Firewood Cost Calculator

Find the cheapest firewood to burn. Compare cost per million BTU across 70 species using your local cord prices.

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70 species

Species	Type	BTU/Cord	Cost/M BTU	Cords/Season	Rating
Osage Orange	HW	30.0	--	—	excellent
Gambel Oak	HW	28.0	--	—	excellent
Olive	HW	26.7	--	—	excellent
Hop Hornbeam	HW	26.4	--	—	excellent
Shagbark Hickory	HW	25.3	--	—	excellent
Pacific Dogwood	HW	24.8	--	—	good
Pinyon Pine	SW	24.7	--	—	good
Black Birch	HW	24.2	--	—	good
White Oak	HW	24.2	--	—	excellent
Bitternut Hickory	HW	23.7	--	—	excellent
Honey Locust	HW	23.7	--	—	excellent
Post Oak	HW	23.7	--	—	excellent
Blue Beech	HW	23.7	--	—	excellent
Pacific Madrone	HW	23.7	--	—	excellent
Mulberry	HW	23.2	--	—	excellent
Black Locust	HW	23.2	--	—	excellent
Sugar Maple	HW	23.2	--	—	excellent
American Beech	HW	22.7	--	—	excellent
Bur Oak	HW	22.7	--	—	excellent
Red Oak	HW	22.1	--	—	excellent
Yellow Birch	HW	22.1	--	—	good
Apple	HW	21.6	--	—	excellent
White Ash	HW	21.6	--	—	excellent
Green Ash	HW	21.1	--	—	excellent
Pecan	HW	21.1	--	—	excellent
Black Maple	HW	21.1	--	—	excellent
Black Walnut	HW	20.0	--	—	excellent
Red Maple	HW	20.0	--	—	good
White Birch	HW	20.0	--	—	fair
Black Cherry	HW	19.5	--	—	good
Hackberry	HW	19.5	--	—	good
Tamarack	SW	19.5	--	—	fair
Rocky Mountain Juniper	SW	19.5	--	—	fair
Siberian Elm	HW	19.2	--	—	fair
Kentucky Coffeetree	HW	19.0	--	—	good
Red Elm	HW	19.0	--	—	fair
American Elm	HW	18.4	--	—	fair
Quaking Aspen	HW	13.7	--	—	fair
American Sycamore	HW	17.9	--	—	good
Boxelder	HW	17.9	--	—	fair
Black Ash	HW	17.9	--	—	fair
Norway Pine	SW	17.9	--	—	fair
Silver Maple	HW	17.4	--	—	fair
Douglas Fir	SW	17.4	--	—	good
Pitch Pine	SW	17.0	--	—	fair
Ponderosa Pine	SW	14.8	--	—	fair
Lodgepole Pine	SW	15.3	--	—	fair
Hemlock	SW	15.3	--	—	fair
Black Spruce	SW	15.3	--	—	fair
Redwood	SW	15.0	--	—	fair
Catalpa	HW	14.8	--	—	fair
Red Alder	HW	14.8	--	—	fair
Eastern White Pine	SW	13.2	--	—	fair
Willow	HW	14.2	--	—	poor
White Fir	SW	14.2	--	—	fair
Basswood	HW	13.7	--	—	fair
Balsam Fir	SW	13.2	--	—	fair
Butternut	HW	13.2	--	—	fair
Cottonwood	HW	12.6	--	—	fair
Engelmann Spruce	SW	12.1	--	—	fair
Eastern Redcedar	SW	12.1	--	—	fair
Ohio Buckeye	HW	12.1	--	—	fair
White Cedar	SW	11.6	--	—	poor
Mesquite	HW	25.5	--	—	excellent
Eucalyptus	HW	18.4	--	—	fair
American Persimmon	HW	25.8	--	—	good
Almond	HW	26.7	--	—	excellent
Western Redcedar	SW	18.2	--	—	fair
Chestnut	HW	18.0	--	—	good
Bigleaf Maple	HW	17.9	--	—	good

Cost per million BTU is calculated as your price per cord divided by the species BTU rating. Click any sortable column header to re-sort. Override individual prices to match your local market.

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Why Cost Per Million BTU Matters

Price per cord alone is one of the most misleading numbers in firewood shopping. A cord of Pine at $200 sounds like a bargain next to a cord of White Oak at $300, but the math tells a completely different story. That Pine cord delivers about 15 million BTU of heat, which works out to roughly $13.33 per million BTU. The White Oak cord packs around 24 million BTU, bringing its true heating cost down to just $12.50 per million BTU. Oak is actually cheaper to burn despite the higher sticker price.

Cost per million BTU is the great equalizer. It normalizes the wildly different energy densities across species into a single apples-to-apples number. When you compare firewood this way, you stop overpaying for light, fast-burning species and start recognizing the genuine value in denser hardwoods. The calculator above makes this comparison instant for every species in our database.

Of course, cost is only one piece of the puzzle. You also need to know how much total heat your home requires. Start by finding your total BTU requirement with our BTU calculator, check the BTU chart to compare raw heat output across all 70 species, then use the heating calculator to turn those numbers into a personalized cord estimate for your home, climate, and stove type.

How to Get the Best Deal on Firewood

The simplest way to save money on firewood is to buy in spring or early summer when demand is at its lowest. Suppliers are eager to move inventory before the off-season and will often discount prices by 20% or more compared to peak fall and winter rates. Buying early also gives you access to a wider selection of species before the best wood sells out.

Consider buying green wood and seasoning it yourself. Green (unseasoned) firewood is typically 30 to 40 percent cheaper than wood that has already been dried. If you have the yard space for stacking, purchasing green wood in spring and letting it air-dry through summer means it will be ready to burn by October. Our seasoning guide will help you time the process correctly for your species.

Finally, buy in bulk. Most firewood sellers offer volume discounts starting at three cords. Ask about “mixed hardwood” loads as well—these blended deliveries are often priced below single-species orders and still deliver solid BTU value when the mix leans toward Oak, Maple, or Ash.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cheapest firewood to burn?

It depends on local prices, but dense hardwoods like Oak and Hickory typically offer the lowest cost per million BTU because they pack so much heat into each cord. Use the calculator above with your local prices to find the actual cheapest option in your area.

How much does a cord of firewood cost?

Prices vary widely by region and species. Seasoned hardwood typically costs $200 to $400 per cord, while softwoods and green wood run $150 to $250. Prices are higher in winter and in areas where firewood is less available.

Is it cheaper to buy green or seasoned wood?

Green wood is typically 30 to 40 percent cheaper than seasoned wood. If you have the space and plan ahead, buying green wood in spring and seasoning it through summer gives you the best per-cord price for winter burning.

Why is some firewood more expensive than others?

Price depends on species density, local availability, seasoning status, and demand. Dense hardwoods like Oak and Hickory command premium prices because they produce more heat per cord and burn longer. Readily available softwoods cost less but require more volume to produce the same heat.

How many cords of firewood do I need per winter?

It depends on your climate, home size, insulation, and stove type. A typical well-insulated 1,500 sq ft home in a cold climate uses 3 to 5 cords per season. Use our heating calculator for a personalized estimate based on your specific situation.

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