Firewood cost calculator
Convert any firewood quote to a price per full cord and a cost per million BTU, so quotes in different units and different species can be compared side by side.
- Cost per million BTU
- —
- Usable heat per cord
- — MMBtu
- Heat vs red oak
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Usable heat applies your appliance efficiency to the species heat content. It is the heat that reaches the room, not the heat in the log.
Heat content by species
These are the standard US extension service figures for one full cord of well seasoned wood at roughly 20 percent moisture. The last column shows what a $300 cord costs per million BTU, which is the fair way to compare a cheap softwood against an expensive hardwood.
| Species | MMBtu per cord | vs red oak | $/MMBtu at $300 a cord |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hickory | 27.7 | 115% | $10.83 |
| White oak | 25.7 | 107% | $11.67 |
| Beech | 24.0 | 100% | $12.50 |
| Red oak | 24.0 | 100% | $12.50 |
| Sugar maple | 24.0 | 100% | $12.50 |
| Birch | 20.8 | 87% | $14.42 |
| Douglas fir | 20.7 | 86% | $14.49 |
| Ash | 20.0 | 83% | $15.00 |
| Cherry | 20.0 | 83% | $15.00 |
| Elm | 20.0 | 83% | $15.00 |
| Red maple | 18.6 | 78% | $16.13 |
| Pine | 15.9 | 66% | $18.87 |
| Spruce | 15.0 | 63% | $20.00 |
| Aspen | 14.7 | 61% | $20.41 |
| Cottonwood | 13.5 | 56% | $22.22 |
What actually moves the price
Firewood pricing is local in a way most commodities are not, because transport dominates. A cord weighs somewhere between 2 and 2.5 tons green, so hauling it any real distance costs more than the wood.
- Distance from the yard. Most operators quote a free delivery radius, then a per mile rate beyond it.
- Seasoning. Kiln dried carries a premium of roughly 30 to 60 percent over green, because the seller carried the drying cost and the inventory risk.
- Stacking. Dumped in the driveway is standard. Stacked where you want it is usually an add on.
- Season. Buying in spring is materially cheaper than buying in January, and the wood has all summer to dry.
Why we do not publish a firewood price comparison
Cord prices are quoted by phone, per delivery, adjusted for distance and species and what the yard has in stock that week. There is no scrapeable price list to build a comparison on, and any site claiming to rank firewood by price nationally is publishing numbers it cannot back. What we publish instead is this calculator, so you can check a real quote against real heat content, plus adirectory of suppliers by city.
Common questions
Why compare firewood by BTU instead of by cord?
Because a cord of cottonwood holds about half the heat of a cord of hickory. Two sellers quoting $250 a cord are not offering the same product. Cost per million BTU normalizes for species and tells you which one actually heats your house for less.
Is cheap softwood ever the better buy?
Sometimes. Pine holds roughly 60 percent of the heat of red oak per cord, so at 60 percent of the price it is break even on heat. In much of the West softwood sells well below that ratio, which makes it the rational choice despite the extra loading. Softwood also produces more creosote per unit of heat, so the chimney needs sweeping more often.
Does moisture content change the cost per BTU?
Substantially. Wood at 50 percent moisture spends a large share of its energy boiling off water before it can heat the room, which can cost you up to 40 percent of the usable heat. Green wood sold at a discount is rarely the bargain it looks like, because you also wait a year to burn it properly.
Should delivery be included in the comparison?
Yes. Delivery is often 10 to 25 percent of the total on a single cord, and it is where the cheap quote quietly catches up with the expensive one. Enter the delivery fee in the calculator so the per cord figure reflects what leaves your bank account.