Fence Paint Calculator — Paint or Stain for a Fence
Work out how much fence paint or stain you need for solid panels or spaced pickets, one or both sides, in gallons or litres, with tins to buy.
Fence paint and stain are sold by the can, but fences are measured in feet, metres or panels. This calculator turns the length and height of your fence into the area you will actually paint — one side or both, solid panels or spaced pickets including their edges — and then into gallons or litres for the number of coats, using the coverage on the tin.
How to use this tool
- Choose feet and gallons or metres and litres.
- Enter the fence length and height, and whether you are painting one side or both.
- Pick solid or spaced boards; for spaced fences enter the board width, gap and thickness in any one unit.
- Set the coats, the coverage from the can and an allowance for posts and rails.
- Read the amount of paint and the cans or tins to buy.
Formula
Face area = length × height
Area = face × board share × sides + board edges
Paint = area × coats ÷ coverage × (1 + extra %)
For a solid fence the board share is 100%. For spaced pickets it is width ÷ (width + gap), and the edges add face × 2 × thickness ÷ (width + gap); edges are counted once because you reach them from either side. Coverage is the area one gallon or litre covers in one coat.
Example
A 100 ft long, 6 ft high solid fence painted on both sides is 100 × 6 × 2 = 1,200 sq ft. Two coats at 250 sq ft per gallon take 1,200 × 2 ÷ 250 = 9.6 gallons, and with the default 10% extra that is 10.6 gallons — buy 11: two 5-gallon buckets and one 1-gallon can.
Frequently asked questions
How much paint does one fence panel need?
A 6 × 6 ft panel is 36 sq ft per side (about 3.3 m²). Two coats on one side at 250 sq ft per gallon use about 0.3 gallons; in litres, two coats at 6 m² per litre use about 1.1 L.
Does a picket fence take less paint than a solid one?
Less on the faces, because of the gaps, but the edges add surface. With 3.5 in pickets, 2.5 in gaps and 0.75 in thickness, the faces are 58% of a solid fence and the edges add another 25%.
Should I paint both sides?
Painting both sides protects the wood evenly and looks better from a neighbour’s garden, but it doubles the face area. If the back faces a neighbour, agree it with them first.
Last updated: 2026-10-30