Chain link fence cost and materials calculator
A chain link fence costs what its parts list costs, plus the labour to stand it up. Most “per foot” figures hide that list. This tool writes it out — every post, rail stick, roll, band, cap and tie — from the counting rules a manufacturer prints in its own install guide, then prices it with the numbers your supplier gave you.
Pre-filled with a 150 ft back-yard run and one walk gate. Change any field.
The fence
Your stock and spacing
Your prices
That is $21 per foot of fabric — an output of your prices, not an input. Prices move weekly and by region. Enter the unit price your yard quoted you — the defaults are round placeholders, not a market average.
What it counts
A chain link fence is a kit. The steel framework — posts and top rail — carries the fabric, and a set of small fittings ties it together. Price the big four (terminal posts, line posts, rail, fabric) and you have most of the materials. The fittings are cheap one at a time and add up because there are dozens of them.
- 1Terminal post — end, corner or gate; the heavier post that takes the pull
- 2Tension bar, threaded through the last column of diamonds
- 3Tension bands clamping the bar to the post, one fewer than the fence is feet high
- 4Rail end cup on a rail end band, holding the top rail
- 5Top rail, sticks slid together at their swedged ends
- 6Line post with its loop cap, the rail passing through the loop
- 7Tie wires — fabric to line posts and to the rail
- 8Concrete footing, crowned above grade
The posts at the ends, corners and gates are terminal posts: heavier pipe, because the stretched fabric pulls on them. Everything between is a line post. That split is why a fence with a gate and two corners costs more than a straight run of the same length — see the worked example below.
The rules, and where they come from
Every count in the calculator follows the materials checklist in the Merchants Metals installation guide.
| Part | How many |
|---|---|
| Terminal posts | 1 per end or corner post, 2 per gate |
| Line posts | Never more than 10 ft apart (the maker's spacing chart tops out at 10 ft) |
| Tension bars | 1 per end or gate post, 2 per corner post |
| Tension bands | 1 less than the fence height in feet, per tension bar |
| Rail end bands and cups | 1 of each per tension bar |
| Post caps | 1 per terminal post, 1 loop cap per line post |
| Tie wires | 1 per 12 in of line post, 1 per 24 in of top rail |
| Top rail | Footage ÷ 10, rounded up, in 10′ 6″ swedged sticks |
| Fabric | Footage ÷ 50, rounded up, in 50 ft rolls |
| Gate hardware | 1 fork latch per gate; 2 post and 2 frame hinges per walk gate, 4 of each per drive gate |
The calculator splits your footage evenly across the straight sections between terminal posts and puts line posts in each one, never further apart than your spacing. Uneven sides can add or drop a post. If yours are very uneven, count each side with the fence post calculator.
Worked example
The default: 150 ft of 4 ft fence in a U from the house, two corners, one 4 ft walk gate. Next to it is the same 150 ft as one straight run with no gate.
| Part | U with gate | Straight run |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal posts | 6 | 2 |
| Line posts | 12 | 14 |
| Tension bars | 8 | 2 |
| Tension bands (4 ft fabric) | 24 | 6 |
| Rail end bands / cups | 8 / 8 | 2 / 2 |
| Top rail sticks | 15 | 15 |
| Fabric rolls | 3 | 3 |
| Tie wires | 121 | 131 |
| Holes to concrete | 18 | 16 |
Same footage, but the U needs four more terminal posts, four times the tension bands and six more tension bars. The straight run has two more line posts, which are the cheaper post. Corners and gates are where a chain link price goes up. When you compare two quotes, compare the terminal post count first.
Gates set the terminal posts
Merchants Metals lists standard openings of 39, 42 or 48 in for a walk gate and 10 or 12 ft for a drive gate, with the gate hardware included in those widths. Set the gate posts to the exact opening of the gate you are buying, not the other way round. The guide also says to make the footings on gate posts as big as you can. Hinge and latch choices are covered in fence gate hardware.
Post height has a rule too. Mark terminal posts at the fabric height plus 2 in above grade, and line posts at the fabric height minus 2 in. The top rail runs over the line-post loop caps and into the rail end cups on the taller terminal posts. Hole depth depends on your frost line. The fence post depth calculator handles that, and the concrete calculator turns the hole count above into bags.
Top rail or tension wire
Some fences skip the top rail and stretch a tension wire along the top instead. That removes the rail sticks, the rail end cups and their bands from the list, and adds wire plus clips along it. A bottom tension wire is an option either way, to help keep the bottom of the fabric from being pushed out. Both are switches in the calculator. Ask your supplier how they want the wire anchored at each terminal post.
Code requirement
If this fence is a pool barrier, ISPSC 2021 § 305.2.1 requires the top to be at least 48 in above grade on the side away from the pool. Under § 305.2.7, chain link openings can be no more than 1¾ in. Check the mesh size before you order the fabric. Your jurisdiction may amend the model code or adopt a different edition. Confirm with your building department before you cut.
Before the first hole
Contact 811 a few business days before you dig. That is the free national call-before-you-dig service, and its own guidance names fences. Wait until every utility has responded, then dig around the marks, not on them. Check the ordinance too. Some towns restrict chain link in front yards and many HOAs ban it — see fence permit rules.
Still deciding on the material? The chain link vs wood comparison sets out what each one is for. The fence cost calculator prices a wood run the same way, so you can put the two totals side by side.
Prices move weekly and by region. Enter the unit price your yard quoted you — the defaults are round placeholders, not a market average.
Sources
- Merchants Metals, Chain Link Fence Installation Guide (MM 285): materials checklist, line post spacing chart, gate openings, setting posts read 2026-10-18
- 2021 ISPSC § 305, Barrier Requirements (UpCodes, Virginia adoption; § 305.2 text identical in the Utah adoption) read 2026-10-18
- 811 Before You Dig (call811.com), Common Ground Alliance read 2026-10-18
Filed under Fence building — 11 tools, guides and comparisons in this pillar.
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