Privacy netting or artificial ivy: metres or leaves
Updated: October 2026
The photograph of the ivy looks like a hedge, and the net's bullet says 85% shade, and neither line tells you what a neighbour will still see. This page is privacy netting or artificial ivy for a UK fence, balcony or short wall: when the HDPE mesh is the better buy, when the leaf roll is, and the condition on that choice. Folding room dividers are a different product and stay out of the recommendation. The listings and prices are on the [privacy screen comparison](/hub/hedges-and-privacy-screens/privacy-screen). Peter F., 20 October 2026. We compared amazon.co.uk listings and public UK notes. We did not meter the shade. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The photograph of the ivy looks like a hedge, and the net's bullet says 85% shade, and neither line tells you what a neighbour will still see.
The photograph of the ivy looks like a hedge, and the net's bullet says 85% shade, and neither line tells you what a neighbour will still see. This page is privacy netting or artificial ivy for a UK fence, balcony or short wall: when the HDPE mesh is the better buy, when the leaf roll is, and the condition on that choice. Folding room dividers are a different product and stay out of the recommendation. The listings and prices are on the privacy screen comparison. Peter F., 20 October 2026. We compared amazon.co.uk listings and public UK notes. We did not meter the shade. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Size | Cloth or leaves | View claim | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  VOUNOT VOUNOT green net 1.8 x 10 m | 1.8 x 10 m | 90 g/m² HDPE | Up to 75% shade | 9.0 | about £15.19 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Vinclus Vinclus ivy 1200 leaves | 1 x 3 m on the title | 1200 leaves claimed | Air and light still pass | 9.0 | about £21.99 | View offer |
| Preis-Tipp |  VOUNOT VOUNOT grey net 1 x 10 m | 1 x 10 m | 150 g/m² HDPE | Up to 85% shade | 8.8 | about £12.99 | View offer |
On this page
What you are actually comparing
A privacy net in this set is a woven HDPE sheet with a stated weight and, on two of the VOUNOT rows, a seller shade percentage. You tie it to a fence. An artificial ivy roll is a plastic grid with leaves, about a metre high and a title length of 3 m, which you staple or tie through the backing. One is sold as shade cloth. The other is sold as foliage. They meet only because both are called screening.
The nets in this comparison are the VOUNOT grey at 1 x 10 m, 150 g/m², up to 85% shade claimed, about £12.99; the VOUNOT green at 1.8 x 10 m, 90 g/m², up to 75% claimed, about £15.19; the FunkyBuys green at 1 x 10 m and 90 gsm with no shade percentage, about £15.66; and the Amazon Basics black sheet at about 0.91 x 3.05 m, 175 GSM, about £13.29. The ivy is two Vinclus rolls, both about £21.99, both titled 1 x 3 m. The denser one claims 1,200 leaves and weighs 1.1 kg. The maple one weighs 950 g. Ten metres of grey net is about £12.99. Three metres of ivy, if the title is right, is about £21.99, roughly £1.30 a metre against roughly £7. This basket stops at 175 GSM. If you have not chosen outdoor cover at all, start with the privacy screen buying guide.
How much view each one stops
The shade percentage is a light claim, not a privacy grade. Premier Netting says as much about shade netting. On the green VOUNOT, reviews say light still passes and some people hung a second layer. On the grey VOUNOT, reviews say you can still see through the 85% cloth a little. Amazon Basics does not print a percentage. The bullets say air and light pass, and reviews call one layer semi see-through. FunkyBuys prints neither a percentage nor a promise of a blackout, and one buyer doubled it on a 5-bar gate. If your test is whether you can see a shape on the other side in daylight, every net in this set can fail that test as a single layer.
Ivy fails the same test in a different way. Premier's ivy page says the leaves are not completely opaque, and the Netting Store says you can see through ivy to some extent. Maple reviews split between a decent screen and sparse gaps. On the denser roll the bullets still say light and breeze pass, and some reviews describe 2.5 m rather than 3 m. Do not average those lengths. Neither product is a hedge under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003. That definition is living evergreens over 2 metres. Plastic leaves do not become a high hedge because they are green. A claim of 100% privacy on other sellers' ivy pages does not transfer to these two ASINs.
Wind, fixing, and a 10 m run
The RHS note is the outdoor limit. A useful windbreak filters about 50–60% of the wind, and a solid barrier throws eddies. A semi-open HDPE net is the more honest windbreak. A heavy waterproof trade screen sits outside this set. The nets here are not windproof. They sail if the ties are sparse. Ivy, with holes between the leaves, is also a filter, not a hoarding.
Nets want ties through the hem or the grommets. VOUNOT's clips are, in reviews, a railing fitting, not a timber or wire fitting. Amazon Basics gives you 20 ties for about three metres. Ivy wants staples or ties in the grid. One maple review says leaves pull off, and another says they stayed on. There is no year-count on the listing that we can treat as a life.
Length is where the ivy loses a ten-metre garden. One title roll is 3 m, or 2.5 m if you believe the shorter reviews and not the title. Covering 10 m means three or four rolls, about £66 to £88, plus the length risk on every parcel. The grey net does that span for about £12.99 at 1 m high. The green net does it for about £15.19 at 1.8 m high, with a lighter cloth. The Amazon Basics sheet does not. At about 3 m it sits with the ivy on length, and both remain see-through to a degree.
When the net, when the ivy
Buy the net when you are paying for metres and you can live with some see-through. For about ten metres at a metre high, that is the grey VOUNOT at about £12.99 and 150 g/m². For 1.8 m high, that is the green VOUNOT at about £15.19 and 90 g/m². Buy the ivy when the run is short and you want it to read as planting. Prefer the denser Vinclus title if sparse leaves bother you, and still check the 2.5 m reviews against a tape. Skip the ivy for a long fence.
You can put ivy over a net. The Netting Store suggests a shade cloth behind ivy when the leaves alone are not enough. That is two products and two fixing jobs, and it is reasonable on a short ugly stretch. It is an expensive way to dress ten metres. If the choice is made, the ties, the staples and the clips that fail on timber are on how to fit a privacy screen. The named skip list, including the dividers this page left out, is on best privacy screen.
Common questions
Which one hides a slatted fence for less money per metre?
The HDPE nets. The grey VOUNOT is about £12.99 for 1 x 10 m, about £1.30 a metre at the title length. Each Vinclus ivy roll is about £21.99 for a title of 1 x 3 m, about £7 a metre if the roll really is 3 m. The net is the cheaper cover per metre. It does not look like foliage, and reviews still report some see-through on the 85% claim.
Which one looks like planting on a short ugly wall?
The ivy roll, on a run of about three metres. The denser Vinclus listing claims 1,200 leaves and weighs 1.1 kg, against 950 g for the maple roll, both at about £21.99. Reviews of the maple roll include sparse gaps, and the denser roll has a length dispute. From an arm's length the leaves can still read as plastic.
Can I see through 75% or 85% net?
Yes, to some degree. Those are seller shade claims on the VOUNOT nets, and reviewers of both say the cloth is not a solid screen. Some buyers of the 75% green net doubled it. Amazon Basics, with no percentage printed, is described as semi see-through in a single layer. This site did not measure the light.
Can I see through these ivy rolls?
Specialist ivy pages say you can see through artificial ivy to some extent, and they do not claim these two ASINs are an exception. The Vinclus bullets say light and air still pass. Maple reviews mention gaps. A buyer of the denser roll said it did not stop a dog barking through a front fence. Overlapping a second strip, or hanging a net behind, is the usual next step, not a denser adjective on the title.
What if I need 10 m of cover?
Buy a 10 m net. The grey VOUNOT covers that length at 1 m high for about £12.99. The green VOUNOT covers it at 1.8 m high for about £15.19. Three or four ivy rolls would be about £66 to £88, and some denser-roll reviews say the piece is 2.5 m, so the count can slip. The Amazon Basics pack is only about 3 m.
Can I put ivy over the net?
Yes, on a short run, if you want the leaf look and the cloth behind it. Fix the net first, then the ivy grid, not the leaves. It is two purchases. On ten metres that stacks the about £21.99 rolls on top of a net you could have left as the only layer. Do it where the wall is the eyesore, not as the default for a whole boundary.
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)