Fence Calculator
Posts = run length ÷ post spacing, rounded up, plus one; pickets = each bay ÷ the picket width: a 48 ft wood fence with posts 8 ft apart takes 7 posts and 108 pickets of 5.5 in, or 119 with 10% extra.
Example: replace these measurements
Your material list
119 pickets with extra+ 1 more item on the list
119 pickets with extra
48 ft measured run
Your shopping list
- 119 pickets with extra
- 7 total posts
Quantities and package details
- Solid fence along slope
- 48 ft
- Gate openings between post centers
- 0 ft
- Total posts
- 7
- End posts
- 2
- Corner posts
- 0
- Gate posts
- 0
- Grade-change posts
- 0
- Line posts
- 5
- Rail pieces, one per bay
- 18
- Picket fasteners before spares
- 648
- Concrete bags
- Enter footing volume and bag yield
Gate leaves, hardware and rail-to-post fasteners are separate. Pickets on a slope still need a cut plan; this allowance does not lay out a stepped fence.
The calculation
- Fence section: 48 ft horizontal length; 0 ft grade rise; no gate.
- 0 to 48 ft: 6 bays at 8 ft along the slope.
- Horizontal post centers from section start: 0, 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48 ft.
- 108 base pickets × (1 + 10/100), rounded up = 119.
Common questions
How many fence posts do I need?
Divide each straight run by the largest post spacing you allow, round up to whole bays, and add one post. Enter corners and gates as their own runs or openings so the calculator counts every shared post once.
How far apart should wood fence posts be?
The fence system, its height and your site set it. The calculator starts with 8 feet as an example; change it to your plan.
How many pickets do I need?
Divide each bay by the picket width plus the gap between pickets, round up, and add the bays together. Your extra covers breakage and bad boards.
How much concrete per fence post?
Enter the volume per post from your post-hole plan and the bag yield. QUIKRETE Concrete Mix gives about 0.60 cubic feet per 80-lb bag.
Source: QUIKRETE Concrete Mix No. 1101 data sheet. Listed on the Sources page.
How to plan the quantity
Enter a straight section between fixed post locations. Its length and gate positions are horizontal measurements between post centers. Use the gate drawing for the distance between gate posts, including the hardware clearances.
Place a gate by entering its first post’s distance from the start and the distance to its second post. The solid fence on either side gets its own equal bays. Add another section at a corner or grade change; choose how its first post connects to the previous end.
A grade rise increases the fence length along the slope. Each section has a constant slope; split it where the grade changes. Post centers are listed horizontally from the start, while the maximum bay spacing is measured along the slope.
Pickets, rails and fasteners follow the solid bays. The picket count uses the bay length along the slope as an allowance; a stepped fence needs a separate cut plan. Gate leaves and their hardware remain a supplier list.
Before you order
- Gate leaves, hinges, latches and supports need a system-specific supplier schedule. This calculation locates gate posts but does not size them.
- Post depth, diameter, foundations, utilities, boundary position and sloping ground require local/site decisions. No universal hole size is assumed.
Have prices moved?
Lumber cost 7.6% more in August 2026 than a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price index, preliminary).
What owners paid: the typical fence and wall job cost $2,300 in the 2023 Census survey.
Newer monthly figures may be out: these were checked on .
Before ordering, read the guide: How to measure for a fence: posts, gates, corners and slopes. Or choose another calculator.