How Many Fence Posts for 5 Acres
Turn acres into feet of fence, rolls of wire and posts.
Your result
Enter your numbers and press the button. Your result appears here.
How the length is worked out
1 acre = 43,560 ft². A square of A acres has sides of √(A × 43,560) ft and a perimeter four times that. A rectangle or odd shape needs more fence for the same area; a circle needs the least.
Example: a square 5-acre plot needs 1,867 ft of fence (569 m): 2 rolls of barbed wire per strand or 6 rolls of field fence.
Fence for each area at a glance
Worked out with the same settings as the calculator above, changing only the acres.
| Acres | Fence | Barbed wire rolls (per strand) | Field fence rolls | Posts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 835 ft | 1 | 3 | 84 |
| 2 | 1,181 ft | 1 | 4 | 119 |
| 5 | 1,867 ft | 2 | 6 | 187 |
| 10 | 2,640 ft | 2 | 8 | 264 |
| 20 | 3,734 ft | 3 | 12 | 374 |
Roll lengths
| Product | Roll |
|---|---|
| Barbed wire | 1,320 ft (¼ mile) |
| Field fence (woven wire) | 330 ft (1/16 mile) |
| Welded wire and some specialty fence | 50 or 100 ft |
Barbed wire and field fence lengths from the Red Brand fence pocket guide.
Common questions
How many feet of fence for 1 acre?
About 835 ft if the acre is square (208.7 ft on each side). A rectangle twice as long as it is wide needs about 886 ft.
How many rolls of barbed wire for an acre?
One 1,320 ft roll covers one strand round a square acre, with about 485 ft left over.
Sources
- Red Brand, Fence pocket guide (roll lengths): https://redbrand.com/old/wp-content/uploads/rb-fence-pocket-guide.pdf