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Chain Link Fence Calculator

Estimate posts and fabric (mesh) needed for a chain-link fence run.

  • Answers as you type
  • Every formula cited
  • Calculated in your browser
SettingsSettings for this calculationUS
Market
Imperial · sales tax
The total straight-line run of fence.

For a fence with corners, measure and total each straight section.

Tools needed: Tape measure, Stakes and string

Estimated chain link fence needed

9 line posts

Medium confidence

Add 2 terminal (end/corner) posts per corner or gate, which are sturdier than the line posts counted here.

Fence length
98 ft
Fabric (mesh) needed
98 linear ft
Then change the inputs to see how far the answer moves.

Show calculation logic

How this was calculated

Formula source(s)

  • Chain-link line posts are typically spaced no more than 10 ft apart; fabric (mesh) is sold in rolls by length

Inputs used

Fence Length
98 ft

Intermediate steps

Fence length
98 ft
Fabric (mesh) needed
98 linear ft
Final result9 line posts

Confidence note: Add 2 terminal (end/corner) posts per corner or gate, which are sturdier than the line posts counted here.

What this calculation does not cover

  • Line posts are spaced at a flat 10 ft (3 m) here, a figure the source gives as the maximum rather than a target, so the number returned is the fewest line posts a run of that length can be built with; heavier fabric, a taller mesh or an exposed windy line is usually set closer, and there is no field for tightening the spacing.
  • The fabric figure simply repeats the length entered, foot for foot, with nothing added for the extra needed to stretch and trim at each end and no rounding up to the roll lengths chain-link mesh is actually sold in.
  • Fabric height, mesh gauge and how deep the posts go are never asked for, so a 4 ft (1.2 m) garden boundary and a 10 ft (3 m) yard enclosure of the same run come back with an identical post count while their post lengths, footings and roll weights differ completely.
  • Nothing beyond posts and mesh is counted: top rail, tension wire, tension bars and bands, brace bands, tie wires and post caps sit outside the arithmetic entirely, and those are the parts that hold the fabric taut.
  • Gate openings are not deducted, so the mesh total still covers the width a gate leaf will fill and should be trimmed back by each opening before ordering.
  • Rounding up to whole 10 ft (3 m) bays happens once, on the combined length, so a fence measured as several straight legs and totalled gets a single short leftover bay for the whole job instead of one at the end of every leg.

Estimated cost — your price

This site holds no price list for this material — local prices vary too much to publish honestly. Enter your supplier's price and the result is costed with it.

98 ft
Schematic, drawn to the proportions you entered — not to scale on screen.

Part of a bigger job

Or plan the space itself: measure it once, doors and windows included, and this figure comes back worked out on that space, with what goes with it.

Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.

Sources checked 2026-09-05 · in the site-wide review of 2026-09-06 · v1.0.1

Regulatory standards & verification citations1
  1. Chain-link line posts are typically spaced no more than 10 ft apart; fabric (mesh) is sold in rolls by length
Cite this page

Your workspace

Most jobs need more than one number. Add the calculators you need next and they open right here, underneath this one — your figures stay on screen and nothing is lost to a page change.

Tools and safety for this job

To set fence posts and fix fence panels or boards. Generic types, no brands, no prices.

Protection this work requires

  • Hardwood dust is a recognised carcinogen: extract at the tool and wear a P2/N95 respirator when cutting or sanding indoors.
  • Wet cement and lime burn skin and eyes painlessly until the damage is done: waterproof gloves to EN 374, safety glasses whenever the mix can splash, and never kneel in wet mix in permeable trousers.
  • Saws, grinders and breakers run above 85 dB, where hearing damage accumulates and does not recover: defenders or plugs for every cut, not just the long ones.
  • Boards, blocks and bagged material cause most lasting back injuries on small sites: two people or a lifter for full sheets, and never a bag on one shoulder up a ladder.
  • Digging blind strikes gas, water and power every day: get the plans, scan with a cable avoidance tool, and hand-dig trial holes over anything you find.
Show the 10 tools this job needs

Essential

  • Cable and pipe detector

  • Claw hammer

  • Cordless drill/driver

  • Mixing bucket or tub

  • Post hole digger or auger

  • Spirit level

  • String line and pins

  • Tape measure

Recommended

  • Circular saw

  • Post driver

Also needed as materials: circular saw blades, drill and driver bits.

what each landscaping tool is for, and the spec that decides which to buy where one does.

Now that you have the number

These guides cover the work this quantity is for.

Still deciding? Chain Link vs Timber Fence — the factors that actually differ, with no invented prices.

The data behind it: Production rates by operation

How to calculate chain link fence in 2 steps

  1. Fence LengthThe total straight-line run of fence.
  2. Read the resultThe tool computes the result from those figures and shows the formula, its sources, and a confidence rating alongside it.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between line posts and terminal posts?
Line posts run along the straight sections and support the fabric; terminal posts (at corners, ends, and gates) are sturdier and anchor the fabric tension — count them separately per corner/gate.
How much fabric should I order?
Order the total fence length, since chain-link fabric is sold by linear length. Add a small allowance (a few feet) for tensioning and trimming at ends.
Do posts need to be set in concrete?
Yes, typically — see the Concrete Calculator for footing volume, generally about 1 bag (or a small footing volume) per post depending on depth and diameter.
On a slope, do I measure along the ground or level?
Along the ground. Chain link is the one fence fabric that follows falling ground without a cut in it: loosen it and the diamond mesh racks into a parallelogram that lies to the grade, so the fabric and the line-post spacing are both measured on the slope. The difference is small but it is real — 30 m (98 ft) of level distance on a 1:5 slope is 30.6 m (100.4 ft) along the ground. Put a post at every change of grade as well as at the spacing counted here.
When should line posts go closer than 10 ft (3 m)?
Whenever the fabric will catch more wind than open mesh on a sheltered line. Privacy slats or a windscreen turn the fence into a sail, and a tall fence on an exposed site is loaded far harder than a garden boundary. The Chain Link Fence Manufacturers Institute's WLG 2445, Wind Load Guide for the Selection of Line Post Spacing and Size, sets spacing and post size from the design wind speed, the fence height and whether the fabric is covered, and for covered fabric it comes out well inside 10 ft (3 m). Count those extra posts yourself: this page uses the 10 ft (3 m) maximum.
What holds the fabric tight at the ends?
A tension bar threaded through the last row of diamonds at every terminal post, clamped to the post with tension bands, with brace bands and a rail end where the top rail meets it. A corner post takes two tension bars, one for each direction the fabric leaves it, and a gate post takes one on the fence side. None of these fittings is in the count here, and they are what keep the mesh taut.
Preliminary estimate, not certified engineering. This tool produces an indicative quantity calculation for planning purposes only — it is not a certified structural analysis, a guaranteed material takeoff, or a substitute for building department approval. Always verify measurements on-site and have a licensed contractor or structural engineer review any load-bearing, code-sensitive, or safety-critical work before purchasing materials or starting construction. Spotted an arithmetic or standards error? Report it to contact@craftquantities.com with your inputs — a confirmed fix gets a permanent check of its own, so the same mistake cannot come back.