Free tool for homeowners and tree crews
Firewood BTU chart and cords calculator
By Umair Nawaz, founder of Lirevon Updated How we test tools
See roughly how much heat a cord of each common tree species gives, then work out how many cords you need for a winter from your own numbers. All heat values are approximate and all results are estimates.
Learn more: tree species guides, hardwood, softwood, tree care by state.
Approximate heat per cord, by species
Seasoned wood at about 20% moisture. Approximate published values; sources differ by a few million BTU. Tap a column heading to sort.
| Per face cord, 16-inch logs (approx.) | Heat | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osage orange Maclura pomifera | Hardwood | 32.9 | 11.0 | High |
| Shagbark hickory Carya ovata | Hardwood | 27.7 | 9.2 | High |
| Hophornbeam (ironwood) Ostrya virginiana | Hardwood | 27.1 | 9.0 | High |
| Black locust Robinia pseudoacacia | Hardwood | 26.8 | 8.9 | High |
| Honeylocust Gleditsia triacanthos | Hardwood | 26.7 | 8.9 | High |
| Bitternut hickory Carya cordiformis | Hardwood | 26.5 | 8.8 | High |
| Apple Malus species | Hardwood | 25.8 | 8.6 | High |
| Red mulberry Morus rubra | Hardwood | 25.8 | 8.6 | High |
| White oak Quercus alba | Hardwood | 25.7 | 8.6 | High |
| American beech Fagus grandifolia | Hardwood | 24.0 | 8.0 | High |
| Northern red oak Quercus rubra | Hardwood | 24.0 | 8.0 | High |
| Sugar maple Acer saccharum | Hardwood | 24.0 | 8.0 | High |
| White ash Fraxinus americana | Hardwood | 23.6 | 7.9 | Medium |
| Black walnut Juglans nigra | Hardwood | 22.2 | 7.4 | Medium |
| Yellow birch Betula alleghaniensis | Hardwood | 21.8 | 7.3 | Medium |
| Douglas fir Pseudotsuga menziesii | Softwood | 21.4 | 7.1 | Medium |
| Hackberry Celtis occidentalis | Hardwood | 20.8 | 6.9 | Medium |
| Paper birch Betula papyrifera | Hardwood | 20.3 | 6.8 | Medium |
| Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica | Hardwood | 20.0 | 6.7 | Medium |
| Black cherry Prunus serotina | Hardwood | 20.0 | 6.7 | Medium |
| American elm Ulmus americana | Hardwood | 20.0 | 6.7 | Medium |
| American sycamore Platanus occidentalis | Hardwood | 19.5 | 6.5 | Medium |
| Silver maple Acer saccharinum | Hardwood | 19.0 | 6.3 | Medium |
| Red maple Acer rubrum | Hardwood | 18.7 | 6.2 | Low |
| Eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana | Softwood | 18.2 | 6.1 | Low |
| Quaking aspen Populus tremuloides | Hardwood | 18.2 | 6.1 | Low |
| Boxelder Acer negundo | Hardwood | 17.9 | 6.0 | Low |
| Ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa | Softwood | 16.2 | 5.4 | Low |
| Eastern white pine Pinus strobus | Softwood | 15.9 | 5.3 | Low |
| Eastern hemlock Tsuga canadensis | Softwood | 15.9 | 5.3 | Low |
| Eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides | Hardwood | 15.8 | 5.3 | Low |
| Balsam fir Abies balsamea | Softwood | 14.3 | 4.8 | Low |
| Basswood (American linden) Tilia americana | Hardwood | 13.8 | 4.6 | Low |
Heat: High = 24 or more, Medium = 19 to 24, Low = under 19 million BTU per cord. Species names with a link open our tree guide for that species. Values are approximate, not lab results for your wood.
1. How much heat does your home use?
2. Your wood and stove
Winter estimate
Firewood estimate
Full cords needed (estimate)
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Face cords, 16-inch
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Heat from wood
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Wood cost
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Cost per million BTU
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Estimate only, built from the numbers entered and approximate heat values. Real use changes with weather, moisture, stacking and how you run the stove. Buy a little extra.
How the math works
- Fuel heat = your amount × the usual approximate heat in that fuel: about 138,500 BTU per gallon of heating oil, about 91,500 BTU per gallon of propane, 100,000 BTU per therm of natural gas, 3,412 BTU per kWh.
- Heat your home used = fuel heat × old system efficiency. If you picked "I know the heat", the tool uses your number as is.
- Heat from wood = heat your home used × share of heat from wood.
- Useful heat per cord = species million BTU per cord (from the chart) × wood stove efficiency.
- Full cords needed = heat from wood ÷ useful heat per cord. Face cords = full cords × 3 (for 16-inch logs).
- Cost per million BTU = price per cord ÷ useful heat per cord. Use it to compare species or fuels.
For homeowners
Wood from your own tree
Taking a tree down is a job for an insured pro, not a weekend chainsaw project. Ask your tree service if they can leave the wood cut to length. See our homeowner guides and how to hire a tree service.
For tree crews
Turn removals into firewood sales
Know which species customers want. Then check the numbers with the firewood revenue calculator and the chip volume calculator. More in wood waste and firewood.
Know your trees
Species guides
Bark, leaves, size, roots and storm risk for common US trees in our tree species library. Pests to watch for are in tree problems.
Questions about firewood heat
Which firewood gives the most heat?
Dense hardwoods give the most heat per cord. Osage orange, hickory, black locust, honeylocust, white oak and apple sit near the top of most published charts. Light woods like cottonwood, basswood, white pine and balsam fir sit near the bottom. Sort the chart by heat to see the full order.
How accurate are these BTU numbers?
They are approximate. They are the kind of values published in extension and forestry charts for seasoned wood at about 20% moisture. Different sources differ by a few million BTU per cord, and real wood varies with moisture, how tight the cord is stacked and how much bark and rot it has. Use them to compare species, not as an exact promise.
What is the difference between a full cord and a face cord?
A full cord is 4 feet high, 4 feet deep and 8 feet long, which is 128 cubic feet. A face cord (also called a rick or a stove cord) is one row 4 feet high and 8 feet long, as deep as one log. With 16-inch logs that is about one third of a full cord. Always ask a seller which one they mean.
How many cords of wood do I need for a winter?
It depends on your climate, your house, your stove and how much of your heat comes from wood. The calculator above works it out from your own numbers: the fuel you burned last winter (or the heat you know you need), your old system efficiency, your wood stove efficiency and the species you burn.
How do I find my home heat need from my fuel bills?
Add up last winter: gallons of heating oil or propane, therms of natural gas or kWh of electric heat. Pick that fuel in the calculator and enter the amount and how efficient your old system is. The tool turns it into the heat your home actually used, using the usual approximate heat content of each fuel.
What wood stove efficiency should I use?
Use the number from your stove maker if you have it. Newer certified stoves are usually more efficient than older ones. Older stoves and open fireplaces are much lower, and an open fireplace can lose more heat up the chimney than it gives the room. The default in the tool is a starting point, change it.
Is softwood bad to burn?
Softwood is not bad. It has less heat per cord because it is lighter, so you need more of it. Well-seasoned softwood lights fast and burns hot and short. The bigger risk with any wood is burning it wet, which makes more smoke and more creosote in the chimney. Have your chimney checked every year.
I run a tree service. How can I use this chart?
Many tree crews sell or give away wood from removals. Knowing which species are high heat helps you price split wood fairly and answer customer questions. Pair this chart with our firewood revenue calculator to see if selling firewood is worth your crew time, and our chip volume calculator for the wood you chip instead.
Can I burn wood from a tree that was cut on my property?
Often yes, once it is split and seasoned. But wood from trees killed by some pests should not be moved far, because moving it can spread the pest. Many states ask people to buy and burn firewood locally. Check your state rules. Short explanation, not legal advice.
Is anything I type sent to Lirevon?
No. The math runs in your browser. Your numbers are only kept in this browser on this device so the form is filled in next time. Clear your browser data to remove them.
For tree service owners
Winter calls still need an answer.
Lirevon sets up missed-call text-back, an AI receptionist, follow-ups and review requests for tree companies, so the calls that come in while your crew is on a job still get booked.