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Fence post buying guide

Updated: October 2026

You have a boundary, a dog run, or a strip of vegetables, and you have not yet decided whether the upright is timber, concrete, steel, or plastic. A fence post buying guide starts there, because those four products do not do the same job. A 1.8 m close-board panel needs a post that can take the weight and the wind. A roll of garden mesh needs something you can drive and clip. A temporary electric line needs a post that will not short the conductor. The [fence post comparison](/hub/fencing-and-wire/fence-post) can price four steel U-post packs and one Rutland poly pack on amazon.co.uk. Peter F. used those stored listings and the stored review notes. There is no lab test.

You have a boundary, a dog run, or a strip of vegetables, and you have not yet decided whether the upright is timber, concrete, steel, or plastic.

Our top picks

Rutland Rutland 84 cm poly post (10)

Best overall

Rutland Rutland 84 cm poly post (10)
9.4/10about £27.99
View offer
ARIFARO ARIFARO 121 cm U-post (10)

Rank 2

ARIFARO ARIFARO 121 cm U-post (10)
9.2/10about £59.99
View offer
Sptchapn Sptchapn green U-post (10)

Best value

Sptchapn Sptchapn green U-post (10)
9.0/10about £48.75
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What you are actually buying
  2. 2.Match the post to the fence
  3. 3.Length, bury, and the height limit
  4. 4.What this comparison can price

What you are actually buying

Only two of five fence-post families are in this comparison. A timber post is a sawn section, often 75 mm or 100 mm, set in a hole. A concrete post is sold as an intermediate, an end, a corner, or a gate. A steel U-post is a driven stake with hooks, a pack of ten for light wire. A poly post is a plastic electric stake with moulded clips. A repair stake is a fifth product and not one of these ASINs. BuildWiz’s wedge spike is not the ARIFARO 121 cm post. Green powder coat is not UC4, and none of the listings claims BS 1722. A 1.8 m panel needs the section the panel maker specifies.

Match the post to the fence

Choose the infill first. A panel loads the post in bending, so the upright is timber or concrete. Wire or mesh loads the clips, which is why a driven U-post can hold a pond barrier or a puppy run and is a weak choice for horses or a gate. Tape loads the post little until an animal leans, and the clip must isolate a live conductor. Chicken wire on a steel hook matches Kingido, Sptchapn, and ARIFARO. Electric tape on those hooks does not. Rutland’s bullets name polywire and 12 mm or 20 mm tape. If the conductor is still unclear, stay on poly post or steel fence post. A thin U-post is a poor place to hang a gate leaf.
Rutland Rutland 84 cm poly post (10)

Testsieger

Rutland Rutland 84 cm poly post (10)
9.4/10about £27.99
View offer

Length, bury, and the height limit

Carton length is not fence height. What you bury comes off the title. The ARIFARO 215 cm bullet claims 33 cm in the ground for 155 cm welded wire. That is the maker’s line, not a 600 mm dug-post hole and not a legal depth. Do not average disagreeing lines. Kingido’s title says 152 cm and the dimensions say 183 cm. Sptchapn’s title says 118 cm and the dimensions say 91.2 cm. Rutland’s title says 84 cm and the technical details say 108 cm, with a size field of 10 inch. ARIFARO’s 121 cm title sits next to 122 cm. Measure one post before you drive the rest. The finished fence, including trellis, is judged on fence planning permission.

What this comparison can price

Stored prices are Rutland about £27.99, Sptchapn about £48.75, ARIFARO 121 cm about £59.99, Kingido about £69.94, and ARIFARO 215 cm about £89.99. Rutland’s quantity fields say 1 while the title says 10. Lower ARIFARO deals on 19 October 2026 are not the stored price. Sptchapn is 4.5 from 58 on that listing. Rutland is 4.7 from 262 on that listing. Both ARIFARO lengths show 4.6 from 912 on one shared parent block. Kingido is 4.4 from five, and one verified review says two posts arrived with the threaded bolt holes missing. Stars are not a strength test. A qualifying purchase through the amazon.co.uk links can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

Common questions

Do I need a timber post or a concrete post for panels?
For a panel or close-board fence, you are choosing between timber and concrete, not between the packs in this comparison. Merchants such as East Coast Fencing split concrete posts into intermediates, ends, corners, and gate posts, and they quote timber at 75 mm and 100 mm. A driven steel U-post is a light wire post. It is the wrong upright for a 1.8 m panel, even if the carton is long.
When is a steel U-post enough?
A steel U-post is enough when the infill is light wire or mesh, the soil will take a driven point, and you are not hanging a gate or holding horses. The listings in this set say you hammer the post until the anchor plate is set. Reviewers describe pond barriers, puppy runs, and garden mesh. They also say a rubber mallet can be too light, and that horses would flatten a thin post.
What length do I buy if part of the post goes in the ground?
Buy for the height you want above ground, then add the bury, and do not treat the title as that finished height. The ARIFARO 215 cm listing claims 33 cm underground. A timber guide such as Jacksons’ 600 mm hole is a recommendation for a dug post, not a figure you can paste onto these U-posts. If the title and the dimension line disagree, do not average them.
What is a poly post for?
A poly post carries polywire or electric tape on a plastic clip, so the live conductor does not need a separate insulator. The Rutland bullets name polywire and 12 mm or 20 mm tape, with a galvanised nail and a single step. Reviewers use them for temporary lines with ponies, goats, and sheep. They are too light for chicken wire or a panel, and one review calls them flimsy.
How do I tell a repair stake from a post?
A repair stake or a metal spike is a socket or a spur for an existing timber post. You drop the post into it, or you bolt it beside a rotten stub. A fence post in this comparison is the upright itself: a U-shaped steel stake or a plastic electric post. If the product is a wedge and the timber is separate, you are not looking at these five packs.
Does a green coating mean the post is ground-contact treated?
No. Green on the Sptchapn, ARIFARO, and Rutland listings is a colour. On the steel packs the listing calls it a powder coat. UC4 is a treatment class for timber in the ground, and a powder-coated U-post is not a UC4 timber post. The Rutland post is plastic with a galvanised nail, not treated timber.

Related pages

Best fence posts

Fence post spike comparison

Fence post

How to install fence posts: dug, driven, or trodden

Fence planning permission before a long fence post

Poly posts or steel fence posts: name the conductor

Sources

Public UK sources listed in the research digest. Listing prices, stars, and review counts are the stored amazon.co.uk figures for these ASINs. A later deal price is not the stored figure.

  1. GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 2, Class A — England (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Planning Portal — fences, gates and garden walls (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. GOV.WALES — planning permission for fences, gates and garden walls (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. mygov.scot — building a fence or wall at your house (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Northern Ireland GPDO 2015, Schedule, Part 3 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. LSBUD — search before you dig (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. HSE CIS65 — avoiding danger from underground services (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. AHDB — types of electric fencing for cattle and sheep (retrieved 19 October 2026)