Privacy screen buying guide: net, ivy or a divider
Updated: October 2026
You have a slatted fence, a short ugly wall, or a bedroom that needs splitting, and amazon.co.uk is offering all three under the same words. A privacy screen buying guide has to start with the job, because a net at about £13, an ivy roll at about £22 and a folding divider at about £66 are not substitutes. The ranked rows, with GBP prices from this capture, sit on the [privacy screen comparison](/hub/hedges-and-privacy-screens/privacy-screen). Peter F., 20 October 2026. We read the amazon.co.uk listings and public UK sources. We did not run a light test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You have a slatted fence, a short ugly wall, or a bedroom that needs splitting, and amazon.co.uk is offering all three under the same words.
You have a slatted fence, a short ugly wall, or a bedroom that needs splitting, and amazon.co.uk is offering all three under the same words. A privacy screen buying guide has to start with the job, because a net at about £13, an ivy roll at about £22 and a folding divider at about £66 are not substitutes. The ranked rows, with GBP prices from this capture, sit on the privacy screen comparison. Peter F., 20 October 2026. We read the amazon.co.uk listings and public UK sources. We did not run a light test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Size | Cloth | Use | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  VOUNOT VOUNOT green net 1.8 x 10 m | 1.8 x 10 m | 90 g/m² HDPE | Outdoor | 9.0 | about £15.19 | View offer |
| Preis-Tipp |  VOUNOT VOUNOT grey net 1 x 10 m | 1 x 10 m | 150 g/m² HDPE | Outdoor | 8.8 | about £12.99 | View offer |
| Alternative |  HIDODO HIDODO 4-panel divider | 224 x 178 cm | 180 gsm polyester | Indoor | 8.4 | about £69.99 | View offer |
On this page
Three privacy screens, three jobs
A garden privacy screen in this set is an HDPE mesh you tie to a fence, a short roll of artificial ivy, or a freestanding folding room divider. The mesh is the weekend cover for slats, wire or a gate. The ivy is a decorative strip for a short ugly surface. The divider splits a bedroom, studio or shop floor without fixing to the walls. If you mix those jobs, the star rating becomes noise: a 4.5 on a ten-metre net does not tell you whether a four-panel frame will stand.
Length is the first filter after the job. Entry mesh here runs from about £12.99 to £15.66, and that money buys either about three metres or about ten. The two Vinclus ivy rolls are both about £21.99 for a title size of 1 x 3 m. Dividers sit at about £39.99 for a four-panel frame, or about £65.99 to £69.99 for the six-panel Kokorona and the braked HIDODO. Buying three metres of leaves for ten metres of closeboard is the mistake this set makes easy, because the photographs crop the fence.
Height is the second filter. The green VOUNOT net is 1.8 x 10 m. The grey VOUNOT and the FunkyBuys nets are 1 x 10 m. The Amazon Basics sheet is about 0.91 x 3.05 m. A 1 m cloth on a 1.8 m panel leaves the top open. A 1.8 m cloth on a lower rail can stick up above the fence, which is a planning point. Indoor dividers here are about 1.73 m to 1.83 m tall, for a room, not for raising a boundary.
What the cloth numbers do and do not say
Outdoor mesh in this set is 90, 150 or 175 gsm. Divider cloth is 130 g, 180 gsm or 240 gsm. Higher is heavier on that listing only. It is not a privacy grade, and it is not a promise that you cannot see a neighbour. Premier Netting's own shade-net page treats the percentage as a light figure. Reviews of the 75% and 85% VOUNOT cloths still report some see-through. One buyer of the green 90 g/m² net added a second layer before it matched the photos. One buyer of the FunkyBuys 90 gsm net doubled it on a 5-bar gate because a single layer was not enough.
The grey VOUNOT states up to 85% shade at 150 g/m². The green VOUNOT states up to 75% at 90 g/m². Amazon Basics does not print a percentage; the bullets say the 175 GSM cloth allows air and light, and reviews call a single layer semi see-through. FunkyBuys states 90 gsm and does not state a shade rate at all. If a page will not say the number, you cannot compare it with 75% or 85%. The ivy rolls print no shade percentage at all. A higher gsm on a net does not make a leaf roll more private.
Size, fixing, and the indoor line
Measure the host before you compare brands. A 10 m title is the cloth length, not the garden after gates and posts. Some reviews of the denser Vinclus roll describe 1.0 x 2.5 m, which is not the 3 m title, so do not average them. Divider widths shrink in a zig-zag. The Kokorona title is about 329 x 176 cm, a bullet also says 335 cm, and the table says 3.29 x 1.76 m. Quote the line you are using.
Fixing has to match the host. The VOUNOT nets state 50 ties and 22 clips, and reviews say the clips suit a railing and fail on timber or wire. Amazon Basics includes 20 ties, enough for about three metres. Ivy is fixed through the grid, not the leaves. If a divider listing says indoor, leave it indoors. A claimed outdoor line is not a wind test.
In England, a new means of enclosure over 2 metres, or over 1 metre next to a highway used by vehicles, is not permitted development. Wales uses the same pattern. Scotland and Northern Ireland differ, so that sentence is not a UK-wide rule. A plastic screen is not a high hedge under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, which is about living evergreens. If posts lean, or the result would exceed the limit, ask a fencer or the council.
A short rule before you compare models
If the fence is long and about 1.8 m tall, start with a tall net and accept that 75% shade still passes light. If it is about a metre high, start with the heavier grey net and still expect some see-through. A three-metre black run is the short sheet, not a ten-metre substitute. Leaves belong on a short wall. A room you will not drill is a divider. A star rating that mixes a net with a bedroom screen does not pick a winner.
Named picks, and who should skip them, are on best privacy screen. Outdoor mesh against ivy is privacy netting or artificial ivy. A bedroom or studio split is the folding room divider privacy screen. Fitting knots, clips and the point where a fencer takes over stay off this page on purpose.
Common questions
Do I want a net, an ivy roll, or a folding screen?
Choose the net for a long fence, the ivy for about three metres of green cover, and the folding screen for a room you will not fix to the walls. In this capture the nets are about £13 to £16, the ivy rolls are about £21.99, and the dividers are about £40 or about £66 to £70. A shade percentage on a net does not describe a divider, and a divider's panel count does not cover ten metres of closeboard.
Is a higher gsm always more private?
No. In this set, 90, 150 and 175 gsm are cloth weights on the outdoor nets, and 130 g to 240 gsm are weights on divider fabric. Higher means heavier on that listing. Reviews of the lighter and the heavier nets both report some see-through. A 90 gsm sheet can be doubled, which is a second layer, not a higher grade printed on the label.
Will 75% or 85% shade stop a neighbour seeing in?
Those figures are the seller's shading claims on the VOUNOT nets, not a privacy standard and not a measurement by this site. Reviews of both cloths say light still passes. Some buyers of the 75% green net used a second layer before it looked like the photographs. If you need a view blocked completely, this basket does not contain that product.
How many metres do I need before I look at brands?
Measure the fence, gate or wall first, including posts and corners. A 1 x 10 m or 1.8 x 10 m net is the long outdoor option here. A 3 x 10 ft Amazon Basics sheet is about 3 m. An ivy title of 1 x 3 m covers a short run, and some reviews of the denser roll say 2.5 m. Buying a short roll for a long fence is the expensive way to discover the gap.
Can I put the same product on a balcony rail and on a 1.8 m fence?
Only if the height and the fixing match. A 1 m net leaves the top of a 1.8 m panel open. A 1.8 m net on a balcony rail can stand well above the rail, which is a safety and a planning problem, not a style choice. Railing clips in the VOUNOT box suit a rail in reviews, and they fail on timber. A folding divider is a floor screen, not a balcony kit.
When does fence height become a planning question?
In England, a new means of enclosure over 2 metres, or over 1 metre next to a highway used by vehicles, is outside the usual permitted-development allowance. Wales uses the same pattern. Scotland and Northern Ireland are separate rules, and a listed building is excluded. Ask the council before you build above an existing panel. A plastic screen is not a high hedge, so the hedge complaint route does not apply to a neighbour's mesh.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources named below. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts are from the ten listings in this comparison. Page updated October 2026.
- England, Class A means of enclosure (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Planning Portal, fences, gates and walls (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- GOV.WALES, fences, gates and garden walls (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Scotland, Circular 1/2024, Class 3E (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, section 66 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- GOV.UK, high hedges: complaining to the council (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Premier Netting, shade netting for privacy (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015 (retrieved 21 October 2026)