💵 Firewood Cost Per Million BTU Comparison

Compare firewood options by true heating value for the money — enter each option's price per cord and BTU rating to see cost per million BTU.

How each option is scored

Every row is reduced to one number, the price of a million BTU, and the cheapest row is flagged as best value:

cost per million BTU = price per cord / million BTU per cord

oak:  $250 / 25.7 = $9.73
pine: $180 / 15.9 = $11.32

Those are the two options loaded by default, and they show the usual result: the cheaper delivery is the more expensive heat. Add a row for every quote you have been given and the ranking updates as you type.

Getting the two inputs right

BTU per cord is entered in millions — 25.7 for white oak, 27.7 for shagbark hickory, 13.0 for cottonwood. Those published figures assume wood seasoned to about 20 percent moisture; green wood burns noticeably below them.
Price must be for a full cord, 128 cubic feet. If you were quoted a face cord or rick, scale it up first: 16 in wood is about a third of a cord, so $120 a rick is $360 a cord and $14.01 per million BTU, not $4.67.
Include delivery and stacking fees in the price. A $60 delivery charge on a single cord moves oak from $9.73 to $12.06.

Face cord and rick have no fixed depth — each seller decides. Ask for the log length before comparing anything, because a 12 in rick and a 24 in rick differ by a factor of two at the same advertised price.

Frequently asked questions

Is oak or pine cheaper to heat with?

Oak, at typical prices. A $250 cord of white oak works out at $9.73 per million BTU, while a $180 cord of ponderosa pine is $11.32, because the pine cord carries 15.9 million BTU against oak's 25.7.

How does firewood compare with propane?

Propane holds about 91,500 BTU per gallon, so a million BTU takes 10.9 gallons — $32.79 at $3.00 a gallon, against $9.73 for oak. Divide each by its appliance efficiency, roughly 0.70 for a wood stove and 0.90 for a propane furnace, before calling it final.

Does this calculator account for stove efficiency?

No, it compares fuel cost only. If you are ranking wood against wood that does not matter, since the same stove burns both. To compare across appliances, divide each result by that appliance's efficiency.