A fence is one of the few exterior projects that has to satisfy several unrelated goals at once — privacy, security, keeping a dog in, looking right from the street, and not starting an argument with a neighbour. The material you pick determines how well it does each of those.
Pressure-treated wood
The most common privacy fence in the US. Cheap relative to everything else, easy to find contractors for, and simple to repair one board at a time rather than replacing a section.
It also moves. Boards cup, twist, and split as they dry, and a wood fence needs staining or sealing every few years to hold up — skip that and you'll see grey, then rot at the posts. Expect real maintenance, not occasional maintenance.
Cedar and redwood
Naturally rot- and insect-resistant, more dimensionally stable than pressure-treated pine, and considerably better looking. Left untreated, both weather to a silvery grey; sealed, they hold their colour.
Cost is the tradeoff — a meaningful step up from pressure-treated. Worth it on a front or side fence people actually see; harder to justify on a back run behind a hedge.
Vinyl (PVC)
No painting, no staining, no rot, and no splinters. Hose it off occasionally and it stays the colour it was. That maintenance profile is the entire argument for vinyl, and for a lot of homeowners it's a sufficient one.
What you give up: repairs are by the panel rather than the board, so a single damaged section costs more to fix. Cheaper vinyl can become brittle in hard freezes and can yellow under intense sun. Quality varies more within this category than any other here — the price difference between thin and heavy-wall vinyl reflects a real difference in what you get.
Composite
Wood fibre and plastic, the same idea as composite decking. Looks closer to wood than vinyl does, doesn't rot, and doesn't need refinishing.
It's the most expensive option in this list, and it's heavy — posts and footings have to be specified for it. Colour is fixed at purchase, so you're committing to a look for the life of the fence.
Aluminium and steel
The right answer when the goal is security or containment rather than privacy — pool enclosures, front-yard boundaries, keeping a dog in while keeping the view. Aluminium doesn't rust and is effectively maintenance-free; steel is stronger but needs a coating maintained to avoid corrosion.
Neither gives you privacy. If that's the requirement, metal is the wrong category.
Chain link
Unbeatable on cost per foot and genuinely durable. Vinyl-coated versions in black or green visually recede far more than bare galvanised, which is worth knowing if you'd written it off on looks alone. Slats add partial privacy but rarely look good.
Best used where function dominates: back boundaries, dog runs, utility areas.
Choosing without regret
- Name the primary job. Privacy, containment, security, and appearance pull toward different materials — a fence optimised for all four usually does none well.
- Be honest about maintenance. Wood is the right choice only if you'll actually reseal it. If you know you won't, that's an argument for vinyl or metal, not a character flaw.
- Different materials on different runs is normal. Cedar across the front, chain link along the back tree line — nobody sees both at once, and the budget goes where it shows.
- Posts and footings decide lifespan. Most fence failures start below ground. Proper depth, gravel drainage, and post spacing matter more than the material bolted to them.
- Talk to the neighbour first. On a shared boundary this is worth doing before the post holes, not after — and in some places cost-sharing is a legal question, not a courtesy.