What is the cheapest fence to repair per foot?

Chain link is cheapest at roughly $6-$16 per linear foot repaired, followed by wood at $10-$32. Vinyl ($15-$42) and aluminum or steel ($18-$50) cost the most per foot because replacement sections and fabricated parts are specialty items.

How much does it cost to set a fence post in concrete?

DIY materials run about $8-$20 per hole in concrete plus $15-$40 for the post itself. Hired out, a full post replacement - extraction, new post, set, and reattaching rails - commonly totals $75-$250 per post, which is why pros quote posts per each rather than per foot.

Why is my fence repair quote not per-foot?

Because per-foot rates only describe long runs. On anything short, the crew's $100-$250 trip minimum and per-post flat rates dominate, so a 10 ft repair often bills the same as a 25 ft repair. Per-foot math gets honest around 50+ feet of work.

Does repairing a fence per foot make sense, or should I replace sections?

Spot-repair per foot wins when damage is scattered and posts are firm. Once failures cluster - more than about a third of a run, or most posts soft at the soil line - section-by-section replacement prices lower per foot than repeated repairs and is usually the honest answer.

Fence repair cost per foot: material-by-material rates

Typical repair, per linear foot, national

$6–$50 per linear foot

Most US homeowners report paying within that band — chain link at the bottom, metal at the top — on runs long enough that per-foot pricing applies. On short repairs the $100–$250 service minimum rules. Posts are quoted per each, not per foot.

Last updated: November 2026 · Typical national ranges — get 3 local quotes.

“Per foot” is the unit fence pros speak in, but it hides two things: the material multiplier (chain link vs. vinyl vs. metal) and the fact that posts, gates, and trip minimums get their own pricing. This page is the dedicated per-foot breakdown; the full decision framework — repair vs replace, probes, hiring — is in our main fence repair cost guide.

Repair cost per linear foot, by material

Approximate national ranges, labor included, on 50+ ft runs. Most US homeowners report paying between the low and high; short jobs bill near the minimum instead.
Material	Repair / linear ft	New install / linear ft	What actually breaks
Chain link	$6–$16	$8–$20	Ripped mesh, loose tension, bent rails
Wood picket / privacy	$10–$32	$15–$45	Rotted pickets and rails, soft posts
Vinyl	$15–$42	$20–$50	Cracked/brittle sections, popped rails
Aluminum / steel	$18–$50	$20–$50	Bent rails, sheared brackets, rust at soil line

Posts: the per-each numbers behind the per-foot quote

Per-foot rates assume posts survive. They often don't — most fence failures start at the post's soil line — so every serious quote splits into per-foot runs and per-post flats:

Approximate national ranges. Most US homeowners report paying between the low and high.
Post work	Hired out	DIY materials
Replace a line post (extract, reset, reattach)	$75–$250 each	$25–$60
Gate post replacement (re-braced)	$150–$400 each	$40–$90
Set concrete in a new/existing hole	usually included above	$8–$20 / hole
Post spike / repair spur (fix lean at base)	$40–$120 each	$12–$35

Setting reality, honestly: holes go 24–36+ inches deep (below frost line in cold climates); concrete sets the post but traps moisture against wood unless the top is domed and drained, so many pros set in crushed gravel instead. Plan two people or a post puller for extraction — this is the part DIYers underestimate.

Why small repairs ignore the per-foot math

Fence crews bill $50–$150 per hour or a day rate with a $100–$250 trip minimum. So a 12 ft wood repair that's “$10–$32 per foot” by the table actually bills $150–$250 flat. Practical translation:

Under ~30 ft: expect minimum-driven flat pricing. Compare bids on scope (posts? haul-off?), not per-foot fiction.
50–150 ft: per-foot rates start to apply honestly; push for itemized per-foot + per-post numbers.
150+ ft: you're in replace-vs-repair territory — per-foot repair approaches per-foot replacement on aged fences.

DIY vs hiring a pro

Comfortably DIY: restretching chain link with a turnbuckle kit ($25–$60), swapping pickets and rails, replacing hardware, and digging/replacing posts in soil you can actually dig. Tools: auger or digger rental $40–$70/day, level, saw, drill.

Call a pro: 100+ ft runs where line and plumb across the whole run is the actual skill; rocky or heavily rooted soil; vinyl and metal systems where sections are fabricated; anything over 6–7 ft where wind load is real.

Difficulty rating: low for picket/mesh spot repair; medium for post replacement; medium-high for long runs and metal fabrication.

Hiring a pro: what a good per-foot quote includes

A good quote states linear feet by material zone, lists what's included per foot (rails? pickets? haul-off?), gives per-post extraction and reset pricing separately, notes post specs (size, treatment, depth, concrete vs gravel), and states permit responsibility. For shared lines it should note the boundary is confirmed.

Red flags: one blended per-foot price with no per-post line (that's where the surprise lives), no mention of calling 811 before digging, and posts set plumb-but-not-drained.

Frequently asked questions

What's the cheapest fence to repair per foot?

Chain link at roughly $6–$16/ft repaired, then wood at $10–$32. Vinyl and metal run $15–$50 because parts are specialty items.

How much to set a fence post in concrete?

DIY: $8–$20 in concrete plus $15–$40 for the post per hole. Hired out, full replacement runs $75–$250 per post — posts are quoted per each, never per foot.

Why isn't my small repair billed per foot?

Trip minimums. A $100–$250 service charge dominates anything under ~30 ft, so expect flat pricing and compare on scope instead.

Repair per foot or replace sections?

Scattered damage with firm posts → repair. More than a third failing or soft posts → section replacement prices lower per foot long-run. Probe posts at soil line first.

Sources & notes

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — national wage data for fence installers and repair workers that anchors the labor rates behind the per-foot numbers above.
HomeWyse — an independent cost-model reference (no partnership with us) with per-foot fencing models worth cross-checking against a local bid.

Estimate your run in 10 seconds: fence repair cost estimator.