Aluminum and wrought iron sell the same look from the street: dark metal pickets, formal lines, an open view. Up close they are different products. Aluminum is the low-maintenance version, iron and steel are the strong version, and the gap at our example rates is $20 a foot.
Cost at the example rates
For a 100 ft run of 4 ft fence at the example rates loaded in our calculators:
| Fence | Example rate | 100 ft total |
|---|---|---|
| Aluminum, 4 ft | $48 / linear ft | $4,800 |
| Wrought iron / steel, 4 ft | $68 / linear ft | $6,800 |
That is a $2,000 spread on the same footage, example rates only. Try your own numbers on the aluminum fence calculator and the wrought iron fence calculator.
Rust is the real divider
Aluminum does not rust. No red streaks at the welds, no scraping, no repaint cycle, which is why it holds up around pools, sprinklers, and coastal air without complaint. Iron and steel rust wherever the coating fails, and the coating eventually fails somewhere: at welds, at scratches, at the ground line. Owning an iron fence means prep-and-repaint work on a repeating cycle, and an honest quote says so up front.
Worth knowing when the customer says “wrought iron”: most of what sells under that name today is welded steel. True hand-worked iron is a specialty product. The maintenance story is the same either way.
Strength, weight, and slopes
Steel is the strong option. Residential aluminum is a lighter gauge, and it will bend where steel would shrug it off: an impact from a mower, a ladder against it, a gate slammed for years. For security fencing or a high-traffic commercial edge, that difference is the whole decision.
Aluminum’s lightness pays off on terrain. Rackable aluminum panels follow a slope while the pickets stay plumb, which makes hillside runs cleaner without stepped panels or custom fabrication. Steel can be racked too but fights you more, and custom iron work on a slope gets expensive fast.
Which job calls for which
Pool enclosures, decorative front yards, sloped lots, anything near sprinklers or salt air: aluminum. Security fencing, commercial edges, historic looks, anywhere the fence will take abuse: steel or iron, priced with honest labor for the heavier material. The per-foot method in how to price a fence job covers both; the rate is what changes.
PriceDesk carries each fence type and height as its own rate, your rates, so quoting aluminum against iron is two taps in the truck. Free 14-day trial, no card needed.