Firewood Calculator
Convert a firewood stack into full cords, face cords and cubic metres, work out the price per cord, and compare its heat value against gas and electric heating.
What the same heat costs as gas or electricity
A full cord is a stack measuring 128 cubic feet — the classic 4 ft × 4 ft × 8 ft. A face cord or rick is the same 4 ft × 8 ft face but only as deep as the pieces are long, so 16-inch wood gives exactly one third of a cord. Heat values are published averages for seasoned wood at about 20% moisture (24.6 million BTU per cord for the species selected); green wood delivers far less because energy is spent boiling off water. The comparison converts usable heat, so it already accounts for your stove and furnace efficiencies.
What is the Firewood Calculator?
The ByteTools Firewood Calculator measures a stack rather than trusting a seller's description. Enter the length, height and depth of the pile in feet or metres and it returns the stacked volume in cubic feet and cubic metres, the number of full cords at 128 cubic feet each, and the equivalent face cords or ricks for your split length.
- Stacked volume in cubic feet, cubic metres, full cords and face cords
- Face cord and rick sizing from your actual split length
- Price per full cord and per face cord from a delivered price
- Heat value per cord for 18 common species at about 20% moisture
- Equivalent gas therms and electricity kWh at your own efficiencies
- Cost per million BTU of heat actually delivered to the room
How to use the Firewood Calculator
- 1
Choose imperial or metric and pick the wood species so the calculator knows its heat value per cord.
- 2
Measure and enter the stack length, height and depth, plus the length of the split pieces.
- 3
Enter the delivered price you paid for that stack to get the price per full cord and per face cord.
- 4
Set your stove or fireplace efficiency so the tool knows how much of the heat reaches the room.
- 5
Add your gas and electricity prices to see what the same usable heat would cost from either.
About the Firewood Calculator
The ByteTools Firewood Calculator measures a stack rather than trusting a seller's description. Enter the length, height and depth of the pile in feet or metres and it returns the stacked volume in cubic feet and cubic metres, the number of full cords at 128 cubic feet each, and the equivalent face cords or ricks for your split length.
Enter what you paid for that stack and it works back to a price per full cord and per face cord — the single most useful number when comparing deliveries, because a rick is not a standard measure and its size depends entirely on how long the pieces are. Pick your species and it applies a published heat value per cord to give the total energy in the pile.
The last panel converts that heat into money you already understand: how many therms of gas or kWh of electricity would deliver the same usable heat, at your stove and furnace efficiencies, so you can see whether the wood was a bargain. Everything is calculated locally in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a cord of wood?
A full cord is a stack measuring 128 cubic feet — the classic 4 ft high by 4 ft deep by 8 ft long. Price varies enormously by region and species, so the useful move is to measure the stack you were sold and divide the price by the cords it actually contains.
What is the difference between a cord and a face cord?
A face cord is the same 4 ft by 8 ft face but only as deep as the pieces are long. With the standard 16-inch split, that is exactly one third of a cord. Because 'rick' and 'face cord' have no legal definition, always ask for the piece length before comparing prices.
Which firewood gives the most heat?
Dense hardwoods win. Osage orange leads at about 32.9 million BTU per cord, followed by hickory, black locust and beech in the high twenties. Softwoods such as white pine sit around 13 million BTU, so a cord of pine delivers less than half the heat of a cord of oak.
Is firewood cheaper than gas heat?
Sometimes, but you must compare usable heat, not raw energy. A cord of red oak holds about 24.6 million BTU, of which a 70 per cent efficient stove delivers around 17.2 million — roughly 215 therms of gas from an 80 per cent furnace. Enter your prices above to see which wins where you live.
How much firewood do I need for a winter?
As a rough guide, a household heating primarily with wood in a cold climate burns three to five full cords a season, while a weekend fireplace user might get through one. Work out your own heat demand and use the BTU figures here rather than a national average.
Does wet firewood produce less heat?
Considerably less. The published BTU values here assume wood seasoned to about 20 per cent moisture. Green wood spends much of its energy boiling off water, burns cooler, produces far more creosote and can easily deliver a third less usable heat.
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