Vinyl Fence Calculator

One post per opening plus one to close the run. An opening is either a panel section or a gate, so a 100 ft fence built from 6 ft panels with one 4 ft gate has 16 panel sections and one gate opening — 18 posts in total. If the fence loops back around your yard, drop the closing post and order 17. Post spacing drives the number far more than the length does on its own — widen the spacing and the same run needs fewer posts, so it is worth putting both options through the calculator before you order.

Roughly $3,000 to $6,000 installed in the United States in 2026 for a 6 ft privacy fence, of which materials are about $2,500 to $4,500 and labor the remaining $5 to $15 per foot. This calculator's default preset prices the same project at $2,880 in materials — $28.80 per linear foot — which sits inside the published materials band. Split rail and picket run well under that; 8 ft privacy and lattice-top run well over. Ask any contractor to itemise materials and installation as separate lines on the quote, so you can check their material figure against your own estimate rather than arguing about a single bottom-line number.

Labor runs $5 to $15 per linear foot, so a 100 ft fence saves $500 to $1,500 — real money, but it buys you the hardest part of the job. Post holes are the work: they must be plumb, on exact spacing, below the frost line, and dug through whatever the ground contains. Renting an auger and setting 18 posts over a weekend is achievable; getting all 18 within the tolerance a rigid vinyl panel needs is what separates a fence that closes cleanly from one that fights you at the last section. Most homeowners underestimate the digging rather than the assembly, so budget for the auger rental and spoil disposal, and get one contractor quote as a benchmark even if you intend to build it yourself.

Wider panels mean fewer posts, fewer holes and less concrete, so 8 ft spacing usually works out cheaper per foot. It lowers both the material count and the installation labor, since every post you remove is also a hole you do not dig. The trade-off is stiffness: an 8 ft solid privacy panel carries more wind load at full height and sags more over time. Manufacturers commonly limit solid privacy styles to 6 ft spacing and reserve 8 ft for open picket and ranch rail, so check the panel's own specification before you commit.

A gate hangs between two posts, but those posts are shared with the panels either side — so a gate does not add posts to the count, it simply replaces a panel section with an opening. What it does change is the post specification: gate posts take a swinging load and are normally upgraded to 5×5, set deeper, and reinforced with a steel or concrete core. Height matters as much as width here — a 6 ft privacy gate applies far more leverage to its hinge post than a 4 ft picket gate of the same span, so size the post to the gate you are actually hanging.

You buy a full panel and cut it down. Most vinyl systems let you shorten a section by trimming the rails and removing pickets or boards, then re-fitting into the post pocket. That is why the calculator always rounds up — and why a contingency percentage is worth carrying, since a botched cut means another full panel. If the offcut comes out awkwardly short, tighten the post spacing fractionally across the whole length instead of closing the run with one narrow stub; the difference disappears across a dozen sections and the fence reads as deliberate.

Vinyl typically costs more up front per section than pressure-treated wood, and less than composite or ornamental aluminium. The case for it is maintenance: it is not stained, sealed or painted, and it does not rot. Whether that pays back depends on how long you keep the property and what wood upkeep costs where you live, so compare total cost over the years you actually plan to own it rather than the sticker price alone. For most homeowners this turns out to be a holding-period question rather than a material one: stay put and vinyl wins, sell inside a few years and the cheaper installation usually does.

Standard corner posts are routed for a square corner. For an angled turn you either use a blank post routed on site, a swivel-bracket post designed for variable angles, or two line posts set close together with a short filler section between them. Count each of these as a corner in the calculator; the post total is the same, only the part number changes. Odd angles are common where a fence follows a property line that was never square to begin with, so measure each leg of the yard separately and add the lengths rather than pacing out a single perimeter figure.

Vinyl posts are hollow and light, so they rely entirely on the footing for rigidity — compacted gravel alone rarely holds a solid privacy panel through a windy season. Most manufacturers require concrete footings as a warranty condition, and some specify filling the post cavity with concrete at gates and corners. Full-height privacy panels are the least forgiving of a weak footing, since they catch the most wind. Set the bags-per-post figure to zero only if you have a written installation detail from the supplier or your contractor that says otherwise.