If you don’t heat with wood, then you might wonder, “How much does firewood cost?” The answer varies according to your location, sources available to you, type of wood you buy, and the amount of effort you’re willing to put into it.


A typical range of costs for firewood is between $125 and $200 for a full cord. That’s a tightly stacked pile of wood that is 4 feet wide, 4 feet high, and 8 feet long. Always get your price quoted in full cords, so you have a common denominator to work with. Many suppliers sell a “cord of wood” and it’s actually a “face cord” which is half of a full cord.


Here are some typical factors that you should consider when purchasing firewood. I’ll start with the three most influential factors first.


  1. Source – this is a big influential factor in the price of wood. If you’re picking up scrap wood from free sources, then the price of wood can be calculated simply by the your time, effort, and the fuel you consume to haul and process the wood. If you use a commercial source, then you’ll need to pay for their processing and transportation costs.
  2. Type of wood – this makes a big difference in the heat that you get out of the wood you burn. Soft woods like pine and cottonwood provide heat to be sure, but they only provide about half as much heat as hard woods like elm and oak. If you’re buying hard woods, you’ll pay more than softer woods simply because you’re buying more fuel value.
  3. Your level of effort – another large influence on the cost of firewood. Are you buying wood that is cut and split, or are you buying bulk logs to process yourself? There’s a big difference in processing costs. Also, you’ll pay more if your wood is delivered and stacked for you. Some lower priced suppliers require that you come and get the firewood you need.
  4. Season – buying out of season will help you take advantage of lower demand which drives the price of wood down a bit.
  5. Location – if you live where there is an abundance of natural wood, the price will be lower than if you live farther away from natural supplies.
  6. Distance from suppliers – the cost of delivery adds to the price of the wood you buy, so if you’re farther away from suppliers, expect to have that delivery cost added to the price of wood you’re buying.
  7. Amount purchased – you should be able to get a volume discount on wood purchased. Think large truckload instead of simply a large order.
There you have it, the primary factors that influence the cost of firewood. Whatever the market is asking for firewood, be sure to check out other sources of wood before you make a purchase. My personal experience shows that free firewood is in abundance everywhere, so if you’re willing to put in some time and effort, you can create lots of firewood for very little money invested.

Clair Schwan started Wood Rescue as a means of getting free firewood for his homestead in southeastern Wyoming. He believes that free firewood is in abundance nearly everywhere, so there is no reason you can’t do something similar in your area to heat your home on the cheap.