Farm Fence Cost: Barbed Wire, Woven Wire and Electric (2026)

Cost to install barbed wire fence

Barbed wire costs $2-$6 per foot installed: 4 or 5 strands of 12.5 gauge wire on steel T-posts, with wood or steel braces at every corner, end and gate. A 1,000 ft run comes to $2,000-$6,000, and a square 1-acre field (835 ft) to $1,670-$5,010.

The wire itself is the cheap part. A 1,320 ft roll of 12.5 gauge, 4-point barbed wire sells for about $125-$180, or $0.09-$0.14 per foot of strand, so five strands add well under a dollar a foot. Most of the bill is posts, braces and the time to set and stretch them: a T-post costs about $6-$7, a wood corner post $15-$50 and a steel H-brace about $200-$220 at farm stores.

• Post spacing: line posts every 12-20 ft. Wider spacing saves posts but lets the wire sag.
• Not for every animal: barbed wire suits cattle. Horses, sheep and goats get hurt on it or slip through, so they need woven or electric fence.

Woven wire and hog wire fence cost

Woven wire, also sold as field fence, farm fence or hog wire, costs $2.50-$6 per foot installed. It is a mesh with smaller openings at the bottom, which keeps in sheep, goats and hogs that slip between barbed wire strands. A 47 in x 330 ft roll of field fence costs about $280-$300 at farm stores, or about $0.85-$0.91 per foot, and it needs more posts and harder stretching than barbed wire. Many farmers run a strand of barbed wire along the top to keep cattle from leaning on it; for horses, use an electric offset wire instead.

Hog wire fence for a yard

In a backyard, "hog wire fence" means something else: welded wire panels set in a wood or metal frame, a modern look with an open view. That is a residential fence, priced like one: about $6-$13 per foot installed without a frame and $15-$38 with a wood frame around each panel. For the frame and posts, see the wood fence cost guide.

High tensile wire fence cost

High tensile fence is smooth, hard steel wire, each strand stretched tight with an in-line strainer. It costs $2-$4.50 per foot installed with 5-8 strands. Posts stand farther apart than on barbed wire, but every corner, end and gate needs a strong brace, because the strands pull on it all the time. It lasts longer than barbed wire, doesn't tear hides and can be electrified later, which is why many graziers choose it for a new perimeter.

Electric fence cost

Electric fence installation costs $1.50-$4 per foot for a permanent fence, plus $150-$450 for the energizer and ground rods. That makes it the cheapest permanent farm fence: animals respect the shock, so 2-5 strands of high tensile wire on widely spaced posts do the job of a heavier fence. A 1-acre pasture comes to about $1,400-$3,800.

• Energizer: plug-in chargers rated for 30-75 miles of fence cost about $100-$220. Solar models for a field without power cost about $180-$350 for small to mid-size fences.
• Grounding: 6-8 ft ground rods, about $11-$20 each; bigger energizers need more of them. A poor ground is the most common reason an electric fence doesn't work.
• Temporary polywire or tape: $0.25-$1 per foot with step-in posts, for rotational grazing or to split a pasture. A single strand is about $0.25; tape or two or three strands cost more. You buy the energizer once and move the fence by hand.

Pet "invisible fences" are a different product: a wire buried around the yard and a receiver collar, with no visible fence at all. This guide prices fence for livestock.

What drives the cost of farm fence

• Corners and gates: every corner, end and gate needs a braced assembly, so a field with many corners costs more than a square with the same perimeter. On a short run, the braces are most of the cost.
• Gates: a 12-16 ft steel tube gate costs about $150-$350 at farm stores. Hung on braced posts with hinges and a latch, it comes to $250-$600.
• Ground: rock, slopes, creek crossings and brush clearing all add labor; some crews charge for them by the hour.
• Posts: T-posts are fast and cheap; treated wood line posts cost more but hold longer, especially with high tensile wire.
• Job size: contractors charge more per foot on short jobs and less on long straight runs, where a post driver works all day.

Building farm fence yourself

If you build the fence yourself, your cash cost is mostly the materials column of the cost per foot table above: $1.40-$4.25 per foot for barbed wire and well under $1 for polywire. For a lean, real-world total, Iowa State University's fence budget prices a straight quarter mile of fence (1,320 ft), braced only at the two ends, at 2024 prices, with labor and equipment at Iowa custom rates of $20 an hour. It lands at or below the bottom of the contractor ranges:

Fence for a house on acreage, rather than for animals, is priced in our guide to what it costs to fence an acre and in the fence cost calculator.

Where these prices come from

Contractor prices are national ranges from published cost guides, checked in October 2026, and material prices are farm store shelf prices from the same month. Local prices vary with labor rates and ground, so get two or three quotes.

• HomeAdvisor: barbed wire fence cost and livestock fence cost
• HomeGuide: barbed wire, electric and hog wire fence cost
• Fixr: wire fence cost (high tensile)
• Iowa State University Extension: Estimated Costs for Livestock Fencing (FM 1855)
• Tractor Supply prices for barbed wire, field fence, T-posts, tube gates and energizers