Most privacy fences in Austin and the suburbs cost between $700 and $2,000 to stain, and the thing that decides where in that spread your fence lands is almost never the one homeowners expect. It is not the tone you pick. It is surface area and condition: how many linear feet, how tall, one face or two, and whether the cedar is still tan or has gone silver and needs bringing back before stain will soak in. Below are five fences described by size and condition, and where each one sits in the range. No dollar figures per fence, because a figure without photos is a guess, and we would rather show you the reasoning than a number we would have to walk back.
Five example fences, and where each lands in the range
These are types, not jobs. Find the one closest to your yard.
1. A 90-foot builder fence, new cedar, one side
A small lot in a newer section, fence went up in the last few months, still tan and tight. There is nothing to undo: no graying, no mildew line, no old film to work around. A low-pressure rinse, a dry day, then one spray pass with a back-brush behind it. Little masking because the beds are not planted yet. This is the bottom of the range and the cheapest coat this fence will ever get, because every year it waits adds prep to the first coat.
2. A 140-foot faded fence, one side, two gates
The most common fence we quote. Six or seven years old, stained once, and the south run has gone blond while the shaded run still holds color. The wood is faded, not gray, so it needs a clean rather than a brightener treatment. What pushes this one off the bottom is the gates: hardware masked, both faces of the gate done, edges cut in by hand. Two gates is an hour of brush work that a sprayer cannot do. Lower half of the range, sitting above the 90-foot fence more on the hand work than on the extra fifty feet.
3. A 180-foot fence stained on both sides
Same age and condition as the last one, but the neighbors are in and both faces get done. Both sides is close to double the surface, and the stain and the brush time double with it. The cleaning and the masking are shared, which is why it is a little less than twice the one-sided price rather than exactly twice. This one sits in the middle of the range and moves into the upper half if there is stone, a pool deck, or a long planting bed to cover before the sprayer starts.
4. A 260-foot corner lot, gray, one side
Corner lots carry two long exposed runs, and a fence that has never been stained is silver all the way around. This is the one where condition costs more than footage. Gray cedar needs a brightener soak and a second rinse to bring the surface back to tan, then a full 48-hour dry before anything goes on, because stain on damp wood sits rather than penetrates. Bare wood is thirsty, too, so it drinks more stain per foot than a fence that already has a coat in it. One side lands in the upper half of the range. Both sides on a fence like this goes past the top of it, and the quote says so plainly instead of surprising you on the day.
5. A 400-foot acreage fence line
A place out past the subdivisions with a fence line that runs the property rather than the backyard: long runs, step-downs where the ground moves, a drive gate, and often a section the truck cannot park near. At 400 feet this is above the range we publish for privacy fences, and we say that up front rather than stretching the range to fit. What we quote instead is the actual fence line from satellite imagery, with the access and the step-downs priced as the hand work they are. If part of the run is in good shape and part is silver, we will sometimes quote it in two phases so the worst side gets done first.
What moved each of those prices
Five things did nearly all the work in the examples above, in roughly this order of impact.
- One side or both. The single biggest multiplier. Doubling the faces is the closest thing to doubling the job, and it is also the better outcome for the wood, since a fence sealed on one face still takes on water from the other.
- Condition. New cedar is the cheapest thing we stain. Faded needs a clean. Gray needs brightener, a rinse, and a full dry, which is an extra day on site before any stain moves.
- Height. An 8-foot fence carries about a third more surface than a 6-foot fence of the same length. Same footage on paper, more stain and more masking in practice.
- Gates, corners and step-downs. Everything a sprayer cannot run straight past is hand work. Gates get their hardware masked and both faces brushed.
- Access and masking. A bare grass run needs almost nothing. Pools, limestone, stucco and planting beds along the fence line all get covered first, and that time is real.
Tone is the thing people ask about most and it barely registers. Choosing between our semi-transparent tones does not change the price. Solid stain does, because it is more product and usually more coats. The full breakdown of every factor lives on the fence staining cost page.
Why a per-linear-foot quote without a photo is a guess
Ask three staining companies for a rate and you will get three different per-foot numbers, and none of them are lying. They are each quietly assuming a fence. Look at what the same 180 feet can mean: 6 feet tall or 8, one face or two, tan or silver, no gates or four, a bare grass run or a pool deck the whole way. Those assumptions spread the real cost of that one fence across most of the published range. A rate quoted before anyone has seen the wood has to assume the easy version, which is how a cheap number on the phone turns into a change order in the driveway.
So we do not quote a rate. We measure your actual fence line from satellite imagery, read the condition off the photos you send, and text back a firm price, usually within the hour. Firm means it does not move when the truck arrives unless you add something on the day, and we price that before we do it. Nobody needs to come out first.
Where your city tends to land
Geography shows up in the footage more than in the labor. Flat, wide lots on the east side run long: a typical backyard in Pflugerville can carry 180 to 240 linear feet, which puts it in the upper half of the range on footage alone before condition is considered. Older, tighter lots closer in often come in under 150 feet and sit lower. Hill country lots trade footage for terrain, where step-downs and access do what extra feet do elsewhere. None of that changes the method, only the number of feet we are measuring.
Want the number for your fence instead of the range? Send the address and two photos through the quote form and we will text you a firm price, usually within the hour, with no visit first.
Quick answers
How much does it cost to stain a fence in Austin in 2026?
Most privacy fences run $700 to $2,000. Where yours lands depends on linear feet, height, one side or both, and whether the cedar is faded or fully gray. We text a firm price after measuring your fence line from satellite imagery and reading your photos.
Why will you not give a price per linear foot?
Because the same 180 feet can be a 6-foot one-sided new fence or an 8-foot two-sided gray one, and those sit at opposite ends of the range. A per-foot rate quoted sight unseen has to assume the easy version, which is how phone estimates turn into change orders.
Is a gray fence really more expensive than a faded one?
Yes, and it is the one condition difference that moves the price a lot. Gray cedar needs a brightener soak, a second rinse and a full 48-hour dry before stain will penetrate, and bare wood absorbs more stain per foot. See fence restoration for what that step involves.
Does staining both sides cost twice as much?
Close to it, but not quite. The surface doubles and so does the brush time, while the cleaning and masking are shared. Many homeowners stain their side and offer to split the second face with the neighbor.
Related: Fence staining cost in Austin · Pflugerville