concrete post (1.8 m fence) | 2.4 m long | ~600 mm in the ground |
| Timber post (1.8 m fence) | 100 × 100 mm, 2.4 m | Treated softwood |
| Gravel board | 1.83 m × 150 mm | Concrete or timber, one per bay |
| Postmix per post | 1 bag (≤1.2 m), 2 bags (>1.2 m) | 20 kg bags |
How the calculator works
The tool splits your fence into bays — the gap between one post and the next. In panel mode it assumes a standard 1.83 m (6 ft) UK panel plus a post, so each bay is about 1.93 m centre to centre. Divide your run by that and round up, and you have your panel count; posts are always one more than the number of panels, because every run needs a post at both ends. Gravel boards, if you use them, work out one per bay. Postmix is set at one 20 kg bag per post for fences up to 1.2 m and two per post above that, which is where most domestic fences land. Takeaway: panels round up, posts are panels plus one, and the concrete is the line people forget.
Panels vs closeboard
Panel fencing is the quick option: pre-made 1.83 m panels drop between posts and a two-person crew can run a lot of metres in a day. Closeboard, also called featheredge, is built on site from vertical boards nailed to horizontal arris rails, and it's stronger, longer-lived and easier to repair board by board — but it uses far more parts and takes longer. As a rule of thumb, a featheredge board about 125 mm wide with a 25 mm overlap covers roughly 100 mm of run, so a 1.8 m bay swallows around 18 boards. That's why closeboard costs more even though the raw timber looks cheap per piece. Takeaway: panels are faster and cheaper to buy; closeboard costs more up front but lasts and repairs better.
What drives the cost
Three things move the number more than anything else: height, post material and gravel boards. Going from a 1.2 m to a 1.8 m fence lifts the panel price by half and pushes you from one bag of postmix per post to two. Concrete posts and gravel boards cost more than timber up front, but they don't rot at ground level, which is where timber fences almost always fail first — so the cheaper build is often the more expensive one over ten years. Labour, if you're not fitting it yourself, typically adds £25–£45 a metre on straightforward ground. Takeaway: height and the concrete-vs-timber choice swing the cost far more than the panel type does.
Planning note: Under permitted development in England, a fence, wall or gate can be built up to 2 m high without planning permission, dropping to 1 m if it's next to a highway used by vehicles (or a footpath beside such a highway). Corner plots and listed buildings have extra restrictions, so check with your local planning authority before going tall on a boundary. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own limits.
Worked example
Take a common job: a 20 m back-garden boundary at 1.8 m high, overlap panels, concrete posts and concrete gravel boards. At a 1.93 m bay pitch, 20 ÷ 1.93 = 10.36, so 11 panels and 12 posts. Gravel boards match the panels at 11. At two bags of postmix per post that's 24 bags. Using the default 2026 prices — £38 a panel, £22 a concrete post, £13 a gravel board, £7 a bag — the materials come to about £418 in panels, £264 in posts, £143 in gravel boards and £168 in postmix, so roughly £993 in materials, or about £50 a metre. Add supply-and-fit labour at £25–£45 a metre and the full job lands somewhere around £1,490–£1,890. Takeaway: for a standard 20 m concrete-post fence, budget around £1,000 in materials before labour.
In practice
In practice, most UK fencers order a spare post and a spare panel on anything over about 15 m, because ground is never as straight or as level as the tape suggests and one snapped panel on a windy delivery day stops the whole job. A common trick from installers is to set the two end posts and a string line first, then space the intermediate posts to the panels you actually have rather than to a drawing — timber panels vary by a few millimetres and forcing them to a theoretical 1.83 m grid is how you end up cutting the last one. Concrete gravel boards get specified far more often than they used to, because they keep the timber clear of wet soil and are the single cheapest thing you can do to make a fence last. Takeaway: buy one spare of each, set your ends first, and let the posts follow the panels.
Once you know your fence, the tools below help with the ground it sits in and the rest of the garden.
Frequently asked questions
Related tools
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- Paving Calculator UK — slabs, blocks, bedding sand and cost for patios and driveways
- Gravel Calculator UK — m³, tonnes and bulk bags for driveways, paths and borders
- Concrete Volume Calculator — for setting posts and larger footings
Guides worth reading
- How Much Does Fencing Cost in the UK? — per-metre rates, a worked 20 m example and where the money actually goes
Disclaimer: This calculator gives indicative materials and 2026 UK cost estimates for planning only. Prices vary by merchant, region, delivery and ground conditions, and the labour figures are broad supply-and-fit ranges, not a quote. It does not account for sloping ground, curved runs, gates, difficult access or waste removal. Always confirm quantities and get written quotes before ordering or booking work.