Firewood vs Pellet Calculator
| Cord $ ↓ · pellet $/ton → (winner) | $200 | $250 | $300 | $350 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $150 cord | Cordwood | Cordwood | Cordwood | Cordwood |
| $200 | Cordwood | Cordwood | Cordwood | Cordwood |
| $250 | Pellets | Cordwood | Cordwood | Cordwood |
| $300 | Pellets | Pellets | Cordwood | Cordwood |
Enter a cord price, a pellet ton price and how much heat your season needs: the calculator converts both fuels to dollars per MMBTU of useful heat - price, energy content and stove efficiency all in - and totals the season both ways.
The honest comparison is not fuel price but delivered heat: a cord holds about 26 MMBTU and an open wood stove converts only about 60 percent of it, while a ton of pellets holds about 16 MMBTU and a pellet stove delivers roughly 80 percent. Pellets usually win on cost per unit of heat only when cordwood is expensive or your stove is old.
How to use
- Cord prices in this calculator are for seasoned hardwood, delivered - cut-your-own at about $50 a cord changes every verdict.
- Pellet price is per ton (a ton is fifty 40-lb bags); stove efficiencies default to the 60 percent wood / 80 percent pellet pairing used in the Penn State analysis.
- Season demand defaults to 50 MMBTU of useful heat - a temperate-climate house; cold-climate homes run 80 to 100.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, firewood or wood pellets?
Run your own numbers: at $250 a cord and $280 a ton, cordwood delivers heat at about $16 per MMBTU against pellets at $21 - cordwood wins by a wide margin despite the lower stove efficiency. Pellets pull even when cords run past roughly $300 or your wood stove is a pre-EPA smoker.
How many cords of firewood equal a ton of pellets?
About 0.63 cords: a ton of pellets holds roughly 16.4 MMBTU against a cord's 26.0. The pellet ton wins on storage (fifty 40-lb dry bags) and consistency; the cord wins on price per unit of energy almost everywhere east of the Rockies.
Why is pellet stove efficiency so much higher?
Moisture and staging: pellets are kiln-dried to under 8 percent and fed at a controlled rate, so nearly all the heat reaches the room; a cordwood load boils off water first and much of its burn happens up the flue. The 60-vs-80 percent split is the Penn State assumption used here.
What does seasoned wood actually mean?
Under about 20 percent moisture after 6 to 12 months of stacking - burning unseasoned wood can cut useful heat by a quarter and piles creosote into the flue. The calculator's 60 percent wood efficiency assumes properly seasoned hardwood; green wood breaks every number on this page.
Is cutting my own firewood worth it?
At the roughly $50-per-cord cost Penn State assumes for self-cut wood, cordwood beats pellets at any realistic pellet price - the labor is the payment. The verdict flips only if your time has a market price above what the fuel saving pays.