An auger is an attachment, so it is priced on top of the machine: the skid steer at its own day rate, then roughly $75 to $150 a day for the drive head and one bit. Yards stock bits from about 6 to 36 inches. The bit is what you choose first, because it has to match the post, the tree or the footing the hole is being dug for.
The head and the bit are separate lines
A rental comes as a hydraulic drive unit that mounts on the loader arms, plus one auger bit of the diameter you asked for. Extra diameters are extra lines on the ticket, and so is an extension for deeper holes. Say what the holes are for when you book and let the counter pick the torque rating.
Matching the auger to the machine's flow
Auger heads are rated in gallons per minute, and a head sized for a high flow machine turns slowly on a standard flow one. Give the yard the model of skid steer you have, or hire both together. A mismatch breaks nothing; it simply makes the day take twice as long as the quote assumed.
What the ground does to the plan
Clay drills clean and stays open. Sand collapses and wants a slightly wider hole and quick concrete. Rock, old fill and roots stop a standard flighting bit, and the answer is a rock bit or a tooth head hired specifically. Call 811 first, because an auger finds a buried cable instantly and without warning.
How many holes in a day
For fence posts in reasonable soil, an operator with the right bit drills far faster than a two person crew with a handheld auger, and a hundred holes in a day is ordinary. The limit is usually setting and concreting the posts, not drilling them, so book the machine for the whole sequence.
Questions people ask about skid steer auger rental
Can I rent the auger without the skid steer?
Yes, if you already have a machine with the right couplers and hydraulic flow. Yards hire attachments on their own and many will check the fit if you give them the model number. Bring the machine to the counter for the first one rather than guessing at coupler sizes.
What size auger for a 4x4 fence post?
A 9 or 12 inch bit is the usual pick: enough room for concrete around a 4 by 4 without buying bags you do not need. Deck footings and mailbox posts follow the same logic, and local frost depth sets how deep the hole has to go.
Will an auger dig through tree roots?
A standard flighting bit stalls on anything thicker than a wrist. Ask for carbide teeth and a pilot that cuts rather than parts the soil, and expect to lift and clear the flighting often. Where roots are dense, a mini excavator bucket is usually faster.