Fence post spacing
Enter the run and the widest a span is allowed to be. This gives the post count and the spacing that actually divides evenly.
ft
ft
What the panel or rail spans
You need
14posts
Spans
13
Actual spacing
7.69 ft
Why the spacing isn't the number you typed
13 spans of no more than 8 ft fit a 100 ft run, and dividing it evenly means every span is actually 7.69 ft, not 8 ft. A run that already divides evenly is the exception, not the rule.
- Posts
- 14
- Spans
- 13
- Spacing, on centre
- 7.69 ft
About spacing fence posts
- How far apart should fence posts be?
- Commonly 6 to 8 feet on centre for a wood privacy fence, closer for a taller or heavier panel and for higher wind exposure. There is no single code number the way a guard rail has one — check what your fence panel or rail is actually rated to span, and your local code for wind and frost depth on the posts themselves.
- Why doesn't the spacing come out to exactly what I typed?
- Because the maximum spacing is a ceiling, not a target, and a run rarely divides into it evenly. This finds the fewest posts that keep every span at or under your maximum, then divides the whole run evenly across that many spans — so every span ends up the same, and all of them a little under the maximum rather than one short leftover span at the end.
- Does this include corner and gate posts?
- No — it spaces posts along one straight run. A corner needs its own post regardless of spacing, and a gate needs two posts sized and set for the gate's hardware and swing, not the field spacing. Treat each straight run between those fixed posts as its own calculation.
- Should I round up the post count?
- The count here already rounds up — it is the fewest posts that keeps every span under the maximum, never more than that maximum. What is worth adding on top is one or two spares for a post that turns out to have rot or a bad knot right where it needs to go in the ground.