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Electric fence posts buying guide

Updated: October 2026

You are about to put a pack of tread-in posts in the basket, and the title already looks like a decision. It says 84 cm, 1 m, 105 cm or 5 ft, and it rarely says how much of that will stand above the grass once the spike is buried. An electric fence posts buying guide starts with that finished height, then with the clip for the tape or rope you already own. The twelve packs are on the [electric fence posts](/hub/fencing-and-wire/electric-fence-posts) comparison. Peter F. checked those amazon.co.uk listings on 19 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. This page is the order of the cuts.

You are about to put a pack of tread-in posts in the basket, and the title already looks like a decision.

Our top picks

Rutland Rutland Economy 84 cm poly post, green, 10

Best overall

Rutland Rutland Economy 84 cm poly post, green, 10
7.3/10about £27.99
View offer
Doblit Doblit 156 cm poly post, white, 20

Rank 2

Doblit Doblit 156 cm poly post, white, 20
6.6/10about £63.99
View offer
Doblit Doblit 105 cm poly post, green, 20

Best value

Doblit Doblit 105 cm poly post, green, 20
6.7/10about £38.00
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Start with the animal and the finished height
  2. 2.Match the clip to the tape, rope or wire
  3. 3.Read the pack and the star line together
  4. 4.What you still have to buy

Start with the animal and the finished height

The animal decides the height, and the title length is the rod plus the spike. Doblit’s 156 cm posts state a 23 cm spike, so 133 cm stands if that spike goes fully in. A UK review of the white posts puts standing height at about 4 ft 4 in, so the marketed 5 ft line is not a 5 ft fence. Hotline’s bullet says about 1 m, with no spike. Rutland’s title says 84 cm, and the same listing also prints 108 cm and size 10 inch. An 84 cm title cannot present a top conductor in the horse band of about 1.08 m to 1.38 m.

Match the clip to the tape, rope or wire

The second cut is the slot. Rutland states polywire and 12/20 mm tape, so 40 mm horse tape is outside that sentence. Doblit’s 156 cm posts state 14 clips, including 40 mm tape. The 105 cm posts state tape up to 40 mm and rope up to 10 mm, and one UK buyer says the slots would not take 10 mm rope. FENSMILE’s 122 cm plastic posts state tape up to 50 mm and wire up to 6 mm. The fibreglass pack states three movable clips and no tape width. On the green 156 cm Doblit posts, one UK review says the tape pushes up and a pony used the gap.
Rutland Rutland Economy 84 cm poly post, green, 10

Testsieger

Rutland Rutland Economy 84 cm poly post, green, 10
7.3/10about £27.99
View offer

Read the pack and the star line together

Pack size is a count, and the star line is often not a second test of that count. Hotline is about £19.99 for ten, with its own 4.5 from 124. Rutland is about £27.99 for ten, with its own 4.7 from 262. Doblit’s 105 cm posts are about £22.00 for ten or about £38.00 for twenty, and both repeat 4.6 from 72. White 156 cm posts share 4.6 from 171. Green 156 cm posts share 4.4 from 144. The pink ten-pack is about £34.99 with its own 4.4 from 40. The best electric fence posts page names who should skip each listing.

What you still have to buy

The post price is the line, not the fence. AHDB describes these stakes as insulating line posts. A tread-in bends if you make it a strainer. The British Horse Society says electric tape is not suitable as the sole boundary. That limit is on the horse paddock page. Signs, where the public can touch a live wire, are at least 100 mm by 200 mm, yellow on both sides, letters at least 25 mm. Do not electrify barbed wire. Choosing the rod is on the plastic or fibreglass page.

Common questions

Do I buy on total length or on height above ground?
Buy on the height you will have after the spike is in the ground. A 156 cm Doblit post states a 23 cm spike, so the listing arithmetic is 133 cm, and a UK reviewer puts the white posts at about 4 ft 4 in standing. An 84 cm Rutland title, a 1 m Hotline bullet and a 105 cm Doblit title are all shorter than that, and Rutland’s listing also prints 108 cm and 10 inch. None of those titles is a measured fence.
What clip do I need for 40 mm tape or for 10 mm rope?
For 40 mm tape, the Doblit 156 cm listings state 14 clips that include that width, and the 105 cm listings state tape up to 40 mm. Rutland states 12/20 mm, which is narrower. For 10 mm rope, the 105 cm listing claims it and one UK buyer says the slots would not take it. Open the photos and compare them with the rope you have before you order a second pack.
Is a pack of ten better reviewed than a pack of twenty?
Not when the listing repeats the same stars, the same rank and the same reviews. That is true of the 105 cm green pair, the white 156 cm pair and the green 156 cm pair. The pink pack of ten, the Rutland pack and the Hotline pack each have their own UK line. Read the count once.
When is 84 cm or 1 m enough?
They are enough for a low polywire or a narrow tape on trained cattle or sheep inside a field that is already stock-proof, or for a short garden or dog line if the clip actually fits. They are the wrong first buy when the top conductor has to sit in the horse band of about 1.08 m to 1.38 m. Check the clip width as well as the length.
What else is not in the post price?
The conductor, the energiser, the earth rod, a tester, warning signs and the corner posts. Shelf prices in this set run from about £19.99 for ten Hotline posts to about £119.99 for fifty FENSMILE plastic posts. None of those figures includes the pulse or the strainer.
Can these posts be the corner?
No. Ends, corners and gateways need timber or steel that can take the pull. A plastic or fibreglass tread-in is a line post. If you strain 40 mm tape from the end plastic post, the usual result is a lean, a bend, or a spike that walks out of soft ground.

Related pages

Fence post comparison

Electric fence posts

Best electric fence posts: who each listing is for

Electric fence posts for horses inside a real fence

How to set up electric fence posts before you energise

Plastic or fibreglass electric fence posts compared

Sources

Public UK sources listed below, checked on 19 October 2026. amazon.co.uk prices and review counts are taken from the listings in this comparison and can change.

  1. AHDB: Components of an electric fence (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. AHDB: Types of electric fencing for cattle and sheep (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Highways Act 1980, section 162 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK: public rights of way, landowner responsibilities (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. British Horse Society: fencing (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. British Horse Society: electric fencing near bridleways (March 2026) (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Voltimum UK on BS EN 60335-2-76 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Cornwall Council: electric fence notes for landowners (retrieved 19 October 2026)