What a new fence costs in the UK, and what changes the number

National ranges from published price guides, so you can tell whether a quote is normal before you accept it.

Read this first

The figures below are national UK ranges published by price-guide sites, not a quote and not what any particular firm charges. Regional variation is significant. Use them to sanity-check a number, not to predict one.

The published ranges

Fence installation is commonly quoted somewhere between about £60 and £150 per metre including materials and labour. A full replacement including new posts and concrete is often cited in the region of £80 to £130 per metre. Replacing panels only, where the existing posts are sound, is a much smaller job: roughly £30 to £60 a panel in materials plus fitting.

That gap between a panel swap and a full replacement is the single biggest decision in most fencing quotes, and it comes down to the condition of the posts.

What moves the price

Post material first. Concrete posts cost more up front and remove the main failure point entirely. Timber posts are cheaper and their lifespan depends heavily on treatment grade and how they are set.

Then what is already there. Taking out old posts set in concrete is real work, and the spoil has to go somewhere. A fence line running through established planting, or along a slope, takes longer than a clear straight run on level ground.

Access matters as it does in every trade. Materials that have to be carried through a house or down a narrow side passage add time to every stage.

Height, panel type and whether gravel boards are included all move the figure. So does ground: rock, made ground or services in the way can change a straightforward job into a slow one.

Comparing quotes properly

Check they describe the same thing. Post material, whether posts are being replaced at all, panel type and height, whether gravel boards are included, whether the old fence is being taken away, and whether concrete is included. Two numbers with a wide gap between them almost always differ on one of those, not on margin.