What chain link costs per foot
Chain link is the cheapest real fence you can put around a yard, and the pricing is simple. It goes up with height, and it goes up if you want it coated. Our October 2026 numbers:
| Fence | Materials / ft | Labor / ft | Installed / ft | 150 ft installed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chain link, galvanized, 4 ft | $7 | $8 | $13–$17 | $1,910–$2,590 |
| Chain link, galvanized, 5 ft | $9 | $9 | $15–$21 | $2,300–$3,100 |
| Chain link, galvanized, 6 ft | $11 | $10 | $18–$24 | $2,680–$3,620 |
| Chain link, galvanized, 8 ft | $15 | $13 | $24–$32 | $3,570–$4,830 |
| Chain link, vinyl-coated, 4 ft | $10 | $8 | $15–$21 | $2,300–$3,100 |
| Chain link, vinyl-coated, 5 ft | $12 | $9 | $18–$24 | $2,680–$3,620 |
| Chain link, vinyl-coated, 6 ft | $14 | $10 | $20–$28 | $3,060–$4,140 |
| Chain link, vinyl-coated, 8 ft | $18 | $13 | $26–$36 | $3,950–$5,350 |
Privacy slats are extra, about $6 a foot for the material.
What you're buying
The quote is one line, but the fence is a handful of parts. The mesh, which the trade calls fabric, comes in rolls, usually 50 feet long. Heavy terminal posts go at the ends, corners and gates and take all the tension. Lighter line posts stand in between, no more than 10 feet apart. A top rail keeps the mesh from sagging, and a bag of tension bars, bands and ties holds it all together.
If you're pricing materials yourself, the fittings are what get forgotten. Count your corners and gates before you go to the store.
Galvanized or coated
Galvanized is the silver fence everybody pictures: steel wire with a zinc coating. It's the cheapest and it lasts.
Vinyl-coated is the same mesh in a colored jacket, black or green most of the time, for a few dollars more per foot. Black tends to disappear against a hedge or a tree line, which is why it's popular around gardens and pools.
Gauge, the detail behind odd quotes
Gauge is the wire's thickness, and the numbers run backwards: 9 gauge is thicker and stronger than 11.5. A lot of residential fence is 11 or 11.5. Step up to 9 if you've got a big dog that leans on things.
Thicker wire costs more. So when one quote is well above another, ask what gauge each is for before you decide somebody's overcharging.
Putting it up yourself
Posts are posts: dig, set, wait for the concrete. The step that's different is stretching. The mesh has to be pulled tight with a fence stretcher or a come-along before you tie it off, or it sags. Rental shops carry both tools.
Call 811 a few business days before you dig. It's free, and they come out and mark the buried lines.
Fair questions
How tall should it be?
Four feet marks a yard and keeps a small dog in. Six is the usual pick for big dogs and for security. Around a pool, your local code decides the height and how the gate has to latch, so check before you order.
Do privacy slats actually give privacy?
Most of it, not all. You can still see shapes and movement through them. They also catch a lot more wind than open mesh. If you want a fence nobody can see through, price wood or vinyl in the fence cost calculator.
How many rolls of mesh?
Fence length divided by roll length, rounded up. The estimate above does it for 50-foot rolls.
Sources
- Call 811: the national call-before-you-dig service, for when and how to have buried utilities marked.
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Safety Barrier Guidelines for Residential Pools: fence height, picket spacing and gate rules for pool barriers.
- How we calculate: every suggested price behind this calculator, with the date it was last reviewed.
